Not all Asian airlines should be grouped together as having dismal records of safety. Singapore Airlines had until the recent crash a totallu unblemished record. Their planes and safety standards are still among the top in the world. Their average age of their fleet are under 5 years old. That certainly cannot be said for any american carrier.

Most Asian carriers are safe even by asian standards. Some can be more troubled than others - namely Korean Air, China Airlines, and Garuda. A lot has got to do with management and older aircraft. But airlines like EVA Air, Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines to name a few have good safety records, their aircrafts are new and generally service and crew I feel are more competent than some american ones.

Newspaper reports sometimes have nothing better to report than for their own benefits.
They are the ones who have probably never been on an asian airline to do any comparison.

[This message has been edited by Guy Betsy (edited 11-20-2000).]