Originally Posted by
markzz2
Totally agree that generally the temperature is too warm on board.
Sadly I think BA decided that the extra cost of individual air vents was too much (not just the installation but the maintenance I would imagine). They therefore only have them when they come as standard (like the A319/320/321). I really wish they had them on the Boeings as we can never get the heat right for everyone and a breeze on the face always helps.
I think 20C is a fair setting, but I notice it seems to creep up to 25 on many of the flights I am on, f the majority of crew are female, it always tends to be warmer. Women seem to feel the cold more than us blokes.
Was on a JAL flight today though and felt like a Turkey being roasted for Christmas...... far too hot, and when I mentioned it nothing changed, they promised to turn it down but they did nothing.
Sixth Freedom Does anybody know why BA's aircraft are not fitted with gaspers?
BA opted for a Therapeutic Oxygen Main Ring system instead of the Gasper system. The little round disk on the overhead area where the Gaspers would be is an access point for the system. It is not a cost issue. A therapeutic Oxygen system is no doubt more costly to maintain.
As for benchmarking against EK, having worked out there I can say one thing for certain. Never will every one on an aircraft be happy. The Middle East folk develop hypothermia at around 26 degrees C. Koreans live in a state of perpetual permafrost and Americans are only happy at 23 degrees. Put all three nationalities in a multimillion dollar Coke can that hurtles through the sky and standby for backlash.
Each cabin is split by the air conditioning system into zones. The Cabin crew can have control on these zones to adjust temperature. The air conditioning packs output air at a temperature that satisfies the zone requiring the most cooling air. The other zones requesting a warmer temp are 'topped up' by warmer 'Trim Air' and delivered to the ducts. Temperature sensors in the cabin measure current temp and demanded temp and adjust the system in a thermostatic sense. By that I mean if the cabin were to be at 28 degrees and the cabin crew select a temp of 21 degrees, the air coming out of the vents will not be at 21 degrees. It will be more in the region of 5 to 10 degrees to force a cool down of cabin ambient temperature. Factors such as IFE heat, human heat and sunlight etc all conspire against the cool down effort. However as the ambient temperature drops the output air warms up until it is just a degree or so below the new cabin ambient and demanded temperature.
The problem comes as passengers by the cabin side walls start to freeze in the 5 degree airflow and ask the crew to warm it up a bit before the system has solved the original problem.
Sorry for the long winded response.