TORONTO, Aug. 28, 2008

Airline Dumps Safety Gear To Save Fuel

Canadian Company Eschews Life Vests In Favor Of Better Gas Mileage

  • An Air Canada Jazz flight passes over an oil pumpjack near the Calgary airport on June 17, 2008.

    An Air Canada Jazz flight passes over an oil pumpjack near the Calgary airport on June 17, 2008.  (AP)

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(AP)  Air Canada's regional carrier, Jazz, is removing life vests from all of its planes to save weight and fuel.

A Jazz spokeswoman says Canadian regulations allow airlines to use floatation devices instead of life vests as long as the planes remain within 50 miles of shore.

Safety cards in the seat pockets of Jazz planes now direct passengers to use the seat cushions as floatation devices.

Jazz is a transcontinental carrier that doesn't fly over the ocean. The planes do fly over the Great Lakes and along the Eastern seaboard. But the company says all of the flights are within 50 miles from shore and the number of its flights that fly over water is minimal.


© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Add a Comment See all 14 Comments
by libsluv2spit August 31, 2008 3:40 PM EDT
soon enough the price of your airline ticket would pretty much depend on how much you weigh...
Reply to this comment
by blackyowe August 31, 2008 2:11 PM EDT
The fact is no one has ever survived a crash into the ocean. Maybe if a plane skidded into a river or onto a beach they might help but if you crash into the sea you dead anyway pretty much on an airliner.
Reply to this comment
by keithle1 August 31, 2008 10:02 AM EDT
Who cares. I don''t wanna fly anyway. American airlines nickle & dimeing everyone to death.
Pretty soon they''ll charge you for a seat belt
& to use the bathroom.
Reply to this comment
by tryhonesty August 29, 2008 7:21 PM EDT
Brillant, brillant...Yalsa.
Reply to this comment
by kommoncents-2009 August 28, 2008 9:11 PM EDT
Seriously. I''d like to see the numbers on how many people have survived a plane crashing into the ocean even WITH life jackets. Not many I bet. I say dump ''em and don''t charge me for my one suitcase.
Reply to this comment
by creeper00 August 28, 2008 8:49 PM EDT
Oh, for crying out loud! Talk about crying wolf!

U.S. airlines which don''t fly overwater removed their life jackets years ago. Your seat cushion is your flotation device. How much flotation do you need in a pond?

Good grief, CBS. Don''t you have anything better to do than sling this mud?
Reply to this comment
by yongamerica August 28, 2008 8:31 PM EDT
saving 50 pounds of weight, a small child and increasing the danger of passengers that fly over the Great Lakes. There is something else it is saving besides jet fuel. How much does it cost to inspect those life vests annually?

How about removing all the seats and making the plane stand up room only?
Reply to this comment
by eddom949 August 28, 2008 8:06 PM EDT
Bad idea. Are they requiring an affadavit?
Reply to this comment
by sistatee-2009 August 28, 2008 7:56 PM EDT
Squirt out a big brownie and hope it floats.
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by deacon20081 August 28, 2008 7:52 PM EDT
So what comes next with the Airlines? Pay Toilets and nickle a square toilet paper, a Toll Charge to walk down the isle?
Flotation devices 15 minute hope your lucky device 5.00 - 30 Minute device 10.00 - 1 Hour flotation for a great buy of 100.00 each ! You can even take them home!
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