Do you feel less safe flying now?

[RA1]

I read an article today suggesting that many folks now feel less safe because of MH370. So, I pose the question. Safety is partly technology and part attitude. But how safe one feels may be 90+% emotion. Therefore if you were nervous about flying before, probably you still are. If you thought it thrilling, probably you still do. If you took it matter of factly as the best option to get from here to there, you probably still feel that way but you tell me.

I have no problem with increased amount and frequency of aircraft data being transmitted by SATCOM. All that stuff is being stored and reported now anyway.

I have no problem with international traffic having passports checked through Interpol.

I do have a problem with increased invasion of privacy, which I consider unconstitutional, at least in the US.

I have little to no problem with profiling.

I do have a problem with folks suggesting that there are a lot of ways to increase aircraft safety. It already is the safest mode of transport around. Only grounding all aircraft will produce significantly increased safety.

Now you know what I think. Tell me what you think.

Best regards,

RA1

[AdamSmith]

I feel no less safe flying now than I do living on earth after the last couple of meteorite near-misses. You pays your money and you takes your choice.

I would however like for life to be arranged so that every destination could be reached by either walking or flying. Enough with all this middle-distance foolery.

[lookin]

I never felt unsafe flying and I don't now.

But I did enjoy it much more prior to 9/11. Today, it's the closest thing to a cattle car experience without the actual bovine camaraderie.

Once I'm on the plane, I have little problem with cramped quarters and lack of amenities. But the experience of actually getting inside the plane is nearly unbearable.

I remember the glory days of traveling for business in the seventies. It was a matter of pride to leave the office less than an hour before flight time, walk into the airport ten minutes before and know that I could sprint to the gate, check in, and squeeze through the doors just as they were closing.

Flying was something to look forward to then and now it's drudgery. But, again, it's not the experience in the plane that queers the deal. It's the process of actually getting to the point of buckling up.

On the plus side, I pay three hundred dollars for a coach seat today just as I did then, forty years ago.

[RA1]

I only wish there was something in real life to "queer" the deal. Oh, you mean make the experience unpleasant.

Best regards,

RA1

[Guest EXPAT]

I don't feel less safe but it is less comfortable with the lesser leg room, smaller seats. Of course that has nothing to do with 370. But I have grown to hate flying. As a very tall man it's like being squeezed into a tin can. I now avoid it at all costs.

[AdamSmith]

After 9/11, when check-in became the torture that lookin notes, I don't think I ever flew between Boston and NYC again. Using Acela was so much easier and more comfortable. And hardly more time door-to-door, what with schlepping to/from the airport, having to arrive way ahead of flight time, possibility of delays, etc., etc.

[MsGuy]

I do have a problem with increased invasion of privacy, which I consider unconstitutional, at least in the US.

I see that all the time as a reason to artificially restrict the number of minutes conversation in the cockpit is recorded.

And it always leaves me wondering what the fuck you guys are doing in your workplace that you need do much privacy?

[RA1]

Pilots don't have much privacy. I was referring to pax. However, why would you do that alone when there is another guy (likely) sitting next to you?

Best regards,

RA1

[BigK]

Put me in the matter of fact category before and after. I'm more annoyed by people who don't move their bins forward while they proceed to unpack their bags and take off their clothes.

Use zip lock baggies and empty your pockets before even getting in the security lane!

[wayout]

I read an article today suggesting that many folks now feel less safe because of MH370. So, I pose the question. Safety is partly technology and part attitude. But how safe one feels may be 90+% emotion. Therefore if you were nervous about flying before, probably you still are. If you thought it thrilling, probably you still do. If you took it matter of factly as the best option to get from here to there, you probably still feel that way but you tell me..

I suppose that the question is how much less safe those folks feel. I would not be surprised at that happening but would be surprised if for most that it would be a significant impact.....and likely it is a temporary "blip" and that it will pass over time. Human nature is such that the fear of the unknown and uncertainty will increase after such an unexplained situation. Whether it is greater or less than the impact from an explained situation is unclear to me but certainly both can have some negative impact on a feeling of safety/security on many, albeit only for a limited time I suspect.

Do I feel less safe because of MH370, Perhaps, but if I do it is only because it is in the back of my mind as I will be flying this weekend but it is almost unperceivable. And, assuming to further news or events, that feeling will soon disappear.

I do have a problem with increased invasion of privacy, which I consider unconstitutional, at least in the US.

