Are airline blankets sealed in plastic really clean?
#1
Original Poster




Join Date: Feb 2007
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Posts: 503
Are airline blankets sealed in plastic really clean?
We have been in MD80 First via sticker upgrades a couple of times in the past week and I would have liked to use the red blanket, which was in plastic, but I didn't know whether that means they are clean. Can anyone verify that?
Thanks!
Thanks!
#5
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#6



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#8
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#9
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#10
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Supposedly, if you have a red blanket in a sealed plastic wrapper, it is considered freshly laundered. I still wouldn't use it on or around my face.
The ones not in plastic, just refolded and jammed in the seatback pockets after a few flights on any given day, are disgusting. There have been reports of pax blowing their noses in those red blankets. Don't go near them unless they are in sealed plastic. I've gotten so I don't even sit on the blankets to even out the seat padding (which is awful on the S80, in my opinion) unless they were sealed when I received them.
Same goes for the duvets on 767/777 equipment. If the duvets were just refolded and placed on the seats, as often is the case for flights returning FROM Europe/South Am to the USA, I don't use them except to prop up my legs on the NGBC footrest a bit higher.
As far as pillows, what I often do is to wrap my pillow in linen napkins or tablecloths (I save them from my meal setup trays) so that my head/face are not touching the used pillowcase. Of course, if I open the plastic wrap myself, then this precaution is not necessary.
The ones not in plastic, just refolded and jammed in the seatback pockets after a few flights on any given day, are disgusting. There have been reports of pax blowing their noses in those red blankets. Don't go near them unless they are in sealed plastic. I've gotten so I don't even sit on the blankets to even out the seat padding (which is awful on the S80, in my opinion) unless they were sealed when I received them.
Same goes for the duvets on 767/777 equipment. If the duvets were just refolded and placed on the seats, as often is the case for flights returning FROM Europe/South Am to the USA, I don't use them except to prop up my legs on the NGBC footrest a bit higher.
As far as pillows, what I often do is to wrap my pillow in linen napkins or tablecloths (I save them from my meal setup trays) so that my head/face are not touching the used pillowcase. Of course, if I open the plastic wrap myself, then this precaution is not necessary.
#11
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Texas
Programs: AA PLT, AA 1MM, Marriott GLD
Posts: 473
It's probably cleaner than one that's not wrapped in plastic; which of course is not necessarily all that clean.
I don't usually worry about the blankets; if I'm cold, I use one. I'm so not a germaphobe though. My desk at the office is very possibly dirtier than the AA blankets. (Not that I'm a huge slob, but according to research, women's desks tend to be germy because we're apt to have snacks and makeup lying around).
I don't usually worry about the blankets; if I'm cold, I use one. I'm so not a germaphobe though. My desk at the office is very possibly dirtier than the AA blankets. (Not that I'm a huge slob, but according to research, women's desks tend to be germy because we're apt to have snacks and makeup lying around).
#13


Join Date: Sep 2003
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Posts: 6,733
Supposedly, if you have a red blanket in a sealed plastic wrapper, it is considered freshly laundered. I still wouldn't use it on or around my face.
The ones not in plastic, just refolded and jammed in the seatback pockets after a few flights on any given day, are disgusting. There have been reports of pax blowing their noses in those red blankets. Don't go near them unless they are in sealed plastic. I've gotten so I don't even sit on the blankets to even out the seat padding (which is awful on the S80, in my opinion) unless they were sealed when I received them.
Same goes for the duvets on 767/777 equipment. If the duvets were just refolded and placed on the seats, as often is the case for flights returning FROM Europe/South Am to the USA, I don't use them except to prop up my legs on the NGBC footrest a bit higher.
As far as pillows, what I often do is to wrap my pillow in linen napkins or tablecloths (I save them from my meal setup trays) so that my head/face are not touching the used pillowcase. Of course, if I open the plastic wrap myself, then this precaution is not necessary.
The ones not in plastic, just refolded and jammed in the seatback pockets after a few flights on any given day, are disgusting. There have been reports of pax blowing their noses in those red blankets. Don't go near them unless they are in sealed plastic. I've gotten so I don't even sit on the blankets to even out the seat padding (which is awful on the S80, in my opinion) unless they were sealed when I received them.
Same goes for the duvets on 767/777 equipment. If the duvets were just refolded and placed on the seats, as often is the case for flights returning FROM Europe/South Am to the USA, I don't use them except to prop up my legs on the NGBC footrest a bit higher.
As far as pillows, what I often do is to wrap my pillow in linen napkins or tablecloths (I save them from my meal setup trays) so that my head/face are not touching the used pillowcase. Of course, if I open the plastic wrap myself, then this precaution is not necessary.
#14
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Join Date: Sep 2006
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Posts: 13,913
I had one the other day (wrapped in plastic) that had some weird looking yellow in it. I will wrap by lower half (clothed) part with the blanet but that is about it. Most of those duvets have a really strange smell to them (like a mix of Clorox and cheap air freshner), probably too much laundering.


