Pet peeve: “have a safe flight”
 

Let me preface this by saying I appreciate people’s good wishes and consideration for me, but…

I wish people would focus on the probabilities of problems happening and remember that they don’t (although they should) always admonish people who travel in cars to “have a safe drive”.

Plane accidents are so rare and flying is generally so safe and secure I find it annoying when people constantly refer to it as if it’s somehow more dangerous than so many other things they do without a thought in their daily lives: crossing the street, getting in a car, having a bath, boiling water — all of which are far more risky and have a higher probability of death or serious injury than getting on a plane…

Proper response: "That's up to the pilots".

Would you rather they wished you "have a great flight" instead?

David

Agreed, great thread, drives me bonkers too.

Even when work colleagues say "safe travels". What does that mean anyway? Really? I have no control over what happens.

Silly if you ask me.

Safe travels
safe flight
safe drive
fun trip

I mix up these terms depending on how my people are traveling. I’ll try to remember to wish several of you a fun trip or fun flight in the future :-)

have a great trip!!!!

I take it as merely well wishes, not a concern that my flight is somehow unsafe.

If they said "what aircraft are you flying?" and, after your response, said "oohhh...I'll be praying for you and watching you on FlightAware in real time with CNN on in the background in hopes of your safe arrival" then I might get a bit concerned.

So do I, as I described in the beginning of my post…

… and the phrase may be tending towards a stylistic conventionality, in the same way that “Goodbye” originally came from “God be with ye”.

But I still think it hasn’t become as fossilized as that, linguistically, and so it still carries a literal resonance of unnecessary concern about plane crashes, terrorism, hijacking, etc which are all highly unlikely phenomena, even if there was a period of time decades ago when they perhaps were more commonplace.

I always say "drive safe" or "have a safe trip" to folks. Even as someone who flies for a living, I have no problem with wishes for a safe flight.

That's different. You are in control behind the wheel, not 17 rows behind the yoke by control of someone else.

I typically send the following animated (sorry don't know how to attach the gif itself here) gif to friends before their flights (if I remember):
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...70abbce758.jpg

I hear "safe travels" a lot. I agree it's at the point of being just stylized language. "Safe" meaning free from harm or risk can be interpreted quite broadly and I imagine most people are really thinking, "let's hope your travel is free of inconveniences, annoyances, and disruption..." So it doesn't bother me, any more than "goodbye" or "bless you" after a sneeze.

I always say "safe landings!" :D

In any case, the trip to/from the airport is statistically more dangerous than the flight.

If you have a safe landing, the rest should've been fine... including the trip to the airport.

I don't find someone saying "safe flight" or expressing similar sentiments "annoying" in the slightest. They are wishing you well and hope your travels are safe. Accept it in the spirit in which it is given and get on with the rest of your busy day.

Quite.

Have a safe trip, that's the go-to line for me.