Hm. Bigger area, marginally more likely to be hit while at cruising altitude, more catastrophic results if something critical is hit. I don't think that meteorites are a serious problem for aircraft, but given some probability that they'll be hit, I can't see how it's less of a problem than for automobiles.
The total area of all cars and people in the world is much greater than the total area of all aircraft. Unless you hear a lot about meteor strikes destroying cars and people, it's utterly irrational of you to worry about aircraft.
Delicious tidbit from Wikipedia: The only reported fatality from meteorite impacts is an Egyptian dog that was killed in 1911 by the Nakhla meteorite, although this report is disputed.
The total area of all cars and people in the world is much greater than the total area of all aircraft.
Ah, I see. It hadn't occurred to me that they were speaking collectively. In any case, it primarily matters to me whether the plane I'm in is in more or less danger from meteorites than the car I'm in (or would be, if either danger were worth considering). The relative chances of a hit object being a car or person rather than a plane are much less relevant to my interests, and there's nothing that I could do about it if I cared.
How about we imagine a future where all the orbital junk Earthlings created will start to go offline, and man-made meteorites become a problem to aircraft? That's more interesting to ponder, IMO.