RA1, can you provide a bit more detail as to what that increase invasion of privacy you are referring to? Is it related to checking luggage, the personal screening procedures/methods, collecting info, etc. Not saying I don't generally disagree, just looking to understand from your perspective specifically where you feel the line has been crossed in what is being done.

[RA1]

Thanks for your reply. Briefly, I think the 4th amendment is being abused which is unreasonable searches and seizures + search warrants and probable cause. These seems to be broad abuse but I am specifically referring to the TSA and the HSA. I realize the administration + Congress think they have overcome constitutional issues with the Patriot Act (among others). However, I do not think those acts are constitutional and should not be.

All too many of us seem to accept these intrusions as a part of safety. Neither safety nor morality can be legislated. Every airline pilot and most other pilots know just how many holes there are in the system and how easy it is to circumvent "procedures". As basically law abiding citizens they do not try to do so and, in fact, support the system although it abuses them also.

Have fun on your trip.

Best regards,

RA1

[Guest CharliePS]

For many years I have had nightmares which involve airplane crashes--not with me as a passenger, but watching the crash happen near me. Why, I don't know. 9/11 evoked all my worst fears. Nevertheless, I didn't have a fear of flying, and did it several times per year The only time I was actually involved in a crash, it was not very serious, and I walked away uninjured. I worry more about friends and loved ones when they fly than I do about myself when I fly. For me, it would be much worse to know someone on MH370 than to have been on it myself.

However, I dread flying nowadays, not out of fear but because it is so much less pleasant an experience than it used to be: having to print my own boarding passes, the security restrictions and checks, the packed planes, uncomfortable seats, lack of amenities like food, extra fees for checked bags, etc. It used to feel like an adventure, and now it is a chore. Now I would rather drive for three long days than take a commercial flight to someplace 1500 miles from home.

[Guest Paragon]

Charlie sums up well what is wrong with flying today, and I wonder if the airlines will go so far that people folllow suit and drive more. That, of course, would probably lead to more accidents. But flying is so unpleasant, with seats getting smaller and charges going higher, that driving becomes more of an acceptable choice- at least for the short haul. Nowadays I have to buy Premium Economy just to get where I am going half-way comfortably.

As for safety, when I am jammed into the back of an airplane, I realize I have no chance of saving myself, but then, I don't think I ever thought that I did! Once I was in the very back of some small, regional jet, and a very large person in a row ahead of me took up most of the aisle. I refused to sit there, and they found someone to take my place and let me move up.

[lookin]

As for safety, when I am jammed into the back of an airplane, I realize I have no chance of saving myself, but then, I don't think I ever thought that I did! Once I was in the very back of some small, regional jet, and a very large person in a row ahead of me took up most of the aisle. I refused to sit there, and they found someone to take my place and let me move up.

Glad you found someone to take over the 'suicide seat'. I hope he at least got an extra bag of peanuts.

[Guest Paragon]

What he got was to land at the same time I did- safe and sound. I'm claustrophobic, so being stuck in the rear seat with no way out-even if only in my mind- was a no-go.

[RA1]

Yes, I am much more worried about others than myself. After all, I have survived 40+ years and thousands of hours of accident and incident free flying, so if something happens, I will "take my turn", so to speak. But, if something happens, be sure and follow the captain out of the aircraft so you will not get footprints on your face. Old joke.

Airline travel was a lot of fun and could also be an adventure in the 1970's. With de-regulation, it started downhill and has continued apace ever since. Not only is the service less and less and the seats smaller and smaller but we, individually, are bigger and bigger. That statement seems completely against nature.

People already are driving more, much more, to avoid the hassle of airline travel. Recently, for the first time in 40 years, I drove 400+ miles one way, partly because I wouldn't even consider airline travel for this trip and nothing better was available.

Personally, I would put up with smaller seats, no service, etc. if there was no TSA hassle, partly because it would last for much less time AND they could and would provide or allow more food and stuff to be carried on. Now you pay $15 for a pretzel in the "security" side of the terminal. Many airline employees that I know call TSA, thousands standing around and would love to offer more service to their pax. Coffee, Tea or Me was perhaps more predictive than the author knew suggesting cabin attendants were waitresses in the sky.

Best regards,

RA1

[Guest zipperzone]

How things have changed. I remember my first flight. It was on a plane called a Super Constellation which was considered a wonder at the time. I went with my mother from Toronto to Preswick (Glasgow) and had to stop to refuel at Gander Nfld. I think the flight took 13 hours but I could be wrong. Coming home the refuelling stop was Goose Bay Labrador.

