"You never know when they're going to not work right"

That was the quote from American Airline spokeswoman rationalizing why an MD-80 had to make an emergency landing yesterday in Dallas. In an age when passengers are frustrated, annoyed, concerned, angry, basically anything but satisfied and happy travelers, it's not the best PR to tell us that at any time a plane could just stop working. How about something like this: at American we hold the highest standards for the maintenance of our planes, and are committed to doing everything we can to keep the traveling public safe. A simple statement that lets us know that when we strap in, the company has done everything it can to look out for us. Flippant statements like the one made by American really makes me question whether I would fly their airline. Passenger satisfaction has a lot to do with confidence in the airline, and while I'm sure that American and most airlines do a great job on maintenance at the end of the day the failure to let us know the steps they take to keep us safe is a failure unto itself.