Wednesday, March 09, 2016

Allegiant Airlines maintenance issues

Many of you rushed to your computer to book flights after Allegiant Airlines announced cheaper flights to Destin, FL Wednesday. We have a warning for those of you flying with the low cost carrier.

Just last month, a plane headed to Kansas had to turn around and go back to Florida after losing engine power. Lauren Davis talked to an aviation expert who says Allegiant is certified to fly, but he wouldn't trust them.

Allegiant Air has been plagued with problems over the last few months at least 25 since 2015. Like an emergency landing in Arizona and one that even left passengers standing on the wings. Jim Lara says, "They've had some doozies. There's no question about it."

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a written warning to the airline after pilots ran out of fuel and diverted to a closed airport in North Dakota in July. The FAA issued another warning letter a month earlier when improper maintenance led to the plane lifting off the ground prematurely. Despite the problems, FAA still certifies them so what will it take to change? Lara says, "Often what you'll find is new security measures are put in place after the loss of life as opposed to before loss of life."

Lara is an experienced pilot with more than 12 thousand flight hours and an aviation consultant. He says Allegiant buys older aircraft so you're going to have more issues with older planes. He says they have a plan to buy new planes in 2020, but that's still 4 years away. 

Lara says, "Whatever your gut tells you listen to it. Sometimes people go for lowest price. I believe you get what you pay for."

Allegiant said they operate an "out-and-back" model, where aircraft and crews return to their base of operations each day and our aircraft are inspected and maintained by Allegiant maintenance crews every night, and any issues that may arise are quickly assessed and corrected before an aircraft starts a new day of flying.

Allegiant also said Allegiant is a safe airline. There is nothing more valuable to all of us at allegiant than the safety of our passengers and crew, and our robust maintenance program goes above and beyond manufacturer and FAA recommendations and guidelines.

Original article can be found here: http://www.local8now.com

No comments:

Post a Comment