Panel Told Air Safety May Hang on Fewer Flights, Higher Fares

WASHINGTON —  Air travelers may have to accept fewer flights and somewhat higher fares to ensure the fullest margin of safety possible, an airline executive told a presidential panel on aviation Thursday.

At the first hearing held by the President’s Commission on Aviation Safety, American Airlines Chairman Robert Crandall suggested that--at least for the short term--Americans must get used to such trade-offs if they truly want safety to be the top priority.

For example, he said, the growing public furor over flight delays is not compatible with a safety-first mentality.

Thinner Margin

“I’m here to warn you that the louder that uproar grows, the more the pressure will grow to get flights out no matter what--and the thinner the margin of safety will become,” Crandall said.

“We must do a better job of deciding which goals are more important than others. We can’t have an absolute commitment to safety and simultaneously assign top priority to all the other things on our wish list.”

Crandall said the government must decide how much traffic the current air traffic control system can handle and then bite the bullet and limit the number of flights in each sector.

“Today, demand exceeds the system’s capacity,” Crandall said. “The professionals at the (Federal Aviation Administration) are doing a commendable job, but they are being overwhelmed.”

Along with having fewer flights to choose from, Crandall said the public should get used to the idea of paying a little more to ensure the best safety practices.

Safety Not Free or Cheap

“If we are to have optimal safety, it may not be possible to offer the lowest possible ticket prices,” he said. “Safety does not come free--and it certainly doesn’t come cheap. To give a modern wide-body a thorough mechanical checkup at our Tulsa maintenance base costs about a million dollars.”

Crandall said the only long-term solution to air safety is to build more airports and install a more modern air traffic control system. He said the key to achieving those objectives is for the government to free up more money from the federal Aviation Trust Fund, which is supported by aviation-related taxes.