#18 - Travel agent: Although most low-fare airlines have had

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

Flaw in the Reasoning. The correct answer choice is (C)

The travel agent quoted here makes the following questionable argument: Since most low fare
airlines have not existed long enough to establish a record, major airlines which have had enough
time to establish a safety record are safer. The problem with this argument is that just because a
safety record has been established does not mean that it is a good one.

Answer choice (A): This is not the flaw found in the stimulus’ argument, as there is no need to
address this possibility. Incidentally, if the average major airline did have a total number of accidents
as great as the average low-fare airline has had, that would still show the major airlines to be safer,
since this would mean the same number of accidents over a longer period of time.
Answer choice (B): Since the major airlines are said to have long-standing records, this cannot be a
description of the flaw from the stimulus.

Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice, which restates our prephrased description
of the flaw in the discussion above: a long standing and reliable record does not guarantee that an
airline is safe—on the contrary, such a record may reliably show an airline to be unsafe.

Answer choice (D): The travel agent does not presume that the safest airlines have the most reliable
documentation, and this choice does not describe the flaw as prephrased above, so it cannot be the
correct answer choice.

Answer choice (E): The discussion surrounds a comparison between the relative safety of major
airlines as compared with low-fare airlines; it is irrelevant if all airlines are likely to have had one or
more accidents, and there is no need for the argument to address this possibility.

[tanushreebansal]

Hi Powerscore! Could someone explain why the answer to this question is C? I chose D because I thought that this was the error- that there is somehow a correlation between reliable record keeping and the number of accidents/safety. In fact, if someone could explain all the answer choices I would be so greatful! Thank you for all your help so far.

[nicholaspavic]

Hi tanuush!

Let's attack that conclusion of "Hence, passengers are safer on a major airline than on one of the newer low-fare airlines." There are a couple of differenct ways to argue the underlying necessary assumption that the travel agent makes. We could argue that just because all the underlying data for the new airlines isn't in yet, doesn't establish that they are unsafe to fly or we could argue that the major airlines' data isn't all that great. Here, Answer (C) goes for the latter. Just because the major airlines have a record, doesn't mean that the record shows it's safe, which is exctly what the correct answer choice is arguing. Thanks and I hope that helped!

[Bahar]

I guess I cant understand why C is right and E is wrong.
E says: having long-standing record doesn't mean safe... the same as low fare airline they might have accident(s).
And that is the exact reason that the argument is trying to make...
C says: long term reliable records may not be safe!!!! How that is possible? reliable means safe right? If not then they really didnt make it clear.

Can someone explain this please?

[Who Ray]

Hey there Bahar!
Let me see if I can be of some assistance. I think you are running into a couple of challenges with this question.

One is that there is a difference between a "reliable record" and a "record of reliability," the former shows how trustworthy the record itself is while the latter says what the record shows. According to the stimulus the reliable records indicate "a degree of safety."

If I were at a carnival, and asked an employee if the FLIPOPLEX1000 was safe and he said it has "a degree of safety," I would not ride that ride no matter how reliable I found the employee, and that is why AC C is correct!

As far as AC E goes, it might show that big airlines are not perfect, but low fare airlines could be even worse! Which would not weaken the argument!

I hope that helps!

Cheers,
Who ray

[Bahar]

That makes sense thanks!

[LSAT2018]

Hey there Bahar!
Let me see if I can be of some assistance. I think you are running into a couple of challenges with this question.

One is that there is a difference between a "reliable record" and a "record of reliability," the former shows how trustworthy the record itself is while the latter says what the record shows. According to the stimulus the reliable records indicate "a degree of safety."

If I were at a carnival, and asked an employee if the FLIPOPLEX1000 was safe and he said it has "a degree of safety," I would not ride that ride no matter how reliable I found the employee, and that is why AC C is correct!

As far as AC E goes, it might show that big airlines are not perfect, but low fare airlines could be even worse! Which would not weaken the argument!

I hope that helps!

Cheers,
Who ray

So here, when it says major airlines have long standing records reliably indicating their degree of safety, they are saying that the records itself are reliable, but this does not relate to safety of the airlines. And this is the error?

Would this be considered an Error in the Use of Evidence? Taking the lack of evidence for the low-fare airlines to say they are not safer than major airlines?

[jack26]

Hello,

I'm not understanding what you saying. You are saying B & C option but where it is?? On which topic you answered. Please tell me.
Thanks...

The grotto trail malibu

[Brook Miscoski]

LSAT2018,

The stimulus has multiple flaws, which will sometimes happen on a flaw question. You're loosely correct that there is a "lack of evidence for is not evidence against" problem--namely, if we assumed the major airlines had a long record of safety, it would be fair to say that we have more reliable evidence that the major airlines are safe, but we could not conclude that the minor airlines are less safe. However, there's no answer choice that can be interpreted as speaking to that issue.

Instead, the writers went a different direction--the stimulus tells us the airlines have a safety record, which is not the same thing as a record of safety. We don't know whether it is a good or a bad safety record. It's kind of out of left field in terms of pattern flaws, but it's right in your PowerScore student wheelhouse as a missing link assumption.

Jack,

I don't know what your question is asking--I can't tell who "you" is, and no one mentioned choosing between answer choices B and C. Could you please state the substance of your question so that someone can answer? Thanks.

[Iam181]

Can someone please further explain why answer choices D and E are wrong? In which scenario can D or E be a flaw?

Thanks!