How safe is American Airlines?
American Airlines is a major airline that operates in the United States of America and around the globe with its flights which is able to service hundreds of destinations in dozens of countries. Given the aggressive flight schedules that M has its large fleet of airplanes, issues of safety are inevitable. All in all, it is possible to mention the fact that American Airlines do not have numerous complaints about safety issues, especially if focusing on the recent years.
The Aircraft American Airlines owns a huge number of airplanes, which number is approximately 1000 units, and it uses Airbus, Boeing and regional airplanes. In general, these aircraft are fairly utilitarian and not excessively complicated. What happens when there is a mechanical failure? Accidents arising from mechanical failures are very few, especially with commercial jet made by reputable manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing. Maintenance, inspection, and part replacement are very important activities in American Airlines as the company pays a lot of attention to the airworthiness of its aircrafts. The average age of their aircraft is also relatively young being slightly less than twelve years. Generally, new planes are comparatively safer and cause less safety concern compared to older planes.
The Pilots The pilots employed at American Airlines are well-trained and hold immense experience compared to their counterparts in similar organizations. All pilots are screened, trained and evaluated beyond FAA requirements to ensure that only qualified and competent pilots are hired to fly our aircraft. It is obligatory to fly the assigned aircraft type, and pilots have to undergo strict medical tests half-year to a year maximum to maintain the necessary qualification. In the present time, the average professional pilot working for the American Airlines has 14153 hours of flight experience. Crew familiarity is its safety in operation: the more time spent and the more experienced the team, the less likely an accident will occur.
Operational Safety Concerning other operating indicators, American Airlines performs very well. For the past 10 years, it has been transforming into one of the most punctual airlines with which passengers can get to their destinations. It is important to note that DOT data reveals that American Airlines had an on-time arrival rate of 82% in 2018. Technical dispatch reliability is also very good indeed; in the region of fewer than 1 in 1000 aircraft movements may be delayed or cancelled by technical reasons. These keep the schedule integrity highly contributing to efficient and safe operations.
Accident History When it comes to safety, one of the most compelling indexes, the performance of American Airlines has been great in terms of accident rates. In two decades the airline has not had a single passenger fatality as a result of an accident. The few accidents that have been reported involve minor mishaps that have caused little or no loss of life and little damage to property. Most of this can however be attributed to computerised flight data analysis programs that are very effective in pointing out safety concerns long before such safety concerns would actually cause an accident. Paying close attention to risk management and control has been found to be very useful.
Comparison to Industry We were able to determine that in terms of safety, American Airlines is in par or better than some of the top ranking major airlines in the United States. External assessment by another firm such as Airlineratings. com has ranked American high among all airlines in the world based on its safety metrics. American Airlines also has the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) accreditation, which is among the most coveted safety standards. Less than 30 percent of the global airlines are in a position to meet the tough specifications that are expected of them for IOSA registration. This can also be regarded as the evidence of the operating efficiency on which the airline’s non-incurred incident rate relies upon.
Areas for Improvement Having said this, however, it can be noted that American Airlines has a relatively low rate of incidents and accidents on the whole, but there is still room for improvement in that aspect. There has been a small increase in the rate of ramp accidents and of ground support incidents as compared to other peers like Delta. American also has also experienced some fines in regards to tarmac delays that go beyond the permissible duration especially when the weather is unfavorable. These include the ongoing efforts to improve the information flow and interaction between organizational units responsible for the ground handling of airplanes. Contingency planning is also being revised at American to improve management of long onboard delays. Improvements in these areas will, in turn, decrease the level of inconvenience to passengers, loss to properties and ultimately minimize the number of injuries in the long run.
The Takeaway Given that most of the aircraft used are in very good condition; the pilots are well trained, and the company has escaped major accident for many years other operational performances are impressive, American Airlines is one of the safest airlines to fly within the United States and the world. The company keeps safety standards above or at the same level as other airlines and provides safe service to tens of millions of passengers annually in very long distances. In other words, I can reassure my travelling readers that American Airlines is a safe way to get to your destination safely due to American’s focus on safety and compliance with safety procedures in the field of aviation. Despite growth in other areas of flight delays and ground operations the firm’s safety compliance remains one of the strongest assets.