http://thechronicleherald.ca/Metro/1074955.html Airline ditches life vests to save on fuel Air Canada Jazz says its planes will now be 25 kilograms lighter By PATRICIA BROOKS ARENBURG and MICHAEL LIGHTSTONE Staff Reporters Sun. Aug 24 - 11:55 AM Air Canada Jazz=E2=80=99s decision to drop inflatable life vests from its f= lights is "asinine," Halifax-area MP Peter Stoffer said Saturday. "They=E2=80=99re removing life vests?" he asked. "Are they nuts?" The NDP member for Sackville-Eastern Shore said Jazz has "gone cost-saving = overboard." "You know what this is? This is probably some person in an office somewhere= that=E2=80=99s sitting there going: =E2=80=98These life vests weigh so muc= h. If we take them off and meet the minimum of the transport guidelines, we= could save so much fuel per year.=E2=80=99 "Unbelievable." The Toronto Star reported Saturday that Jazz, Air Canada=E2=80=99s regional= affiliate, plans to reduce fuel consumption by dropping commercial life ve= sts from its flights, which will amount to about 25 kilograms less aboard i= ts Dash-8 planes with 50 seats. The move will leave passengers holding onto their seats =E2=80=94 or at lea= st their floating seat cushions =E2=80=94 in the event the plane ditches an= d they hit the water alive. Transport Canada regulations allow airlines to use flotation devices, a sec= ondary option for other carriers, instead of life vests as long as the plan= es remain within 90 kilometres of shore. A Jazz official said a number of i= ts East Coast routes were adjusted so the planes met that requirement, the = Star reported. Thirteen Jazz flights were in Halifax within a four-hour span on Saturday, = heading to and from places like Deer Lake, Goose Bay, Gander, Charlottetown= , Sydney, Boston and New York. A Halifax-area woman who said she=E2=80=99s an experienced flyer wasn=E2=80= =99t too concerned with the airline=E2=80=99s decision to ditch life vests.= She said that since Jazz doesn=E2=80=99t fly transatlantic routes, the tim= e most of its planes spend over any "serious body of water" is probably min= imal. She also said a person=E2=80=99s chances of surviving a crash into water ar= e not very good. Jazz=E2=80=99s decision "doesn=E2=80=99t bother me," said the resident, who= didn=E2=80=99t want to be identified. "I don=E2=80=99t see it as a huge is= sue." Mr. Stoffer worked in the airline industry in customer service for more tha= n 18 years and takes more than 90 return flights every year. He said he can= appreciate that the airline is trying to reduce fuel costs but added: "You= don=E2=80=99t compromise safety." He wondered what would happen to those who cannot hold onto the straps of t= he seat cushions, especially people travelling with children. "If you have an infant (and) you don=E2=80=99t have a (life vest), you=E2= =80=99re hanging on to the cushion," he said. "Are they saying, =E2=80=98Ha= ng onto the cushion with one arm and your baby with another?=E2=80=99 "I mean, who comes up with these things?" (pbrooks@xxxxxxxxx) (mlightstone@xxxxxxxxx) =0A=0A=0A <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".