• Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Live and Let's Fly
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Home » KLM » KLM Offers Advice On Choosing The Best Seat To Survive A Crash
KLM

KLM Offers Advice On Choosing The Best Seat To Survive A Crash

Matthew Klint Posted onJuly 18, 2019November 14, 2023 3 Comments

a woman smiling at the camera

We can all be tone deaf…I certainly fall prey to that from time to time. But someone at KLM really needs a lesson in common sense.

KLM maintains regional Twitter accounts, including one in India under @KLMIndia. Yesterday morning, the account tweeted a post and image about choosing the safest seat on an airplane:

The post, now deleted, said:

According to data studies by Time, the fatality rate for the seats in the middle of the plane is the highest. However, the fatality rate for the seats in the front is marginally lesser and is least for seats at the rear third of a plane.

a blue and white airplane seat

How comforting to hear from an airline! And then the image…with the caption, “Seats at the back of a plane are the safest!”

Wow…

It took about 12 hours, but the Tweet was deleted and replaced with an apology:

We would like to sincerely apologise for a recent update. The post was based on a publically available aviation fact, and isn’t a @KLM opinion. It was never our intention to hurt anyone’s sentiments. The post has since been deleted.

a screenshot of a social media post

The tweet referred to a 2015 Time article which argued that middle seats in the rear of the aircraft have the best survival rate during crashes. Taking stats from 1985 to 2015, researchers found:

[S]eats in the back third of the aircraft had a 32% fatality rate, compared with 39% in the middle third and 38% in the front third.

Hannah Sampson of the Washington Post covered this story and reached out to the FAA for their take on safe seating. She received two answers. FAA Communications Manager Lynn Lunsford said:

Many people have tried and failed to produce a scientifically defensible answer to this question. There are too many variables, and this is the important one — so few accidents — that a simple answer is probably not statistically defensible.

FAA spokesperson Greg Martin was even more candid:

Since February 2009, over 90 million miles, and about 8 billion passengers have been carried in U.S. commercial aviation without a single crash fatality — an exemplary safety record. As compared to any other human activity, the safest place to be is in a U.S. commercial airliner — regardless of seat.

Amen to that!

CONCLUSION

KLM was totally tone deaf here. But the unforced error serves as a great reminder of how safe flying still is, even in an era of unease over lingering issues on the 737 MAX.

What do you think of the KLM crash advice?

Get Daily Updates

Join our mailing list for a daily summary of posts! We never sell your info.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Previous Article First Impressions: SriLankan A321neo Business Class
Next Article What Surprised Me Most About The Park Hyatt Maldives

About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

Related Posts

  • Brilliant KLM Award Redemption

    The Best Award Redemptions Are Often The Most Boring

    February 21, 2024
  • a blue and white airplane on a runway

    JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes Gets Help From Unlikely Ally

    November 5, 2023
  • KLM Amsterdam Dubai KL427 787-10 business class seat

    First Impressions: KLM 787-10 Business Class Amsterdam – Dubai (KL427)

    May 15, 2022

3 Comments

  1. Stogieguy7 Reply
    July 18, 2019 at 10:40 am

    Thanks for posting a copy of that tweet. I never would have believed it, had I not seen that. And (to be honest), the stupidity of it has me laughing my butt off! Are we sure that it’s not an SNL bit gone wrong?

  2. Kenneth Reply
    July 18, 2019 at 11:33 am

    The best seat for surviving a crash? A seat next to, or close to an exit. (And knowing how to operate the exit.) Obviously if the plane flies into a mountain or falls from the sky, where one is sitting won’t matter. But most crashes occur during take-off or landing and are frequently survivable – IF you get out of the plane in time. Seconds can mean the difference between surviving or dying. After a 30-year career as a flight attendant my choice of a seat when flying is ALWAYS one at – or near – an exit.

  3. derek Reply
    July 18, 2019 at 7:31 pm

    Doctors are held to a higher standard because they are supposed to and do explain risks of surgery. Why not airlines? Because they’re so caught up with “enhancements “!

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Search

Hot Deals for May

Note: Please see my Advertiser Disclosure

Capital One Venture X Business Card
Earn 150,000 Miles Sign Up Bonus
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Earn 100,000 Points
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles!
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles
Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
Earn $750 Cash Back
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Earn 120,000 Membership Reward® Points

Recent Posts

  • flight attendant smuggler via Sri Lanka police
    Flight Attendant Faces 25 Years, Allegedly Smuggled “Human Bone” Drug June 1, 2025
  • Delta orlando
    Delta’s Play In Orlando—New Focus City Strategy Emerging? June 1, 2025
  • Hong Kong Coffee
    Great Coffee In Hong Kong May 31, 2025
  • United JetBlue Partnership
    JetBlue Talked To American And Delta—But United Made The Offer It Couldn’t Refuse May 31, 2025

Categories

Popular Posts

  • Aegean Airlines Feast
    A Feast Fit For A King On Aegean Airlines May 23, 2025
  • United American O’Hare gate dispute
    United Airlines To American Airlines: Fly More, Sue Less May 6, 2025
  • American Airlines 737-800 First Class Pathetic
    American Airlines 737-800 First Class: Pathetic May 6, 2025
  • Israel Flight Cancellations
    Major Carriers Extend Flight Cancellations To Israel: Here’s The List May 14, 2025

Archives

June 2025
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30  
« May    

As seen on:

facebook twitter instagram rss
Privacy Policy © Live and Let's Fly All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Live and Let's Fly with appropriate and specific directions to the original content.