mduell

I think much is being made of minor mechanical or crew errors on UA, while ignoring the same happening in the same week on other carriers.

UA_Flyer

almost 5 MM BIS on Unite and still alive and kicking

iapetus

Yes, I do feel safe, for reasons that have all been cited above.

One thing that I will add, though, is that I would be even more critical of the media in this regard. Of course, it's their job to keep us informed. But the reason it gets sensationalized is because they know that they can play on people's fear of flying to get more clicks. And as someone married to someone with a fear of flying (and who has passed it on to our children ), the way some of this gets reported does not make our lives easier. At least my wife is brave enough to grab a glass of prosecco and get on board.

cmculp

The nature of rare and random events is that they happen in occasional clusters and long periods without. In the midst of a cluster, extra attention leads to common and normal things getting attention (like a compression stall).

there will always be severe turbulence, bird strikes, and mechanical issues. Redundancies and safety first design have a great track record.

as someone noted up thread, United’s catering is likely a greater risk that the plane is…

Weatherboy

In light of recent incidents and the death of the Boeing whistle-blower and more and more Boeing employees saying they would never fly a 737 or 787, even as a MM/GS on United for years, my impression of how safe United and Boeing are has definitely taken a hit. Not to the point I'm canceling flights yet, but I do have growing concerns about safety.

EWR764

Do I feel safe flying United? Emphatically yes, both in absolute and relative terms.

But, is the loss of institutional knowledge and experience, owing to the high turnover since COVID and glut of new staff both above and below the wing (especially pilots) something that concerns me? Yes, and it's not isolated to United and not necessarily unique to Boeing.

worldwidedreamer

I'd feel a lot safer if upgrades cleared. Until then I feel safer on Alaska.

LarryJ

A Delta 757 lost a wheel six weeks ago in Atlanta. It didn't get much coverage in the news cycle.

An American airplane ran off the runway at DFW a month ago. Didn't get much news coverage.

An Iberian A330 had a hydraulic failure near Madrid today.

An Air Lingus A320 at Dublin reported fumes onboard two days ago.

A Latam Chili 787 had an inflight upset yesterday, injuring 12.

An Emerates A380 had 28 injuries due to turbulence in December.

A Delta A350 had a flight control issue last week.

A Batik A320 had both pilots fall asleep inflight in January.

https://avherald.com/

bebutterfly

Many years ago I traveled by air frequently for work, and I enjoyed it. Then I switched jobs and was grounded for several years. When I went back to flying for personal travel, I found I had a lot of fearfulness, especially during take offs and landings. It got very bad, I was scared through the entire flight. Then I switched jobs again to an office right next to our small city airport. All day long I watched as out the window planes took off and landed, over and over. They were usually small commuter types or even private planes as this is a regional airport, not any kind of a hub. After a while I realized that every day, all over the world, this happens: planes take off, fly and land safely. I understood that it was not all about me or my safety, I would be as safe as anyone else on one of these planes. Now I enjoy flying again and fly as often as I can. I would say, download flight radar 24 and take a look at all the planes out there, flying around and landing safely all over the world. I know what that fear is, and I know you can beat it with a little confidence in something that is generally unexceptional and wonderful at the same time! Enjoy your next flight!

limey1K

Sitting on a 738 waiting to push and the pilot just made an announcement that he needs “every person sitting next to a window to make sure the shades are fully open. This is a safety requirement and flight attendants will be walking through the cabin to ensure that everyone was listening”.

Definitely feeling safer.

bigdog2

saw the news about the whistle-blower. scary stuff. i agree with your sentiment Re: concerns...

Florida Man

Yes, absolutely feel safe flying UA. Certainly as safe as on any other domestic carrier.

This is now two similar threads in the last few days and, at the very real risk of veering into OMNI/PR here, both seem to coincide with surges of social media activity linking UA, safety, and certain hot-button political topics. I don't think UA is unsafe, but they certainly have suddenly become unpopular in certain quarters.

JimInOhio

If rare events show a true pattern of happening in clusters then they are not random. Anyone with a background in statistics, specifically the Poisson Distribution, knows this.

halls120

See post #38. lots of issues in the aviation world recently, but few received much if any coverage because it didn't involve a 737 or UA.

ContinentalFan

I think that part of this furor may be related to pure rage at the management at Boeing. I am a Boeing bigot, so I am surprised at how intense my antagonism towards Boeing management has become: it seems that a switch was flipped at that Alaska incident. It simply should not have happened.

For me, Boeing is more than a publicly traded company; much like say, Disney, McDonalds or Coca Cola: it’s quintessentially American. Boeing let the side down; I feel embarrassed; national self esteem is wounded. So let people shout and scream; I want scalps.

Good on Scott Kirby: keep ratcheting up the pressure.