ATLANTA – You may never need them at 35,000 feet, but you’ll be glad they’re around if you do. Defibrillators, medical kits and life vests are a few examples of the safety equipment the government requires airlines to put on passenger jets.
Of course, each item comes with a cost — from hundreds to thousands of dollars to install and maintain.
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.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31965306/ns/travel-news/
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apparently the new CX economy class already has these installed.
By: J Boyle - 23rd July 2009 at 19:05
The technology is there…to a point.
Cessna now offered airbags built into shoulder harnesses as an option..and they are retrofitable to older ac as well.
I think having airliners with shoulder harnesses would be a better idea…but of course that won’t work for the same reason there aren’t seatbelts on busses or trains.
By: Grey Area - 23rd July 2009 at 18:35
I can’t see how anything that might impede the swift evacuation of an aircraft in an emergency – and this would certainly include deployed airbags – could possibly be a “good thing”.
By: nJayM - 23rd July 2009 at 13:54
I thought this was what the brace position was for?
How would these airbags be triggered? In a car it is does by an accelerometer, and an impact causes quite a sudden deceleration which triggers the airbag. What about on an aircraft?
See my post under AF447
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=91302&page=15
In the meantime try to watch a copy of (maybe in some libraries – academic or public) http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/prog…urvivorsguide/ (albeit a 2006 documentary)
It covers some research topics on air safety including airbags and a very inexpensive device that can be fitted to every seat that supposedly can reduce fatalities in an emergency.
Enjoy
Jay
By: steve rowell - 23rd July 2009 at 01:20
More equipment=more weight=more fuel=angry bean counters
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July 22, 2009 at 7:50 am