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Can the loss of AirAsia aircraft prove that low-cost airlines are unreliable?

65438+On the morning of February 28th, AirAsia flight QZ850 1 suddenly lost contact, and 155 passengers and 7 crew members disappeared. The loss of AirAsia aircraft has once again aroused people's concern about AirAsia and its "low-cost aviation" model. So, is there a safety hazard in the low-cost aviation model? The study found that some low-cost airlines have poor safety records, while others maintain good safety records. The reason for this difference lies in whether the flight strictly implements aviation regulations, whether there are defects in management and what the weather is like, not whether it is "low price".

The largest low-cost airline in Asia

AirAsia, the full name of AirAsia, is the earliest and largest budget airline in Asia. Founded in the early 1990s, KLOC-0 was the first organization to donate money to Malaysian state-owned enterprises. In 200 1 year, due to poor management, the company's debt reached 1 1 10,000 US dollars, which was paid by former time warner Inc. CEO Tony? Fernandez bought it at a symbolic price of 1 ringgit ($0.26).

In 2002, the acquired AirAsia turned a profit in one fell swoop and began to attract passengers at the promotional price of 1 ringgit, eroding the original horse? A market monopolized by Malaysia Airlines. Since 2003, AirAsia began to expand to Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, India and other countries through joint ventures and acquisitions. The QZ850 1 flight lost on 28th was operated by its subsidiary Indonesia AirAsia.

The most important reason why AirAsia has jumped from a little-known loss-making company to what it is today is that it has adopted the "low-cost aviation" model.

Low-cost airlines, also known as low-cost airlines, was first founded by Southwest Airlines in the United States and was established in 197 1. Its main idea is to reduce operating costs by simplifying services, more single fleet models and lower fares. , with low fares and "small profits but quick turnover" to realize the "public transport" of aviation to gain profits. This model, which was initially ridiculed and resisted by major airlines, has made great progress in the past few decades, sweeping the markets of America, Europe, Oceania and Asia, and becoming the fastest growing sector of the aviation industry with a growth rate of nearly 30%. At present, low-cost airlines have accounted for 26% of the total global transportation, and in Europe, this proportion has reached 39%.

Low cost equals low safety?

Does "low cost" bring "low security"? It should be said that there is no necessary connection between the two. The particularity of shipping accidents determines that once it happens, it will be fatal to the reputation of airlines, and it is even more difficult for low-cost airlines to bear this blow. The so-called "safety is the best interest".

The newspaper said. Com, at the beginning of the budget model, there were doubts about its security, such as high utilization rate of aircraft and long working hours of pilots. However, the fact is that after decades of operation, the accident rate of low-cost airlines is not higher than that of traditional airlines. Southwest Airlines, the earliest low-cost airline, has been the largest airline in the United States for many years and is listed as one of the top ten safest airlines in the world. Major low-cost airlines in Europe and America have also maintained a good safety record.

AirAsia, which suffered this accident, has never had a vicious accident in its operation for more than ten years. During 2009-20 14, it was also rated as "the best low-cost airline in the world" by skytrax for six consecutive years. Sina Micro World reported that the Wall Street Journal quoted aviation experts as saying that before February 28, 20 14, AirAsia and its subsidiaries had an "amazing" safety record, and there were no fatal accidents on their planes. Of course, AirAsia has also had some accidents of "running off the runway".

In contrast, Spring Airlines, the representative of China low-cost airlines, made its maiden voyage in 2005, and no safety accidents have occurred so far. According to public information, Spring Airlines is headquartered in Hongqiao, Shanghai and has a maintenance base. In addition, there are three maintenance stations in Pudong, Shijiazhuang and Shenyang, and more than 500 aircraft maintenance personnel are on duty. The cancellation rate of mechanical delay of Spring Airlines dropped from 1 1.63 to 1.84 of 20 13.

Where is the low-cost airline "famous"?

However, there are also some low-cost airlines with poor safety records. For example, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Korea investigated the accidents of airlines that had flown from 2006 to the end of 20 13. The results show that the accident rate of low-cost airlines in flight 10000 is 0.63, which is 3.7 times that of large airlines (0. 17). It is reported that South Korea did not have special maintenance facilities for low-cost airlines at that time, so it had to carry out maintenance, spare parts supply and irregular maintenance abroad.

In addition, the safety record of Indonesian lion air is also very poor. Lion air was founded in 1999, accounting for about 45% of Indonesian aviation market. Since 2002, there have been six plane accidents in lion air. 20 13 a Boeing 737 from Bandung to Denpasar, the capital of Bali, crashed into the sea when landing at Ulalai airport in Bali. Fortunately, everyone on the plane was saved.

For security reasons, the European Union banned dozens of Indonesian airlines, including lion air, from flying to Europe in 2007, and lion air is still on the EU no-fly list. The reason is that Indonesia has continuously increased its encouragement and support for the development of the aviation industry in recent years. However, due to the advantages of simplified procedures and low prices, Indonesian private airlines and low-cost airlines have frequent safety accidents, and flight safety cannot be guaranteed.

Africa has the highest incidence of aviation accidents in the world. According to the data of the International Air Transport Association, the accident rate per million flights in Africa in 20 10 was 7.4 1, which was the highest among all regions in the world and 0.6 1/2 times of the world average. Poor airport monitoring and management, airlines buying cheap old planes, lack of timely maintenance of machines and poor pilot training are the main reasons for the poor air transport in Africa.

Generally speaking, the safety of navigation mainly depends on whether aviation laws and regulations can be strictly enforced, whether there are defects in management and how the weather is, rather than whether it is "cheap". Newspapers. Com said that AirAsia's accident will inevitably bring a heavy blow to the company's reputation, and even once again raise questions about the safety of the low-cost aviation model. However, just as people will not stop flying because of an air crash, low-cost airlines, a business model that has shown great vitality and competitive advantage, will not stop.