Cathay Pacific And Air France-KLM Place Safety Devices In Economy Class Cabins

In a effort to comply with new passenger safety regulations, Cathay Pacific and Air France-KLM have started installing seatbelt-mounted airbags in their economy-class cabins. The devices are designed to improve survivability in the event an airplane goes down.

Aircraft built in the U.S. after October of last year are required to carry technology designed to keep passengers conscious after deceleration of up to 16 G's. The thinking is that staying conscious will allow the passengers to escape any ensuing fire. EASA spokesman Jeremie Teahan said the same rules will be in effect in Europe by next year.

Bloomberg News reports that airbags are already installed in about two percent of seats, and that many are already manufactured to comply with the 16g standard without them. But one manufacturer, AmSafe, predicts that they will be standard for most seats in 10 years. The devices cost about $1,200, while a standard seatbelt is about $25. Cathay Pacific CEO Tony Tyler said in an interview at ILA Berlin this week that the major problem is the hard shell of economy-class seats which cause head injuries. "Therefore, we need airbags," he said.

A 2005 study by the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority for the FAA shows that about 80 percent of plane crashes are survivable, and that better restraints and stronger seats might have prevented 62 fatalities.

Cathay Pacific became the first airline to equip entire planes with airbags, starting with their A340 and B777 aircraft. Air France-KLM is also equipping its B777 aircraft, according to a spokesperson.

But Bloomberg reports that the IATA is still looking into whether the airbags make sense. IATA senior vice president for safety, operations and infrastructure said "we need to have numbers before we take any stance."

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.easa.europa.eu, www.iata.org