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Scary Airline Facts That Will Make You · Be Amazed

• 0:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: Everyone loves flying.
• 0:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, okay, maybe most of us just tolerate it.
• 0:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: Waiting in line for hours before flying through the sky in a tiny metal tube is kind of nerve-racking.
• 0:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: Still, planes are safe, right?
• 0:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: Supposedly, flying is safer than driving, right?
• 0:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, fasten your seat belts because we're about to take a look at some aspects of airplane design and air travel that the airlines don't want you to know about.
• 0:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: Airlines like to say their planes are pristine, sleek, and hygienic vehicles.
• 0:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: In reality, they're about as clean as a movie theater floor.
• 0:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: Every second, an airplane isn't in the air, it isn't making money.
• 0:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: As such, airlines really want to minimize their planes' ground time and maximize their number of flights.
• 0:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: Ryanair can turn around short half lights in as little as 25 minutes and southwest in as little as 35, which is crazy fast, but it's not much time to clean the plane.
• 1:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: Often leaving staff with just 15 minutes of cleaning time before passengers board.
• 1:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: According to Flight Attendant Sarah Kiegel in Economy class, freshly washed blankets are only provided on the first flight of the day.
• 1:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: After that, they're just folded and reused, no matter how they've been used previously.
• 1:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: Even worse, those tray tables might only be wiped down once a day, usually when the plane remains grounded overnight.
• 1:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, think twice before pouring those pretzels straight onto the tray table, as passengers have been caught changing baby diapers on them.
• 1:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: One flight attendant told the Guardian she had to use passenger blankets to clean stains as they weren't given enough time or supplies to clean properly and had even used them on human faces.
• 1:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: As recently as 2023 Air Canada came under fire for forcing passengers to sit on seats that were still covered in vomit from the previous flight.
• 2:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: So flight attendants placed coffee grounds in the seat pouch and sprayed it with perfume to disguise the smell.
• 2:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: If surfaces can't be trusted, at least you can turn on the overhead fan and enjoy a nice cool breeze.
• 2:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I'd hold off unless you want gunk blown directly into your face.
• 2:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: In 2015 Flight Data Website travel math found that those vents had a greater concentration of bacteria than an airplane's seat belt buckles, airport bathroom locks, and even the airplane's toilet flush button.
• 2:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: So, if you want to cool off on an airplane, your best bet is to just stay hydrated.
• 2:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: except even the water is dirty.
• 2:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: Back in 2003, the EPA studied tap water from over 300 planes and found that 15% contained the harmful bacteria coliform, which is typically found in faces.
• 2:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: That same water is often used to make the onboard tea and coffee by the way.
• 2:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: While disgusting, it's also hardly surprising as the water tanks and planes are irregularly clean.
• 3:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: So, if you want to stay clean on an airplane, you just need to remember.
• 3:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: Don't drink the water, touch anything or breathe.
• 3:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: Simple.
• 3:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: Think fast.
• 3:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: What are the worst seats on planes?
• 3:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm willing to bet you said middle seats, and I can't blame you.
• 3:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: Nobody wants to be sad stuck between two strangers.
• 3:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: You may have also said seats towards the back of the plane, as it isn't nice sitting right next to the bathroom.
• 3:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: And in my experience, these seats feel bumpier.
• 3:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: So a middle seat at the back of a busy plane, that's hell.
• 3:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: But if you ever find yourself stuck with this seat, don't switch.
• 3:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: In 2007, popular mechanics conducted an analysis on the National Transportation Safety Board's data on airline crashes that resulted in at least a single fatality and survivor.
• 3:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: Remember that while your odds of ever being in a plane crash are low, about 1 in 1.2 million, your odds of perishing in a plane crash are even lower at 1 in 11 million.
• 4:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: Anyway, popular mechanics looked at every deadly air crash in the United States between 1971 and 2007, and what they found was shocking.
• 4:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: It seems that when it comes to survival, all seats aren't created equal.
