5 Myths About Airline Turbulence
Memo to air travelers: Chill out.
Yeah, there's been some unsettling news lately. American, Southwest, Delta, and United have canceled thousands of flights over the past few weeks to conduct emergency inspections, following a Federal Aviation Administration crackdown on safety procedures. Four small carriers recently stopped flying, leaving customers holding worthless tickets. Delays are nearly at record levels, flights are more crowded than ever, and airlines are adding every surcharge they can get away with to help offset soaring fuel costs.
So granted, air travel is stressful and likely to get even tougher, especially for occasional fliers without access to VIP-level perks. But the sky isn't falling. What we're seeing are the strains of a fragile industry that's highly susceptible to competitive pressure and outside shocks, like oil prices well above $100 per barrel. And much of this we've seen before. Some of the myths that tend to emerge from turmoil among the airlines:
The U.S. aircraft fleet is unsafe. The FAA's safety concerns are certainly serious, which is why American and other carriers have thrown their schedules into chaos to ground planes, conduct inspections, and fix problems. Southwest has already paid a $10.2 million fine for lapses, and there could be other fines, along with tougher inspections or other new rules. But this is all part of a highly regulated industry that has suffered just one fatal crash over the past five years. Even with safety shortfalls, air travel is extremely safe, with an infinitesimal fatality rate compared with car travel.
Booking a flight these days is risky. Travelers who held tickets on four airlines that recently went belly up—ATA, Aloha, Skyway, and Skybus—are essentially creditors of bankrupt companies. Other airlines aren't required to honor their tickets, and most of those unfortunate ticket-holders are simply out their money. But the four carriers barely represented 1 percent of the U.S. market, and virtually all of the top 20 U.S. carriers are in much better shape. "Right now, we don't have sick airlines," says aviation consultant Mike Boyd. Overall, the airline industry is likely to lose money in 2008, largely because of high fuel costs. But major bankruptcies are highly unlikely, and tickets booked on any reputable carrier ought to be safe.
Fares are skyrocketing. Without a doubt, carriers are passing rising costs on to their customers. But even with $10 or $20 fare hikes, "there continue to be low airfares," says David Stempler of the Air Travelers Association. Fares have risen modestly over the past year, but since 1995 they've ticked up by a mere 14 percent, according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. That's less than inflation, which means the real cost of air travel has fallen since then.
All airfares are local, however, and the key factor is whether travelers have access to discount carriers like Southwest, JetBlue, and AirTran—all of which are reasonably healthy and growing. Discounters now carry about 27 percent of all passengers, up from 14 percent in 1995, and they also drive down fares on other carriers where they compete head to head. On routes where there's no low-cost option, however—like many flights out of Cincinnati, San Francisco, or Knoxville, Tenn.—fares have been painfully high for a while.
Perks are disappearing. It's certainly true that free perks are disappearing. But the industry is moving from all-inclusive pricing to an a la carte system, with no-frills service for those who pay the least and a nicer experience for those who spend a few bucks more. Sure, it feels outrageous when something that used to be free, like an aisle or exit-row seat, suddenly costs extra. So while your fellow fliers are bellyaching, why not pony up $10 or $15 for "premium" coach seating on many airlines and enjoy a more comfortable flight? The same goes for meals, extra baggage, and on-board entertainment: It used to be free, and now it's not, but digging out a few extra bucks might enhance the experience without breaking the bank.
Airlines hate their customers. Hate is a bit strong now, isn't it? Well, maybe not if you're stranded overnight in Cleveland. But U.S. airlines get a bad rap mainly because they face a set of circumstances unique for companies in what is basically a retail business. They're heavily dependent upon factors like airspace limitations that directly affect customers but are beyond the airlines' control. Profit margins have been historically low, and the airlines' biggest variable cost entails one of the most volatile commodities on the market, oil. Many of the things airlines must do to earn a profit—like packing more people onto fewer planes—directly degrade the experience of their customers. If oil were still at $40 or $50 per barrel, the airlines would be comfortably profitable—and a bit nicer. But those free peanuts were never that good anyway.
