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This research study discusses and examines whether air carriers jeopardize aircraft safety in their pursuit of profits. This study focuses on the rising costs that may affect an airline's bottom line and if the airline jeopardizes safety for these reasons. This study also focuses on airline employees, from top level management to mechanics and pilots, to determine whether or not an airline's quest for profits could impact safety in the airline industry. Airlines compete against each other for the most profit gains and take great measures to ensure their spot in the airline business. This can lead to terrible and potentially life-threatening consequences that could very well break a company if set in motion. This is due to frequent flights that are performed daily and often on aging aircraft that have been in service for many years. This can lead to required maintenance that the company cannot afford because the airplane will not be flying. Fast turnarounds and quick maintenance often showcase the difference between profits and safety. Throughout reading this study, one should ask how pressure can have negative effects on performance and reliability; and, until recently, how little-to-no action was being taken to fix the matter and improve safety. It is also important to note how a company's culture directly steers the safety of an airline and how having a robust safety culture correlates to fewer aircraft accidents.
Keywords: Airline, Safety, Profit, Deregulation.
Introduction
Is the pursuit of profit in the airline industry more important than passenger safety? Golbe (1986) states "Popular wisdom endorses the notion that there is a positive relationship between profitability and safety in the transportation industries, and therefore that economic deregulation would have deleterious effects on airline safety." The impact of economic deregulation in the airline industry can lead to profit reducing practices or changes, which may, in turn, lead to the decrease of aircraft safety. In 1978, the management strategies and practices of air carriers were fundamentally changed by deregulation, which increased competition among airlines. In turn, this added more stress to air carrier profits, which may have led to cuts in safety measures. An article by Noronha and Singal (2004) states "The basic idea that a firm's capital structure may affect its product-market operations can extend...