• 4:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: They found that those towards the front of the plane had only a 49% chance of survival, those in the middle had a 56% chance of survival, and those towards the back had a much higher
• 4:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: Nice, and the safest seats of all, while those were the middle seats towards the back of the plane with a 72% survival rate.
• 4:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's right.
• 4:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: The seats we think are the worst are actually the safest.
• 4:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: Go figure.
• 4:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's easy to see people who work in certain professions as unshakable superhumans, doctors, firefighters, or YouTubers.
• 4:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: Another is the noble pilot.
• 4:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: They fly multi-million dollar equipment and are responsible for the safety of hundreds of people.
• 5:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: Surely only the most calm,
• 5:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: Like in all professions, sometimes pilots and co-pilots don't get along.
• 5:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: This is why airlines have a secret system they try not to let passengers know about, the no-payer system.
• 5:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: Every Captain 1st and 2nd Officer have a list of names that connect to their carrier scheduling system.
• 5:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: They can then add the names of anyone they don't get along with to their personal list, lowering the odds they'll fly together, make sense!
• 5:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: I wouldn't want to be stuck in a tiny room with my intern, 4-4-2.
• 5:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: Stop microwaving your fish in the break room for 4-2, this is a call out.
• 5:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: However, the do not pair list isn't perfect, in 2022 on an air-france flight heading from Geneva to Paris, two pilots had a serious disagreement shortly after take-off.
• 6:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: While the two men were supposed to be flying the plane, they were instead grabbing each other's collars with one of them reportedly clocking the other.
• 6:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: The commotion caught the attention of a member of the cabin crew who spent the rest of the flight in the cockpit, having to monitor them.
• 6:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's only passengers that do not pair lists they could put their pilots on.
• 6:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you're anything like me, you've never leave the house without your essentials.
• 6:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: Personally, I make sure to take my diamond play button with me wherever I travel.
• 6:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: I can rest assured that baggage handlers the world overtake their job seriously, and handle baggage with the utmost care.
• 6:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: However, many viral internet clips show a very violent approach to baggage handling.
• 6:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: More than just being the norm though, tossing bags around like this might be the only way these guys can do their job.
• 6:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: The common Boeing 747-400 can seat 416 passengers in a 3-class configuration.
• 6:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: Let's assume that only half those passengers check any baggage and that they only check one bag of peace.
• 7:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's 208 bags that need to be loaded.
• 7:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now let's say these baggage handlers can receive a bag, gently move it, and neatly stack it in just 20 seconds.
• 7:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: That would mean it would take 2 baggage handlers, 34 minutes to load or unload a plane.
• 7:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: Remember that some airlines claim to have turnaround times of 30 minutes, and you can see why careful baggage handling just isn't practical.
• 7:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you can't protect your bag's outsides, surely you can protect their insides, right?
• 7:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: Using a nice big lock on your zips usually does the trick, nothing can get by this, right?
• 7:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: Nothing, except a ballpoint pen that is, yeah, getting through most zippers is as simple as jabbing them with a pen and running it along the scene.
• 7:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: Once a bag has been pilfered, the zips can simply be dragged around to reseal the bag.
• 7:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: According to the LA Times, fewer than 500 of the TSA's 150,000 employees were arrested for theft between 2001 and 2011, or just 0.3%.
• 8:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: However, those were just the employees who got caught.
• 8:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: Even going by those odds, though, you're way more likely to have your bags handled by a
• 8:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: One convicted TSA worker claimed there was a culture of indifference at their airport and claimed to have pilfered over $800,000 worth of passenger goods over a four-year period.
• 8:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I thought YouTube was easy money.
• 8:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: While you might think the pilots are the most essential people on the plane, I reckon flight attendants deserve more praise.
• 8:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: They bring us our food, show us to our seats or in charge of our safety, and ask the guy sitting in front of us to raise his seat back up when we can't summon the courage to.
