Americans' Confidence in Airline Safety High, but Down Slightly from 1996

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- A few questions and answers on airline safety following the crash of EgyptAir flight 990, in which 217 people were killed off the Massachusetts coast:

Are people more afraid to fly after a major airline crash such as this?
Reaction to the crash varies by the amount of time a person has spent in the air. A new Gallup poll conducted the weekend after the crash (November 4-7) found 43% of those who have never flown on a commercial airliner (17% of the population) report they are less likely to fly as a result of this accident. For these non-fliers, the crash apparently reinforced their decision to avoid air transportation altogether. However, the percentage drops significantly with experience as an airline passenger. Just 15% of those who have flown within the last year report they are less likely to fly again as a result of the crash, compared to 4% of "frequent flyers" -- those who have flown more than five times in the past year.

Overall, 23% of the total population said they would be less likely to fly on a major commercial airline. By way of comparison, a Gallup poll conducted in July 1996 found that 17% said they would be less likely to fly on TWA as a result of the Flight 800 crash off Long Island. In another case that year where a specific airline was mentioned, 46% said they would be less likely to fly ValuJet (now known as AirTran) following the May 1996 crash in the Florida Everglades.

In addition, Gallup trends on the "fear of flying" show a slight increase in the number of Americans who say they are frightened "always" or "most of the time" when flying. In 1989, that percentage was 16%, and is now only slightly higher, at 21%.

Are people confident that the airline industry is doing all it can to make air travel safe?
The percentage of Americans who express confidence in the airline industry's safety standards has fallen slightly since May 1996, when a Gallup poll found that 92% of those surveyed were confident in those standards. In the wake of several crashes involving major airlines, that percentage has now slipped to 85%.

A separate question asked Americans to rate their confidence that various segments of the airline industry are doing everything they can to increase air travel safety. Only 29% expressed a "great deal" of confidence in the safety efforts of the major U.S. airlines. Pilots received the highest level of confidence from the American public (53%), followed by air traffic controllers (42%), aircraft manufacturers (29%), and ground crews (27%). Interestingly, the federal agencies responsible for monitoring and regulating airline safety received the lowest level of confidence from the public (18%).

The EgyptAir crash involved an international carrier. Even though it is required to meet FAA safety standards, is there any less confidence in international airlines such as EgyptAir?
There is essentially no difference between the level of confidence in U.S. airlines and international airlines. As previously mentioned, 29% of Americans said they had a "great deal" of confidence that U.S. carriers are doing all they can to maintain air safety. That percentage falls only slightly to 27% when Americans are asked to rate international carriers. The level of confidence expressed in U.S. regional and commuter airlines (19%) is lower, however.

Survey Methods
The results below are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,011 adults, 18 years and older, conducted November 4-7, 1999. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

When you fly, how often, if ever, are you frightened -- always, most of the time, sometimes, or never?

BASED ON -- 871 -- WHO HAVE EVER FLOWN; ± 4 PCT PTS

** Flown in past year

How much confidence do you have in the following to do all they can to maintain air safety -- a great deal, a fair amount, not too much, or none at all? How much confidence do you have in ... [RANDOM ORDER]

How confident do you feel about the safety standards of the major commercial airlines, in general -- Very confident, somewhat confident, not too confident, or not confident at all?

As you may know, an EgyptAir jet crashed off the Massachusetts coast last weekend. As a result of this crash, are you less likely to fly on major commercial airlines, or not?

(¨) As you may know, a TWA jet crashed near Long Island last Wednesday night. As a result of that crash, are you less likely to fly on the TWA airline, or not?

(o) As you may have heard, an airplane operated by Value Jet airline crashed in the Florida Everglades this weekend. As a result of this crash, are you less likely to fly on ValuJet airline, or not?