Thread: Spirit Airlines
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Old 06-17-2021, 02:35 PM   #14
XCR-700
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Originally Posted by Jdarby View Post
Again, my colleague is the former VP of Safety for Spirit. When he tells family and friends not to fly them it has NOTHING to do with imperfect seating. The FAA sets minimum standards for the safe operations of commercial operators. Many air carriers choose to exceed the minimum. Exceeding the minimum creates additional overhead costs that drive up fares. Spirit was designed as a low cost airline, it is their business model. It would require a complete reinvention of their organization to “up their game”….it’s just not who they intend to be. In summary, just because an airline holds an air carrier certificate from the FAA does not mean that they are all on an equal playing field regarding safety of operations. It only means they all meet the minimum requirements. Lack of Federal personnel resourcing also means that not all air carriers receive the same level of regulatory oversight and monitoring. Where do you want to take your family to dinner….at the restaurant that has the “A” scoring from the health department or the one that has the “C” scoring? The health department allows both to remain in operation. Either way, enjoy your meal! [emoji2]


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Just to be clear, the airlines receive almost no oversight from the FAA, they are mostly allowed to self monitor and only when there are problems do they get significant oversight and inspection by Federal inspectors.

The FAA no longer even calls what they do oversight, they refer to the airline industry as their customers.

Its been a shocking experience to see FAA abandon their former business model in favor of the self inspection/self certify/largely self regulate practices we see today. Its actually frightening and disheartening to see whats happening.

Think about staycations and day trips to Winnipesaukee!
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