Unimatrix One

Years ago I was on a pmCO flight NRT-EWR and the seat belt sign was on continuously for 10 hours.

docbert

I flew Emirates from Singapore to Brisbane a few days ago. 7 hour flight. Seatbelt sign didn't go off the entire flight.

wxguy

There's a sUA Captain out there who does it right. Instead of the canned script ("...as we do up here in the cockpit..."), he TALKS to the passengers and says something along these lines:

"I'll make you a deal. I'll keep the seat belt sign off as much as possible, so that you can get up and use the facilities as need be. But when I put the sign on, it's for a good reason, and I ask that you stay seated. Deal? Thanks!"

^

halls120

^^ This is the right way to do it.

Realunited

Please let me respond as one of the "offending" pilots. First, every single one of us is keenly aware when the seat belt sign is on and if it is smooth and there is no imminent report of turbulence ahead, the sign will be off. During climb out it is a VERY busy time for us and turning the seat belt sign off and making our required announcement the first time it gets turned off is not high on the priority list as well as there is more likely to be areas of unexpected turbulence as you climb through all of the layers of weather and constantly shifting wind currents. Once you reach cruise, the winds are not constantly changing and most pilots will turn the seat belt sign off if it is smooth and there are no reports of bad rides ahead or forecast turbulence on our weather maps.

There is no company policy to keep the sign on as a means of crowd control, period. Maybe 5 times in the last 15 years a flight attendant has called and asked for the seat belt sign on as a means of ending a conversation with an unwanted suitor who won't leave the galley and the answer from the cockpit has always been no - it's not fair to the other passengers.

Is United more conservative about safety then perhaps some others, yes and that can sometimes be reflected in the way the seat belt sign is handled. It is never left on out of disregard or carelessness or as a punishment.

schwarm

This may be true on your airplane, but the overwhelming anecdotal evidence of many passengers speaks to the contrary. The seatbelt sign seems to be on for a huge percentage of the flight. In my experience, this is not only UA but also the other USA carriers as well.

How things stand now, with the need for lavatory use, if I see the cabin crew up and about, then I get up to go when I need to.

The problem is especially bad when traveling with young children. I hate to give the impression of being a scofflaw, but it has been made frequently necessary.

1) Do flight computers log the times that the seatbelt sign is turned off and on? Thus would be interesting data.

2) Perhaps as passengers we should record times off and on during flight in order to generate some "scientific" data rather than simply providing anecdotal impressions.

3) At this point I think there should be 2 seatbelt signs, the "we would appreciate it that you remain seated unless necessary" sign and the "real danger" sign.

transportbiz

I'm very glad this pilot doesn't forget it's on, but I have had a few instances of parking at the gate, and the seatbelt light NOT being turned off at all. That would surely indicate it was forgotten.

Realunited

1. No idea if the flight recorder monitors the seat belt sign switch but any data really is not useful except maybe in total flight time on vs off over many many years. Daily, weekly, or monthly numbers would be meaningless due to variability of the weather.

2. I'm sure you could if you had that much interest in the data.

3. It's like that now -"off" = remain seated unless necessary and "on" = stay seated unless it's an emergency and you have to get up and risk your safety as well as the safety of those you may land on.

In the end all that can be done is to advise you that we don't think it's safe to be up based on what we see ahead, pilot reports, dispatcher reports from other planes, weather turbulence charts, ATC reports and more. If you want to get up anyways that's really your call and responsibility.

tomj888

Having flown on UA for years and being a private pilot as well. I've found that just using a bit of common sense helps.

One: look out the window. Are you flying through clouds or through storms. Summer in the continental US = storms, weather diversions and turbulence.

Two: once you reach cruising altitude you are generally much safer than on the climb out or the descent. CAT=clear altitude turbulence is hard to spot, but pilot get pilot reports from planes ahead and air traffic control so they have an idea where the CAT may be. Still very very few planes fall out of the sky in the most severe forms of turbulence. Its scary but flying is still one of the safest forms of transportation.

Three: When you gotta go, you gotta go. Be kind and courteous. FA's have to pee just like you and me.

Hope this helps the OP.

If not, since the dollar is your calling card, you can always fly another airline.

Kensterfly

I really try to heed the seat belt light but if there is no obvious severe turbulence I may have to go. I virtually always hit the head right before boarding and that should hold me for a while but... maybe I had an extra beer in the lounge. Or maybe I had a very tight connection and had the choice to pee or make my flight.... Or maybe we boarded and sat at the gate 30 minutes past departure time (total time in seat up to an hour even before pushing back.) Then I'm going to need to go.

On a recent UA flight there was a little bit of consistent chop for most of the flight. The captain told us up front that the seat belt light could be lit most of the time. But once at altitude the FA came on the PA and said "the seatbelt sign is still lit. If you must get up to use the lav, please be very careful and return to your seat as quickly as possible."

I thought that was a good way to handle it.

Once on a BA MIA-LHR with grade school aged sons, we flew smack in the jetstream for most of the flight. Very, very bumping but we were screaming through the skies and got to London almost 90 minutes early. The seatbelt sign was lit the entire trip. It was difficult to get up and go to the lav but you had to do it.

However, I guess there are some people with cast iron bladders. I sat next to a man and his teen aged son once from FRA to ORD. I was on the aisle. Neither of them got up a single time during that entire flight.

ceieoc

Maybe they both chose to use the liquid containment feature of their air sickness bags. Great to fly with passengers who believe in "safety first."

hookthem

Completely agree. As long as we are semi-level and nothing more than slight chop, I get up and use the lav.

The FA's say something just because they have to. I always apologize, but have never been stopped.

Obviously YMMV and turbulence can pop up at any time!

LordHamster

I've been on 13+ hour flights from EWR to PEK where the seatbelt sign was on the ENTIRE flight. While that was extraordinary, the sign is on much longer on United flights than on the Ethiad, Qatar, Lufthansa, BA, etc flights I take.

LordHamster

On a number of occasions on EWR-BOM, I've noticed the seatbelt sign comes on just prior to the crew using the restroom, and goes back off after... or is just plain forgotten for the next 2.5 hours.

manhattan92

I started a thread about UA's excessive announcements in general: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...ents-made.html

Peace and quiet are never the rule aboard UA.