Airlines removing lifevests

Just heard that Air Canada's regional carrier Jazz is removing life vests from the planes in order to reduce loads carried. Since Jazz is an airline that does not fly over the oceans, it is reasonable safe. However, they do fly over the Great Lakes, which are not your backyard ponds. So just relying on the seat cushions as flotation aids if your plane is forced to land on water in Lake Superior may not be fun. Life vests add about a pounds of weight per piece, so the regional planes are expected to reduce their loads by about 50 lbs each. But then, the probability of water landings is fairly low, so it is a reasonable decision. However, this still adds a question marks against the safety guarantee on Jazz planes. It remains to be seen if other airlines also follow suit on domestic-over land only- flights with this type of policy. Airline safety is one of the best established industry practices and fairly well regulated compared to many industries. Air Canada, the larger airline group, however will retain life vests on its planes which fly over the oceans of the world to different continents.
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