Originally Posted by
pruss2ny
given all the hyperbole imbedded in the story, i'm going to take a shot that the flight crew and cleaning crew actually were human beings who discovered and cleaned up the vomit as best they could...if it WAS a pool of vomit, then i'm hard pressed to believe no one smelled it/complained about it getting on the plane....even the father in the story mentions nothing about noticing the vomit after sitting down until his wife felt the carpet, realized it was wet, and then smelled her hand...my guess (since none of us were there) is that they did clean the vomit, the carpeting was wet from disinfectants. in this scenario, then FA offering the blanket as extra layer of protection as opposed to delaying the flight actually might be reasonable stopgap measure
+2. I thought this too.
I was on a NRT-SFO flight in 2008 when the 744s were first getting the new IPTE F suites... During boarding, an F pax (not NRSA) chugged down his sparkling wine, and almost immediately after setting down his glass, started looking around frantically. Next thing I know, he barfed right into the large storage bin to his left....thankfully it didn't leak into the aisle, but the whole F cabin reeked. He ran for the door after it happened and I never saw him again....crew would later remove his bags.
Cleaning crew came aboard, with masks, gloves, aprons, etc., and thorough cleaned the area. They removed the soiled pillow and blanket, which had been in the bin, sprayed down the area, scrubbed the carpet, and repeated, three times if I recall. The flight took a 30 minute delay. The crew was wonderful, and the whole F cabin was extremely understanding. By the time the cleaners had left, there was surprisingly no smell of vomit, just of strong cleaning agents (which nobody minded). The F seat (2K), went out empty. Upon landing in SFO, the purser told me the seat was going to be cleaned a second time.
A more personal, and embarrassing story, took place last month...I was coming back Zurich-IAD in seat 1K 763 F. I was super hungry, so ate the entire meal, and cheese plates, and decided to have some port wine (which I always stay away from). Not sure which it was, or a combination, but after I woke up from sleeping for 3 hours, I had the dreaded "feeling". My mouth was salivating, my stomach churning, and I had high-anxiety. Great! By this point we were in final approach for Dulles and it felt like every second that went by was an eternity. I contemplated my options..The whole plane was seated, but I wanted nothing more than to run for the bathroom. Next best thing was a barf bag....but what if the bag ripped? If it wasnt big enough? Next thing I know, we touched down, and bounced back up, and then plopped back down onto the runway...here it comes, a sudden spasm through my body that signaled it was coming...and somehow I fought it off and kept it down. We taxied, and I somehow made it to the gate. Needless to say I was the first off the plane, and nearly ran to the pre-customs bathroom, where it almost immediately finally happened. I guess the lesson is don't mix the cheese with port. Ha!