How Hot is Too Hot to Board an Airplane?

It’s the first day of summer as I write this, with the first U.S. heat wave already here and more on the way. The email reminders to pull down shades and open all air vents on planes have started, and my company has already reported “heat events.” What they mean by “heat event” isn’t detailed. Did crew or passengers fall ill, or are they generally referring to the struggle between flight attendants and management about what temperatures are acceptable to begin boarding? I don’t know, but this disagreement is an annual event that means the summer travel season has officially begun!

So how hot is too hot for boarding?

I’m curious about the fact that American is the only U.S. carrier that’s made news for this particular issue. FlyerTalk wrote about it last summer, among other outlets. I asked around to a few airline friends, sampling from different companies. Several said they’d experienced “heat-related situations” first hand, while the results of how each carrier handles boarding temperature is quite varied. They ranged from “Apparently we can board up to 150 degrees,” to “I don’t know the limit and we don’t often say anything because we’re afraid of getting fired,” or even “We have a degree limit but I don’t know what it is because we just tell them it’s too hot and the pilots [or mechanics] turn on the air.”

I’m really impressed with the last answer category. My company’s official boarding maximum is 90 degrees. I think that’s a bit too hot, but the bigger issue is how much pushback we get even at that point (i.e. attempting to convince us “it’s not that hot.”). Many of my colleagues have taken to traveling with their own digital thermometers so they can track the temperature themselves. They screenshot the results to prove it, as sometimes it’s the only way to win enforcement of the policy. Sounds like some companies are just less stingy about running auxiliary power. That’s where the bulk of my issue lies. It’s not the noughties [aughts] anymore. The airlines are making plenty of money — just turn on the damn air!

So, “Should airlines cancel a flight or delay it for hours if cabin temperatures get above 85, as American’s flight attendants would seem to suggest?” That is a disingenuous question. There is no insinuation of canceling the flight. Why would crews suggest that? Does the author realize that would mean we have wasted our day coming to work to stand around unpaid and would then have to scramble and hope to find another available trip to make up the work hours another day? Why would we want that?

Contrary to the author’s claim, cooling the cabin takes minutes, not “hours.” What we ask is for the air to be turned on and the cabin to be cooled – because much of the time it’s not that they can’t cool it off, it’s that they don’t want to spend the pennies. Of course, sometimes there’s a mechanical issue. In that case, we want to delay boarding until it can be resolved. Otherwise, we risk everyone sitting in that sweatbox for who knows how long. What if it can’t be fixed? Been there, done that.

Meanwhile, what’s the temperature now? Here’s the thing that the “90 degrees is fine” camp ignores: if it’s that hot when the cabin is empty, think about what happens when passengers file on board, lifting bags and climbing into spaces so small they can’t help but press their sweaty shoulders against their seatmates. Inside a metal tube filled with 200 breathing bodies, 90 degrees can quickly become 100 or more. That’s why we don’t want to start at 90.

Anyone who thinks this is about flight attendants not wanting to “just stand there in the heat for a few minutes” (to paraphrase from a couple of commenters) is mislead. We’re uncomfortable, yes. We’re in flame-retardant polyester and boarding is the most hectic part of our day (I break a sweat during winter boardings!), but what we really don’t want is to have fainting and heat stroke on our hands. It might be okay for most, but it’s not ok, at least, for passengers who are elderly or at all unwell. Just think how long that will delay your flight.

[Photo: Cristoa408]