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Reader Comments
Saftey
Why don't you look at the positive side of things. There are thousands of flights each week and no wrecks in 5 years, that is incredibly good.
Aviation maintenance
To Michael VanSlyke: You obviously don't know what you're talking about! Get the facts before you open your mouth!
Aviation Maintenance
To Daryl of GA - YOU sir do not know YOU are talking about. I had 33 years in the industry - got out for a few years then went back. The skill levels of the mechanics have dropped like the Titanic, the pressure to save money, cut costs & get it on time are enormous !! There are guys working on these planes I wouldn't let touch my lawnmower !! At this rate - AMTRAK's record will look mighty good in 5 or 10 years when these planes get older !!
Safety is not the priority anymore
I've been a professional pilot flying domestic here in the U.S. for over 10 years and I can say without a doubt, I don't trust the airline industry to look out for our safety anymore. Some of the things I've seen and heard from other pilots and mechanics working on these planes would send you running away from the airport. SAFETY needs to be THE number one concern and with no regard to cost. Even one life lost is unacceptable. These fat cat CEO's and the very high level management types at these airlines do not deserve the money they make to begin with and especially when they so obviously discount the importance of safety. Take some othe salary and bonus money away from these people and put it into what matters which is the safety of the airplanes and the people flying on them. Whenever possible, I drive because I simply don't like the experience anymore and I certainly don't trust the system from a safety standpoint. We haven't even touched on the terrible air traffic control system here but that's a discussion for another day.
Aircraft maint/pilots
You think the skill levels of the mechanics have dropped (and you are absolutely correct), wait a few more years to see your new pilots. The guys that spend thousands and thousands of dollars pursuing a career in aviation are now being expected to work for wages that put them in the poor house.
The airlines like Mesa, hire anyone that will take the job. The guys you trust your life to are changing professions.
Aircraft maint/pilots
JohnS of WA is absolutely correct. It's all going downhill in a hurry. If you must fly, at least stay clear of the smaller regional/commuter carriers like Mesa. Anybody can look up the pilot minimums out there on the internet that these carriers use to sort out the resumes of pilots that they'll interview. The problem is that with the wages being so terribly low, they can't get experienced pilots to apply. Some of the training is a joke as well. Don't get me wrong now. Some of the companies do a fine job of hiring qualified pilots and the training they provide once hired is pretty good stuff. However, compare our training here in the U.S. to that of the carriers over in Japan. We typically take around 5-8 weeks to run a pilot through company and aircraft specific training here in the U.S. at "Acme Airlines". In Japan, the training programs run 5-8 months!! I believe that to overkill but maybe somewhere in the middle isn't a bad idea. Some of these pilots being hired at the smaller carriers here in the U.S. have less time in the cockpit than they do behind the wheel of the beat up clunker they drove to the airport. Many of them are only 20-22 years old and If the general public would educate themselves a bit, they'd never get on that airplane with the inexperienced people up front flying them. I was there once, but I flew with experienced pilots next to me charged with the Pilot in Command duties until I gained the appropriate level of experience. Anymore, both pilots are of the lowest "legal" experience level. Just because it's legal doesn't make it smart.
aircraft maint/pilots
i have been a pilot here in the UK for 2 years now and i have to say that the situation does not seem to be as bad here as it is in in America. It all comes down to the fact of economy , at the moment the european and uk economy is strong and i earn about $70,000 for a years work , i know some U.S pilots who have been flying longer than i have who dont earn as much as that. Also the maintenance of aircraft is always paramount to any company , planes carshing means insurance claims , law suits and bad press , no company wants that , plus if the aircraft was unsafe and not up to spec do you really think the pilot would fly it . I certainly would'nt.
airlines/public
I could understand it if airlines did not like the public. The public want the lowest prices and top notch service and do not treat airline employees that well. Spoiled Americans, contributing to burning off our fossil fuels to fly, self centered. They do not realize all that airlines go through to get that airliner, maintain it, pay the crew, airport runway fees, tracking luggage. And there are things airlines cannot do anything about like weather, occasional mechanical problem thus a delay.
