Bush will get update on airline safety and delays

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush will meet with Cabinet officials next week to discuss economic matters and other issues, including safety in the U.S. airline industry, a spokesman said on Friday.

"First and foremost we want airline passengers to be safe," said Scott Stanzel at a briefing in Crawford, Texas. "We have a safe airline transportation system."

Stanzel said, however, that Bush wants an update on aviation congestion and delays as well as questions raised by Congress over Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety oversight of the airline industry.

The FAA this week forced American Airlines, a unit of AMR Corp, to ground hundreds of planes over a wiring issue. The airline has canceled more than 3,000 flights.

Stanzel also said Bush has faith in Robert Sturgell, the FAA's acting administrator, to lead the agency.

(Reporting by Julie Vorman; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)