CHECK ON YOUR FLIGHT
CHICAGO (WBBM/CBS 2/AP) ― On the heels of lengthy service disruptions that caused thousands of flight cancellations across the nation, American Airlines pilots announced a day-long protest in the hopes of calling attention to the airlines "poor performance and service."
The protests scheduled for next Tuesday will take place in nine cities across the country including Chicago.
As the airline enters day four of inspection-related cancellations it hopes to have 60 percent of the MD-80 aircraft back on line tonight, however cancellations will likely continue into Saturday.
But now another problem is on the horizon for the nation's largest carrier - the Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents the 12,000 American pilots announced plans for a protest next week.
The union will protest next week "to call attention to the airlines’ poor performance and customer service, including its ranking as having the worst on-time performance among network carriers," according to a release issued by the APA.
The pilots will be urging passengers to help American Airlines employees get management’s attention to fix these problems, the release said.
At last word more than 80 flights were canceled at O'Hare Friday, and more could be grounded. The airline says it hopes to have about 60 percent of its MD-80s back in the air by 4 p.m. tonight.
Despite making progress it is likely the inspections and thus cancellations will linger into Saturday.
Ongoing wire inspections sparked by a system-wide FAA audit forced the airline to ground all 300 of its MD-80 aircraft. American has canceled more than 3,000 flights nationwide since Tuesday.
A total of 226 of 300 American Airlines MD-80 aircraft had been inspected, 74 grounded planes await checks, according to American.
American Airlines Spokesman Mary Frances Fagan says if you have a cancelled flight, you can get a voucher or a full refund or you might be able to hop on another flight.
Your best bet is to call ahead or check online before heading out to the airport.
The trouble caused by canceled American flights at O'Hare International Airport on Friday was not nearly as severe as on Wednesday or Thursday.
About 87 American flights are being canceled at O'Hare on Friday and across the country 594 flights have been canceled, Fagan said.
American CEO Gerard Arpey said he took full responsibility for the airline's failure to comply with a federal safety rule designed to prevent electrical fires in the planes.
Arpey said neither the airline's mechanics nor the Federal Aviation Administration were to blame for the more than 3,000 canceled flights so far this week.
The airline canceled more than 400 flights for the same reason two weeks ago. But the repairs done then didn't meet FAA standards, resulting in this week's debacle.
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