When you fly in the sky- Logic does not apply

In contrast to most people I actually enjoy a day of multiple flights, a valuable asset for road-warriors. One of the things I do quite frequently is to take the opportunity to speak to the people seated next to you, as they with very high likelihood have a completely different background and profession than yourself, and hence have very different stories to tell about life.

My two flights today was very different from that perspective, the short flight next to an ex-pilot working as a plane accident investigator and the long flight next to a old lady that turned out not to be able to neither speak nor hear. I am happy that I still have all my five senses in place and to learn that flying is one of the absolutely safest ways to travel.

But as an NoRoadWorries ambassador I had to put in a few questions about worthless knowledge about flying that is here presented without structure but with a smile to the details on additional insights at the journeys throughout the world.

My former belief that there were only three airlines in the world that has been flying Concorde commercially turned out to be wrong. British Airways and Air France are these easy picks. Singapore airlines the third one that you find after a bit of research, but it learnt that there is a forth one one the list as well. Braniff, a American carrier that ceased to exist 15 years ago. I am keen on finding out who they were and what they do.

Complaining recently about the very poor leg room on Spanair’s MD-80s I might have to revise my position, or at least not be as firm until I have been flying domestically with a 747 in Japan, where they seat 550 people in a single 747. Considering that Lufthansa seat 16/66/270, there might be some room for interpretation of the wide-body term, and it does not apply to the passengers physics for sure.

Still waiting to fly on the Airbus 380 I learnt that the plane in its maximum seating configuration can take 872 passengers!!! And as if that was impressive, they can evacuate a complete plane, just using half of the emergency exists, in 90 seconds. I better stay fit to make sure that I do not clog the aisles if the drill needs to be executed in reality.

But key take-away from the conversation is that logic does not apply, and especially not the laws of probability. The probability that BOTH engines will be stopped when flying into a flock of geese when departing form a major Metropolitan airport is as slim as one divided by the growing US budget deficit. Nevertheless it happens and that’s when we are all happy that the pilots go through endless simulations, are well paid, and can turn on the noble art of avoiding massive disasters. They do it for us on a continuous basis.