There are two conflicting needs that confront air travellers when they decide to book a flight. They want the cheapest possible fare - and they demand that the airline has a high safety record. Unfortunately cheap seat prices and aircraft maintenance are at opposite ends of the safety spectrum.
Australia has an enviable record on air safety. Qantas even got a mention in the movie " Rain Man " - as the safest airline in the world and since aviation began the Australian public has believed that the Commonwealth Air Safety Authority ( CASA ) runs a "tight ship" - and that we can expect to reach our destinations without incident.
Yesterday, that safety issue came to the fore when CASA banned discount airline " Tiger " from flying for a week - over " safety concerns ".
Tiger is a spin-off from Singapore Airlines and this low cost off-shoot is a relative newcomer to Australian skies. It has a small fleet and serves limited destinations but it was also a lynchpin in setting the base rate on seat prices, something that it's competitors were forced to take into consideration in setting their own discount prices.
There is speculation that Tiger is finished ! Public confidence is expected to take a shattering blow when air safety is cited as the reason for keeping an airline on the ground. Even if Tiger solves the safety problems troubling CASA - it is a moot point whether customers will continue to buy seats once that magic word - " Safety " - has been tacked adversely to it's name.
It may be remembered that the mighty Ansett Airlines received bad publicity when cracks were found in some of it's aircraft - and in 2001 it collapsed, leaving a huge hole in Australian air services until Qantas expanded to takeup the slack - and new carriers entered the market.
Just as in the automotive industry, a bad safety record can kill the sale of a particular car model - in aviation even a hint of safety concerns can be the kiss of death.
The future of Tiger is on very shaky ground !
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