FAA orders emergency Boeing 737 inspections

The Federal Aviation Administration plans to issue an emergency directive on Tuesday that "will require operators of specific early Boeing 737 models to conduct initial and repetitive electromagnetic inspections for fatigue damage."

FAA noted the directive would "initially" impact about 175 aircraft, 80 of them operating in the United States.

"Most of the aircraft in the U.S. are operated by Southwest Airlines and a few by Alaska," according to an FAA statement.

Southwest canceled hundreds of flights on Saturday, Sunday and Monday to inspect Boeing 737 aircraft after an incident on Friday in which a hole ripped open in a plane's fuselage, forcing an emergency landing.

After the Federal Aviation Administration issued an emergency directive that mandates operators of specific Boeing 737 aircraft to conduct repetitive electromagnetic inspections for fatigue damage, Southwest has grounded two more planes because of cracks, bringing the total to five.

Southwest policy update

BREAKING NEWS

This past week we were advised that Southwest will no longer allow unused ticket credits to be used by other passengers. In the past Southwest was the only airline that would allow an unused ticket for John Doe to be credited and used by John Smith. This new policy goes into effect on January 28, 2011. The good news however, is that Southwest still is one of the only major airlines that does not charge a $150change fee to change a ticket. Add the fact that Southwest does not charge for luggage and you can see why many people love Southwest.

However, dont be fooled by their slick "low fare" campaign's. For the last minute corporate traveler, POTHOS has proven time & again that this is not necessarily true. Since SWA doesnt participate in any GDS or comparative service, it is almost impossible to see this at first glance.

Another reason a good corporate travel agent is so important.