On April 8, 2008, American Airlines decided to cancel as many as 500 flights, which affected about 54,000 travelers. By doing this, the airline lost tens of millions of dollars (American). This airline decided to make maintenance checks along with increasing its fees and overcrowding some of its flights after he raise in fuel (Chang). This is the second inspection after the Federal Aviation Administration did not approve the airplanes the first time because the emergency inspections were not done properly. Since the problem was within the Airline’s control, American had to pay for hotel rooms, meals and transportation for thousands of passengers (Bailey). Many customers, such as Raul Garza, called the “red flag for American” and said that they might not use that carrier in the future (Chang). This man complained that flying is too inconvenient and more stressful than it should be (Chang). There were passengers that trusted American Airlines in being better safe than sorry, but it made people such as Roxanne Devries nervous. She said,

“Why were they flying if they’re redoing the same inspections?” (Chang).

The reason that airlines such as American are conducting inspections is because a $10.3 million fine against Southwest Airlines was given for missed safety inspections (Chang).

Traveling by air has grown much more popular in recent years, but the oil prices have gone up, there is more safety concerns against aging aircrafts, and the planes are more crowded. The price of oil has more than doubled since dropping to 52$ a barrel in January 2007 (Bailey). American is in a dilemma, as buying a new fleet of planes would be damaging to their bank statement, but it would attract more customers that want a safer flight. Airlines have top make a tough call whether to buy a new set of planes when the economy is at a low and their business may not improve.

An aviation analysis noted that, “They cant fund a new airplane, but the aging fleet is costing them more to operate, not just in maintenance but from risk of cancellations because of missed inspections,” (Chang).

Reading this article made me nervous about flying, since the passenger of the plane is in no control of whether their plane has been recently inspected. It is scary to think that a plane I could have been on did not have its wire bundles checked properly, and the wires could have jammed to cause an accident.  I would be extremely frustrated if I was on a second leg of a flight and I found out that my flight was cancelled. It so happened that there was a fisherman who was stopped half way in his journey, so he couldn’t get his fish home to freeze in time. Since this incident did not only happen to American Airlines, flyers must be patient with their future travels, and people must learn that airplanes are getting more difficult to run. This occurrence is no coincidence, since there has recently been a new round of airline bankruptcy filings, including ATA Airlines, Skybus, and Aloha Air (Bailey). It is shocking that some people’s luggage went direct, but the passenger was left in the airport overnight with only the clothes on their back. The world population is becoming more and more international, but the airlines are not making a profit. As the ticket prices go up, less people will start flying, and less gas will be guzzled.  

Chang, Andrea. “American Airlines cancels as many as 500 flights”. Los Angeles Times. 9 April 2008. 24 April 2008.

travel.latimes.com/articles/la-trw-american-airlines-cancels-up-to-500-flights-9apr09

“American Airlines ‘normal again.’” BBC News. April 13 2008. April 24, 2008. news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7345323.stm.

Bailey, Jeff. “American Cancels 1000 Flights in New Sign of Trouble.” The New York Times. 9 April 2008. 24 April 2008.nytimes.com/2008/04/09/business/09cnd-air.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=us

Most people have noticed that Hillary Clinton has a harsh tone when she speaks, where as Barack Obama seems more approachable and eloquent. Hilary told her crowd in a speech that although Obama sounded persuasive in his speech, she is the one that is, “a proven force for change,” (Clinton). Clinton made a connection to Martin Luther King Jr. in her speech that was directed to Obama,

“I would point to the fact that that Dr. King’s dream began to be realized when President Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when he was able to get through Congress something that President Kennedy was hopeful to do, the president before had not even tried, but it took a president to get it done,” she said. “That dream became a reality, the power of that dream became real in people’s lives because we had a president who said we are going to do it and actually got it accomplished.” (Clinton).

This comment is offensive to Dr. King, as Clinton made him seem insignificant without the control of a president to commence the Civil Rights Movement. There have been many comments from Obama supporters that have accused her of being insensitive to the struggle of African Americans. As we have studied in civics, Martin Luther King put his life on the line for his people, and began the Civil Rights movement with little to no support from the white upper class, including the white police and government officials of his country.
It is true though, that if Hilary was truly not supporting King, she wouldn’t have been working on behalf of civil rights, women’s rights, human rights for years, “I know how challenging it is to change our political system, and I have the highest regard for those who have put themselves on the line,” (Clinton).
Obama commented that he never commented on what Hilary said about King, although many people think that she does not know how to control her words during her speeches.
The founder of Black Entertainment Television and a defense of Clinton, Robert Johnson, raised the subject of Mr. Obama’s drug use as a young man,
“To me, as an African-American, I am frankly insulted that the Obama campaign would imply that we are so stupid that we would think Hillary and Bill Clinton, who have been deeply and emotionally involved in black issues since Barack Obama was doing something in the neighborhood — and I won’t say what he was doing, but he said it in the book — when they have been involved,” Mr. Johnson said (Clinton).
It was extremely offensive of Johnson to attack Obama on events that have nothing to do with the election. Clinton took this comment and said that it was referring to Obama’s sime spend as a community organizer. Obama has made no offensive references to Clinton, as Clinton continues to speak before she thinks. It is hard to tell what is an honest response in this election, as each party tries to cover up for racial, and personal attacks. Obama has gained so much support from his ability to speak, while Hillary is aggressive and verbally attacks her opponent without thinking in the shoes of all Americans.
“A lot of people talk about his ability to give a great speech. And there’s no question that he is truly gifted by God with an ability to speak to people in a way that touches them,” Senator McCaskill of Missouri said.
“To me, that is the whip cream in the cherry. To me, this is a man who has incredible intellectual heft, he’s a very smart guy with a wide soul who is not afraid to figure out a new and different way to tackle problems.”

“Clinton and Obama Spar over Remark About Dr. King.” The New York Times. January 13, 2008. April 10, 2008www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/us/politics/13cnd-campaign.html?_r=2&pagewanted=2&hp&oref=slogin

“Clintons Move to Tamp Down Criticism From Blacks About Recent Comments.” 13 January 2008. 10 April 2008.www.nytimes.com/2008/01/12/us/politics/12clinton.html?fta=y

“Obama Giving Clinton a Race in her Backyard.” 12 January 2008. 10 April 2008.www.nytimes.com/2008/01/12/us/politics/12york.html?fta=y