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any of us travel often or have loved ones who do '€” so whenever a plane goes missing, we jolt from our seats, scramble to check then scour the news to know more.

Sadly, people in this part of the world have been doing that all to often. Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was still at large when flight MH17 remained scattered over Ukraine, then AirAsia flight QZ8501 en route to Singapore from Surabaya crashed in the Karimata Strait.

I envision that those on board must have been in a festive mood to celebrate New Year'€™s Eve as they boarded the jet.

Air travel has indeed grown in Indonesia. According to official statistics, arrivals and departures gradually increased by 5 percent annually from 2005 to 2008, before both jumping to almost 15 percent annually from 2008 to 2013.

Don'€™t like stats? Just tour Indonesia'€™s prominent urban malls on weekends to find a fixture: luggage promotions galore.

The country'€™s geography makes a splendid backdrop for water travel, yet its severely inadequate infrastructure and unreliable schedules (as anyone who'€™s ridden a ferry in Indonesia can testify to) push now-moneyed Indonesians to fly.

While Indonesians do have more money now, budget airlines, like Lion Air or AirAsia, are winning the bulk of local ticket dollars.

These low-cost carriers (LCC) forego most passenger conveniences for cheaper fares '€” and Indonesians didn'€™t seem to mind. Before going bust in 2008 Indonesia'€™s budget airline Adam Air had been the darling of new fliers.

Yes, Indonesian airlines suffered a series of accidents in those years, including an Adam Air flight on New Year'€™s Day plunging into an abyss off Makassar, resulting in an official ban on travel to European destinations.

But has any technical or criminal investigation ever arrived at a solid conclusion that safety measures had been forsaken for lower ticket prices?

Indonesia'€™s ruling Cabinet is new, yet a tragedy unraveled already under watchful eyes '€” global eyes charmed by the president and local eyes hopeful on rising star ministers.

The new transportation minister is one such star, thanks to his well-documented success in turning around the rickety state-owned train company KAI in merely five years.

A customer of KAI'€™s long-range routes, I'€™m not alone in applauding the visible improvements of facilities and services he accomplished. Now that hopes are pinned on him to reform the country'€™s entire transportation systems, I understand if everyone is somewhat nervous.

Yet no amount of microscopic coverage or personal apprehension warrants a slapdash decision to hinder LCCs in offering low fares '€” or full-service carriers to slash prices as promotional gimmicks.

I'€™m no aviation expert, but my readings tell me aircraft aren'€™t only built to specific orders '€” they'€™re also delivered with strict maintenance and inspection schedules to ensure air worthiness.

So rigorous are these schedules that my simple logic tells me it would be prudent for costs to be capitalized up front on the balance sheet before amortized periodically through profit-and-loss reports over the long years of the aircraft'€™s usage.

Can an LCC skimp on these maintenance-related provisions in order to reduce the cost of goods sold that makes up the base price? Sure. But the '€˜savings'€™ wouldn'€™t be as much as waiving costly services like in-flight meals and toiletries, extra baggage or airport lounges.

And when full-service carriers slash prices, I bet they'€™re expensed within marketing budgets.

Not that I dared to assume the minister needed to learn this from li'€™l me anyway '€” after all he'€™s been an investment banker at a world-class institution who surely moves very comfortably around numbers.

Even if, somehow, airlines have forsaken safety for lower prices, what guarantees are there that the '€˜added'€™ revenue from higher ticket prices would finance safety and maintenance costs?

Will the ministry get all draconian and manage airlines'€™ daily bookkeeping now? Whatever happened to airlines'€™ expected right to fair competition and customers'€™ divine rights to choices?

Shouldn'€™t the ministry instead review and reform national safety protocols, and learn to reinforce them better?

Catch the mice without burning the barn, as Indonesians say.

'€” Lynda Ibrahim