On Fear of Flying
Dear Airline Companies,
Many of you are considering the re-introduction of a certain… let’s say… embattled, problem plagued aircraft into rotation in the coming months after removing it from all flight schedules following the worldwide grounding of the aircraft in March this past year.
Though the manufacturer promises the glitches will have been fixed, consumer confidence is likely to remain under repair.
You might want to consider how the heck you’re going to convince passengers to fly on these aircrafts ever again.
Don’t worry, I have your answers (grounded in psychological research, of course!).
The Sitch
A whopping 30.7% of adult Americans are either anxious about flying or afraid to fly altogether. The October 2018 and March 2019 crashes of two brand new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, killing hundreds of passengers, isn’t going to lower this statistic amongst your passengers.
The new aircraft was to be the hyped star of your fleet with over 5,000 global orders (under 400 had been delivered to you and your fellow airlines, with a further 300 built and stored as of today). It has been grounded around the world after the tragic crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.
An anti-stall feature is to blame, even though the manufacturer was insisting the planes were still safe to fly. Competitive pressures to get the new planes airborne, as well as the Federal Aviation Administration of delegation safety assessments to the manufacturer itself to expedite approvals, are two fishy reasons that had the public questioning if the aircraft was truly safe to fly. After significant outcry, many of your fellow airlines grounded and cancelled flights (and taking a huge financial hit - for example, American Airlines took a $350 million hit from grounding the aircraft).
The manufacturer is working on issuing a software fix, one that the Federal Aviation Administration would not require new simulator training for pilots.
As you, dear Airline Company, and a number of your competitors airlines make plans to put aircraft back into rotation once the software fix has been issued, a question surfaces: how can you convince people to get back on board?
The Question
How Can You Convince Passengers That Your Plane Is Safe?
We all know the facts: it’s far and away safer to fly in a plane than drive in a car. The odds of dying in a plane crash are near one in 11,000,000; but the risks of dying in a car crash are one in 5,000. The odds of dying in a plane crash are even more remote than the odds of being struck by lightning - which is one in 13,000. Basically, you’re much safer in a plane that being caught in the rain.
Assuming that the software fix sticks, is approved by the FAA, and the aircraft is fully safe to fly, how do you ensure that your passengers aren’t scared out of their pants on a flight?
The Concept
Let’s start with the psychological factors that are causing the odds and the perceptions of risk to be misaligned. It comes down to a little culprit called the availability heuristic.
The availability heuristic is a little trick your brain plays to evaluate how frequent or probable a topic is based on how easily it comes to mind. The more examples of the concept/event/topic that come to mind, the more we think that event is likely to occur. An example is of people who hear of more cases of successful businesses may believe they have a greater chance of running a successful business.
Certain things are easier to recall than others: events that are frequent, negative rather than positive, recent, extreme and vivid are all the more easily recalled.
So when the media releases shocking details of a horrific crash like Lion Air flight 610, with images of mourners being taken to the site of the crash on an Indonesian Navy ship, these details check some key boxes: negative, recent and extreme.
When this is followed by graphic images of the Ethiopian flight 302 with remains of bodies collected in bags, well, now we’ve got (relatively) frequent and vivid.
In a survey of 1,765 fliers, Barclays Investment Bank found that half of airline passengers are afraid to fly on a 737 MAX and 44% would wait at least a year after the plane returns to commercial service.
Wait! But I’m a huge airline and this jet makes up 6% of our flights and carries 9,000-12,000 passengers per day! What can we do to get passengers to trust that the plane is safe to fly on? (Assuming it passes its safety tests).
The Play
Make The Fix Vivid
Passengers will be more likely to be scared of your new plane if few or vague details are presented. Acknowledge the failure (“The manufacturer has found the problem”), the fix (“the technicians have addressed the software problem”) and the fall out (“the plane is now safe to fly and the software that was the issue has been solved”). Describe how the fix works. It will add credibility to your claim as the expert that the aircraft is fixed. But it will also build an image in your customers’ minds of what’s going to go right. Don’t dance around it – address the fear and make the fix vivid.
Make The Fix Consistent
Airline Company, you’re smart. Banning the new plane and rescheduling reliable aircraft meant you wouldn’t risk further mechanical delays or cancellations due to this aircraft for your travelers. If you want to get the skeptics on board, you’re going to have to be flawless. No one wants to be sitting on a controversial aircraft listening to the captain say the flight is delayed because of technical issues – you’re sure to have someone wet their pants! Build in extra time at the turn arounds for inspections to absorb any times that would otherwise be delays. This might be more expensive, but it emphasizes to your customers that you put their safety first and take their feelings seriously.
Share The Good News
We don’t hear a lot of news stories about those boring flights where everything goes right. This might be the time to change that. Media articles that report a number of successful, issue-free flights will provide evidence to your customers that the aircraft is safe to takeoff once again. This good news might even be shocking or extreme as people could be expecting the worst. Use repetition and visual language, the availability heuristic prays on you not knowing all the information. Make the information widely available! Pro tip: Use numbers, statistics, and examples that are tangible to the customer. A recent CBC article described the predecessor to the 737 MAX called the NG (Next Gen) as having over 30,000 successful take-off and landing cycles. This huge number is too ambiguous to form a compelling insight in our minds that rewrites the old, scary association. Think of a way to relate your examples to something tangible for your customer!
Appeal To Authority
Most of us aren’t flight technicians. How can we know that a plane is safe? We usually judge it on how safe it’s been in the past and what experts tell us. Get those experts out there to spread the word; present the data (i.e., 135 test flights with the new software and counting) and let the numbers do the talking. Perhaps branch out to authorities other than the FAA, who are continuing on a path to reduce their regulatory oversight of aviation safety (!!!).
Emphasize Why It’s Different Now
Although the FAA is requiring a software solution that does not require pilots to retrain in a flight simulator, having some kind of scaled retraining program (and making that information public. Very public) would do you some good. By grounding the new aircraft, you demonstrated and publicized your commitment to safety over financial gains. Assuage customer’s fears by setting yourself apart: not only do you have the best pilots, they are uniquely trained (and retrained) on this specific aircraft for any eventuality. Because we care.
The Sign-Off
I’ve flown on one of these controversial aircraft. Yep, that’s right. YYZ-SFO. The truth was that it was a beautiful and comfortable experience!
Airlines, MAXimize your returns on you shiny new planes! Don’t let your investment go to waste!
Love,
