How FAA's downgrade of Mexico's safety rating affects you

Late last month, the FAA downgraded one of their key safety ratings for Mexico. This downgrade puts limits on flights to the US by Mexican air carriers, and also puts limits on what US airlines can do with Mexican airlines. However, if you currently have a reservation to fly to or from Mexico, you will probably not be affected.

FAA and the IASA program
The recent downgrade happened through the FAA's International Aviation Safety Assessments (IASA) program. This program looks at a country's ability to make sure that the airlines in that country meet international standards for airline safety. These are standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which is part of the United Nations.

The FAA puts countries into one of two categories. Category 1 is for countries that meet international standards, and Category 2 is for countries that don't meet the standard. Mexico was downgraded from Category 1 to Category 2.

The IASA program is very limited. The program doesn't look at the airlines of a country, it looks at the part of a country's government that oversees civil aviation. It also only looks at that country's ability to oversee international aviation.

How this change affects your travel plans
If you currently have a reservation with an airline from Mexico, this IASA situation will not affect you. Mexican airlines that currently fly to and from US can still do so, they just can't add any additional service. US airlines that currently fly to Mexico are also unaffected.

The FAA ruling doesn't affect international flights between Mexico and other countries, but often other countries follow the FAA's lead, so check with your airline just to be sure.

If you are flying on a domestic flight on a Mexican airline, the FAA ruling doesn't affect your flight at all.

Another effect of the FAA's ruling is that US airlines can't have code share flights with airlines from Mexico. A code share flight is one where you buy a ticket with one airline, but one or more segments of your flight are with another airline. For example, before the ruling, if bought a ticket through Delta, and your flight included a segment on a Mexican airline, your reservation would have shown a Delta flight number for that segment. The new ruling forces Delta to rebook the ticket so it would show the flight number for that Mexican airline. In other words, the paperwork changes but your flight doesn't.

The current Mexicana Airlines situation
Mexicana airlines is currently undergoing labor and financial difficulties that have caused the airline to suspend some of its flights, including flights to and from the US and other international destinations. This situation is separate from the IASA situation, and there are currently no serious safety issues associated with Mexicana.

Mexican airlines with international flights
This is a partial list of Mexican airlines with international flights to US:
Aeromexico
Aviasca
Interjet
Mexicana
Vivaaerobus
Volaris

Cathay Pacific A330 Has Close Call and A300 Cargo Jet Crashes

Yesterday saw both a serious incident and a fatal crash involving two wide-bodied jets. While everyone escaped with their lives in the first event in Hong Kong, all on board plus at least one on the ground lost their lives in Mexico.

Cathay Pacific A330 almost loses both engines
In the first event, Cathay Pacific flight CX780, an A330, was approaching Hong Kong, China after a flight from Surabaya, Indonesia when the crew noted problems with the left engine. After shutting down the left engine, the right engine experienced several uncontrolled increases and decreases in thrust (Correction: FlightGlobal reports that the right engine was at idle thrust throughout the approach, and the left engine was stuck at 70% thrust, leading to a high speed landing at an incorrect flap setting).

The crew declared an emergency and landed about 25 minutes later. All four tires on the left landing gear and two of the four on the right main landing gear deflated after the landing, and the 309 passengers and 14 crew members evacuated. Eight passengers were injured, with one sent to a local hospital for at least an overnight stay. It is unclear if the injuries occurred before, during, or after the evacuation.

Flightglobal.com reports that as a result of this event, Cathay Pacific temporarily suspended refueling at Surabaya.

Typically, US airlines offer little if any compensation to passengers after an incident like this. Unlike most US airlines, Cathay Pacific offered full refunds to all the passengers on this flight.

Recent A330 historyThis is the fourth accident or serious incident involving the A330 in the last two years, including the only fatal A330 crash while in passenger service:

• 7 October 2008; Qantas A330-300; Flight 72; near Learmonth, Australia: The aircraft was in cruise on a scheduled international flight from Singapore to Perth when the aircraft experienced several sudden and unexpected altitude changes. About 36 passengers and crew members were injured, with over a dozen severe injuries.
  
  
• 1 June 2009; Air France A330-200; Flight 447; Atlantic Ocean: The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Paris, France when it crashed in the Atlantic Ocean off the northeast coast of Brazil. All 216 passengers and 12 crew members were killed.
  
  
• 25 December 2009; Northwest Airlines A330-300; Flight 253; near Detroit, MI: A passenger on a Northwest Airlines A330-300(N820NW) attempted to detonate an explosive device while the aircraft was approaching Detroit after a flight from Amsterdam. None of the other 277 passengers or 11 crew members were killed.

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Cargo jet crashes in Mexico and kills at least six

Also on Tuesday, an A300 jet, operated by AeroUnion of Mexico, crashed during its approach to the Monterrey, Mexico airport. The A300 had departed earlier that evening from Mexico City and crashed just outside the airport in an area adjacent to a number of hotels. All five crew members, plus at least one person in a car hit by the aircraft, were killed.