I’m rapidly approaching my 1,000th flight as a wheelchair person (as of posting, I’m at 990), and the upcoming milestone triggered me to marvel — What number of flights does the typical individual take of their lifetime?

Though there isn’t a definitive reply, it’s potential to make an informed guess utilizing accessible authorities information. To make issues simpler, I’ve targeted on U.S. information sources, which means the ultimate estimate will mirror the variety of flights taken over the course of a mean American’s lifetime.

This can be a weblog, so we’ll follow a simplistic evaluation utilizing just some key items of knowledge:

Listed here are the info factors we’re left with:

• 2019 and 2022 U.S. Airline Enplanements (Home + Worldwide): 928 million and 853 million
• U.S. Inhabitants (July 1, 2019 and July 1, 2022): 328,239,523 and 333,287,557
• U.S. Life Expectancy (2019 and 2022): 78.8 years and 76.1 years

Given the impacts of the pandemic on journey frequency, inhabitants and life expectancy, I’ve taken the typical of 2019 and 2022 information factors for this calculation. It’s a easy one, mirrored beneath:

Enplanements: (928,000,000 + 853,000,000)/2 = 890,500,000
Inhabitants: (328,239,523 + 333,287,557)/2 = 330,763,540
Life Expectancy: (78.8 + 76.1)/2 = 77.45

(890,500,000 Enplanements / 330,763,540 Inhabitants) = 2.69 flights per individual per 12 months

2.69 flights * 77.45 years = 208.34 flights

Primarily based upon the calculation above, the typical American can count on to take roughly 208 flights of their lifetime. That’s a giant quantity!

Clearly, this isn’t an actual science — it doesn’t account for issues like occupation, revenue, location or incapacity. The info set doesn’t embrace flights operated by worldwide carriers at residence or overseas, the place Individuals additionally fly (try my guides to touring with a wheelchair on British Airways, EgyptAir and others). Consequently, the quantity could possibly be larger!

As a mean, it’s apparent that some individuals will fly kind of than others. Whereas highway warriors may fly a number of instances per week, some individuals don’t fly in any respect. Many readers of this web site routinely inform me that they gained’t fly till there’s a wheelchair house on airplanes or a wheelchair accessible toilet on each flight.

What the typical represents is potential: a possibility for air carriers to develop a product that can encourage those that don’t fly usually or in any respect to journey extra often. When air journey turns into extra accessible to disabled individuals, airline ticket bookings from the incapacity group will skyrocket! The enterprise case for accessibility is staring airways within the face — when will they take away the limitations to flying and embrace air journey for all?

I’m clearly a frequent flyer, however I’d love to listen to how usually you fly or, should you haven’t been on an airplane in awhile, what retains you from flying extra usually? What can airways do to win what you are promoting? Let me know within the feedback beneath!