If you have a trip planned on United Air Lines, Inc. (NASDAQ: UAUA) over the next couple of days, you may want to call ahead and verify that your flight is still on schedule. According to news reports today, the airline is going to be performing comprehensive inspections of 52 of its 777 aircraft.
Air travelers have been dealing with delays for the past week as all the major airlines are working to get all their planes inspected and given the "all clear" by the FCC. Last week, we saw major cancellations and delays for travelers flying American Airlines (NYSE: AMR) and Delta (NYSE: DAL) as those two carriers were having scores of planes inspected for potential problems with their wiring bundles.
The United inspections are looking at the fire suppression system in the cargo bays. The company wants to make sure that this system is working correctly, and notified authorities when it discovered that one of the five bottles in the suppression system was skipped over during the last inspection of the system.
United hasn't released any information yet on just how many flights will be delayed, or if any will be canceled, but I would definitely suggest you double check your travel plans before heading to the airport if you are traveling on United today.
The inspections are expected to last anywhere from 24 to 36 hours, and United has stated that it plans to use other planes in its fleets to handle the passengers whose planes have been grounded, so hopefully everyone will be able to get to their destinations. Whether the flights will be on time is another issue.
Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last four years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-02-2008 @ 11:55AM
Mark Wray said...
It is unlikely that the FCC will be giving the "all clear" signal to United or any other airline anytime soon. The FAA is fairly turf-conscious.
4-03-2008 @ 12:33AM
Terrence said...
They said that FAA has said ---->
Though declining to name the airlines, Federal Aviation Administration officials say three U.S. carriers are being investigated for missing inspection deadlines, while a fourth has failed to submit a required plan.
Don't we have a right to know so we can decide if we are confortable getting on a plane that maybe not keeping up with repairs or spot checks of their planes Come on now Whats wrogn with this picture FAA I am sorry But i have that right if the plane is unsafe we need to know PERIOD ! So I can said NO NOT GETTING ON THAT PLANE IS HASN'T BEEN CHECK FOR CRACKS IN BODY OR WHATEVER ELSE IS CHECK (JET ENGINE)