Many Americans are losing faith in the safety of air travel

The Ipsos Consumer Tracker asks Americans questions about culture, the economy and the forces that shape our lives. Here's one thing we learned this week.

Why we asked: It seems that every day there is a new story about a plane crash or narrowly avoided disaster. Anecdatally, I know some seasoned travelers who are much less excited to fly. And all of this is before the impacts of recent Federal Aviation Administration staffing cuts and the disbanding of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee will likely be felt.

What we found: Overall, nearly half of Americans report losing faith in the safety of air travel. Perhaps not surprisingly, significantly more Democrats are losing faith in governmental functions than Republicans (61% to 38%, respectively) but still, 38% is a lot of folks. Only one in three say they are confident about safety and 17% say they have never been confident.

Most notable is the high number of high earners losing faith (57% of those with household incomes over $125,000.) That’s likely a worrying stat for the travel industry as the high earners are much more frequent fliers. Nearly half say they have taken a flight in the last two to three months, compared to less than 20% of those making between $50,000 and $100,000. Overall, 40% of Americans haven’t flown the past year. Interestingly, almost three times as many Republicans (11%) say they have never been on a plane compared to Democrats (4%).

More insights from this wave of the Ipsos Consumer Tracker:

Americans are feeling much less confident about their economic status

It's not just eggs: Americans feel prices are higher on most goods

Only half of men think feminism benefits both sexes

Republicans and independents are feeling more threatened

The Ipsos Care-o-Meter: What does America know about vs. what does America care about