Arrests for smuggling just the latest event to put company in the news. The arrests Wednesday of dozens of American Airlines employees are just the latest in a series of events that have buffeted the Fort Worth-based carrier. In the past several months, the airline has suffered a fatal crash in Arkansas that raised safety questions, been sued for predatory pricing and been hit with labor unrest that inconvenienced thousands of passengers.
American officials admit to feeling besieged, but defend their performance.
This is an industry and an airline that lends itself to always being in the public eye, and many times, not in a favorable light. Dozens of American Airlines employees and contract workers were arrested in Miami as part of a federal investigation into a drug ring that authorities said used the airline's planes to smuggle drugs into the United States. American is to blame in any way for its employees actions, but industry analysts faulted the airline on a number of other fronts, especially its troubled record in labor relations. Whether that contributed to a culture where they're more prone to accidents is an open question. Fatigue is suspected of being a factor in the June 1 crash of an American jetliner in Little Rock that killed 11 people.