saxman66

The problem with these old RJ's are that when even when the APU is working, it is extremely weak in providing conditioned air to the cabin. Even when external air is hooked up at the gate, when you load 50 heated bodies into a tiny tube, it's still going to get warm. Eventually, before you close the door, the external air has to be disconnected. After that, you get an unexpected ground delay, and the cabin will get hot very quick. Hopefully you get a good set of pilots who will refuse an aircraft with a broken or weak APU in the summer months. It might mean a delay, but I'd rather be delayed in a cool terminal then being stuck in the back of a hot RJ with no airflow.

flyerbaby19

Agree. way too hot. The FA on my last flight was nice and turned the temp down twice after she realized I was too hot. First, she came up and was like, do you want me to shut these vents so they're not blowing on you? and i was like, it's way to hot in here, so i'm keeping them on. and then she fixed the temperature

physioprof

1A on Devil's Chariot.

FlyfromDenver

Wondered how long before this hit here. What the quoted article left out was that they were at the gate and there were issues there. The mother chose to return to the plane. I have 3 kids and it was my job to keep them safe. Maybe united should have called child services on the mother for having the baby on the plane. And I am serious.

jpezaris

After seeing -- rather publicly -- how UA treats its passengers who assert themselves? What good is a mother at protecting her children when she is knocked out and dragged from a plane because she chose to assert her rights to a safe environment? An unconscious (detained, arrested, etc.) mother cannot help her infant.

There's a reason the announcement says "put your mask on first before helping others." I would not jump so quickly to judge.

mduell

It's pretty normal in Houston to walk on to UA mainline that hasn't been airconditioned in hours, with mousefarts worth of cooling coming from the overhead. No real cooling until you get to altitude. Did it last Wednesday (738 fresh from mx hangar), will probably do it next Monday.

mahasamatman

Absolutely.

jhayes_1780

Not giving UA a pass, especially UX who typically has left me cooking on many crj-200's.

but: "baby almost dies"? Feels hyped for shock value.

Wayside

The ERJ has 2 air cycle machines. The term Pack (Pneumatic Air Conditioning Kit) is used synonymously. They take compressed air from the APU or engines and through a series of heat exchangers, water separators, and expansion of the air cause a pretty dramatic reduction in temperature. Enough to freeze the moisture in the air. The cold air from the air cycle machine is mixed with hot air from the APU (or engine) compressor at a variable ratio to control the temperature, kind of like how you can adjust your shower temperature. Each Pack also has a recirculating fan tbat increases efficiency by mixing ambient cabin air with the output from the Pack, much like how Max AC works in a car.

Pack 1 provides about 80% of its conditioned air to the flight deck and 20% to the passenger cabin while Pack 2 provides about 80% of its airflow to the passenger cabin and 20% to the flight deck. In the event of a malfunction, the aircraft can fly with one pack inoperative below 25,000'. On a hot day with Pack 2 deferred, I could see how the passenger cabin might get unusually warm. If the APU was deferred it could also make it warm as at idle thrust, the engines don't make as much compressed air to power the Packs as the APU does.

weilee

United has been trying for decades to teach everyone not to fly on them at all, but some people haven't gotten the message.

TravelingNomads

I can't relate to this level of extreme, but I had to take a flight once where we got stuck for a a bit over 3 hours and never even got served water and it felt like it was 100 degrees inside. My 5 & 6 yr old girls were absolutely miserable and unfortunately it was just me to entertain them. I feel so much for this parent. I can't even describe it. Normally, this isn't my United experience, but it did happen that one time, but to be fair it's been over a decade. I truly hope they've improved since then.

StuckinITH

United is not the only airline that has extreme heat in their planes. I once was on a USAirways plane that was extremely hot and the flight attendant fainted just prior to take off. With another passenger we had to help her.

FlyfromDenver

You don't think this means the mother should have taken care of her child and gotten off the plane when she had the chance ?

Maybe next United should monitor the temperature of every passenger because eventually some 95 year old will claim frostbite on a plane that is too cold.

Baze

Ever been on a submarine in the North Pacific in the winter? I have, SSN 596, and it was friggin cold on board.

Transpacificflyer

This is one of those events were actual substantiated facts are not presented. We do not know what the temperature was on board the aircraft, nor what the infant's body temperature was. Yes, it is described as hot, but how hot? Nor do we know what the actual physical state of the infant was. Yes, I read the reference to no apparent underlying medical condition, but that isn't the same as verifying that the infant is not at risk due to a genetic or an undiagnosed endocrine system deficiency.) We don't know if the infant was ill that day and predisposed to heat sensitivity. If the infant had not consumed liquid/eaten, that could have been a contributing factor. The article presented is heavy on drama, but short on corroborated fact.

One doesn't know where the aircraft was located such that a quick deboarding could be safely done. If on the tarmac, it might have been unsafe to take someone off. An ambulance was called, but it took 30 minutes to arrive? If true, the issue goes beyond the airline to the EMS response at the airport. Once the call was made, EMS needed to be on scene in a few minutes. Once a medical emergency was declared, the clock started and 30 minutes is unacceptable.

I don't doubt for a minute that this event was mismanaged. However, I suggest that substantiated facts be documented first.