Comments on: AMR: Is there really something special in the air? http://www.footnoted.org/urge-to-merge/amr-is-there-really-something-special-in-the-air/ Michelle Leder's guide to what's hiding in SEC filings Mon, 08 Sep 2008 04:27:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Shawn Meehan http://www.footnoted.org/urge-to-merge/amr-is-there-really-something-special-in-the-air/#comment-4634 Shawn Meehan Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:19:23 +0000 http://www.footnoted.org/urge-to-merge/amr-is-there-really-something-special-in-the-air/#comment-4634 Michelle, You give a curious perspective. I spent most of my career in the Air Force as a crew member as well as getting my BS in Aviation Safety and managing mishap prevention programs along with conducting several mishap investigations. Your other reader presents a good link with the wiki. The perspective that could be taken is that an increase in airworthiness directives shows more aggressive enforcement / discovery of potential problems. A comparative example could be seeing an increase in DUI arrests in a state. Well, that state most likely does not have an increase in dangerous drinkers, but rather, an increase in enforcement. Airworthiness Directives (A/D) result from incidents, inspections, etc., and a proper authority reviewing the cost / benefit return of taking such action. The FAA, by design, balances passenger safety with its other mission of promoting aviation. Each of these decisions is balanced against the cost to the parties involved versus the degree of safety returned. Various amounts of time to implement the A/D reflect the urgency of safety decision balanced with cost / impact on the airline's fleet. Of note, is that some private aircraft overseas incur troubles when sold to parties back in America and certain other countries, as the owners may have chosen to not implement certain A/Ds, or improperly document them. In one of my favorite business lessons in my aviation safety training, we discussed how an airline's safety record, staff, programs, etc. could very effectively be used as a marketing program. They could spend slightly more than required and/or implement requirements faster then authorities require. This could be made note of in marketing materials and public relations. In many instances, A/Ds can provide an economic return for a small initial investment. This official FAA link sheds even more light on the process for your curious readers: http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/continued_operation/ad/ Your blog continues to be a valuable asset in the investing world. Continued success to you. I hope this helps, SMM Michelle,

You give a curious perspective. I spent most of my career in the Air Force as a crew member as well as getting my BS in Aviation Safety and managing mishap prevention programs along with conducting several mishap investigations.

Your other reader presents a good link with the wiki. The perspective that could be taken is that an increase in airworthiness directives shows more aggressive enforcement / discovery of potential problems. A comparative example could be seeing an increase in DUI arrests in a state. Well, that state most likely does not have an increase in dangerous drinkers, but rather, an increase in enforcement.

Airworthiness Directives (A/D) result from incidents, inspections, etc., and a proper authority reviewing the cost / benefit return of taking such action. The FAA, by design, balances passenger safety with its other mission of promoting aviation. Each of these decisions is balanced against the cost to the parties involved versus the degree of safety returned. Various amounts of time to implement the A/D reflect the urgency of safety decision balanced with cost / impact on the airline’s fleet. Of note, is that some private aircraft overseas incur troubles when sold to parties back in America and certain other countries, as the owners may have chosen to not implement certain A/Ds, or improperly document them.

In one of my favorite business lessons in my aviation safety training, we discussed how an airline’s safety record, staff, programs, etc. could very effectively be used as a marketing program. They could spend slightly more than required and/or implement requirements faster then authorities require. This could be made note of in marketing materials and public relations. In many instances, A/Ds can provide an economic return for a small initial investment.

This official FAA link sheds even more light on the process for your curious readers: http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/continued_operation/ad/

Your blog continues to be a valuable asset in the investing world. Continued success to you.

I hope this helps,

SMM

]]> By: Michelle Leder http://www.footnoted.org/urge-to-merge/amr-is-there-really-something-special-in-the-air/#comment-4633 Michelle Leder Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:40:51 +0000 http://www.footnoted.org/urge-to-merge/amr-is-there-really-something-special-in-the-air/#comment-4633 Thanks, Bode. It's always nice to hear from smart footnoted readers who know specifics about a particular industry and can give feedback on how significant various changes in the filings really are. Thanks, too, for including the link to Wikipedia, which I clearly should have done. Thanks, Bode. It’s always nice to hear from smart footnoted readers who know specifics about a particular industry and can give feedback on how significant various changes in the filings really are. Thanks, too, for including the link to Wikipedia, which I clearly should have done.

]]> By: bode http://www.footnoted.org/urge-to-merge/amr-is-there-really-something-special-in-the-air/#comment-4632 bode Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:34:58 +0000 http://www.footnoted.org/urge-to-merge/amr-is-there-really-something-special-in-the-air/#comment-4632 I think airworthiness directives are a function of civial aviation regulatory bodies. The number would reflect the current fleet more than the airlines maintenance practices. They are specific to a make and model of aircraft, and I'm not sure it'd be correct to read much into the magnitude of outstanding airworthiness directives the airline is tackling. They also vary in importance -- some could ground an entire fleet of aircraft, like the Q400 earlier this year, and others might specify the work be done at the next heavy maintenance. Here's the wikipedia article on them: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airworthiness_Directive I think airworthiness directives are a function of civial aviation regulatory bodies. The number would reflect the current fleet more than the airlines maintenance practices. They are specific to a make and model of aircraft, and I’m not sure it’d be correct to read much into the magnitude of outstanding airworthiness directives the airline is tackling. They also vary in importance — some could ground an entire fleet of aircraft, like the Q400 earlier this year, and others might specify the work be done at the next heavy maintenance.

Here’s the wikipedia article on them:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airworthiness_Directive

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