I generally don’t write two diaries in one day, but I am generally not this angry.
We are almost getting used to “paying for baggage” which is an idea that pisses me off more than the lack of legroom. What’s next “chipping in for gas”? I guess we shouldn’t be giving them any ideas.
But this doesn’t “just” concern airlines, it concerns the company that makes the planes that airlines fly, too, or at least parts of airplanes they use.
I’ll explain.
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Turns out, the Ethiopian Air plane that killed over 180 people actually didn’t need to dive straight into the ground. Charlie Pierce over at Esquire quotes a NY Times story that explains there were safety features that would have at least helped the pilots control the plane. But, apparently, these safety measures that save lives (for godsake) are “add-ons” costing extra, like tinted windows for your car.
As the pilots of the doomed Boeing jets in Ethiopia and Indonesia fought to control their planes, they lacked two notable safety features in their cockpits. One reason: Boeing charged extra for them. For Boeing and other aircraft manufacturers, the practice of charging to upgrade a standard plane can be lucrative. Top airlines around the world must pay handsomely to have the jets they order fitted with customized add-ons...other features involve communication, navigation or safety systems, and are more fundamental to the plane’s operations. Many airlines, especially low-cost carriers like Indonesia’s Lion Air, have opted not to buy them — and regulators don’t require them.
Two planes plummeting into the ground. For lack of safety features in the cockpit?
We already know that Boeing went “extra cheap” in the 737 Max in that it is an entirely new airplane, far bigger than the regular 737, more powerful engines, among many other aspects. But, safety testing and re-training for pilots on a “new airplane” (such as the 787) costs “extra” and so they call it a “737” when there is more “different” about the planes than similar.
They do both have wings. Perhaps that’s the only measure.
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There’s more:
You knew you’d hear “more” about the money, because it’s always about the money in today’s corporate America:
Add-on features can be big moneymakers for plane manufacturers. In 2013, around the time Boeing was starting to market its 737 Max 8, an airline would expect to spend about $800,000 to $2 million on various options for such a narrow-body aircraft, according to a report by Jackson Square Aviation, a consultancy in San Francisco. That would be about 5 percent of the plane’s final price.
Five percent can add up to a lot of corporate officer bonuses, something that Boeing executives take regularly as their tee times, all while pushing union wages down, down, and then down some more. Oh, and that’s for the people lucky enough to be in the unions, which if you’re in South Carolina, you’re not, and if you’re young enough even in Everett, you might not be.
But, 5% for 300 lives? I’m sure the CEOs are feeling terrible now.
No, they’re not.
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But one wonders, given the investigation now going on into Boeing’s “self-regulation” and the “possibility” of criminal charges …. did you hear that? Yes, they’re being investigated for criminal charges.
No, not real criminal charges, no white guy in a suit is going to jail. These types of criminal charges are the type paid for out of the petty cash drawer in Chicago. The type of “fines” that are “priced in” as the “cost of doing business.” No person is going to pay anything, never mind going to jail.
Yet one wonders ….
What if instead of “Lion Air” crashing on the other side of the globe, it was “Delta Airlines” and it crashed into the ground outside of Boise? What if instead of Ethiopian Airways, it was “United Airlines” and it crashed into the ground outside Denver? Would there be a greater call for accountability?
Yes, of course, everyone knows that Americans matter more, at least here in America, at least to some, especially those making a whole lot of money.
Would it result in Boeing executives going to jail?
Please, we all know better: “no.” But there would be more anger among the public. And I really don’t think we ought to assume that “American” airline companies will “definitely” pay for the extras. Recall above? The FAA doesn’t require them. United and Delta have shareholders, too. One wonders.
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The result is the same, though. Corporate America values shareholder value, and only shareholder value. If CEOs got tax breaks or bonuses based on paying the lowest paid employees the highest dollars per hour, things would look entirely different. And that is precisely why that’s not the scheme, it is shareholder value over everything. Even when it kills.
If CEOs went to jail for deliberate reckless behavior in pursuit of profit, things would look really different. But, since Citizens United, there’s not much chance of that. Now thats something for which corporations will spend extra dollars, political control.
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Things will only change when citizens retake this country. Corporations won’t change on their own. But don’t give up hope entirely.
It IS another reason to win in 2020. It is NOT going to happen overnight. But, please never think it can’t happen. Corporations didn’t always behave this way. Back in the days of “company towns” the “company” occasionally measured themselves by how nice their town was, especially compared to that other company’s shitty little town. Quaint, I know. But, we can try.
Meanwhile, before another plane goes into the ground, before more toxic sledge is spilled into a river, or refinery blows up in a “business friendly” state, let’s all commit to protecting ourselves, and I don’t mean with seatbelts. I mean by voting out the people that think “industry self-regulation” in a capitalist society is a good idea.
It isn’t. Shareholder value, aka greed, kills.
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Peace, y’all. Love one another.
My novel, because why the hell not?