American Airlines on Tuesday identified an improperly installed clamp as the cause of loose seats on two of its Boeing 757 aircraft, the latest in a string of operational problems for the bankrupt carrier.
The Fort Worth-based company said it inspected 36 aircraft overnight Monday and found an additional four planes with seats in the main cabin that had problems. American planned to inspect another 11 airplanes Tuesday night. In total, 47 of American's 102 Boeing 757s will be inspected.American said its internal investigation focused on how rows of three seats fit into a track used to secure them to the floor of the airplanes, and found that a saddle clamp was improperly installed on the foot of the row leg.No flights were canceled as American checked the aircraft, said David Campbell, vice president of safety, security and environmental, adding that the carrier typically checks its seats every 30 days. Initially, the carrier planned to check only eight aircraft overnight but expanded its inspections as part of its investigation.The Transport Workers Union said the seat problems do not stem from any labor issues between American and its mechanics but instead are the result of outsourcing maintenance work. The seats that came loose midflight were installed by a third party company called TIMCO, the union said."Problems related to seats are less likely a labor problem, but rather a management issue related to outsourcing work to third-party facilities," said Robert Gless, deputy director of the TWU's air transport division."This incident clearly reveals that AMR's plans to replicate some of the worst practices of its competitors by expanding outsourcing are short-sighted and not in its or its customers' interests."The carrier said both American employees and third-party maintenance workers had worked on the seats. As part of its restructuring in bankruptcy, American plans to shift more maintenance work to third-party companies, like TIMCO and ST Aerospace. It will close its Alliance maintenance facility in north Fort Worth in the next few months and lay off close to 4,000 employees, including 2,600 mechanics, store clerks and other ground personnel.The problem first came to light on Saturday when American flight 685 from Boston to Miami had to make an emergency landing at New York's JFK Airport after Row 12, Seats D, E and F, came loose during flight. That specific row on that aircraft had come loose two days earlier and was tightened when the jet was in Miami.A second flight on Monday headed from JFK to Miami returned to New York when Row 14, Seats A, B and C, came loose. That same row also had been loose on a previous flight last week and was tightened before the plane was returned to service.The FAA is currently monitoring American's internal investigation, the carrier said.Robert Mann, an aviation consultant who once worked at American, told the Associated Press that delays, cancellations and bad publicity about broken seats could create an opening for rivals United Airlines and Delta Air Lines to poach American customers in competitive markets like Chicago and New York."I'm struck by how close this company is to losing its way," he said.Spencer Nam, a stock analyst from Boston who was flying to Dallas-Fort Worth on American for business, said his Wednesday evening flight was delayed after passengers boarding the planes noticed that the seats in Row 12 were leaning toward Row 13.Although the problem was fixed and his plane got to Dallas on time, he said he might book another airline the next time."When it comes to flying, I don't like unexpected events," Nam said. "I'm 42, I've been flying more than 20 years, and I've never seen where seats weren't screwed down."Separately on Tuesday, the Allied Pilots Association said that negotiations between the pilots and American management will resume some time this week.In a letter to employees, chief executive Tom Horton said he is optimistic that American can reach a new labor agreement with the pilots now that "intensive bargaining sessions" will resume."It is time to put this chapter behind us and move American forward," Horton said. "We need to get back on track quickly and return to the reliability and first rate service our customers expect from us."American has struggled with flight delays and cancellations over the past two weeks which the carrier blamed partly on pilots making last-minute maintenance requests after a judge ruled that their contract could be terminated. The APA denied that it was coordinating a work slowdown.On Tuesday, as of 7 p.m., American's on-time arrival rate was 70 percent with 22 canceled flights, according to FlightStats.com. That was an improvement from the 61 percent on-time arrival rate on Monday.The union added it will not announce the results of a strike vote when the polls close today at noon.In a hotline message sent to members, the pilots union said its board of directors decided to instruct the polling company to "refrain from releasing the results of the membership strike authorization ballot.""Your APA leadership will decide when to announce the results of the strike balloting based on whether the resumption of talks results in meaningful progress," the hotline said.This article includes material from The Associated Press.Andrea Ahles, 817-390-7631Twitter: @Sky_TalkHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