• 8:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: Considering they have such important roles, airlines must take good care of them, right?
• 8:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: Ha ha, wrong!
• 8:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: Shockingly for all the time they spend getting the plane ready and helping everyone on board flight attendants are only actually paid once the plane door shuts, marking the beginning of their official shift.
• 9:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: Despite this, flight attendants are still expected to arrive early.
• 9:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: Great passengers, check documents, store bags, explain emergency landing procedure, ensure the plane is stocked with food and drink, bid farewell to passengers and numerous other responsibilities, all of which is unpaid labor.
• 9:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's not uncommon for flight attendants to end up working forward to six uncompensated hours every day.
• 9:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: Still, flight attendants do get their own secret beds in rest area on long haul flights.
• 9:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: But where?
• 9:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: Airplanes are cramped enough as it is.
• 9:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: Where could they be hiding a whole bedroom?
• 9:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, they're usually above overhead baggage storage.
• 9:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: So while you're napping in your seat, they're napping in the hollows above you, which feels incredibly unnerving.
• 9:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: They need these naps, too, as some flight attendants claim they're heavily discouraged from slouching while in uniform.
• 10:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: Imagine working at 10-hour flight, sleeping on a flat pack bed, and not even being allowed to rest your shoulders.
• 10:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, they may not be comfortable, but they're at least stylish, right?
• 10:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: Those are some snappy uniforms, but looking good comes with a heavy price.
• 10:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: In 2020, over 500 Delta flight attendants filed a lawsuit against clothing manufacturer
• 10:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: The lawsuit claimed the uniforms were made from sheet materials that caused breathing issues, hives, and hair loss.
• 10:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, and they also died the flight attendants' sheets purple, so clearly only the finest materials were used.
• 10:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: As of the time of writing that case is still pending, however, in November of 2023 a jury ruled in favor of a different group of flight attendants from American Airlines claiming their uniforms were causing rashes, headaches, and breathing problems.
• 10:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeesh.
• 11:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: Who would have guessed the most dangerous part of flying could be getting dressed in the morning?
• 11:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's no secret that despite how nervous we may get, air travel is one of the safest forms of transportation known to man.
• 11:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: But not to birds.
• 11:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: The official term airlines use when a bird hits a plane is bird strike, presumably because it sounds better than bird evisceration.
• 11:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: Bird strikes a curve far more often than airlines would like us to believe, and you may have even been on a plane when it mulched one.
• 11:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: According to the FAA's Wildlife Strike Database, there were 493 reported bird distractions in New York airports alone between 2021 and 2022.
• 11:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: and even those are just incidents reported.
• 11:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: As terrible as that is for birds, it isn't always easy on planes either.
• 11:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: Picture the caved in nose of a Turkish Airlines plane, pretty insane, right?
• 11:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: The thing looks like it was struck by a meteorite.
• 11:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: In reality, the plane was struck by a low flying bird, while it landed safely the plane, not the bird, it's in need of a serious nose job.
• 12:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: In 2023, an American Airlines flight suffered a nasty bird strike, causing an engine fire enforcing the plane to land prematurely.
• 12:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: While no one was harmed, the fire department were called and had to deal with a very sticky situation.
• 12:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: You
• 12:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: don't take a picture, dude.
• 12:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: Still, it could have been much worse.
• 12:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: In 1960, a flock of starlings brought down a plane that had been airborne less than a minute.
• 12:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: Tragically, the plane caerined into the Boston Harbor and claimed the lives of 62 people.
• 12:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: The scariest part of all this, there's very little airlines can actually do about it, and Bird Strikes cost them around $1.3 billion a year, but one recent solution that's showing promise is, well, googly eyes.
• 12:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: French researchers have found that what they call looming eyes near runways can be effective if it's scaring away certain birds, kind of like a cartoon scarecrow, I can't blame them.
• 13:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: Those eyes are just so judgmental.
• 13:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: Have you ever picked up the wrong suitcase at baggage claim?
