Life Vests Have Been Removed From This Airline; What Are They THINKING?

Did you hear about THIS one? In an effort to lighten the load on its aircraft, in order to get better fuel mileage, Jazz Airlines (a subsidiary of Air Canada) has come to the brilliant conclusion that using the seat cushions as a flotation device in case they, well, land in the water is enough of a safety precaution for its passengers. They have gotten rid of all the life vests!!

Well here’s the problem. If you are involved in a water “landing” and the water is very VERY cold, which is typical in Canada, how long can you hang onto a seat cushion’s strap? (Did you see the movie Titanic?) Life vests are designed to keep you floating with your face above the water even if you can no longer hang on.

But wait!  Safety issues aside, certainly the trade-off must be worthwhile financially, right? I mean, those life vests must really be heavy. Otherwise no airline executives in their right mind would think that risking passengers’ lives in an effort to save some fuel would make sense. Right?

Hey; who am I to judge? Let’s see. Jazz Airlines carries about 75 people per flight. Each life vest weighs about half a kilogram; multiplied times 75 gives us about an 83-pound saving per flight.   Well now, maybe that IS worth putting the passengers’ lives at risk for.  What do YOU think about this?

[FYI; Transport Canada regulations do allow carriers that fly within 50 nautical miles of shore to use the seat cushions as a flotation device instead of the vests; it's up to the airline.  On the other hand, Air Canada has stated that they have no plans to remove life vests from THEIR planes.]






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