Originally Posted by
ehe123
I was denied a first-class upgrade on a DTW-SFO (A320) flight yesterday, because 3 of the 16 seats in FC were taped with "DO NOT USE" signs. It looked like a crime scene. One of them had the back collapsed onto the seat. I have never seen anything like this before. Is the failure to repair these the result of a work action by mechanics?
A few months ago I was sitting next to a commuting captain from DTW-MEM in first on a 319 or 320. As I went to pull down my tray table, the entire latch mechanism came out onto my lap. I laughed and said, "I guess that's what bankruptcy does to you." He responded, "Actually, that's what happens when you buy Airbus aircraft." He went on to tell me about when he flew the 319/320 that things constantly would break in the cabin and the cockpit, saying its all cheap plastic, unlike the solid metal in the 742s that he flew out of ANC. He went on to say he wasn't too happy that he was being forced to switch to the 330, both for the quality issues but also the fact that it isn't natural to fly a plane with a joystick (oh, and having to deal with us passengers again).
They then made me take a different seat for landing.
At least in my experience, I have only seen situations like you mention above on the Airbii; the DC-9s and 757s are pretty solid structurally. So likely more that than disgruntled employees.