In “The Divine Comedy,” Dante takes the reader on a tour of the nine circles of hell. Were he writing today, of course, he would add a 10th: the commercial flight there, which connects, with a long layover and multiple delays, through Dallas-Fort Worth.
Some Americans can remember when passenger aviation was a pleasant experience, featuring spacious seats, free meals and doting attendants. Today, of course, every square inch of the aircraft is jammed with humanity, food is your responsibility, and the flight crew doesn’t have time to chat.
Flights have been cut, and fares are rising. You have to pay to check a bag. If your flight gets canceled, you may wait days to reach your destination. And let’s not get started on airport security, which only gets more intrusive and time-consuming.
But not everything is grim. Here’s something to contemplate the next time you’re squeezed into a middle seat for a long flight with nothing but a Sierra Mist and a small bag of pretzels for sustenance: You may not get there happy, but you’ll get there alive. For all its other annoyances, commercial air travel is safer than it’s ever been.
In 2010, no U.S. airline had a single fatality — the third time that has happened in the last four years. Last year, reports USA Today, was also the first year with zero deaths on any carrier based in a developed nation. “In the entire First World, fatal crashes are at the brink of extinction,” MIT statistics professor Arnold Barnett told the newspaper.
For that matter, only 14 people suffered serious injuries last year — out of
more than 700 million
passengers. Nor are these numbers a fluke. Over the past decade, overall deaths were cut nearly in half from the 1990s. It’s more true than ever that the most dangerous part of a flight is the drive to the airport.
What accounts for the change? Better technology prevents planes from running into each other on the ground. Tighter airport security has no doubt averted terrorist attacks. Federal regulators have tightened up on oversight. But airlines also deserve credit, since so many safety-related decisions are in their hands.
So flying commercial these days may feel like more like hell than heaven. But it will keep you from a premature trip to either place.
