I'm considering a trip to the Channel Islands in May with my wife, and this very issue has been in mind. How I feel about risking my life is one thing (I've done a number of quite dangerous sports over the years, including racing motorbikes in very remote areas) but risking my wife's life is another thing entirely.
Like most passengers, she will have at best a sketchy understanding of the risks (or lack of risks) on any given flight. It's part of the enormous responsibility we have as pilots to make the right decisions for those who wish to fly with us.
Crossing the English Channel, I can mitigate the risk significantly by route and altitude selection. I suppose I could do the same by a significantly inefficient routing to the CI. But a trip to the Isle of Man or Republic of Ireland is a different thing entirely. This is a very good thread by the way.