THE FINANCIAL HEALTH OF AIRLINES (66%) ARE A BIGGER CONCERN TO CANADIANS THAN THE THREAT OF TERRORISM ON FLIGHTS (52%)

Toronto, ONTARIO - According to an Ipsos-Reid/Globe and Mail/CTV poll released today, more Canadians are concerned about an airline going broke (66%) and proper maintenance (62%) than terrorism threats (52%), but all three concerns represent a majority of the public in each case.

The survey shows that two-thirds (66%) of Canadians say that the financial health of an airline is a concern that enters their mind when they are considering flying - that an airline they fly may go bankrupt or leave them stranded.

Six-in-ten (62%) are concerned that the maintenance standards of the aircraft might result in a mechanical failure of the plane they are on.

And half (52%), of Canadians are concerned about the threat of terrorism and the possibility of the hijacking of the plane that they might be on.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/Globe and Mail/CTV poll conducted between November 13th and 15th, 2001. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,000 adult Canadians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 1996 Census data.

With the recent bankruptcy of the country's second largest airline, Canada 3000, and the overall impact of the economic downturn on the airline industry after September 11th, two-thirds (66%) of Canadians say that the financial health of an airline is a concern that enters their mind when they are considering flying. Canadians are concerned that an airline that they are thinking of flying may go bankrupt or may leave them stranded with no way of returning home.

• This concern is highest among those from households with incomes of $30,000 or more (68%). This compares to those with household incomes of less than $30,000 (62%).
• Women (70%) are more likely to have this concern than men (62%)

And in light of the American Airlines crash in New York just prior to this survey being conducted, six-in-ten (62%) are concerned that the maintenance standards of the aircraft they are flying on might result in a mechanical failure of the plane.

• Women (70%) are more likely than men (53%) to be concerned about the maintenance of the aircraft they are traveling on.
• Those in Atlantic Canada (72%) are more likely to express concern compared to those in Quebec (57%).  Canadians in the lowest household income group (67%) are more likely than middle household income (63%) earners or the highest (57%) group to express this concern.

At the same time, half (52%) of Canadians express concern about the threat of terrorism and the possibility of the hijacking of the plane that they might be on.

• Regionally, Atlantic Canadians (63%) are more likely to be concerned about onboard terrorism. Followed by those in Alberta (54%), Ontario (53%) and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (51%). While those in Quebec (50%) and British Columbia (48%) are least likely to be concerned.
• Women (62% versus 42% of men) are more likely to express concern regarding terrorism and hijacking in flight.
• Older (55%) and middle aged (54%) Canadians are more likely than younger (48%) Canadians to be concerned about this.
• Those in the lowest household income (62%) group is more likely to have this concern than those in the highest income (44%) group.
• Canadians with less than a high school education (63%) and those with high school (61%), are more likely than those with post-secondary or some university (52%) to feel this way. While Canadians with a university degree (42%) are less likely to think this way.

To view the complete media release and tables, please download the PDF file.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:
Tim Olafson
Senior Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid
(403) 237-0066

Tim Olafson