SAFETY, comfort, schedule, economy
I have waded through the numerous posts to the threads related to the tragedy of the ET crash, and previously the Lion crash. I am not here in this post going to talk about MCAS, system design, engineering or piloting skills. (or any iteration of the aforementioned)
What I feel needs to be highlighted and discussed, is where our regulators, manufacturers, and even more importantly operators (airlines) are WRT SAFETY.
The threads currently appear to be on an endless loop on all things technical, and thankfully some HF input............ which is sort of where this is all emanating from.
Can anyone explain to me in relatively simple terms, where manufacturers like Boeing, regulators like the FAA, and Airlines like SWA and to be blunt - airlines ALL OVER THE PLANET - turned the priorities of flight/business on it's head, and placed ECONOMY first...?
The airline I fly for has on it's internal phone menu, when you call it, (ie: for an IT issue) - "OTP" as menu option number 1, well ahead of anything 'safety related'. How could this happen? When did this happen? Why did this happen?
Much has been said about Boeing, and yes they are in the spotlight currently, but do people think that they are the only 'kids in the orphanage?'
More seriously, why does the worlds travelling public have to succumb to an environment whereby the worlds largest manufacturer of commercial airplanes has over 100 lobbyists to Washington, and there appears to be a free trade deal between the regulator and and the manufacturer for that of 'manpower' - the revolving door? Having the onus essentially on the manufacturer to certify aspects of their products is a sure recipe for disaster, and hence the discussion threads that are so keenly followed and responded to here on PPRUNE.
How did this industry get it so wrong?