Airbags for airliners: What will they cost you?
Earlier this month the New York Times reported that new planes will need to become equipped with air bags. But what will this cost you?
The equipment alone doesn’t mean higher ticket prices, though some airlines say the cost of such equipment is factored into their total operating expenses and would be a factor in overall pricing strategy. The cost of fuel and market forces like competition from other carriers are key drivers of how airlines price their tickets and fees.
For airlines, the alternative to the airbag devices, which cost roughly $1,250 apiece, could be to remove some rows of seats, which means less revenue. Shawn David, director of fleet engineering for US Airways, sees an “advantage of doing it with airbags.”
Air disasters raise concerns on safety
Recent air crashes like the Air France and Yemeni disasters make air safety advocates uneasy.
“If we continue at this pace, we’ll be turning the clock back 10 years on safety,” said Bill Voss, president of the non-profit Flight Safety Foundation, which advocates around the world. “This ain’t looking so good.”
United reduces cost of mileage tickets
United Airlines has decided to lower the number of miles required for a round-trip ticket.
Reductions range from 20 percent to almost 30 percent. Domestic travel, for example, has been reduced from 25K miles to 20K miles, while a ticket from the US to Australia ihas been reduced from 80K to 64K. Europe, on the other hand, which normally costs 50-60K on other airlines costs 44K on United.
