Greg Raiff: Keep flying the friendly skies

By Greg Raiff
Guest commentary

Is it safe to fly?

We are coming off the fifth-worst month in modern commercial aviation history. In July, three major commercial airline disasters led to almost 400 deaths. Many are left asking, "is it still safe to fly?"

The answer is simply yes.

Air disasters are rare, and when three happen back-to-back-to-back, we all take notice. Two of the disasters seem to be due to a mix of bad weather and poor piloting. The other was the result of an apparent missile attack.

If one good thing comes out of all the misery, it is that international carriers and air controllers will now take war zones very seriously and reroute aircraft around them, despite the costs.

As domestic and international airlines consolidate more and more, the pressure to cut costs and maximize profits has led to two issues. First, piloting and real skills. As we saw with the Asana crash, a good pilot has to be able to fly an aircraft on instinct, and not be overly dependant on automated systems. As with Capt. Sullenberger, there is no replacement for a pilot with good airmanship skills in a crisis — and in those rare occurrences, the ability to fly may be the deciding factor. But many airlines fail to demand those basic skills as planes become more and more sophisticated. And that leads to tragedies such as Air France flight 447, where faulty instruments led to bad decisions.

The second challenge is cost. In the brave new world of commercial aviation, airlines cut costs to compete, and often that means taking the most direct route, even if it passes through a conflict zone.

I think we are seeing a reaction from the 3.3 billion commercial air passengers who fly worldwide each year. They will demand safer routes, even if it takes longer to get there.

In the end, the real factor is how much this industry has changed. With so many airlines offering basically the same services at the same prices, customer loyalty and brand preference is evaporating. Gone are the days when flying was something special, and consumers paid more to fly on the shining jets of a TWA or a Pan Am.

So, yes, despite the headlines, flying is still very safe. But lessons need to be learned from July 2014 to make it all safer — and that may take longer than we would like.

Greg Raiff is chief executive officer of Private Jet Services, a corporate aviation consultancy.

Opinion:  http://www.montereyherald.com/opinion