Originally Posted by
CactusCrew
Exactly ... management's lack of planning and ineptitude does not constitute an "emergency" for the crew force.
The parking of the DC-8s was certainly ill-timed, but it would have happened in a booming economy. The FAA was in the process of grounding most of the fleet ...
Indeed...
According to mechanics, the logbooks/maintenance history/parts history was so bad the FAA was contemplating a full-on jihad. That, plus the DC-8 had serious RVSM issues, due in part to the rippled, yet built like a tank skin and that the NAV systems would not be able to comply with RNP/RNAV SID/STAR requirements.
That whole paid holiday will go down as one of the best deals ever in aviation.