Wie sauber sind amerikanische Airlines?

[tom22]

Mit der Sauberkeit bei amerikanischen Airlines geht es nach einem Bericht in der New York Times bergab. Der Grund wird darin gesehen, dass immer mehr Passagiere Essen selber mitbringen, nachdem die Fluggesellschaften ihren Service reduziert haben. Außerdem sind die Maschinen weniger am Boden, so dass weniger Zeit für eine gründliche Reinigung bleibt.

Eine Zusammenfassung des Artikel wurd gestern bei usatoday veröffentlicht:

How 'dingy and dirty' will the plane be on your next airline flight?

"Cleanliness may be next to godliness, but in the airline industry it has taken a back seat to financial survival." That's from The New York Times (free registration), which writes that the filth factor aboard U.S. jetliners has increased noticeably since the industry's financial downturn after 2001. Several factors are at play, according to the Times. First, planes are flying at near-record capacity levels. And since most airlines have discontinued full meal service, many of the passengers flying on those packed planes are now bringing their own meals onboard. That, the Times writes, means that "many planes now land littered with a smorgasbord of wrappers and leftovers."  Even when an aircraft lands, "there are fewer employees to tidy up, thanks to widespread layoffs," the Times writes. "And planes, which make money only when they fly, sit at the gate for shorter periods, often making cleanup a rush job," the paper adds.

The Times cites Delta as an example of an airline where aircraft cleanliness declined with profitability. Noting that the industry standard for "deep-cleaning" a jetliner is about every 30 days, the Times notes that "Delta had let its schedule lapse to every 15 to 18 months. That is akin to cutting your daily shower back to once every couple of weeks," the paper writes. Not surprisingly, the company's jets started to become dirtier much faster than airline officials expected. Faced with "dirty and dingy" aircraft, Delta reversed course and now deep-cleans its planes at least every 30 days. But when it comes to grubby aircraft, Delta is far from alone. In fact, a J.D. Power survey on the subject ranked Delta as the third-cleanliest among big U.S. airlines. Only JetBlue and Southwest rated higher, according to the survey.

At the other end of the spectrum, the J.D. Power survey pegged Northwest and US Airways as having the worst marks for cabin cleanliness. "These were things that, unfortunately, went by the wayside while US Airways was trying to stay in business," airline spokesman Philip Gee tells the Times. He says the carrier now deep-cleans its planes at least every 60 days and is getting its planes back up to snuff. "We've spent a lot of money and time in the past year in cleaning up the cabins." Linda Hirneise, who heads the travel practice at J. D. Power & Associates, sums it up by saying that "all carriers have room for improvement. Sometimes you pull those trays down and you just want to walk off the plane."