Safety On Planes
Wow this stuff is scary people, I had no idea this was and is going on, what can we do to make it better? I thought that was why we have the F.A.A. and I have to fly to Seattle in June YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!! someone make me feel better, but only if it's the truth.
safety
Look dawn , i don't know about America but i do know aircraft and airlines and i can say with much certainty that flying is as safe as it can be . Oh and as for a previous comment from Jeff , even us young pilots have to start out somewhere and on my first week in job i was paired up with a captain of 20 years experience and before my first job i was a qualified flight instructor for two years to build up my hours. To date i am 24 years old and am type rated on 737ng and A320's and have logged over 3000 flying hours between personal flying and commercial. I might have made the occasional rough landing but everyone has to learn (and my learning took me 14months to get from ppl to commercial in uk). If none of us young pilots got to fly the airline business would soon no longer exist.
Maintenance
i agree with patrickA of XX regarding the level of competency of aircraft mechanics in the UK. i believe the level is similar in America too. the problem lies in the education and training given to these future licensed engineers. i am a student currently sitting my EASA 66 B1 , licence exams. Some of the students who have done a degree in aircraft engineering with me are absolutely dumb. no offense but they manage to pass and get into the industry. Due to the lack of airline technicians, airliners would offer jobs to those with minimum qualifications as well which are of a really low standard. i have learned about airline safety and have trained in the industry with Lufthansa. but when i compare this experience to my experince at Ryanair , it was horrid. Low cost carrier do actually put revenue first and safety later. you would see aircraft dispatched with faults that are claimed to be on the MEL. Ryanair's turnaround time of 25 mins puts uneccessary pressure on the maintenance team and their low wages takes out the motivation and pride of being an aircraft mechanic.
Safety
Thank You Patrick for the info that makes me feel a little better.
5 Myths about the airline industry money paycheck?
Address 14800 NE 15 TH ST Bellevue WA,98007
safety and maint
(on my soapbox).......The experience level is dropping drastically and the industry is getting very scary. As a mech at an mro I'm watching it go down hill. Cessna is sending work out of country, along with Bombardier, Hawker, Beech, and most of the US carriers. I work with a person who decided to try working in Panama and found the mro out of compliance. One licensed mech to 15 people. (per far reg is illegal). Might I add, these people are making $600 a month salary to "wing" these repairs. At that rate.... who really cares if you did it right. Materials to do the job..... forget it. Some of it is here in the states too. FAA PMA "inspected" parts..... most of the time i guess, maybe. Dunno who is allowing bad hardware in the states. FAA couldn't be to blame for any of this. Seems like repair station certificates out of the country are getting handed out like candy. Feds just turn their heads. Southwest shook up the industry by missing inspections. Feds knew the whole time but hey... they are saving the airlines money by allowing this. When they went to court with SWA they got mad and used AA as an example to show the public that "were doing our jobs". I feel they are not. This industry has been building up to this and there has to be some changes.... Raise the fares.... Regulate air travel....Take a very close look into maint and the FAA. It will keep jobs, more airlines, more routes, less merging, and higher standards.
safety and Maint
To the person in the U.K....
I have the utmost respect for my fellow pilots, what they did to get where they are and the experience they have. Your post trying to make Dawn feel better is a nice gesture but unless you're here in the U.S. to experience our system, please don't comment on it. That's fine that when you started out you were paired with a very experienced captain but this is NOT always the case here. In fact, on the smaller regional or commuter carriers, that is frequently not the case. I'm not saying that they're all dangerous or an accident waiting to happen. What I am saying is that in general, it's not the way to do things. I'm 38 and have over 7,000 hours of experience and have been around the block enough to know what I'm talking about. I have many other pilot and maintenance buddies that would agree with me 100%. All I'm saying is that the people running this show here in the U.S. don't care about safety the way that they should. The dollar is king and as long as nothing happens to anyone on an airplane, they won't change anything. This fine for Southwest and the grounding of airplanes for inspections will be forgotten soon and we'll go back to business as usual. I truly hope that nothing terrible happens but I fear that it will and then maybe they'll sit up and take notice. Remember the poor souls aboard Alaska Airlines flight 261? This is from the NTSB report of that accident...
