Few unknown facts about Airlines industry

1. The airline industry is a product of the Aviation Industry – Did you know that the airline industry and the aviation industry are not the same? The airline industry generally has four business models. Full-service carriers, low-cost carriers, charter airlines, and cargo airlines. Whereas, the aviation industry includes aircraft manufacturers, research organizations, regulators, and aerospace companies.

2. Fuel prices and ticket prices – Usually, the fuel cost calculation is complicated when we think about commercial airlines. It involves factors such as size and efficiency of the airline, taxi time, sector, weight of cargo, jet stream direction, weather conditions, and more. The fuel price variation has little to no impact on the ticket price in the short term.

3. Security for Airlines – Digitization offers certain perks for a seamless travel experience. In contrast, the airline industry faces serious vulnerabilities due to connectivity and reliance on Information Technology infrastructure. Ransomware has become a multi-billion-dollar industry. Airlines continuously struggle to enhance their digital hygiene and immunity to plug the gaps

4. Aircraft age – An aged aircraft might not mean that the plane is less safe or even less reliable. Airliner age depends more on maintenance practices, flight cycles, and flight hours instead of age in years. DC-3 is a marvelous example of an aeroplane in service since 1936. The refit and conversion process nowadays qualify an aircraft to fly with brand new engines, modern interior, and aesthetics on an old airframe with impeccable safety and reliability.

5. Inspiration from Animals and Birds – Modern transport solution appears to be inspired by birds and animals. McLaren P1 is an example of a car whose design is inspired by a large sea fish: The sailfish. Similarly, the Japanese trains took inspiration by the Kingfisher’s beak-shaped nose. Early aviation pioneers studied bats and birds during the evolution of aircraft for a seamless flight experience.

6. Stand Up Seats – A concept recently presented in an expo for ultra-low-cost carriers. These stand-up seats will allow a passenger to travel standing and the price of such a ticket can be 50% lower. Would you like to try a stand-up seat? We would like to know what you think?

7. The safest spot in case of a crash – Unfortunately, there’s no safest spot in case of an aeroplane crash. Fortunately, aeroplane crashes are too rare. On average, a passenger could take a flight every day for 241 years before experiencing an accident with one fatality on board.

8. Where does dump fuel go – The fuel dumping practice is quite costly and is performed only in case of emergencies. The jet fuel then vaporizes in the air. ATSDR listed mixed results regarding the biodegradability of the JP-4.

9. World’s safest airline – Qantas airlines had zero fatalities on record to date. This Australian airline sets an exemplary standard in terms of air navigation development, real-time monitoring of engines across their fleet, and much more.

10. Most airports in the world – Out of the total number of airports in the world, the United States accounts for one-third. Next to the US, we have countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Russia, and Argentina with over 9000 airports among the four of them.

Happy Travels !!

By – Ankur Jain (United Airlines)