Is It Safe to Fly Cheap?

shaybisc on 28/12/2017 - 12:38

"One worker wrote:

"The safety of Australian airlines is being driven by accountants with no idea of aviation safety".

Another said:

"The only way the accountants begin to start training and spending money back on the frontline is when one hits the deck. Let's hope none of us sign out that one."

An engineer wrote:

"If the public and the government are willing to accept $70 one way fares on a $3 million aircraft then they must also accept that aircraft maintenance will be done on a similar cost structure."

Interesting article. Makes sense to me- something has to give, sooner or later.

http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/is-it-safe-to-fl…

Travel

Comments

  • mysterytal on 28/12/2017 - 12:50
    +7

    I'm not willing to pay $70 one way. That's too much. $29 is my target price. Melbourne to Adelaide or Melbourne to Launceston/Hobart. I would also think that an Airbus A320 is worth a lot more than $3 million. Isn't the list price closer to $100 million.

  • [Deactivated] on 28/12/2017 - 12:56
    +4

    Pretty clueless engineer.

    • smuggler on 28/12/2017 - 13:00
      +1

      How do you deduce that? Engineer is cost constrained.

      • [Deactivated] on 28/12/2017 - 13:17
        +7

        An engineer who thinks that a jetliner is anywhere near $3m isn't realistic.

        • smuggler on 28/12/2017 - 13:30

          oh that. lolol

        • shaybisc on 28/12/2017 - 21:12

          Probably misquoted, left out a zero or two. Not that it makes any difference to his point.

    • scrimshaw on 28/12/2017 - 15:35
      +1

      Don't think I can afford the aviation license and building costs of the hangar + runway on my crappy Western Sydney unit though.

      Unless someone wants to go halves with me.

  • Halo375 on 28/12/2017 - 13:07

    Kinda reminds me of the "Fight Club" car recall theory:

    A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one.

  • mskeggs on 28/12/2017 - 13:28
    +5

    YEs, obviously, because air accidents are so incredibly rare, even in places without our minimum safety standards.
    Many people have irrational fears about air safety, because it is so dramatic when something goes wrong.
    But consider if you pay $10k for a Qantas 1st class ticket to London. It isn't any safer than the $2k in economy.
    Now if Qantas raised their price to $2500, they don't pay more for safety - they pay a higher dividend to their share investors.

    With one exception, I don't believe there is any relation between price and safety. That exception is national carriers that have yet to go bankrupt. These airlines tended to have strong unions that drove high staffing levels to deliver safety. There aren't many left, although I will acknowledge Qantas is one. I don't know if they still have a substantial enough influence to meaningfully impact safety, but I think it is reasonable to conclude they will retain practices and safety cultures that may not emerge in a new carrier.

  • Clear on 28/12/2017 - 13:32
    +2

    I've flown AirAsia many times with their patchy record of safety. Reason I chose them is because sometimes I've got Premium Class for a little bit extra.

    Also flown Malaysia Airlines after both disasters, because they were cheaper and never had any issues prior to the disasters. Planes was a lot less empty as I think many people are still too scared to fly with them.

  • dcep on 28/12/2017 - 14:14
    +2

    overrated

    better chance of killed in car accidents today than your future air trip

    • retiredfeline on 28/12/2017 - 15:03
      +1

      Here's an interesting tidbit. After 9/11 more people made car trips rather than fly. Someone worked out that all those extra miles in the following year resulted in more car fatalities than the 9/11 fatalities.

  • Kelberos on 28/12/2017 - 14:58
    +1

    Yes, one day it'll give. But for now i think its still safe enough.

  • Froot Loops on 28/12/2017 - 15:33

    Air Koryo hasn't crashed in ages and there planes are older than turnbull

  • Almost Banned on 28/12/2017 - 15:44
    +3

    I understood that airlines need to meet minimum safety requirements to get accredited to fly into Australian airports.

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