"Contributing to the accident were Alaska Airlines’ extended lubrication interval and the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) approval of that extension, which increased the likelihood that a missed or inadequate lubrication would result in excessive wear of the acme nut threads, and Alaska Airlines’ extended end play check interval and the FAA’s approval of that extension, which allowed the excessive wear of the acme nut threads to progress to failure without the opportunity for detection. Also contributing to the accident was the absence on the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 of a fail-safe mechanism to prevent the catastrophic effects of total acme nut thread loss".
Our system is broken and needs to be fixed.
As for you Dawn, take in all the information you can get and then decide whether you want to fly or not. If you still feel safe, more power to you and I wish you a safe journey. If not, then welcome to the club. There's a growing number of us out there with every passing day.
Be safe folks!!
safety and maint
I understand and respect what jeff is saying but i dont understand is that if it is that bad why don't you stateside pilots stand up and be heard . It happens here quite regularly , i have known several pilots in the UK to refuse to accept an aircraft for duty due to faulty equipment without any backlash from management. You know in the end if you or one of your buddy's sign out and take up a faulty bird and an accident should happen where there is a loss of life , your not only risking your own life for a paycheck but your also risking your reputation and the life of a couple o hundred people in the rear as well. Oh and the only reason i became a pilot was it seemed cheaper to train as a pilot and get a nice comfy chair on every flight instead of paying for business or first class all the time (i also like the privacy the flightdeck affords)lol.
I thought this was about REAL turbulence!
I hit turbulence over Asia once and it was totally unexpected... hit my head on the ceiling and on the way down, my legs buckled right under me! I never saw anything like that! At the time, I was standing in line for a bathroom. I almost went in my trousers!
Flying over the Himalayas or nearby can be surprising, although I have flown from Europe to Asia many times, that time was unforgettable. The lady next to me flew right along side of me, but was REALLY shook up by it!
A Japanese lady got killed from turbulence a few years ago, and after my experience, I could see why! I could have easily snapped my neck or worse when I hit the ceiling... after that, I am ALWAYS buckled up when I fly.
Air travel turbulance
I'll take my chances in the air! Have any of you ever driven in Chicago? Ever time I put on my seat belt I say a little prayer before stepping on the gas peddle. Airline travel certainly has it's problems and solutions need to be found before the amazing safety record of the last 5 years comes crashing down (sorry, no pun intended). Most pilots, flight attendants, maintenance personnel are incredibly dedicated individuals who care! I don't have any answers and people a lot smarter than I need to find a way to work together to make things better. I still feel very confident when I get on a plane, the people involved will get me from point A to point B safely.
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Commercial aviation maintenance
You think just one aircraft accident 5 years ago means aircraft are safe to fly. That’s a really ridiculous statement. Why do you think those aircraft inspections where missed. The work force that maintained those aircraft are now unemployed, reduced by more than half in the last 6 years. There are not enough people available to inspect and repair. A majority of the aircraft maintenance has been sent over seas, China, Hong Kong, and many other cheap labor countries. The FAA can’t maintain there oversight here in the US so how do you think they maintain oversight on those maintenance facilities over sea’s? Just because an aircraft hasn’t bored a hole in the ground lately doesn’t mean it’s safe to fly. Also comparing air travel to drive a car that just shows you have no idea what you’re talking about. You want cheap ticket, well your getting what you pay for!
Apr 11, 2008 12:30:34 PM [permalink] [report comment]