Meeting News - March 24, 2008 - (Page 56)

Cover Story Southwest continued from cover spurred by a record $10.2-million fine levied by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that accused the airline of continuing to fly 117 airplanes on nearly 60,000 flights between June 18, 2006 and March 14, 2007, after missing mandatory safety checks. The FAA also accused Southwest of continuing to fly the planes on an additional 1,451 flights even after noticing their lapse. The most serious allegations address 47 Boeing 737s that missed mandatory checks for fuselage cracks. Boeing released a statement on March 6 that in the manufacturer’s opinion, “the safety of the fleet was not compromised.” Southwest initially expressed surprise at the FAA’s penalty, and some sources are questioning the agency’s role in the controversy. In an appearance on CNN, Southwest CEO Gary Kelly stated that the FAA had been notified of the inspection schedule and had led the airline to believe it was in compliance with guidelines. Both Southwest and FAA officials are scheduled to testify before the House of Representatives in April as part of a hearing convened by Representative James Oberstar, chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Several FAA investigators have complained that the agency had a cozy relationship with Southwest, whose top management includes several former FAA officials. According to documents released by the committee, the whistleblowers say that safety concerns about the carrier—some raised as early as 2003—were not taken seriously by FAA managers, and that some inspectors were pressured to end investigations. Southwest has undergone a rapid expansion in the past few years, now managing over 3,300 flights per day to 32 states, with the largest number of departures serving Las Vegas, Chicago, Phoenix, and Baltimore/Washington. Though not a top carrier in the meetings industry, Southwest has made an effort to capture more group and business travel recently, and is a brand with huge consumer loyalty. Reactions to the news on Southwest’s famously open blog, “Nuts About Southwest,” were a mix of customers who expressed disappointment and those who vowed to standby the airline. Barry Gringorten, managing director for Conference Management Associates in Sarasota, FL, expressed one common reaction from meeting planners, that the findings would only make the airline safer in the future: “Southwest is not the first airline to be caught maintenance-wanting, and we’ve learned that once tagged, FAA’s resultant meticulous scrutiny quickly elevates them to the topmost ‘safe-airline’ tier. Consequently, we would feel very secure contracting them for our clientele.” That perspective may change if the airline faces a larger investigation that disrupts its schedule.“No planes have crashed, and most people think it’s a government issue,” said John Hunt, director of operations for Chicago–based Travel Technology Group. He has some clients who use Southwest to attend trade shows in Las Vegas. “But if they’re grounding planes, that affects people… Now we’re going to take a wait-and-see attitude. Now we’re going to run some internal reports.” Ultimately, however, Hunt thinks the airline will bounce back. “There will be no bad result from this,” he said. r www.meetingnews.com AD INDEX Advertiser Page Advertiser Page Alabama Bureau of Tourism . . . . . .17 www.meetinalabama.org Babson Executive Conference Center . . . . . . . . . . . .26 www.babsonecc.com Barcelo Hotels & Resorts . . . . . . . .21 www.barcelo.com Beau Rivage . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31-33 www.beaurivage.com Bellagio, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 www.bellagio.com Boston Convention Marketing Center15 www.AdvantageBOSTON.com Brisas Hotels & Resorts . . . . . . . . .19 www.brisas.com.mx Coast Casinos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 www.coastcasinos.com Colonial Williamsburg . . . . . . . . .54 www.colonialwilliamsburgmeetings.com CVB of Greater Cleveland . . . . . . .29 www.clevelandmeetings.com Daytona Beach Area CVB . . . . . . .50 www.meetings.daytonabeach.com Gold Strike Casino . . . . . . . . . . . .35 www.goldstrike.com High Country Conference Center at Flagstaff . . . . . . . . . . . .25 www.highcountryconferencecenter.com Kalahari Resorts . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 www.KalahariResorts.com Kingston Shores . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Meetingnews.hiltonmyrtlebeach.com Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority . . . . . .9 www.BlueLakeTahoeMeetings.com Las Vegas CVA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 www.lvcva.com Las Vegas Hilton . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 www.lvhilton.com Las Vegas Meetings by Harrah’s Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 www.lvmeetingsbyharrahs.com Las Vegas Sands Megacenter . . . . .47 www.SandsMEGACENTER.com Long Beach CVB . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 www.visitlongbeach.com Louisville CVB . . . . . . . . .10A (insert) www.gotolouisville.com Mexico Tourism . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 www.visitmexico.com Monona Terrace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 www.mononaterrace.com Myrtle Beach Convention Center . .27 www.myrtlebeachconventioncenter.com Palace Resorts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 www.palaceresorts.com/groups Palms Place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 www.palmsplace.com Paradisus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 www.paradisusresorts.travel Riviera Hotel and Casino, The . . . .49 www.rivierahotel.com Starwood Meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 www.StarwoodMeetings.com/artistry Wisconsin Dells . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 www.MeetInTheDells.com Yucatan CVB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 www.yucatan.travel.com The Index to Advertisers is published for the convenience of our readers. Every effort is made to list advertisers’ names, web addresses and page numbers correctly. The publisher is not liable for errors or omissions. 56 MeetingNews March 24, 2008 http://www.meetinalabama.org http://www.lvhilton.com http://www.babsonecc.com http://www.lvmeetingsbyharrahs.com http://www.barcelo.com http://www.SandsMEGACENTER.com http://www.beaurivage.com http://www.visitlongbeach.com http://www.bellagio.com http://www.gotolouisville.com http://www.AdvantageBOSTON.com http://www.visitmexico.com http://www.brisas.com.mx http://www.mononaterrace.com http://www.coastcasinos.com http://www.myrtlebeachconventioncenter.com http://www.colonialwilliamsburgmeetings.com http://www.palaceresorts.com/groups http://www.clevelandmeetings.com http://www.palmsplace.com http://www.meetings.daytonabeach.com http://www.goldstrike.com http://www.rivierahotel.com http://www.StarwoodMeetings.com/artistry http://www.highcountryconferencecenter.com http://www.MeetInTheDells.com http://www.KalahariResorts.com http://www.yucatan.travel.com http://Meetingnews.hiltonmyrtlebeach.com http://www.BlueLakeTahoeMeetings.com http://www.lvcva.com http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - March 24, 2008

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