Airline safety

There has been another crash of an airplane, in Indonesia this time. That's the 6th in a little more than a month. This really has been a black summer for airlines and I guess it's time for regulators to seriously look into that industry. Margins have probably been compressed too much, with some companies starting to compromise on safety and using planes at their maximum capacity.

Countries such as France or Belgium have started to publish their blacklists which is a step in the right direction but too little too late. What is needed is an international list available to the public so that travellers could make their own decision prior to flying.

I can start my own list :-) and the first winner would be Euro Service airline from Congo Republic: I had the scariest flight of my life last year on one of their Antonov 24 from Brazzaville to Pointe-Noire, with smoke coming inside the cabin while we were flying. When I asked the Russian pilot about that, I realized he did not speak English nor French but he managed to reply a "da da normal..." Hum, look at the pictures and tell me if that looks normal!

(2 more pictures available here)

In any case, you can still check web sites such as AirSafe to check if there has been some recent accidents with a carrier you intent to fly with.

Update: Libération has a full set of articles on the future EU airline blacklist