Following the Qantas A380 incident, Singapore Airlines inspects engines on its A380s. Photo credit: Brian Conway

Volaris management, from left: Marketing Director Jose Calderoni, CCO Holger Blankenstein and CEO Enrique Beltranena, explain their company's culture, and how they are similar to Southwest Airlines.

Just when you thought the air transport industry couldn’t possibly generate another controversy, along one comes to join the disputes over passenger rights and tarmac delays, “green” taxes and the ETS, bag fees, state aid to OEMs and, of course, whether Emirates is subsidized by the Dubai government.

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ATW Editorial Director Perry Flint comments on Southwest’s agreement to acquire AirTran Airways. To read more about this, please click here.

The dramatic exit of a JetBlue Airways flight attendant from his aircraft via an emergency slide after unleashing a foul-mouthed tirade over the intercom, allegedly after an encounter with a badly behaving passenger (see Odds & Ends, p. 88), says much more about the breakdown of civility and self-control in 21st century America than it does about flight attendants or airline passengers.

By now it should be clear to all involved that when it comes to transportation, lawmakers and regulatory authorities in the US and EU maintain a glaring double standard—to the disadvantage of airlines.