GMAT Exam  >  GMAT Questions  >  In the past, most airline companies minimized... Start Learning for Free
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.
Q. 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.
Correct answer is option 'E'. Can you explain this answer?
Verified Answer
In the past, most airline companies minimized aircraft weight to minim...
If the safest airline seats are now among the lightest, as choice E says, then buying them could be part of a strategy of minimizing fuel costs, rather than indicating a shift away from that goal. Choice E, therefore, is the best choice.
Choice A merely confirms that seat safety has improved, and thus does not weaken the argument. Many policy shifts take place without being publicly announced, so choice B does not weaken the argument. Choice C indicates that minimizing fuel costs remains a priority, but it is neutral on whether safety has become more important, so C is incorrect. Choice D does not distinguish between safe and unsafe seats, and is thus also incorrect.
View all questions of this test
Most Upvoted Answer
In the past, most airline companies minimized aircraft weight to minim...


Explanation:

E. Because of technological innovations, the safest airline seat on the market this year weighed less than most other airline seats on the market.

- This option weakens the argument because it indicates that technological advancements have allowed the safest airline seat to be lighter than other seats.
- Since airlines were previously concerned with minimizing weight to reduce fuel costs, the fact that the safest seat is now lighter means that airlines can prioritize safety without significantly increasing fuel costs.
- This suggests that the shift in priority towards safe seating may not actually result in higher fuel costs, as the safest seat is now more fuel-efficient due to its lighter weight.
- Therefore, this information undermines the argument that airlines are now prioritizing safe seating over fuel costs, as the two factors are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
Attention GMAT Students!
To make sure you are not studying endlessly, EduRev has designed GMAT study material, with Structured Courses, Videos, & Test Series. Plus get personalized analysis, doubt solving and improvement plans to achieve a great score in GMAT.
Explore Courses for GMAT exam

Similar GMAT Doubts

As companies tend to innovate faster than their customers needs evolve, most organizations eventually end up producing products or services that are actually overly sophisticated, extremely expensive, and rather complicated for many customers in their market. These innovations fall under the category of sustaining innovations, innovations that simply improve existing products. Companies pursue sustaining innovations at the higher tiers of their markets because this is what has historically helped them succeed: by charging the highest prices to their most demanding and sophisticated customers at the top of the market, companies achieve the greatest profitability. However, by doing so, companies unwittingly open the door toanother category of innovations - disruptive innovations. In contrast to sustaining innovations, disruptive innovations lie at the bottom of the market. They are made not only by harnessing new technologies but also by developing new business models and exploiting old technologies in new ways.An innovation that is disruptive allows a whole new population of consumers at the bottom of a market access to a product or service that was historically only accessible to consumers with a lot of money or a lot of skill. Personal computers, for instance, were disruptive innovations because they created a new mass market for computers - previously, expensive mainframe computers were sold only to big companies and research universities. Characteristics of disruptive businesses, at least in their initial stages, can include: lower gross margins, smaller target markets, and simpler products and services that may not appear as attractive as existing solutions whencompared against traditional performance metrics. Because these lower tiers of the market offer lower gross margins, they are unattractive to other firms moving upward in the market, creating space at the bottom of the market for new disruptive competitors to emerge.Which of the following statements is supported by the information given in the passage?

Top Courses for GMAT

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.Q. 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.Correct answer is option 'E'. Can you explain this answer?
Question Description
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.Q. 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.Correct answer is option 'E'. Can you explain this answer? for GMAT 2024 is part of GMAT preparation. The Question and answers have been prepared according to the GMAT exam syllabus. Information about 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.Q. 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.Correct answer is option 'E'. Can you explain this answer? covers all topics & solutions for GMAT 2024 Exam. Find important definitions, questions, meanings, examples, exercises and tests below for 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.Q. 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.Correct answer is option 'E'. Can you explain this answer?.
Solutions for 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.Q. 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.Correct answer is option 'E'. Can you explain this answer? in English & in Hindi are available as part of our courses for GMAT. Download more important topics, notes, lectures and mock test series for GMAT Exam by signing up for free.
Here you can find the meaning of 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.Q. 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.Correct answer is option 'E'. Can you explain this answer? defined & explained in the simplest way possible. Besides giving the explanation of 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.Q. 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.Correct answer is option 'E'. Can you explain this answer?, a detailed solution for 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.Q. 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.Correct answer is option 'E'. Can you explain this answer? has been provided alongside types of 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.Q. 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.Correct answer is option 'E'. Can you explain this answer? theory, EduRev gives you an ample number of questions to practice 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.Q. 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.Correct answer is option 'E'. Can you explain this answer? tests, examples and also practice GMAT tests.
Explore Courses for GMAT exam

Top Courses for GMAT

Explore Courses
Signup for Free!
Signup to see your scores go up within 7 days! Learn & Practice with 1000+ FREE Notes, Videos & Tests.
10M+ students study on EduRev