Last night I decided to take CO up on a voluntary bump (CLE-YYZ) to go CLE-MHT-YYZ instead. The last leg was to be on AC (Air Georgian), which I knew would be a Beech 1900D, of course, with a head wind, making for a very slow prospect. For MHT-YYZ I was assigned a seat by an emergency door (odds are high for that of course) but when we got in the air, there was a tremendous noise from air rushing through the top of the door where I was seated. Of course there is no flight attendant button because there is no FA (but there could be a button for things like this - instead just a ligght switch). I wondered if I should walk up to the curtain and tap a pilot on the shoulder but I thought I'd be mistaken for a hijacker with poor judgment in his choice of targets. So I moved to another seat where the noise wasn't as bad. But I was concerned that we were losing pressure. We seemed to be flying low and slow - but that could be normal. When we landed I decided to tell a pilot. His response was that it was consistent with the fact that there were having trouble with cabin pressurization (and I can tell you that the temperature was dropping fast as well) and that he'd report it to maintenance. This was not something you could notice on the ground with the engines off. So - what is the protocol on those planes if you see a problem? And is there anything that could have been done about it short of grounding us in MHT if they had known about it? I recollect that BA had a similar problem on a much bigger plane. Just curious because I am not rushing back to MHT in the near future. BTW CO gave several of us $400 US (no blackout cash value coupon) as compensation for the tour. Interstingly, CO handles the AC flights in MHT. Dinner in MHT was quite good at the Milltowne Grill. Excellent clam chowder.
Next time go up to the cockpit tap the co-pilot on the shoulder and let them know about the issue. I find it hard to believe that you would sit there and say nothing. What if it was a major issue and you didn't say anything and the plane had a serious problem, I bet you would wish someone would have said something then if it could have been prevented before getting out of hand.
Next time the co-pilot gives his briefing before the flight listen!! They say if it gets too hot or too cold during the flight or you need something don't hesitate to come forward to the cockpit and let them know.