I said: ...The worst thing that can happen is that your flight is delayed for a few hours ...
wideman replied:
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">
A few summers ago, an Air Transat flight from Toronto to Europe ran out of gas while over the middle of the Atlantic. Fortunately, they were close to the Azores, and, with the engines completely off (because of no fuel), the pilots successfully and safely glided to an airport.
After an investigation, the Canadian government fined Air Transat for their maintenance procedures which had apparently contributed significantly to the plane running out of fuel.</font>
Looks like I failed to enumerate the risks of a crash or mechanical failure. But if desired, here it is:
Fatalities on Air Transat = 0
Fatalities on KLM = ? but several hundred at least. The only disaster I recall offhand was in the late 70s in the Canary Islands, but I know that is not the only one.
Of course KLM has been around a lot longer and flies a lot more than Air Transat, but I don't see a reason to think KLM is safer. If this is really a concern (which it wouldn't be for me), KLM would also be a more visible terrorist target.
[This message has been edited by WillTravel (edited Mar 18, 2004).]