• 13:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: Embarrassing right.
• 13:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well be thankful you didn't accidentally walk off with someone's pancreas.
• 13:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's more likely than you think, as human organs are often transported on commercial flights.
• 13:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's right.
• 13:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: Your underwear and socks might be a few inches of material away from a human kidney.
• 13:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't stop there, either.
• 13:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: Human remains are often transported on board commercial flights as well as fresh organs.
• 13:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: While this is crazy to realize, it's actually essential.
• 13:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: When someone on the other side of the country needs a new heart fast,
• 13:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: What do you think they're going to do?
• 13:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: Call a private jet?
• 13:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: A single flight on those can cost thousands of dollars.
• 13:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: A commercial plane isn't just the fastest and most cost-effective way to deliver body parts, but the safest.
• 14:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: Remember how much more likely you are to get into a traffic accident than an air accident?
• 14:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: Human organs are valuable.
• 14:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: A heart right now is worth just under a million dollars, while a liver is worth over $520,000, with the kidney and pancreas going for $260,000, and $275,000 respectively.
• 14:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: That precious squishy cargo is way safer in the air than on a road.
• 14:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, kind of, airlines don't want to give away tickets to train medical staff to handle the organs.
• 14:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: This means it's usually up to regular baggage handlers.
• 14:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you've ever lost your baggage or ended up with the wrong suitcase, well, I hate to tell you, but it happens with organs too.
• 14:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: In 2018, a human heart was accidentally left aboard a Southwest Airlines flight, and a study found that between 2014 and 2019, 170 organs were rendered unusable due to transportation issues
• 15:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: Organs used to be stored in the cockpit, but since the events of 9-11, now they're in the cargo hold along with all the other luggage.
• 15:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: Man, imagine how awful that baggage mix-up would be.
• 15:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yikes!
• 15:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: What do you do when you're nervous on a plane?
• 15:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: Talk to a friend, hold a loved one's hand?
• 15:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I don't have either of those, so I head to the bathroom.
• 15:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: Small spaces make me feel safe, don't judge me.
• 15:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: Unfortunately, airplane bathrooms aren't actually safe at all.
• 15:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: For starters, did you know the lock on an airplane bathroom does nothing?
• 15:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, it locks the door, but it doesn't stop outsiders from getting in.
• 15:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: There's a hidden latch that lets crew unlock the door from the outside, a secret anti-lock.
• 15:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: What's the deal?
• 15:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: When you think about it though, an airplane door that can't be opened is pretty dangerous.
• 15:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: Someone could pass out in there and need medical attention, or a child could accidentally lock themselves in.
• 16:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: Please use this information responsibly though, don't use it to play toilet peek-a-boo.
• 16:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: So airplane bathrooms may not be super secure, but at least there are always enough of them, right?
• 16:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, no.
• 16:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: The Boeing 737-800 is the most common commercial airplane in the world.
• 16:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: It has 138 seats and three toilets.
• 16:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: That just doesn't feel like enough?
• 16:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: Surely there have to be guidelines regulating this sort of thing.
• 16:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, no, according to a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration, there are actually no minimum bathroom requirements for commercial airliners.
• 16:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yikes!
• 16:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: Better hope airlines don't go too crazy with cutting costs.
• 16:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: I don't want to have to hold it in across the entire Atlantic.
• 16:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: When you're worried about your luggage, elbow room, and whether you might drop 50,000 feet out the sky, it can be easy to forget some of the other dangers of flying.
• 17:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: Take air pressure, for example, as you fly higher and higher the air pressure gets lower and lower, this is because air pressure is a measure of the weight of the air as above you.
• 17:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: The higher you go, the less air and pressure there is, making it colder and harder to breathe.
• 17:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: Airplanes are designed to counteract this by keeping the cabin pressure at around 11 or 12 PSY, which is lower than the approximate 14.7 were used to, but still totally fine.
• 17:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: If anything does go wrong, however, we have these.
