Summary
Written by Mary Schlangenstein and Dan Hart, the article, Southwest Airlines grounds 79 planes after hole in 737-jet forces emergency landing, analyses a story of the emergency landing of one of the Southwest airlines 737 jets. The 737 jets was forced to take an emergency landing after developing a hole while in flight forcing the company to cancel about 300 flights. Flight 812 was carrying 118 passengers and 5 crews when this problem happened on its route from Phoenix to Sacramento on Friday. The problem occurred when an oxygen mask was forced to deploy after the loss of cabin pressure. The article also looks at a similar case that happened last year in July with a Boeing 737-300 where one passenger and flight attendants were injured. Southwest airline has also started a serious inspection to establish the cause of that incident though from the past cases metal fatigue can be blamed for the problem (Schlangenstein & Hart, 2011).
Analysis
The article presents the actions taken by Southwest Airlines after the emergency landing of Boeing 812. The article gives all the actions that the company has been taken to establish the cause of the problem. It also analyses similar cases that happened in the past such as last July case. Many problems in the airline can only be solved by looking at the past records; for instance, the main problem in the Boeing jet is the engine problem, which is solved with past incidences (Langston, 2011, p.46). However, the author of the article does not present the reaction of the customers who are most affected by this problem. For example, many flights were canceled which affected customers of Southwest airline in many ways. This can add to the problem that is already in the company of delaying customers as Tang and Zimmerman (2009, p.74) claim.
Conclusion
The article analyses the steps taken by Southwest airlines to fix the problem. Presentation of the past incidence helps to address the current problem. Despite all these efforts, the article does not present the views of the customers, which are also very important in solving the problem.
References
Langston, L.S. (2011). Mounting Troubles. Mechanical Engineering, 133 (3), 46-49.
Schlangenstein, M., & Hart, D. (2011). Southwest Airlines grounds 79 planes after hole in 737 jet forces emergency landing. Bloomberg News.
Tang, C. S., & Zimmerman, J. D., (2009). Managing New Product Development and Supply Chain Risks: The Boeing 787 Case. Supply Chain Forum: International Journal, 10 (2), p74-86.