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From Times Online

July 25, 2008

How do I know if an airline is safe?

Jennie Lewsey wants to know if Gulf Air is a good bet for flights to India

Richard Green

I am a very nervous flyer (although I do take at least three trips a year by plane) and have unsuspectingly booked flights with Gulf Air to India. Having looked at the awful comments on the online forums I am now petrified. Are they as bad as it seems? Jennie Lewsey, by email

Sunday Times travel expert Richard Green responds: You really shouldn't have any worries flying with Gulf Air, despite what you may have come across about them on the web.

They have been around since 1949 and are pretty good. I've flown them several times and not had a problem. The statistics back this up too and even the web-based Skytrax, which uses passenger feedback to rank the world's airlines, gives the carrier four stars the same as BA, Emirates, and Virgin Atlantic.

If you are worried about a particular airline, Air Fleets is a good place to look. It gives you the average age of an airline's fleet, and also has detailed safety history too. For Gulf Air, the average fleet age is 12.2 years (British Airways is 11.4), and it has had just two fatal accidents in its 59-year history.

It's had an unusual history, in that it was one of the very few airlines that were the flag carrier for more than one country a bit like Air Afrique was for Francophone West Africa, and SAS is still for Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

In Gulf Air's case, it was founded in Bahrain, but also became national carrier of Qatar, Oman, and the UAE as well. This unusual set up meant that on flights from the UK to India, for example, you could be changing planes at any of the Gulf capitals.

Now though, the other states have started their own airlines, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad and Oman Air, and Gulf is now 100% Bahraini owned.

Bahrain International Airport is also a perfectly good place to change planes, with good shops and places to eat.

The online forums do have a tendency to swing wildly from positive to negative, and vica versa, which is why it can be a bit of a shock just reading the comments for a few days of flying. Something like the Skytrax star rating does even out thousands of comments, so this is probably a better guide.

You should make your decision on which airline you fly based on rational choice, not misplaced fear. Aircraft age by itself may not necessarily be a useful indicator. An aircraft that is old is perfectly safe as a new aircraft provided it is properly maintained. More impotant are pilot training etc.

Chester, Nelbilleton, Australia