Airline execs, regulators entangled
The cozy world of the airline industry and its regulators is coming under increasing scrutiny. The Associated Press reports that those who regulate the airlines one day find themselves working for the airlines the next… and the other way around. “The culture of the FAA has swung toward one that views the airlines as a customer and treats them as such,” Tom Brantley, head of the union that represents FAA inspectors, told the AP. “The safety aspect, the oversight, has taken a back seat.”
To illustrate the power of the airline industry, the AP found documents relating to each of the major presidential candidates. In one, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) wrote to Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta urging him to follow through with a review of a proposed business deal between American Airlines and British Airways. In another, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) wrote to Mineta on behalf of United Airlines to secure a $1.8 federal loan guarantee. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) urged Mineta to consider a new route for JetBlue from New York to Mexico.
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