April 24, 2025
Commercial air travel is hundreds of times safer than driving. Still, many are opting to drive instead after a series of grim headlines captured public attention earlier this year.
At the start of the year, a seemingly unusual string of plane crashes dominated the news cycle.
In the immediate aftermath, airline ticket sales took a hit. But it's been a few months since a plane crash has made the news. Has public sentiment rebounded, or does the airline industry now have a long-lasting brand problem?
We used our own platform to find out, surveying over 500 people aged 25-65+ across all 50 states.
We learned that the public is undeniably shaken – even months after coverage died down. Some are so anxious that they’re changing their travel habits to dodge perceived safety risks at the cost of convenience.
It’s a reasonable attempt by the public to reach for a psychological salve after months of bad news. There have been 23 deadly aircraft crashes so far this year – one of which was the first to involve a major commercial U.S. airline since 2009.
Concerning, yes. But enough to warrant widespread changes to consumer behavior?
In this report summary, we’ll explore:
And more.
The vast majority – about 90% – of respondents are at least a little worried about the number and nature of aviation accidents being reported so far this year.
About 72% of respondents reported feeling at least moderately concerned about the 2025 plane crashes, with around 20% revealing they feel ‘extremely concerned’.
“I prefer to fly, but with the recent crashes, I don’t fly as much as I used to,” said one concerned respondent.
Some are canceling trips outright.
About a third of respondents who reported feeling ‘extremely concerned’ about recent plane crashes said they are reducing overall travel as a direct result of either the news or the FAA budget cuts.
Another thirty percent of ‘extremely concerned’ respondents said they are flying less and using other modes of transportation. A little more than a quarter are choosing alternative modes of transportation but traveling the same amount.
“We just booked our vacation for the summer and I cannot get my husband to fly down to Florida like we usually do, so we’ll be driving,” said one respondent. “And renting a car is much more expensive.”
A portion of those still flying are choosing a different airline as a result of the news: 31% said the plane crashes have affected their choice of airlines, with safety now a bigger priority.
Nearly half (42%) of those who switched airlines in response to recent crashes avoided certain airlines they feel are especially unsafe. Naturally, most (67%) chose the airline with the cleanest safety record.
Meanwhile, 51% of those considering alternative modes of transportation plan to drive their own car rather than fly.
Only 29% plan to switch to trains or Amtraks.
The picture that emerges from our data is one of cognitive dissonance.
Our analysis shows that cohorts chiefly concerned with safety are forgoing air travel to drive instead, despite the fact that flying is safer than driving by several orders of magnitude. This suggests that actual safety records have little bearing on which modes of transportation people prefer.
Even more surprising: anxious travelers are more likely to drive than take the train, even though the average person is 17 times more likely to die in a car crash vs. a train crash.
Whether train travel is safer than air travel is up for debate – the data gives us mixed messages. It depends on the metric you use.
There are fewer aviation fatalities per billion miles traveled compared to train fatalities. But bizarrely, trains are nearly six times safer if you consider fatalities per trip.
Regardless, both are much safer than driving. Yet our findings show the vast majority of people – especially those who are most concerned with safety – prefer to drive.
Ultimately, airlines have a branding problem. Despite being one of the safest forms of transportation, they’re losing out to the most dangerous.
On a fundamental level, people want to feel like they have control over their destiny. And few things feel more out-of-control than clinging to your arm rests as a plane surges through a blast of turbulence.
To recover from this spate of bad press, airlines will need to invest in refining their messaging to the public.
The most successful airlines will research why air travel feels so unsafe to the average traveler and find out which messaging strategies are most effective at turning public opinion.
For a deeper look at the research, check out our full report on the state of air travel in 2025.
And to run quant and qual research fast and frictionless, chat with our team.
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