T-15.01

Curious...if FA offered you to sit back in coach and refund premium paid for D1, would you have done that or stayed in the doorless seat?

cmd320

For me that would depend heavily on a few factors:

1) how full is the flight?
2) did I pay for the D1 seat or did someone else?
3) is it being refunded in $$ or Delta Dollars?

If it’s an empty flight and I could lay down across three seats in the back I’d consider it. If the fare difference was a few thousand dollars that someone else paid, I’d take the downgrade cash in a heartbeat. JFK-AMS is short and D1 really isn’t exciting by any means, not like we’re talking SQ or EK F.

kale73

This. But if I have to pee that door is history.

But I am serious. If this is happening the DOT needs to hear about it.

bcranger

Haha thanks for all the replies, wasn't expecting quite this level of entertainment! And yes, I paid and took the trip solely for the Suites, I have been to nearly every country in Europe (and more than once) so I certainly am not in AMS to be a tourist!

jrl767

had a similar situation last week (SEA-JFK A339 redeye); it didn't really affect anything, and I didn't ask for FA assistance, but my overall opinion of the suite is that it's definitely ordinary (the entire story starts here)

in thinking about this, however, the FA wouldn't have been able to reach across to close the window shade had the door been closed, so maybe it's worth writing in

CalebMCO

Goodness! Some of the more 'prolific' posters could learn to be a bit more polite and less condescending when presented with views contrary to theirs.

cmd320

True. Though I’m sure there would be someone on board who could take care of this, one way or another.

Keep in mind this isn’t going to be a split second emergency situation. The doors have to be open for takeoff and landing so if it were to jam closed it would be inflight with some time to figure it out.

I’m not arguing this isn’t a problem, only that if it should happen there’s no need to be too worried as I’m sure the individual trapped in the suite would be able to be extracted before landing.

pfreet

What if they offered the option of sitting on the floor in the galley and holding the door? Would that be OK?

danielonn

There must be some sort of an Emergency Door Release Lever that you can engage and close it manually just like a Garage Door! Next time see if the Cabin Service Manager can disengage the electric portion of it and use something to hold it shut! Or you could unplug the electronics and reset it. Another option is to test this while still at the gate and see what can be done.

danielonn

There must be an Emergency Door Release lever that you can engage much like on a Garage Door to open and close the door in an emergency. At European Airports there is this Green Box with a button you press and it disengages the electronic function of the door in an Emergency known as an Emergency Door Release. If there is no Emergency Door Release then its a violation of the FAA! This is the reason why we have the Liftmaster Garage Door Opener with a Battery Backup! What if the plane looses power? The CSM and FA's needs to be trained on how to open the door if the power motor fails and its locked shut.

I remember on a DC10 we just arrived at the gate from Hawaii and the power operated door failed and the CSM had to manually open it. It took some strength but it did work and it took 15 minutes to try to reset it but it failed.

I think they can redesign this so the Passenger has the Option to Disengage the Door in an Emergency with a Red box and cover you lift and then twist the handle to the right to disengage it like on a bus or train and one for the Flight Attendant too on the outside). Its very simple to design and the FA could go over this with the Passenger. So if the motor failed you could still close it by engaging the Emergency Lever and then when its closed you would twist the lever to keep it locked manually.

flyerCO

These door all have emergency latches in case they become stuck. For the A339 the top 3/4 of door collapses down. For the A350 I believe it causes 3/4 of door to push out. (The recessed line on the door is where it "breaks" into two pieces in emergency)

CalebMCO

This is correct. It takes about 2 seconds to do. Happened to me when my door got stuck.

flyerCO

I see people all the time new to suites use emergency latch instead of normal.

MCO Flyer

I wonder if there is a similar emergency latch in the lavatory? I was on a flight recently where one of the lavs was INOP because according to the FA the door was stuck and said while you can go in it, they “might not be able to get you out.” I’ve been in some lavs where the doors are a huge pain to shut so this doesn’t surprise me.

cre95

I would probably just climb over it and not worry too much about it.