• 17:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: Oxygen Masks.
• 17:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: These drop down whenever the plane experiences a sudden drop in cabin pressure so passengers can enjoy safe, breathable air.
• 17:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: Without them, drops in cabin pressure can result in a loss of consciousness, nasty headaches and various other health issues, so they're crucial.
• 17:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: With that in mind, can you guess how much breathable air they provide passengers?
• 17:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: A couple hours, maybe one?
• 17:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: Nope.
• 17:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: Try about 15 minutes.
• 18:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now, that's the average, but the FAA only requires that they provide 10 minutes.
• 18:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: Still, 10 minutes should be enough, as in most cases that's enough time for a pilot to notice the drop in air pressure and to send the plane to 10,000 feet, which has a safe PSI of 10.2.
• 18:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: Still, as you should know by now, if a company can cut corners and cheap out on safety, they often will.
• 18:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: John Barnett, a former Boeing quality control engineer, told the BBC that a quarter of the oxygen mass on Boeing 787 Dreamliner simply didn't work correctly, but Boeing went ahead and installed them anyway.
• 18:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: Wouldn't you know it?
• 18:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: In 2024, an Alaskan Airlines flight aboard a Boeing lost a door while stare-borne, and several of the passengers claimed their oxygen mass just didn't work.
• 18:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: They alleged they had to scramble around the cabin searching for functional ones, which I have to say, showed amazing composure on their parts.
• 18:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: If my planes door flew off, I'd probably have a heart attack before the mask even deployed.
• 19:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: Or didn't deploy if I was on a Boeing.
• 19:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: Holes aren't something I'd say belong in a plane's fuselage, yet there are holes all over the aircraft we travel on that we're not aware of.
• 19:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: From what I found these hatches were built into older models of aircraft like the SAB 340, so ground crew could pass important papers to pilots without boarding the plane, especially useful as airliners aren't supposed to reopen doors once they're shut, as it could alter the plane's weight estimation.
• 19:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: So don't worry about little cockpit holes, but what about those windows?
• 19:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: They're pretty safe too.
• 19:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: Each layer acts as a safeguard on the slim chance that preceding layer cracks, and that little hole in the middle pane prevents condensation.
• 19:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: While regular use isn't likely to break a plain window, they aren't designed to withstand direct damage.
• 20:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: On April 17, the Southwestern Airlines flight experienced an engine failure in the small fragment of the engine hit a window causing a break.
• 20:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: The passenger next to that window was partially sucked out and sadly didn't survive.
• 20:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: Another terrifying incident involved a British airways captain being partially sucked out when poorly installed cockpit window blew out.
• 20:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: Luckily he got tangled up in the control panel, saving his life.
• 20:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: He was sticking out the front of the plane for 20 minutes before the co-pilot could land.
• 20:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: While the captain survived, he was badly injured, suffering from frostbite caused by the high-altitude winds.
• 20:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: As horrifying as those stories are, plane manufacturers must be improving their safety all the time.
• 20:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: Right?
• 20:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well,
• 20:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: No.
• 20:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: In fact, in 2022, Boeing threatened to just stop making their 737 line of planes unless they were given exemption from certain safety requirements.
• 20:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: Remember John Barnett, the Boeing whistleblower?
• 20:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: According to him, oxygen masks are the tip of the iceberg, and in some cases Boeing used substandard parts salvaged from scrap bins in their planes.
• 21:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: Oh man, that's so scary.
• 21:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: I can't breathe, and that's not just because I've got a Boeing air mass.
• 21:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: Turbulence.
• 21:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: Everyone hates it.
• 21:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: Every bump no matter how small hits your brains you're about to die alarm.
• 21:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well I have bad news for you.
• 21:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: Turbulence is getting worse and there's nothing airlines can do about it.
• 21:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: There are a few different types of turbulence.
• 21:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: Wake turbulence is caused when one plane follows a little too closely behind another.
