Dear Southwest,
As an American air traveler, I have been increasingly concerned with the safety of the nation's "economy airlines" as the economics of flying have seemingly decreased profit margins over the last 10 years (higher gas prices, lower market rates). It has been my fear that in an effort to sustain themselves, airlines have been pressured to increase the numbers of flights they operate per day, meaning less attention would be paid to inspections and matters of safety. This was not a confirmed fact, but simply a suspicion I had based on my observations as a frequent flyer. The flying experience has seemed increasingly more frenzied and less professional for some time now and it only seems to get worse. I have never been a huge fan of flying, but in the past 5 years or so, my anxiety level increased dramatically. My trust in the thoroughness of airplane pre-flight inspections erroded as it appeared to me that more importance was being placed on churning out as many flights as possible, rather than taking time to ensure quality and safety. The findings of the FAA regarding your disregard of Federal Regulations has confirmed my suspicion and I am completely and utterly disgusted by your disregard for the safety of your customers and personel. This is probably the most potent example of corporate greed I have ever witnessed and I think it will severely impact your company's credibilty, even among your most loyal customers. I know that personally I have a trip scheduled with Southwest coming up next week and I will be cancelling it immediately and flying United instead. I will not be flying with your airline again unless I am convinced by your actions that you are committed to sweeping change amongst your organizations safety policies. I cannot trust a company that has, apparently, so little regard for human life.
- Stephanie
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