The Filth of Flying
by: Darren Everson
Friday, August 10, 2007
The Wall Street Journal
This summer,
rampant flight cancellations and delays are forcing many travelers
to languish, sometimes for hours, before they can board their
flight. Unfortunately, that's nothing compared with what may await
them on the plane.
Tales of sweaty
waits on un-air-conditioned planes, smelly bathrooms, dirty seats
and tray-tables smeared with mysterious schmutz abound this season.
Travelers complain that the environment on packed planes can
degenerate quickly -- and often long before the plane actually
starts moving.
"When you get off a
plane, it looks like the morning after a fraternity house party,"
says Tim Winship, publisher of FrequentFlier.com, a Web site that
offers frequent-flier program information and advice.
Horror Stories
One
of the most high-profile horror stories this summer was a
trans-Atlantic Continental Airlines flight in June, on which sewage
overflowed from a lavatory and spilled down the aisle. "It smelled
like an outhouse," says Dana Bushman, who was on the flight.
Continental later apologized and offered vouchers to the passengers,
but Ms. Bushman says she is trying to gather support from fellow
passengers to sue the carrier. Continental said it determined that
the blockage was caused by someone attempting to flush latex gloves.
Emily Moorefield of
Ypsilanti, Mich., is convinced that she got laryngitis on a dirty
plane full of coughing kids on a flight from New York's La Guardia
Airport to Detroit. "The plastic surfaces seem like they haven't
been wiped down in a long time," says the writer and performance
artist.
Indeed, delays can
affect cleanliness and comfort, particularly with planes now flying
fuller. The percentage of on-time flights fell to 74.5% in July from
76.4% a year earlier, according to FlightStats.com. Summer
thunderstorms have been to blame, as have technical glitches like
the Federal Aviation Administration computer snafu on June 8.
Because of delays
and rebookings, planes can remain in circulation past their
scheduled cleaning, says Judy Graham-Weaver, a spokeswoman for
AirTran Airways, a division of AirTran Holdings Inc.
Still, the airlines
say their schedules for cleaning aircraft haven't changed this
summer despite the rampant delays. JetBlue Airways Corp. says its
planes undergo a "maximum deep clean" once a month, same as before,
a process that includes a thorough cleaning of the lavatories and
galleys, vacuuming of carpets and cleaning of seats, seat trays and
side walls. Southwest Airlines Co. says its deep-cleaning cycle is
30 days, too. AMR Corp.'s American Airlines says it also keeps a
30-day average. Continental Airlines Inc., like many airlines, says
its planes also undergo an overnight cleaning, which includes
replacement of soiled pillows and blankets, vacuuming of cabin
floors and cleaning of lavatories and passenger seating areas.
Cursory Cleaning?
Between flights, though, the cleaning tends to be cursory. American
says that it picks up trash and cleans seat-back pouches between
flights, but that it doesn't wipe down tray tables or vacuum while
at the gate unless there's an obvious mess that must be addressed.
ATA Airlines Inc. also says it doesn't wipe down tray tables between
flights unless there's a clear need because of the limited ground
time.
And cleaning
schedules and corporate policies don't seem to be enough to allay
customer concerns. American says that it's in the process of
refurbishing many of its aircraft, having found that customers
perceive worn interiors to be unclean, even if they're actually
spic-and-span.
Bored fliers are
also complaining that often the much-touted in-flight entertainment
systems that play movies and TV shows are turned off while planes
are stuck on the ground. Delta says its flight attendants can turn
on the devices while on the ground. American says that its video
entertainment is usually turned on during the flight but can be
activated during a ground delay. Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. says
that because of licensing agreements, sometimes programming can be
viewed only while airborne. JetBlue, however, says its TV and
satellite radio programming is available at all times except during
safety briefings.
Travelers have also
been griping about a lack of air-conditioning while planes are on
the tarmac -- even after delays stretch for hours. Airlines blame
the problem on a breakdown of a plane's auxiliary power unit. The
APU, a miniature engine at the tail of the plane, is designed to
start the plane's engines and provide electricity and air flow when
the engines aren't running. When a plane is sitting in a lengthy
line awaiting takeoff, it can use its air-conditioning, but the
pilot would prefer to run it via the APU because running the engines
uses much more fuel. "Think of it as a four-cylinder versus a V-8,"
says John Kelly, vice president of maintenance and engineering at
ATA Airlines.
The APU doesn't
often break down, he says. If it does, though, you could be in for a
sweaty takeoff wait. Sitting on the tarmac with the engines on is
often out, since that could cause the plane to require refueling,
thus removing it from the line.
Air-conditioning
Airlines also say that air-conditioning doesn't always work as well
on the ground as it does in the air. Mr. Smith of American says his
airline always operates the air-conditioning but says sometimes the
air doesn't flow as hard through the vents while an airplane is
grounded, which is one reason why passengers might not feel as cool
during a takeoff delay. Cathay Pacific says that it turns on the
air-conditioning as much as two hours in advance of a flight on
particularly hot days. Some airlines ask travelers to help keep the
cabin cool. American says it encourages passengers to leave their
window shades down in bright, hot weather to conserve energy and
keep the cabin cooler.
Ms. Bushman needed
a different type of fresh air after the infamous Continental flight,
on which sewage overflowed during the flight from Shannon, Ireland,
to Newark, N.J. "I know that smell from spending summers as a
teenager on a farm," she says. She adds that she was lucky because
she was in first class, away from the spillage. She says that a
woman wearing sandals back in coach got sewage on her feet.
Airplane lavatories
have been gaining increased attention because of widely publicized
stories like the Continental flight and more common breakdowns, like
on Jack Wolf's Northwest Airlines flight from Minneapolis to New
Orleans on July 20. One of the two coach lavatories was inoperative,
leaving one lavatory for all of the coach passengers. There was also
one in first class, but Mr. Wolf says that an announcement was made
reminding coach passengers to use only the lavatory in their cabin.
Northwest
acknowledges that a lavatory was inoperative, that maintenance
looked at it before departure and that it was determined that flying
with two of three lavatories working (including the one in first
class) was preferable to delaying the flight for repairs or an
aircraft change. The airline also says that typically in those
situations, the first-class lavatory is available to all customers.
Lavatory breakdowns
are typically caused by waste tank blockages, industry experts say.
Also, airplane toilets function differently on the ground than in
the air. While on the ground, a vacuum pump is necessary to generate
suction for flushing. While airborne, the pump isn't needed because
of the decrease in air pressure. If the pump is broken, then, it's
possible that the plane's toilets may work in the air but not while
on the ground.
Write to Darren
Everson at darren.everson@wsj.com
Copyrighted, Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.
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