Originally Posted by Fawteen
Originally Posted by E150GT
Originally Posted by Fawteen
Fear of flying? No.
Disgust at being shoveled into a plane like cattle in a livestock trailer? Yes.
It's been 4 or 5 years since I've flown commercially and if I never fly commercially again I won't regret it. Unless it's overseas, the only way I'll go is private charter.
I dont know about private charters. Seems all the people that die are the ones on a private charter plane.
And yet after several years of private charters, both my wife and I are still alive and well. Kinda blows your theory out of the water.
Common sense blows your statement out of the water.
You could also say, "I drive drunk now and then and haven't crashed, so driving drunk isn't as risky as everyone says". An equally invalid statement as yours above.
Statistics apply to groups, not individuals. So your experience, while interesting, proves nothing.
Charter operations (often part 91) are not subject to the regulation that commercial (part 135) carriers are. Charter pilots don't have to meet the training standards, rest requirements, experience, or even age requirements of the airlines, depending how the companies are set up.
They might be great*.
They might not.
Th accident statistics for charter operations suggest that they are not.
Glad it works for you, but no, charter operations are not as safe as the commercial airlines.
Further, at 10 times the price (or more) to charter a jet vs. buying a commercial ticket, your choice of travel is simply unaffordable for nearly everyone.
E.G four tickets to Saint Martin, $2,000. Charter a jet for your wife's 50th to fly to Saint Martin, $25,000. At that price point, you bet, it's a nice experience. It should be.
However, economic reality: most of us would fly commercial, and then buy a new car with the difference.
*Member CUJet works for a company that has high standards and excellent practices, he could speak to the variability in charter operations better than I could.