Saturday 1 October 2011

Wing and a prayer


Full article in JPG format: page 54/55 & page 56

In August, the Air Transport Rating Agency (ATRA) published a list of what it claimed are the ten safest airlines in the world. The Geneva-based company, which was founded earlier this year, said it arrived at the holistic safety rating through a combined analysis of 15 criteria, incorporating factors as disparate as financial results and average fleet age.

Some analysts were quick to cast doubt on its methodology, arguing that previous studies have found no correlation between accident rates and several of the criteria used. Others also noted the conspicuous absence of any Gulf carriers on its list, despite the fact that the region’s three largest airlines – Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways – have never recorded a fatal incident in their, admittedly brief, histories...