If I was a frequent flier on Southwest, I'd probably want to hear a lot more about this. Cost cutting is generally fine but when the FAA is investigating like this, it doesn't sound good. Too many things can go wrong with airplanes and anything that might be related to safety - near term or long term - is not what anyone wants to hear.
U.S. Federal air-safety regulators are investigating how unauthorized parts were installed on at least 42 Southwest Airlines jets, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the details.
The regulators are examining why the carrier's maintenance-control procedures failed to flag the problem, the people told the paper.
An FAA inspector discovered last Friday that certain hinge fittings weren't approved for use on Southwest's fleet of Boeing 737 jets, the paper quoted people familiar with the matter as saying.
