Aviation Expert Says a Passenger Died in Flight Because Airline Cost Cutting Creates Frazzled Flight Attendants

The quality of care is so diminished on airlines that somebody with asthma is even at risk of dying as evidenced by a recent U.S. Supreme Court case.

(PRWEB) December 27, 2004 -- Expert witness Diana Fairechild, who testified in a landmark aviation case (U.S. Supreme Court, 02–1348) where an asthmatic passenger died in flight, believes the passenger lost his life because the flight attendants acted incompetently.

"The flight attendants were frazzled from overwork and the court found the airline responsible for the flight attendants' conduct," said Fairechild.

Prior to takeoff, the widow of the passenger had repeatedly asked the flight attendants to change her asthmatic husband's seat. It was a smoking flight. (U.S. passengers beware: smoking is still permitted on some foreign airlines.)

The couple was three rows in front of the smoking section, which was not separated by a partition, and the flight attendants ignored her pleas.

After the meal, engulfed in second-hand smoke, the husband collapsed. Flight attendants then couldn't get the medical oxygen working, and the captain did not improve the air quality by lowering the cabin altitude or illuminating the no-smoking sign. Tragically, the passenger died in flight.

"Today, in tandem with the flight attendants' diminishing standard of living (lower wages, reduced health care, possibly no pensions) against which they are currently picketing, there is an eroding standard of care that now puts passengers at risk," warns Fairechild.

This diminishing standard of care has resulted in a flurry of lawsuits on which Fairechild has been asked for her opinions.

"Passengers are now routinely neglected," Fairechild believes, "because airline cost-cutting policies, such as short staffing and long duty days for crew, creates frazzled flight attendants."

"Today's flight attendants," she adds, "can work 16-hour shifts, unheard of in other industries, in airplane cabins that are low in oxygen. Add to this a daily dose of jet lag and chronic sleep deprivation."

A number of flight attendants have confided to Fairechild that they suffer from what they're calling "jetzheimer," chronic forgetfulness and confusion.

Fairechild advises passengers, "When you fly, the bottom line is this: Passengers are much more on their own than they used to be and, therefore, they need to stay better informed so they can take care of themselves."

Fairechild, who flew 10 million miles as an international flight attendant, has created a web site, Flyana.com, to inform passengers on how to protect themselves in this new flying environment. Her newest book, 'Strategies for the Wise Passenger,' offers information on how to handle just about every medical emergency in the sky.

Fairechild is president of the nonprofit passenger advocacy group, the Fair Air Association. She believes it is in the passengers' best interest that flight attendants are treated equitably by the airlines with decent wages, health benefits and retirement.

Fairechild advises airline management to "walk a mile in a flight attendant's shoes, remembering to choose shoes a half size larger than normal because feet swell at high altitudes."

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