squatch

i'm not an HVAC expert (despite my ancient engineering background), but i thought that the vents circulated cooled air, so a lower flow rate would definitely result in the plane not being able to chill as quickly.

anyway, the 900s that i have been on the last couple of months are WAY warmer than the 319s/320s and MDs that usually fly this route. maybe the crews need a little more experience calibrating the air conditioning systems to make things more comfortable?

brocklee9000

It is my understanding that the air that comes from the gaspers is the same exact air that comes from the packs and pressurizes the cabin and should be the same temperature. If anything, I believe it's simply the fact that the air is moving (possibly coupled by the fact that it's a higher pressure, since it has to be blown out of the gasper) that makes it feel cooler. I also feel they are most beneficial when at the gate/engines are off, as there isn't really much air being circulated like when in flight, much like on a hot day a breeze, even if it's a hot dry breeze, feels better than stagnant air (or when you're riding a bike or running on a warm day, but the air rushing past you feels relatively cooler). For example, a few months ago we had a takeoff delay because too much fuel was loaded. We arrived in DTW late and had to run from gate 1 all the way past the midpoint, to connect to our AF flight. We boarded and sat down, no gaspers were overhead. We were warm from our sprint, and there wasn't much airflow, so I felt overheated and sweated for a bit. After a while, my heartrate calmed down and I eventually cooled off, plus by then the engines were on and more air was being pumped around the cabin.

I can't speak for each aircraft and it's system, especially automation of pressurization and temperature control, but I seem to recall more issues with smaller planes like a CRJ. Pressurization in that aircraft is regulated automatically, assuming the pilots put in the correct landing elevations, programmed the flight properly, and adjusted temps. On the upper right portion of the overhead panel, there are a few knobs used for manual changes, as well as dialing in the settings for the computer to adjust. I have, on several occasions, asked an FA to phone to pilots and ask them to adjust the temperature setting, as we were absolutely freezing. I would also be willing to bet that bigger, newer, more sophisticated aircraft have better systems of circulating air throughout the cabin. Again, I know it's common for many American aircraft to have gaspers, but many other countries' airlines do not, and there are a fair share of US planes that don't have them either. And I know many widebodies do not have gaspers, regardless of which airline or leasing company bought them.

FlyAO2

I have to say, I find these planes to be absolutely horrible. Regardless of the nice TV and funky lights, when you sit on a plane baking all the other things really don't matter

Yes, temperature settings have something to do with it, but at least with other planes you can at least blow a chunk of air on you to make things a little better.

The air vents on this plane are completely useless -- might as well be Europeans and remove them all together.

Pilot has supposedly put the AC on full blast and still oven on this plane

brocklee9000

Well, again my two cents, but I actually managed to get nearly 3 hours of sleep in 4D last week (basically from 10K/moment I could recline, until they made the landing announcement) and that is the first that has ever happened. The only time I found the air to be weak was when we sat on a taxiway in ATL last week for two hours, and our engines were shut off for the majority of that time. But that was simply due to pressurization limitations because of how much air the APU can provide to the cabin as well as cooling avionics and what ever else the bleed air does on a 737. But during normal operations, I had no qualms. I also like that the vents turn to open/close easily, and it's not blasting some loud stream of air at your head.
Now if we want to talk about things like seat pitch, small galleys, etc then I can agree this airplane is not my favorite. However, the more I fly it, the more I am torn between liking and not liking it. I like the responsive touch screen, USB and power ports, they finally have tilting screens, and the overhead bins are great.

OPENROAD

Well looks like we are going to be flying 737-900 in a couple of weeks Sea-JFK, afternoon flight, couple of weeks ago we flew 757 which wasn't bad, sat in comfort plus


Reading through the thread looks like it's a thumbs down for the plane in general, are comfort plus seats worth the upgrade on this aircraft?

KDCAflyer

C+ is pretty much mandatory on this aircraft. Regular economy is packed tight (by 30-31" of pitch, DL really means 30").

Try to get the first row on the left, as there's a soft divider between Y and F. Avoid the first row on the right, since there's a bulkhead that restricts legroom.

OPENROAD

Thank You,looks like comfort plus is essential then, with the first row on the left, is the tray table in the armrest?

lucycan

Yes

pvn

737 seats are already too narrow, the ones with the trays in the armrests are inhumane.

OPENROAD

Really torn whether to upgrade to Comfort plus or not on my SEA-JFK flight, $180 for two is a bit on the steep side, even if you do get a couple small bottles of wine.