Originally Posted by
Yellowbelly
I was on a 52J 747 a couple of weeks ago and speaking to the cabin service manager she mentioned that the crew are starting to notice the 747 fleet is not getting the attention to minor repairs in the cabin. Maybe these planes are the ones next to retire?
...and that, in my opinion is a problem.
A build up of deferred cabin defects reflect very badly on the airline as a whole, and makes the average passenger perceive the plane to be a poor state of repair, even if the airframe, engines and avionics are highly sound.
Dirt, loose trim, threadbare seats, collapsed seat foams, busted IFE, broken reading lights, toilets that have an unmaskable stink of stale pee, along with judicious application of gaffer- and speed-tape, all make people ask questions, and damage perceptions.
Sure, it may not make financial (or even common) sense to put all these right. The question is, as with anything like this, where is the line drawn about what's acceptable and what are the criteria for making those decisions.