Recriminations erupt in ash-fueled aviation crisis

Airlines toted up losses topping $2 billion

No, I don't think so. That could represent money that had to be returned or it might represent money that they ended up not receiving as customers were forced to cancel, but no, I don't think it represents a loss. For a loss you need an accounting period, such as a year, a quarter or a month. As such, a loss is impossible to calculate on the fly. A loss would be revenue minus costs, where the costs are higher than the revenue. I doubt airlines have stacked up 2 billion in costs since the planes were grounded.

Anyway, time to buy passenger ship stock.

There wasn't a "three-day worldwide shutdown" of flights after September 11- I flew from Amsterdam to London on the morning of the 13th, and my flight was just delayed a couple of hours.

No matter what they had done, they would have been second-guessed.

Once they learned the last eruption lasted over a year, the math for the airlines was pretty simple. Start flying again and take their chances, or go bankrupt. No surprise which choice they made.

"A French weather service plane also took samples of the air Tuesday and found no volcanic ash problems.

"Those results appeared to contradict the potentially dire conclusions by the Swiss scientists."

And people wonder why so many of us question the science and computer models employed in examining "global warming."

Don't see why everybody is complaining. As the BA incident over Indonesia many years ago demonstrated, having a plane end up in a volcanic ash cloud can be very serious.

"people wonder why so many of us question the science and computer models"

I never wondered why. I always wondered how.

Are you trying to say that Lufthansa and others blindly ignored science in their search for the truth? On the contrary, I would say that they embraced science to find the truth.

Are you trying to say that Lufthansa and others blindly ignored science in their search for the truth?

No, he is saying that the concept of a contradiction is too confusing for him.

EU scientists can't predict outcomes even when the material being analyzed is literally in their faces. I can easily understand Rasmussen's latest [Monday, April 19, 2010] findings on Americans' attitudes on the matter of "global warming": "59 percent [of voters] said it’s at least somewhat likely that some scientists have falsified research data to support their own theories and beliefs about global warming."

It amazes me that people seem to think the danger is over. A small crevice in one of the engine blades from impact with the ash could still fail reasonably quickly due to fatigue.

I hope that they greatly increase the engine inspections of the planes flying through the affected zones.

The doubters above should offer themselves as test dummies - pun intended.

"The doubters above should offer themselves as test dummies - pun intended."

How grandiose and pathetic is your view of yourself and our fellow human beings when it can reach a point where you believe you, as a mere speck upon this planet, personally affect solar cycles and subterranean seismic activity?

Seriously, it is time for those who "believe" man is responsible for global warming to stop flying altogether. Do the rest of us a favor, stay home. Stay off the road, unplug your computer. Live what you claim you believe in.

It amazes me that people seem to think the danger is over. A small crevice in one of the engine blades from impact with the ash could still fail reasonably quickly due to fatigue.

majimeaussie, not to worry. All Europe-bound airlines are under stringent order to inspect their engines for potential ash damage.

Perhaps what caught the irk of aviation bosses was the length of the shutdown. With some even questioning the reasons behind it.

But as they say, damned if you do, damned if you don't.