• 21:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: Thermal turbulence is caused by rising warm air and towering clouds.
• 21:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: The kind we're interested in is clear air turbulence.
• 21:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: This is the bumpy turbulence that occurs when there isn't a cloud in the sky.
• 21:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's caused by sudden changes in wind speed and direction, known as wind shear, typically at heights greater than 35,000 feet.
• 21:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: This type of turbulence can be dangerous as, unlike other kinds, it doesn't show up on onboard equipment, and it's getting worse.
• 22:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: You see, as global temperatures begin to rise due to climate change, the warmer air caused by CO2 emissions is increasing the frequency of wind shear.
• 22:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: One study found that wind shear had increased by 15% between 1979 and 2019, and could potentially triple within the next few decades.
• 22:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: While Turbulent still isn't likely to cause a crash, it is a major cause of airline injuries as people are tossed about the cabin or hit by falling luggage, as happened on one flight back in 2019.
• 22:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: Turbulents related injuries and structural plane damage cost airlines somewhere between $500 million and $1 billion per year.
• 22:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: good news though.
• 22:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: This is all only a problem if your plane takes off in the first place.
• 22:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: You see planes have a more difficult time taking off in warmer climates.
• 22:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: This is because warm air is less dense and thus generates less lift.
• 22:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: As global temperatures rise we can also expect more delays.
• 23:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: Alright, look, you can be sitting around on the ground or bumped around in the air.
• 23:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: Your choice.
• 23:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: Time to answer that age-old question.
• 23:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: What's the deal with airline food?
• 23:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, buckle up, because answering that question will also answer why air travel is generally bad.
• 23:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, seriously, it all ties back to the food.
• 23:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: There was a commercial for Boeing 747-100 rolled out in 1969.
• 23:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: and believe it or not, it really was a plane.
• 23:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's almost unrecognizable compared to modern airliners, it's roomy, decorative, and the food looked incredible.
• 23:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: Back in the day, it wasn't uncommon for planes to feature luxury meals and even piano bars.
• 23:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: So, how did we go from all that luxury to what we have now?
• 23:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well back in 1938 when air travel was first becoming a major American industry, the U.S. formed the civil aeronautics board.
• 23:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: This board was in charge of regulating the new industry, and one of its many responsibilities was setting ticket prices.
• 24:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's right.
• 24:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: Airlines couldn't charge whatever they wanted.
• 24:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: Instead, tickets were priced according to the number of miles traveled along a rope.
• 24:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: So a ticket from New York to LA would always cost the same amount no matter the airline.
• 24:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: As airlines couldn't compete based on price, they instead had to compete with customer satisfaction.
• 24:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: Thus, every airline tried to offer the nicest food, the rumious seats, the hottest crew.
• 24:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's the reason your grandpa calls this era, the golden age of air travel.
• 24:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: However, this came to an end in 1978 with the AirLindy Regulation Act, which heavily deregulated the industry.
• 24:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: Suddenly, airlines could now charge whatever they wanted and begin competing for who could offer the lowest prices.
• 24:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: This inevitably started a race to the bottom or bad choice of words for airplane talk.
• 24:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: With lower ticket prices, airlines cut costs wherever else they could and food quality was of the first victims.
• 24:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: Airlines no longer had the desire or money to provide luxury meals or piano bars.
• 25:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: Some issues we've already discussed arose after the deregulation act.
• 25:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now to be fair, the deregulation act is responsible for air travel in the United States getting cheaper.
• 25:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: However, since then, many airlines merged and raised prices back up anyway.
• 25:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: Still, if crummy airline food is getting you down, you can always smuggle your own on board.
• 25:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: I, for instance, always hide a ziplock bag of spaghetti in my bags when I fly.
• 25:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, those were some airline and airplane facts that had me nervous to fly ever again.
• 25:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: Are you still unfazed?
• 25:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: Let me know in the comments if the platform allows it.
• 25:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: Until next time, thanks for listening!