Hi all,

I'm wondering to what degree are the cabins cleaned between flights, and at the end of the day (if there's such a thing).

On a recent flight, I dropped my pen in the seat back pocket, and I put my hand in to fish for it. My fingers came across some unidentified matter that prompted me to immediately wash my hands with plenty of soap.

So, what kind of cleaning do they do at the end of each flight, and do they do a more thorough cleaning after a certain number of flights?

Also, those pillows and blankets, are they actually new? Or were they used by previous passengers, and just refolded? I've seen blankets lying on the floor at the end of flights, and would hate to think someone will be wrapping themselves in them in 45 minutes.

Any insights?

I have no idea how each airline is organized but I had some insight on one as I was visiting a workshop for handicapped:

One of the main job these handicapped people had to do was cleaning and repairing headphones, blankets, pillows for an airline.

These were gathered together at the end of the flight and brought to that facility. Each headphone was being tested , than cleaned with a special product and packed in little plastic bags.

The blankets were being cleaned in big washers, but I think it was some type of dry cleaning, checked for damages and also packed in plastic bags and returned to the airline.

The planes themselves are cleaned somewhat summarily after every flight but as far as I could find out, a thorough cleanup happens only during the plane's big overhaul and this is not very often... I remember some AA planes on which one could have guessed a month's menu by studying the smearings and crumbs.

Much of the "cleaning" and packaging is done by prisoners as well as handicapped people. Most airlines do NOT launder blankets unless they are "visibly" soiled. Generally they are just repacked over and over again.

''What does not kill me only makes me stronger''

This probably varies from airline to airline, so I can only offer insight as to how it's done where I work.

Most flights are scheduled with only minimal time in between. Just enough time (sometimes just barely enough) to deplane, clean and cater, and board up again. The cleaners come on, empty the trash in the lavs, restock supplies there, vacuum or sweep the floors, toss the extraneous newspapers and magazines (or give them to the FA's ). They fold the seatbelts to look neat, and yes they're supposed to check the seat-back pockets - though you can imagine how time consuming it would be to check (and clean) every pocket on the plane. At the hubs, they take off last month's magazines and replace them with new.

The pillows and blankets are refolded at non-hub stations. At hubs, they're either refolded or replaced depending on the length of flight that is about to go out (for instance, int'l/transcon/red-eyes all get fresh pillows and blankets), and depending on how clean they are. If they look icky to me, I'll ask for replacements even when we're not scheduled for them. Aircraft that remain overnight at hubs all get fresh items, too.

The thorough cleaning happens wherever the plane remains over night, which is why you might notice, now that you know, the planes looking fresher on your early morning flights.

The quality of the job the cleaners do varies...they're pretty dependable at our hubs. Most of the outstations do a good (often great) job, but some are a little lacking. Most of us FA's keep an eye on things and make sure the cabin looks good before boarding - but with very short turn-around times, sometimes we're between a rock and a hard place. In other words, I'm not going to delay the outbound flight because the cleaners did a poor job - and I'll hope that my passengers don't think it was my job to clean the plane, because I'd be embarassed if they did.

One thing this job has taught me is that people are pigs. Serious oinkers, even. I can understand a little mess when you're travelling with 4 kids under 5 years old - but it's beyond me how allegedly grown up adults can make the messes they often leave behind. The next time you're the last one off the plane, especially after a long-ish flight (or any flight to/from a leisure destination), take a look around and imagine having to make it look presentable in less than 10 minutes. Yikes! Pigs.

I just got off a flight from Sydney. Talk about a disaster. I sat in business class and at the end of the trip, except for a few seats, the entire cabin looked like a pig pen. I hate to find out what coach looked like.

If my mother ever saw me make a mess like some of those pigs in that cabin, I can guarantee you that my ... would be grass. Not to mention the tongue lashing I'd get.

Have you ever gone into the head after a pilot or co-pilot has been there? Sink full of dirty water, paper on the floor - one flight attendant told me that pilots are much worse than passengers about keeping the planes clean and the cockpit is usually a mess! (I digress a bit from the thread, but this has happened to me pretty often)

ughhhgh...my only real pet peeve where airplane cleanliness goes (well, aside from steaming diapers being left in seat-back pockets) is the sink full of dirty water thing. Yuck! Push the plunger, people! I'm so tempted to ask some folks if they'd leave their bathroom sink at home like that - but fearing the answer, I remain tempted.