Airline puts money ahead of safety
Mikey 6 comments
An Air Canada official says the airline is removing all life jackets from their fleets to save a little money on fuel. And apparently airline regulations allow it as long as the planes remain within 80 kilometres of shore.
Passengers will now be directed to use seat cushions as flotation devices.
Although only a small percentage of the 880 daily flights actually pass over water, this still doesn't sit right with me. And just how much fuel can they save? By eliminating all the life vests on a 50 seater aircraft, they save a whopping 25 kilograms.
I'm no mathematician but, to me saving 25 kilograms on an aircraft that weighs approximately 16700kg isn't going to lighten it enough to save much money.
Jim
Friday 29th August 2008 | 07:55 PMWorking for an airline (Transportation, not passenger), I know even a small amount of weight can have a big impact on weight and balance, as well as fuel consumption. But if you're flying over the water, you should have your over-water kit aboard. Then again, depending on the crash, I imagine those things are there more to make you feel better in the event of a crash.
andrew
Friday 29th August 2008 | 10:57 PMbefore take off i wonder if they go thru the safety procedure of where life jackets are, or is this omited?
mini-mel
Saturday 30th August 2008 | 01:16 PM...in response to this comment by andrew. lol....
no little whistle, and no little light.. just grab your seat cushion and get to the respective exit (here, here and here)
now, what i dont get is that every passenger is allocated a certain amount of weight in their luggage.. roughly 20 kg in the suitcase and 8 kg with the carry on.. but, someone that weighs 120 kg.. compared to someone that weighs say 50 kg. should those who weigh more have to pay a fee? the same fee that you have to pay when your luggage is over the specified amount?
i just think thats bollocks is all.
Jay
Saturday 30th August 2008 | 03:14 PMThe fact is that landing on water is one thing no airliner has successfully done without creating havoc. Thus I always kind of felt the presence of life jackets to be little more than placebos. So, won't be a huge loss for me.
realistically, for most flights they aren't necessary, so why not ditch them if you aren't going over water.
Jake
Monday 1st September 2008 | 06:20 AMI think that you will find that many airlines instruct you to use a seat cushion, though I think the premmise of saving fuel is a little bogus. Maybe they could cut back on all that useless oxygen they pressurise the cabin with.
Marvin The Martian
Friday 29th August 2008 | 07:06 PMIt seems there is no end to the greed of airlines.