This is in no way a knock on AF... but this Wall Street Journal article notes that there are apparently significant tensions within the company. And several years back, the top to bottom review that Delta did for Korean Air (which has been published on the web) was a fascinating read, especially in the way the review dealt with cultural differences in CRM.
Air France Asks Delta to Help Assess Safety Practices - WSJ.com
The full article requires a paid suscription so here is the majority of it:
"PARIS -- Air France has taken the unusual step of asking U.S. partner Delta Air Lines Inc. to help assess its internal safety practices following the crash of an Air France jetliner in June that killed 228 people.
"We have asked our American partner to conduct an external analysis," said Véronique Brachet, a spokeswoman for the French carrier. But she said talks with Delta, which has a marketing alliance with Air France, haven't been finalized.
A Delta spokeswoman declined to comment.
Air France Chief Executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon said in a recent interview that the Air France-KLM SA unit would commission outside analysts to review its safety practices, in part because the crash remains unsolved. Mr. Gourgeon wants these analysts to do a top-to-bottom review and come up with a handful of big ideas to help Air France improve its long-term approach to safety.
"Safety is a dynamic thing," he said. "The risk is to say, 'We've done our work, so let's stop.'"
French search teams have been unable to locate wreckage of the Air France Airbus A330, which plunged from high altitude into deep waters about halfway between Brazil and Senegal. As a result, it remains unclear what role various factors played in the crash. Bad weather, technical problems and pilot error are all suspected of having contributed, but without more evidence, the airline and regulators are stymied in efforts to prevent a recurrence.
The crash has focused attention on Air France's safety record and pilot training. The carrier has had four significant accidents since 1999. Mr. Gourgeon said that before the crash, Air France's accident record was better than the global airline-industry average but now is average.
Mr. Gourgeon said the crash has been traumatic for employees and has increased tensions within the airline. He said that since the accident, Air France has seen a slight uptick in absenteeism among long-haul flight attendants. He acknowledged the airline has been repeatedly criticized by some of its smaller pilots unions for perceived safety lapses.
Gérard Arnoux, head of SPAF, one of those small unions, said: "There is a problem with our safety culture. Our ranking is not good."
Mr. Gourgeon said he hopes the planned analysis will address such concerns. He said the cause of the crash may never be known, so Air France is addressing a broad range of possible problems behind it. "Even if we don't know the reason, people must be certain that no stone has been left unturned," he said.
Delta has a strong safety record. Its namesake carrier hasn't had an accident or significant safety incident since 1998, according to the Aviation Safety Network, a Web site that tracks such events. But Delta's Comair unit had a fatal crash in 2006.
In the late 1990s, Korean Air, then plagued by safety lapses, tackled those problems in part by enlisting Delta's aid; Delta, which had refused to sell tickets on Korean Air flights, conducted a safety audit for the carrier. But rarely, if ever, has a major Western airline like Air France turned to another for safety recommendations.
Since the June crash, Air France has already increased pilot training and altered some of its safety routines, Mr. Gourgeon said."