Re: I would expect a longer process for re-certification
The big problem is this: regardless of what all these companies say, safety is, at best, the last of the airlines' concerns, far behind fuel efficiency, cutting costs, being able to cram more mugs aboard each aircraft, being able to monetise more services and features previously provided free of charge and taken for granted. At worst, it is merely optional, as demonstrated by the revelations that several safety features are offered as optional extras.
And yet safety should be the main concern. By all means sell cheaper versions of aircraft with less fuel-efficient engines, or less efficient stacking of the seats in them. But let ALL the aircraft have every proven safety feature as standard. And let people, who have come to regard air travel as a kind of glorified bus service, see to their safety and clamour for it, or stop using this means of transportation. It may be touted as the safest way of travelling, but when something goes wrong, or someone decides to cut the slightest corner, which they seem to be doing rather liberally, these days, your life as a passenger is forfeit.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