One of the main differences was the type of clothes one wore. You wouldn't even think of not wearing your best clothes, like going to a wedding. Now travellers wear any old thing, sweats seem to be the norm and you are stared at as a curiosity if you are well dressed.

But in today's crowded cabins I guess comfort is more important than looks.

And as to my fear of flying? I'd say moderate. I hate situations where I know I'm not in control.

[AdamSmith]

The "not in control" thing is interesting. It turned out I was not control of the situation when I was robbed walking down the street last year, and likewise some years before when a guy suddenly turned his oncoming car in front of mine and caused a collision.

At least the pilots of one's own plane and others in the airspace are trained professionals, and the elements such as weather and gravity are benign, not malevolent.

[RA1]

What an exciting trip. CYYZ-CYQX-EGPK. Return via CYYR. I have been to all of those places many times and enjoyed most of them. The weather sometimes made the difference. When riding on a buddy pass in F it was easy to know who the employees were and who paid full fare by looking at their attire. We who were riding at the will and pleasure of the airline had on coats and ties and shoes that had been shined. The "real" F pax were sloppy at best, at least in their attire. I have had several pax over the years who had a fear of flying. Whenever I could I put them in the cockpit next to me so they could see what was going on as well as hearing most of it. That seemed to largely solve the problem. Not an easy thing to do in an airliner with rules and limited room.

I would like to think the weather in benign but it is what it is and sometimes even with excellent forecasts and radar we find what we find when we find it. However, we can almost always go around unfavorable weather. Gravity makes it own rules and so far, only fuel and power overcome it and that is only for a limited amount of time.

Best regards,

RA1

[Guest PasadenaCA]

So, it doesn't bother me in the slightest. Here's the way I see it. Let's say that you accepted the fact that if a plane crashes, then by some unknowable force, it increases the chance of another plane ('plane for purists) going down. At some point, a second plane would crash and, for the same reason, there'd be an increased likelihood of a third crash, etc. There'd come a time where you'd reach some critical point, where planes would increasingly drop out of the sky and, eventually, they'd all crash and there'd be no planes left to fly. I figure that the chances of my flying on the day that there'd be three or four seemingly unrelated (but the unknowable force is at work) is slim, with an even smaller chance of my being on one of those downed planes. But, I'd get the warning of what's to come. I'd realize that those paranoid, statistics-impaired freaks were right all along. I'd just sit it out and watch these four crashes cause even more accidents, with a cascade of crashes occurring until the skies were rid of planes, then I'd take the train.

Despite what I would have just learned about plane crashes, I'd still firmly believe that one train crash doesn't cause a second crash to occur. I'd learn to ride a horse, just in case I'm wrong again.

[RA1]

I don't believe I have seen this statistical analysis before. Among the pilots that I know personally, I have lost 2 close friends to crashes and several others that I knew. I never felt that those crashes made any other crash more or less likely than before. Of course, it did make me stop and reflect upon my friends and acquaintances and what possible went wrong, the first for humanitarian reasons and the second to try to learn something useful about flying. During this same interval, at least one pilot I knew died in his sleep of a heart attack. Several others from natural causes while on the ground and a whole host of non-pilot friends from disease, car wrecks, etc. All this will occur if you just live long enough.

OTOH, it never hurts to know how to ride a horse.

Best regards,

RA1

[JKane]

However, I dread flying nowadays, not out of fear but because it is so much less pleasant an experience than it used to be: having to print my own boarding passes, the security restrictions and checks, the packed planes, uncomfortable seats, lack of amenities like food, extra fees for checked bags, etc. It used to feel like an adventure, and now it is a chore. Now I would rather drive for three long days than take a commercial flight to someplace 1500 miles from home.

I generally agree with you and Expat (especially Expat since I'm also rather tall) but was just thinking, the experience we remember from the good old days of flying is still available--in first/business class. And things have gotten so cheap that adjusted for inflation those tickets can't cost more than coach tickets did back before the 'Greyhound in the sky' crap started, right? It's just we're all too cheap... We get what we pay for then we all bitch about it!

[RA1]

I just looked up a no advance purchase ticket JFK-LHR F and it was $7,000+. I used to ride this Business for 200 Pounds Sterling 35 years ago. That is less than $300 USD. Has inflation really gone up that much? That is more than 2300%.

Best regards,

RA1