5 Silly Myths about Air Travel

A lot of people will believe anything that they hear about air travel including a lot of the ridiculous misconceptions. Some people just don’t realise that these silly air travel myths just aren’t true, here are 5 you need to stop believing!

Pilots make a lot of money.

Pilots are believed to be up there alongside doctors and lawyers when it comes to the amount of money that they make. But did you know that ticket prices continue to decline and so have the salaries that the pilots receive?

Flight attendants are basically sky waiters.

Imagine being in the public all day long, people have had a few rounds of drinks, babies are crying, people are chatting and laughing. Now add this all into a small enclosed place and the fact that you have to smile and be polite the entire time. This is the life of a flight attendant, so be polite and be nice!

Flying is very expensive.

It really isn’t that pricey, especially when you plan ahead and get a great discount on tickets that it almost seems too cheap. Since the 1980s the prices for tickets have really gone down, so flying really was considered to be very expensive, but it really isn’t so bad.

Disasters have simple causes.

You are not going to crash and die just because you get on a plane. The only way the plane will go down because of turbulence is if it’s the final step in an improbable chain of events that have an extremely tiny, molecule chance of happening. Serious incidents always involve a whole host of factors that lead to tragedy.

Flying is the most dangerous form of travel.

If you are scared of flying then you might as well be scared of a potato or something that will never technically kill you. When it comes to statistics, motorcycles are the most dangerous form of transport. Vans kill thousands but are twice as safe as your average car and very few people die on buses. Every single year, thousands of people are killed on the road in car accidents, including pedestrians. The only reason you believe air travel is so dangerous is that you hear of every single incident.

Did you know that you are 65 times more likely to die in a car than in a plane? Do you know of anyone who’s ever been in a plane crash? Probably not, but you probably know someone who’s been in a car accident!

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Five Ridiculous Myths about Air Travel

There’s something annoying about people believing all these air travel misconceptions, I mean people complain all the time about how dangerous driving a car is, but then they’ll be too afraid to get onto a plane! So, humans may have evolved to walk, but we have learnt to fly… Here are some myths that really need to die:

#5 Pilots Make Tons of Money

Pilots are well known to be up there with doctors and lawyers, except did you know that ticket prices have actually declined because pilots’ salaries have also declined 42% in the past three decades? Pilots make a lot less then you think they do.

You can cut a pilots pay to the point where they’re so overworked they push the wrong button due to sheer fatigue and crash into a building, but they’re still going to be lining up to fly – because they have to. It’s up to us to not be people who take advantage of some of the rare people in the world who have a real passion for something, like flying.

#4 Flight Attendants = Sky Waitresses/Waiters

Imagine if you had to deal with the public every day. Now imagine having to deal with the public every day after they've had a round of drinks. Now add in a soundtrack in the background of crying babies and people talking and laughing loudly. Now lastly, set this all in a small enclosed space. Imagine being a flight attendant, you’d have to smile the whole time and selflessly leap to the aid of everyone.

Becoming a flight attendant is tough enough in the first place, I mean, you have to pass several interviews, go through months of training and endless tests. Not to mention, if you are late once, you’re gone! Too many people look at the job and say, “oh, I could easily do that: it’s just waitressing.” This is why you should give them a sizeable tip and just be nice!

#3 Flying is Expensive

It really isn't, did you know that you can get tickets on discount airlines for a price that is almost too cheap? Did you know that if you stupidly arrive late for your miraculously cheap flight that you should only blame yourself.

Prices for airline tickets have really plummeted since 1980, because flying used to be expensive, much as it used to be something people didn't take for granted. There might be a correlation there, so if you find yourself thinking of flying as just another common travel option and one that should be cheaper, then odds are it already is.

#2 Disasters Have Simple Causes

You are not going to die, just because you get onto a plane. The only way that turbulence is going to bring down your airliner is if it’s the final straw in an improbable chain of events that your could live for literally 123,000 years and never see.

All you have to do is look at the serious incidents and see that there was a whole host of things that precluded the factors that lead to a full-on tragedy. Things like crew training, aircraft design and safety procedures all prevent your death.

#1 Flying is Less Safe than any Other Form of Travel

If you are afraid of flying, you might as well be afraid of pillows, marshmallows and flowers and other things that could technically kill you, but most certainly won’t. Statistically, motorbikes are exactly as dangerous as you think they are. And vans kill thousands, yet are twice as safe as cars. And very few people die on buses. All driving is safer than walking or biking. And cars… tens of thousands of people die every year in car accidents, and several thousand pedestrians with them. The only reason air travel seems so dangerous is because you hear about literally every single incident.

The more convenient a form of transport is the less safe it likely is. Did you know that, you are 65 times more likely to die in a car than in a plane? Oh, and while air crashes are never single-factor, being in a car accident is terrifyingly easy.

Do you know someone who has been in a plane crash? Odds are that you don’t. But, you probably know someone who has been in a car crash, or you were in a car crash. We are way too afraid of airplanes, and not even close to afraid enough of cars.

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The most popular travel myths busted

When we travel it is meant to broaden our mind and enrich the soul, its surprising how most of us travelers believe and do things while travelling that aren't actually necessary. Have a look at these travel myths and consider why they are, in fact, only myths.

Myth 1: Your phone will make the plane crash
Cellphones and other electrical equipment can interfere with the plane’s signals but your cellphone itself will never make the plane crash! The reason you’re asked to switch them off until a certain altitude is because taking off and landing is the most important times for the plane to have a clear signal.

Myth 2: You have to carry a money bag
Despite what you might believe not everyone is out to get the tourist, it’s not absolutely vital for you to carry a money bag especially not a horrible looking moon bag. You’re only a target if you make yourself one.

Myth 3: Jetlag is caused by lack of sleep
Sleeping through your whole flight wont necessarily cure your jetlag, it is actually caused by the massive shift in longitude, when your days and nights are messed with your rhythm is thrown out of balance and this is called jetlag.

Myth 4: Last minute tickets are cheaper
You may think that because the airline wants to book all their tickets out they’ll bring down the price, but this isn't always the case, a lot of times the airline will actually bring up the price because they know many people need tickets.

Myth 5: Street food is unsafe
Do you see all the ingredients that go into your food in a restaurant? No, but you do see all the ingredients that go into street food. Many people would rather eat at a restaurant in a foreign country than eat their street food, but chances are if its deep fried anything unhealthy will get burnt to death before you put it in your mouth.

Myth 6: The air on a plane makes you sick
It’s true that the air on a plane is recycled, but that does not mean you’ll get sick, the reason you sometimes have a cough after a flight is because the air is so dry that high up that it dries the mucus membranes in your nose and that stuff protects you from germs!

We've all heard of these myths and how many of us have missed out on a travel adventure because of the fear caused by these silly urban legends, luckily for you these myths have been debunked so you can go about enjoying your travels without any worries.

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Written By: Christine Romans