Evening star. [volume], April 19, 1937, Page A-20, Image 20

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
WHY DODGE THIS QUESTION:
WTs know that fear keeps many people
from enjoying the advantages of air trans
portation. So why should we be silent on this
PRESIDENT
AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC;
slower forms of transportation.” No one
questions that. The question is: 'Is it good
business?" Maybe your competitor is flying.
subject? Regrettable as it is, the records snow there have been
accidents and fatalities in every form of transportation. What
we do not understand, is why some people associate danger
vMi a transport plane more than they do with a tram, a boat,
a motor car, an imerurhan, or a bos. Is it because airHne
accidents have received more publicity?
The fact is, there are risks involved in aR kinds of travel.
It h also a fact that the air transportation industry has shown
greaterprogressand achieved a much higher standard of efficiency
in a shorter span of years than any other form of transportation the
world has ever known.
Why quote statistics? They are not always conclusive. They
are often only controversial. I could show you figures to
prove that you would have to fly around the world 425 times
—or make approximately 14,165 flights back and forth be
tween New York and Chicago— before you would be liable
to meet with an accident. Do these statistics overcome
your fear of flying? I think not. There is only one way to
overcome that fear—and that is, to fly.
Many of our regular passengers, who now prefer air travel
to any other form of transportation, admit they were very
timid about their first Perhaps you say: "It is my busi
ness if I want to go on being afraid and confine myself to
Many people lived and died who never rode on a tram be
cause they were afraid. Today we smile at those old-fashioned
fears. And today, to the more than a million airline passen
gers of last year, the fear of air travel is just as old-fashioned.
American Airlines, Inc. has carried more than a million
passengers. These people travel by air for the same reason
they use the telephone, send telegrams, and ride in elevators.
It is a quicker, more modem, more efficient way to accom
plish what they want to do.
Are airlines safer than railroads? You can find intelligent
people to take both sides of the argument.
Whether you fly or not, does not alter the fact that every
form of transportation has one thing in common— risk! No form
of transportation—on the ground, on the water, or in the air—
can guarantee its passengers absolute immunity from danger.
This whole subject of fear about flying can be summed up
as follows: PEOPLE ARE AFRAID OF THE THINGS THEY
DO NOT KNOW ABOUT. You would be equally afraid of
trains if you had never ridden on one.
As soon as you become acquainted with air transportation
yew fear will be replaced by your enjoyment of the many
of tor trttnd*
I