Financially punishing late airlines???

[srebbe64]

If a flight is cancelled, or delayed beyond a certain length of time, the airline is financially punished. Am I the only one that gets uneasy about this? I was talking to a pilot a while ago who had a minor technical issue on his aircraft (slightly suspect sensor somewhere). His gut instinct was to get it sorted, which would have cost the airline a penalty, which he duly did in fact. However, he was worried about getting it in the neck from his superiors. Is there not an obvious conflict of interest between staying on time and passenger safety? I wonder if there will have to be an accident before there is a change in legislation??