Expert: D. Norkus - 7/11/2008

Question
Dear Dottie:
I am making reservations for my first airplane flight in 11 years.  I have been terrified to fly for that whole time, but at this point I have no choice.  The only direct flight from Seattle to Baltimore is on Airtran, but when I discovered the airline is the old Valujet, I was concerned.  I read your answer from October 2007 where someone else asked about AirTran, and you said the airline was safe because the Valujet issues have been addressed.

However, I found another discussion of AirTran's more recent history in an Aviation Law News newsletter, and this is what it said:

"AirTran Airways received an F rating for safety. Once under ValuJet the airlines was rated by the FAA for being 13 times less safe than other lower cost U.S. airplanes. A high number of AirTran’s DC-9 jetliners have been involved in a large amount of serious aircraft accidents, leading their day to day safety operations to be in question. Since 1985 AirTran Airways has had 110 fatalities, 21 FAA incidents, 7 NTSB incidents, and 39 FAA violations/fines in 1997-2000."

I found that more recently, AirTran's DC-9's have been replaced, but that they were replaced by Boeing 717's, which have a questionable reputation.

Finally, I read that AirTran is in the process of cutting 500 jobs (pilots and flight attendants) and pulling back on its service.

So, I'm so confused and frankly, frightened, because I don't know whether to travel with my colleague on AirTran, or choose Southwest or Delta, because these airlines don't have this history.

Any help you could give me to make a rational(non-panic-driven) decision would help.

Thanks very much,

Donna

Answer
Donna

First off, I think you should definitely try to address why you are so "terrified" of flying in the first place. There must have been some event in the past that put this fear into your mind. You must take the control away from your fear. I know a lady who had severe claustrophobia. After years of fear she make the choice to try and face it head on and for the first time in decades, she actually rode in an elevator. While not 100% fear free, she is now much, much better. I hope you can experience the same. Try this free online course was designed by a pilot, perhaps it can help you-

http://www.fearofflyinghelp.com/

It explains the sounds and bumps that occur during flight and tells you exactly what is happening, so you will know the cause and not be freaking out over every bump or noise. As far as turbulence goes, remember that the air, although invisible, is like the ocean. It is a moving mass at all times and sometimes there are some waves you must go through so the sailing is not always smooth. Even if the air gets rough, do not worry- the wings are not going to fall off. Transport category aircraft are designed and tested to withstand forces far, far greater than you would ever encounter in flight. Boeing has even stress tested the wings on their aircraft to flex up to an incredible  30 feet in either direction before they would break. They are built tough! You might even watch some Youtube.com cockpit videos to see what happens during a flight to increase your understanding of what is happening behind the cockpit door. Search cockpit + landing or takeoff and you will get many clips.

Some people have a fear of flying simply because they are not in control, like when they are driving. According to the National Safety Council, your odds of dying in a car accident each year are about one out of 6500. Therefore your lifetime probability (6500 ÷ 78 years life expectancy) of dying in a car crash are about one in 83. So why aren't you afraid to drive? Perhaps because of the perception of control since you are not in the backseat? (I know every time I drive home late Fri or Sat nights my odds of being hit by a drunk driver are far better than being involved in any accident at work, so I can't wait to get off the freeway! I trust the other professionals in the sky over Joe Blow with 2 tickets and a DUI in his Camry any day.) Compare your odds of being in an auto crash to your odds of being involved in a fatal air accident: 1 in 11 million says David Ropeik, Instructor in Risk Communication at the Harvard School of Public Health. Flight crews are professionals trained to high standards and undergo recurrent emergency training annually. Every year more and more people fly and aviation gets safer. Aircraft systems have multiple redundancies and back ups to handle malfunctions or failures. Yet the news media always covers aviation incidents with the greatest of fanfare and often gives incorrect or misleading information. I personally believe such sensationalized coverage gets into the pubic psyche feeding the fear of flight that some have. In the news media, every aircraft related incident is painted as a life or death situation when 99% of the time nothing could be further from the truth. Sensationalism gets the ratings.

As a crew member, I can assure you we want the flight to be as uneventful as you do. Keep in in mind, just like you, every pilot and flight attendant on every airline flight has plans for the next day and loved ones they expect to see when they get off their trip. Be it Air Tran, Southwest or any other carrier every one on that flight is working to make it as safe as possible. We do this for our livelihood, so we do everything we can to keep that safe and secure. Your crew has   a vested interest in your safety as well as their own.

Regarding the "Aviation Law Newsletter": I wouldn't give them too much credit. Consider the source: they are a law firm specializing in aviation litigation!!! They are there to make a dime off somebody and  it is in their best interest to the airlines look bad. That is how they make their money. Like a bad car salesman, take what they say with a grain of salt.

As I said before, I wouldn't hesitate to fly on Air Tran again. Book a flight with your friend and fly with them- especially if it will help your nerves by not being alone. The fact that Air Tran may be laying off and downsizing has nothing to do with their safety level. Almost every other airline in the USA is either doing the same or they are about to do so due to jet fuel costing 75% more than this time last year. I am sure you may have even cut back on driving yourself with the cost of gas. The difference is when the airlines cut back on flights to save money, they must also trim staff as they cannot afford to pay the extra crews to not work.

Please, do try the course above. I hope if you can't have a pleasant trip, it will at least make your flight tolerable and not 'terrifying' for you.

Dottie