Can My Flight Be Delayed A Few Years?

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Every time I use my obsolete computer, I wonder whether I could have delayed my purchase longer.  But life has to be lived, and we usually settle for the best we can get when we need it.

I thought about that recently when booking an airline ticket.  I had just read about a new design for aircraft fuel tanks that makes it impossible for them to explode.  But the news release said the new fuel tanks were not required to be installed until 2012, even though they would eliminate one fuel tank explosion accident on average every five years.

Since 1989 there have been three fuel tank explosions including the one that caused the 1996 crash of TWA flight 800, off Long Island.  As a result, the US Federal Aviation Administration has ordered airlines to install the new safety device on thousands of planes.  As well the National Transportation Safety Board has made a number of interim recommendations, such as the removal of anything that could cause sparks near fuel tanks.

The new designs reduce the flammability of the tank itself by removing oxygen and inserting the inert gas nitrogen into the fuel tank.  Since the devices cost around 200 thousand dollars per plane, airlines have been given some seven years to install them in existing planes.

So next time new technology offers improvements, ask yourself, do I wait for something better or rely on the best that is currently available?  Sometimes it's a tough choice!