Flying in China, apparently. According to Xinhua:
China’s civil aviation industry achieved a clean sheet in safety last year and notched up 3.7 million hours of flight, both cargo and passenger, a 15.4 percent year-on-year increase.
More people, more flights, no crashes. Who would have bet on that? In fact, according to Xinhua, there hasn’t been a “severe” civil aviation accident in China since 2004. Now, who would have bet on that? In all seriousness, this does seem to be the supreme counter-example to the ongoing meme among foreigners in China- and English-language blogs in China – implying that China is incapable of bringing order to its (perceived) chaos.
Deep thoughts aside, I’ll admit: I’ve taken my shots at Chinese aviation over the last year. But, in light of this story, I want to concede that I was often unfair while, at the same time, offering the Chinese civil aviation authorities my sincere congratulations – and thanks! – for not killing me. Let 2008 bring similar good tidings.
Yeah, it’s true that Chinese aviation isn’t the best in the world, but it certainly has been steadily improving–visibly so, to me, since I first came to China about 8 years ago.
Compare and contrast with another country I frequently fly to (but not within, yet).. Indonesia. My fiancee has an uncle who for years refused to leave the island he lived on (and not one of the big ones), and having seen some of the stories I don’t blame him.
For example, when the ferry between Jakarta and Bangka sank… and then the boat they sent to recover the wreck and conduct accident inspections caught fire and then sank too.
Plus the whol Adam Air thing… even Garuda, the national carrier is banned from flying to the EU. Not that it did anyway, but it’s the principle of the thing.