Traveler: Southern Airways has a far worse safety record than Air Dacentaria over the past few years, in terms of...
GMAT Critical Reasoning : (CR) Questions
Traveler: Southern Airways has a far worse safety record than Air Dacentaria over the past few years, in terms of both the frequency of accidents and the severity of accidents. Therefore, although Air Dacentaria is slightly more expensive, I will choose it over Southern Airways for my flight from Pederton to Dacenta, since it is worth paying extra to have a safer flight.
Which of the following, if true, casts the most serious doubt on the traveler's argument?
Passage Analysis:
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| Southern Airways has a far worse safety record than Air Dacentaria over the past few years, in terms of both the frequency of accidents and the severity of accidents. |
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| Therefore, although Air Dacentaria is slightly more expensive, I will choose it over Southern Airways for my flight from Pederton to Dacenta, since it is worth paying extra to have a safer flight. |
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Argument Flow:
The argument moves from a safety comparison between two airlines to a personal travel decision. The traveler first establishes that one airline has a worse safety record, then uses this as the basis for choosing the safer (but more expensive) option.
Main Conclusion:
The traveler will choose Air Dacentaria over Southern Airways for their specific flight, even though it costs more, because the better safety record makes it worth paying extra.
Logical Structure:
This is a simple cause-and-effect argument: Safety record differences (premise) → Worth paying extra for safety (underlying assumption) → Choose the safer airline (conclusion). The logic assumes that past safety records predict future safety and that this difference applies to their specific route.
Prethinking:
Question type:
Weaken - We need to find information that reduces belief in the traveler's conclusion that choosing Air Dacentaria will result in a safer flight for this specific trip
Precision of Claims
The key claims involve comparative safety records (frequency and severity of accidents), cost comparison (slightly more expensive), and a specific route (Pederton to Dacenta). The traveler assumes past safety records predict future safety for this particular flight
Strategy
Look for scenarios that break the connection between past safety records and future safety for this specific flight. We can't challenge that Southern Airways has a worse overall record, but we can find reasons why that record might not apply to this particular route or situation
Air Dacentaria's flight is nonstop while Southern Airways makes a stop in Gorinda. This actually supports the traveler's choice rather than weakening it, since nonstop flights are generally considered safer than flights with stops. More takeoffs and landings mean more opportunities for accidents, so this information would reinforce choosing Air Dacentaria.
Most Southern Airways flights use the dangerous Sarmouth airport, but the Pederton to Dacenta flight does not. This seriously undermines the traveler's reasoning. If Southern Airways' poor safety record is largely due to using a particularly dangerous airport that this specific flight avoids, then the overall safety statistics don't accurately reflect the safety of this particular route. The traveler's decision is based on overall safety records that may not apply to this flight.
Southern Airways uses a different airplane model with smaller capacity for this route. The size or model of the airplane doesn't necessarily correlate with safety in a way that would weaken the argument. Without specific information about the safety differences between airplane models, this is irrelevant to the safety comparison.
The cost difference only became apparent in recent years. This is about pricing history and doesn't address the safety concerns that form the core of the traveler's argument. The timing of when costs changed doesn't affect whether paying extra for safety is justified.
Both airlines have very small proportions of accidents overall. While this suggests both airlines are relatively safe, it doesn't change the fact that Southern Airways still has a worse record than Air Dacentaria. The traveler's comparative reasoning still holds even if the absolute accident rates are low for both airlines.