joemama142000 wrote:
In the past most airline companies minimized aircraft weight to minimize fuel costs. The safest airline seats were heavy, and airlines equipped their planes with few of these seats. This year the seat that has sold best to airlines has been the safest one - a clear indication that airlines are assigning a higher priority to safe seating than to minimizing fuel costs.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?
(A) Last year's best-selling airline seat was not the safest airline seat on the market.
(B) No airline company has announced that it would be making safe seating a higher priority this year.
(C) The price of fuel was higher this year than it had been in most of the years when the safest airline seats sold poorly.
(D) Because of increases in the cost of materials, all airline seats were more expensive to manufacture this year than in any previous year.
(E) Because of technological innovations, the safest airline seat on the market this year weighed less than most other airline seats on the market.
In the past:
- most airline companies minimized weight to minimize fuel costs.
- safest airline seats were heavy, and airlines used few of these. (since focus was on minimising fuel cost)
This year:
- the seat that has sold best to airlines has been the safest one
Conclusion: Airlines are assigning a higher priority to safe seating than to minimizing fuel costs.
We are assuming that airlines bought the safest seat this year because if wanted 'safety'. What if the safest seat this year was the lightest and that is the reason that the airlines bought those? Then the airlines would still be assigning higher priority to minimising fuel costs. This would weaken our conclusion.
(A) Last year's best-selling airline seat was not the safest airline seat on the market.
What happened in one particular year is irrelevant (except this year). We are talking about "in the past" generically and "this year".
(B) No airline company has announced that it would be making safe seating a higher priority this year.
Whether they announce or not is irrelevant.
(C) The price of fuel was higher this year than it had been in most of the years when the safest airline seats sold poorly.
Doesn't matter what the actual fuel cost is. Airlines tried to reduce the cost they would incur by keeping aircrafts light. Even if fuel was cheap in the past, they tried to reduce their overall expense on it by keeping aircrafts light. What matters is not the relative cost of the fuel in the past vs this year, but their fuel cost with a heavy aircraft vs light aircraft each year.
(D) Because of increases in the cost of materials, all airline seats were more expensive to manufacture this year than in any previous year.
If all airline seats were more expensive this year, it is irrelevant. The carriers have to choose from available seats only.
(E) Because of technological innovations, the safest airline seat on the market this year weighed less than most other airline seats on the market.
Correct. If the "safest" seats were the lightest too, then perhaps the airlines bought them because they were lightest. This shows that perhaps the airlines are still focusing on the fuel cost only. This weakens our conclusion.
Answer (E)