Southwest Airlines: the 'no skin, no standards' carrier

Not only are you unlikely to be seated next to any Hooters girls on Southwest Airlines, the plane might be a death trap, too.

The discount carrier’s recent squabbles with leggy women, including a Hooters girl and a recent case involving two, Paris Hilton wannabe primadonna teens, are nothing compared to the most recent claim announced today.

From CNN.com:

Documents submitted by FAA inspectors to congressional investigators allege the airline flew at least 117 of its planes in violation of mandatory safety checks. In some cases, the documents say, the planes flew for 30 months after government inspection deadlines had passed and should have been grounded until the inspections could be completed.

The report details many violations, all apparently very serious, and Southwest stands to get nailed by the FAA as a result.

I always liked flying Southwest. I like how they seat their planes not unlike how cattle feeds. I also like all the jokes the flight attendants make in flight. But now the jokes don’t seem so funny since apparently their staff would rather work on punch lines than pick up a wrench.

I can deal with an airline that doesn’t allow short skirts. After all, we have video IPods now where we can upload our own eye candy. But this new development is scary, because you have to wonder with shrinking margins in the airline industry how many other airlines are trying to cut corners to keep shareholders.

Hopefully this isn’t a trend among other discount carriers, like AirTran and Spirit. Southwest was always viewed as a “best in breed” among the bargain bin, so considering even they are cutting corners makes me nervous about other, seemingly sketchier airlines like my most loathsome: RyanAir.