Air travel 'safer than ever'

According to an independent report in USA Today, air travel in the United States is safer than ever before.
A new method for calculating the specific risk to passengers flying on U.S. airlines shows that air travel is 60 per cent safer in the 21st century than it was in the 1990s and nearly 70 per cent safer than during the 1980s.
It has been more than four-and-a-half years since a passenger died as a result of an airline accident on a U.S.-registered jet, the longest ever stretch.At present, the risk is so small (one in 22.8 million, from 2000 through 2005) that the average traveler would need to fly every day for more than 64,000 years before dying in an airline accident.

Arnold Barnett, a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where the research was carried out, was quoted by USA Today, saying: "There may be a sense that you're no more likely to have an accident if you fly on a regular commercial jet than if you bite into a corn muffin."
Various new safety measures drafted in over the past ten, 15, or 20 years are now taking effect, according to one aviation electronics engineer.

Don Bateman stated that many safety features exist today that have been developed to improve safety and statistics like these were beginning to prove their effectiveness.

More mergers possible for U.S. aviation

According to the airline chief executive at the heart of the last major U.S. merger, US Airways' Doug Parker, aviation companies in the United States could see further consolidation in the marketplace.
The combination of the old US Airways and America West Airlines, which created the fifth-largest American carrier last year, may involve either of the two troubled legacy airlines – Delta or Northwest.
Both companies filed for bankruptcy on the same day last September and Parker's view is that either one, or even both, could be an attractive investment as they look to emerge from Chapter 11 protection.
According to Parker, both Delta and Northwest will be able to cut operating costs to a bare minimum through the bankruptcy procedures of renegotiating contracts, dumping unneeded planes, and reworking its route schedules.

He told The Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne) that this will "present an opportunity that may not exist for a long, long time" – a ready-made streamlined business able to offer competitive fares and routes to passengers from the start.
Parker was quick to note that no official talks had been held to date but that, if the opportunity arose, his airline "will be there to talk to them".

Nutritional food for thought

According to a report in The New York Times, airlines are starting to offer healthier in-flight meals.
While domestic flights do not generally offer full meals apart from the odd snack or maybe a light meal for transcontinental routes, long-haul airlines continue to differentiate themselves from the competition with their menus.

In fact, several of the larger carriers now have tie-ins with well-known chefs to demonstrate their commitment to the quality of in-flight services, particularly in the premium seats.
British Airways is one such airline, working with Thai chefs from the Chiva-Som spa resort to create healthier and more varied options.

"If you fly a lot, [unhealthy eating] does become an issue," Ian Ruddle, a partner at New York's Deloitte Consulting told The New York Times.
"On international flights they are clearly trying harder. But if it's a heavy meal, you have to worry about how you are going to feel when you're in that meeting the next morning."
According to one industry analyst, a typical premium offering on an airline menu – a steak dinner – can contain more than 2,000 calories, prompting calls for more obvious displays of nutritional information across the board.