American Flight Attendants Begin Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP)

(MoneyWatch)  Aviation Safety Action Programs (ASAPs) are excellent programs. The idea behind them is to create a friendly, penalty-free place where front line employees can report safety-related information without retribution. This of course results in free-flowing information that can only improve safety in the future. So why is it that pilot groups have been pulling out lately?

That's the million dollar question. Some union groups say that management is trying to tighten the screws on the program, and they don't like the way things are going. You can read posts I've written about both the American pilots and US Airways pilots ending their programs.

But is that really the case or is it more about politics than anything else? I was very interested to see a press release come out on Friday saying that American's flight attendants have opted to begin an ASAP after agreeing on terms with management. Fantastic. I'm very happy to see it. But let's be honest. There's no love lost between the flight attendants and management at this company. They're doing it because they see a real potential safety benefit.

So why aren't the pilots doing the same? That's the $64,000 question. This move certainly doesn't help the pilots gain public support. Hopefully it pressures them to actually reengage with management on an ASAP.