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Old Jun 13, 2016, 10:40 am
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Last edit by: Stewie Mac
Okay, prompted by an incredibly hot TK cabin last week, and then looking here in Travelbuzz and also reading this thread in the JAL forum, let's start making a list of typical cabin temperatures by airline, to help those of us who like cool (or I suppose even warm) cabins find the right airline.

Unfortunately I don't (yet) have a thermometer, so my initial contribution will be unscientific, but here goes.

Let's try listing airlines by region, and then people can add relevant information, perhaps using a/c type, cabin and temperatures.

Europe

Turkish:
B739 / Y / far far far too hot on an overnight, not too bad on a daytime
A320 / Y / again far too hot on an overnight


Africa

South African:
A330/A340 / Y / always really cool, verging on cold. Probably the only airline on which I have ever used a blanket. ^^


North America


Asia
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Old Jul 3, 2016, 12:38 pm
  #31  
 
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Cathay is pretty warm, but the last time we flew F, we asked them to turn the temperature down, which they did...so you can always try asking. YMMV
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Old Jul 4, 2016, 8:00 am
  #32  
 
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Just off of KE73. Fell asleep after departing ICN with the duvet over me and woke up a few hours later in a full sweat!
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Old Jul 4, 2016, 4:18 pm
  #33  
 
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Last time on United, it was way too warm! We were near the front and everyone around us was taking off as much as they could...:-)

When I asked the FA if she could turn the heat down a bit, she said "I am always cold, and I am layered up with clothing...so it's good"....

Hmmmmmm......
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Old Jul 4, 2016, 4:41 pm
  #34  
 
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Originally Posted by Jane42
Last time on United, it was way too warm! We were near the front and everyone around us was taking off as much as they could...:-)

When I asked the FA if she could turn the heat down a bit, she said "I am always cold, and I am layered up with clothing...so it's good"....
Absolutely ridiculous. The FA setting the temperature hot to the detriment of all of the other passengers. Although my opinion is that anyone that's cold can "put on a sweater," I realize that not all passengers may come properly prepared. But the FA does this for a living. If they are consistently too cold, then they should "layer up" more. They are in a perfect position to know what to expect and to dress appropriately for their comfort.
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Old Sep 18, 2016, 8:00 pm
  #35  
 
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Stick with AA or Delta

Originally Posted by msm
Can anyone help me find a resource to compare default cabin temperature settings by airline?

I personally like a cold environment. I would sacrifice a couple inches of pitch for a few degrees of F. I have found that I sleep an awful lot better on Asiana than Eva and I think it may be due to Asiana keeping their cabins cooler.

Between the major Asian carriers, do we know who keeps their cabin's coolest?

Thanks!
I totally agree - I regularly do DFW-PEK, DFW-PVG, DFW-HKG and multiple origins to NRT/HND. I fly AA almost exclusively to and from Asia and have NEVER been hot on a transpacific AA flight, regardless of equipment. JAL though, totally different... love their service and hospitality and their meals are generally great, but the cabin temp is ALWAYS too warm for me. I'm 5'9, 160 and I have a really hard time sleeping when it's too warm. I always choose an AA 787 if possible and am very happy with space, air flow and cabin humidity seat comfort. Temp seems to generally be 70-72 Fahrenheit in all cases. Delta also seems have this same temp when I'm on transpacific or transatlantic flights. Of the Asian Carriers, Cathay has typically been the coolest in my experience. China Eastern, Hainan and Air China are just OK. JAL by far has the hottest cabins I've ever been in...
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Old Sep 19, 2016, 1:18 pm
  #36  
 
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Do you guys think FAs take your request more seriously if you are in premium cabins vs econ? Once i aked several times on an asian carrier for the air to be turned cooler, they pretty much ignored me in econ. Other times however they will. I'm in SQ F in a few months and hope its not too hot.
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Old Feb 7, 2017, 3:05 pm
  #37  
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Originally Posted by Mike2K
Just off of KE73. Fell asleep after departing ICN with the duvet over me and woke up a few hours later in a full sweat!
OMG!! I just got off of Korean 121 ICN-SYD. The cabin was so ridiculously warm that I could not get any sleep whatsoever. Even without the blanket, I had sweat covering my body for the entire 10 hour flight. I knew this from flying Korean before but I needed to get to SYD and this was the only option for me at the time.

