A Holiday to Die For

If you are dying for a holiday, I've got some tips to make your wish come true. Alternatively, it might give you an idea why I am all for staycations. If you believe in statistics, it will sway you in one direction. If on the other hand you believe statistics aren't worth the memory space they take up, it will go the other way. 

When planning the holidays you’re dying for, you may consider many things, but using the right kind of transport might give you the best chance for success. Starting out with your car to the airport might be the key to it all, just don’t use a bus or a train. With using your car for this first part of your holiday, you have a one in 272 chance of having an accident while buses and trains show a ratio of under 1 in 100,000. Maybe you want to try to cross some streets on foot which will give you a ratio of one to 623 to get involved in an accident.

As the possibilities for an accident with a plane are only at one in 5,862, it is worthwhile to choose your airline with care. Your first choice must be Aeroflot which boasts a record breaking 126 fatal accidents in the time between 1950 and 2008. Runners up with 20 and more accidents are United and Air Philippines, while with only over 10 you have the choice between Garuda Indonesian, Pakistan International, Cubana, American Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Air France, and China Airlines.

To further your chances for an accident in the air, you should either live in the United States or go there for a holiday. The US hold the pole position quite securely with 2,613 air traffic accidents between 1942 and 2009. If you go to Russia with 626 accidents by way of a stopover in the United Kingdom with 560, you make the most of the possibilities offered outside of America. Book both ways if still necessary. Further recommended destinations must be Brazil, Canada, and India; all show over 400 air traffic accidents.

It is not that important when during a year you want to take a holiday, just make sure it is not April and May as they show by far the lowest frequency of plane accidents. But you may better your chances with the right kind of airplane type. Your first choice would have to be any type of DC-9 where one out of 19 planes has crashed. Runners up are the Airbus A300, Boeing 747, and Boeing 737 which all show a comfortable ratio of one against way below 100. The new Dreamliner might soon put them all to shame, though.

You should not save money on your holiday either, splash it. Your best chance not to survive in a plane crash is in the front of the plane, where the first class passengers reside. The chances for a terminal accident there are over 50 percent, while the tail end only gives you a 30 percent chance. And the further your seats are from the emergency exits, the better.

All that remains is wishing you a happy holiday with many adventures. To while away the time on the flight, you might want to get the book Information Is Beautiful by David McCandless published by Harper Collins where I pilfered all this information from. It is highly recommended for all stay-at-homes, too.

Further reading

1608: Walking From Somerset to India

The First Flying Permits of 1909

The First Flight Over The Channel