Hopefully they didn't switch over from Skybus...

We're not sure what the FAA was up to until last month - in March they suddenly started grounding planes by the hundreds, and yesterday's 500 flights added to the toll.

American Flights GroundedThousands of American Airlines passengers were left on the ground, while the MD-80 jets were inspected; this is after American (and other airlines) cancelled similar numbers of flights in late March. The last checks came after an audit showed that wiring was secured at intervals greater than an inch.

This time, the checks sound more serious: the grounded planes are being checked for compliance with "FAA airworthiness directives." Huh? If the planes aren't air worthy, shouldn't the FAA have been keeping them out of the air earlier?

And if the checks are as routine as the airlines want us to believe, isn't it possible to schedule in maintenance instead of cancelling flights and stranding passengers?

I'm all for maintenance, but schedules should really be adhered to. Remember, Skybus has been down less than a week - passengers from its canceled flights would be devastated to learn their new planes won't fly either.