Recently there was a pole that asked Australians whether the safety problems with Ansett Australia would deter them flying Ansett in the future. About two thirds of them said 'no'.

Thanks UAL Traveler, I was not even aware that there are different, less strikt regulation for commuter operations.

And yes, you are right, it's safer to go from A to B by plane than with a car. However, I had a bad feeling flying with American Eagle from Naples to MIA: over the Everglades, during a thunderstorm! In such a moment you better belive that all the nice statistics are right (and better don't know that you are flying "only on Part 135").

Lufthansa certainly has a good safety record, so I am not surprise at their response to the malfunctioning light. Contrast this with the (true) story of the Australian aviation inspector at Sydney who said to the Captain of a less than reputable international airline that his large airliner at the terminal had a fuel leak. The Captain replied, 'Not to worry, when she get up to 30,000 feet she freeze up no problem.'

Absolutely!!! I avoid certain airlines in certain parts of the world because of their unsafe track record. In fact, there is a site that will calculate the risk given the airline and the airports used. I have forgotten the URL. Perhaps someone could post it for us.

Whether it's judgement or superstition, I don't fly Air Tran and haven't bought a ticket on TW since Summer 1996.