Why Korean doesn't have air vents on their planes is beyond me. The air vents definitely help out a lot and would alleviate the need to complain about what is otherwise an OK business class product.
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Old Feb 7, 2017, 3:22 pm
  #38  
 
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Perceptions are the key here. I myself have never, ever, used a blanket while aboard. These are always grabbed by the Wife, who travels in a sweater and can't sleep without the two blankets.
To be honest, I have never felt much difference between airlines, except for the lack air vents.
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Old Feb 7, 2017, 4:12 pm
  #39  
 
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I haven't used it yet, but I recently bought a 10-inch portable fan with a built-in battery. In fits in my pack that I carry on. I bought it for three reasons. First, I often stay in hotels in Europe with no air conditioning, and merely opening the window doesn't get enough cool air in the room, even if it is 60 degrees outside; I figure even a small fan placed in the window will help. Second, European trains are always 80 degrees, winter and summer. And third, sometimes airplanes are insufferably hot. I'm headed to Europe in March and we'll see how it works. The legs come off.

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Old Feb 8, 2017, 6:53 am
  #40  
 
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BA - boiling hot (as of early 2016 when I last flew BA)
SAS - boiling hot pre-take-off and in the air, slightly cooler during the last few minutes of the flight (okay with the air vents opened half-way)
Emirates - quite cold, but okay with some warmer clothes on
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Old Mar 28, 2017, 12:24 am
  #41  
 
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Originally Posted by rsc713
I totally agree - I regularly do DFW-PEK, DFW-PVG, DFW-HKG and multiple origins to NRT/HND. I fly AA almost exclusively to and from Asia and have NEVER been hot on a transpacific AA flight, regardless of equipment. JAL though, totally different... love their service and hospitality and their meals are generally great, but the cabin temp is ALWAYS too warm for me. I'm 5'9, 160 and I have a really hard time sleeping when it's too warm. I always choose an AA 787 if possible and am very happy with space, air flow and cabin humidity seat comfort. Temp seems to generally be 70-72 Fahrenheit in all cases. Delta also seems have this same temp when I'm on transpacific or transatlantic flights. Of the Asian Carriers, Cathay has typically been the coolest in my experience. China Eastern, Hainan and Air China are just OK. JAL by far has the hottest cabins I've ever been in...
Thank you for this, very helpful for someone like me looking to book on OW for my first Asia trip. I love my AC!

I was looking hard at JAL options, but they can forget it now!
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Old Mar 28, 2017, 7:03 am
  #42  
 
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Hot Cabins, or cool

Add to your list hot cabins on almost any Asian airline. Cooler generally on western carriers, with some exceptions, i.e. South America. Chinese carriers are always running hot. Dont know what the deal is with TK, but its like a hamman onboard, seriously. 21 or 22C should be the high.
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Old Jan 24, 2020, 2:30 pm
  #43  
 
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Always HOT

I always find that temperature on almost all flights in Business and 1st Class cabins are way too hot. It is always nice when you board the flight, but after the meal served, the temperature goes through the roof at 82-85 degrees. I always ask flight attendants to lower the temperature. Everyone has a blanket, so they may use it if they feel chilly. I find that the best temperature is 72-73 degrees where no one is cold nor hot.

Here is the list of airlines that cannot control their temperature on their wide body airplanes in Transcontinental flights: Cathay Pacific First Class, Thai First and Business Class, Lufthansa First and Business Class, Austrian Business Class, Swiss Business Class, Aeroflot Business Class, British Airways Business class with passengers facing each other (what a stupid idea!), KLM, Delta and United.

Sometimes, upon boarding, the cabin is hot, so flight attendants come up with some excuses. In reality, it is up to them and the captain to control the temperature.

I have recently flown with Finnair Airbus 330 wide body, where they have air valves above each seat in their business class cabin. Usually small airplanes have that. Kudos to Finnair.
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Old Feb 27, 2022, 1:12 pm
  #44  
 
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SEA-SLC on Delta. 737-800.
Freezing outbound… luckily had ski jacket with me.
Sauna on return… heard so many people complaining but oddly the cabin seemingly only got even a bit hotter as the flight went on.

I don’t understand this. There had to have been 20+ degree difference in temp. Same aircraft, same airline, sat in roughly same area of the plane both ways. What drives one captain to freeze pax and another to toast them?
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Old Feb 28, 2022, 4:07 pm
  #45  
 
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Originally Posted by evergrn
SEA-SLC on Delta. 737-800.
Freezing outbound… luckily had ski jacket with me.
Sauna on return… heard so many people complaining but oddly the cabin seemingly only got even a bit hotter as the flight went on.

I don’t understand this. There had to have been 20+ degree difference in temp. Same aircraft, same airline, sat in roughly same area of the plane both ways. What drives one captain to freeze pax and another to toast them?
Most likely same aircraft-type but likely different aircraft, one with a working air conditioner, one not so much. There is a default temperature, but if the unit isn't working, that would explain it. If both flights were recent enough, you might be able to pull the data off of FR24... you should also report it so it can be looked at.
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