Health

ASHS Menu:


Latest health News

» CABIN FEVER VII: HOT IN HERRE!!!

In response to our CABIN FEVER AWARENESS CAMPAIGN, the company has added a DeltaNet APU Smart Use link that takes you to “APU Central.” Check it out. While APU Central includes much in the way of APU usage statistics, goals, performance, and accountability, it does nothing to address the real issue: cooling our airplanes down NOW!!! We are glad Delta recognizes your HEATED COMPLAINTS. Their myopic online response, however, ignores the larger operational quagmire that somehow prevents lip service memos from translating into safely cooled, comfortable cabins. Why, for instance, are ground power units NOT routinely pumping preconditioned cold air, as prescribed to be the primary means of controlling aircraft temperatures at the gate? Stay tuned, as we continue to push for proactive procedures that get followed in real life – not just on paper!

After all, if passengers are uncomfortably hot, it’s too late. If they complain, be sure they know how to submit their own Cabin Fever feedback concerns to Delta and the DOT. If it gets so hot that you or a colleague become ill, advise the Captain, contact the IFS Manager on Duty, and seek medical care. Fill out OJI paperwork, including the heat related illness diagnosis from your Doctor. And finally, if you have exhausted all other Delta procedures without remedy, you may call the OCC directly to request emergency assistance in securing cooler air at (800) 233-4638. Continue to report extreme temperatures with your AFA thermometer, instances of food poisoning from unchilled EATS or crew meals, and other heat-related safety concerns HERE. As always, follow proper company reporting procedures, so they cannot deny it’s occurring. Remember, if you don’t report it, it didn’t happen.

Posted by Belea on 08/17 at 01:11 PM

» CABIN FEVER VI: PAGING CAPTAIN KOOL



“Employees were given a choice of a bomb pop, chocolate éclair bar, ice cream sandwich, strawberry shortcake bar, bunny track cone, vanilla brownie cone, or a turtle sundae bar. The summer boost event is one of several celebrations that will begin systemwide this fall.” August 6, 2010 DeltaNet, “DTW Employees Cool Off With Ice Cream Treats”

Delta offers employees Captain Kool ice cream treats to cool their jets (see August 6 DNN story), allows ACS (gate) staff to chill with T-shirt and jeans weekends, and tosses weekday work ties as a warm summer “thank you.”  Meanwhile, stuck in layers, still sticky and stewing, Flight Attendants are melting in sweltering cabins as quickly as Captain Kool’s consolation. 

Today, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA released THIS NEWS ALERT as part of a greater awareness campaign, alerting members, management and concerned travelers to the health hazards of dangerously overheated aircraft cabins. AFA Heat Exhaustion visibility sites are popping up across the system this week, to share information, news alerts, flyers, free cooling devices, and pocket thermometers to track cabin temperatures yourself. Watch for additional coverage via new venues shortly, barring immediate management policy changes to enable expeditious and consistent aircraft cooling.

When Vice president Dan Grey IMPLORED MANAGEMENT yet again to address CABIN FEVER issues and suggested an amended summer uniform a la ACS POLICY, the company denied a system-wide problem. Acknowledging the summer heat has created challenges in maintaining comfortable cabin temperatures, VP IFS Field Operations and Safety Sandy Gordon nonetheless claims their available information “does not support your statement that we are experiencing either a “systemic rash of consistently and dangerously overheated cabins during customer boarding”, or that external air carts on the ground “are not generally being used.” Read Sandy’s letter HERE.

“Refused to serve sandwiches or salads because the aircraft had been catered while we were stuck in MCO due to storms in ATL.  Food had been sitting on aircraft four hours, with NO air conditioning.  Ice cream had long since melted, along with ice etc.  To top it off, there had been a former leakage of lav fluids in aft lavs.  The whole plane reeked of waste but there again, no one cared.  You could smell it as you entered the jet bridge.”

Your AFA MEC and ASHS Committee continues to respectfully advocate for safety, comfort, excellence, and collective success through COOPERATIVE DIALOGUE and mutual respect. Our information must remain factual and current. If Sandy’s assessment is accurate, please tell us. Our emphasis on resolving overheated aircraft is in direct response to volumes of MEMBER INPUT begging us to do something about intolerable cabin heat. If our ongoing pressure toggles the A/C switch in your favor, you can bet they won’t credit your union. Perhaps they think frozen treats will buy their blind eye more time? As before, if you have exhausted all other options, you may call the OCC directly to request emergency assistance in securing cooler air for your flight at (800) 233-4638. Be sure to pick up your AFA thermometer and cooling device. Hot or cold? Please let us know HERE. Remember, if you don’t report it, it didn’t happen.

Posted by Belea on 08/10 at 11:15 AM

» CABIN FEVER V: WALKING ON SUNSHINE

Untitled Document

 

“I bet those luxurious leather seats were just awesome to sit in during 100+ degree heat! Form over function, I guess. . .” ~ Former NW Platinum passenger on FlyerTalk, Delta SkyMiles online forum

It’s been more than a month of summer’s dog days since MEC Vice President Dan Grey first asked Inflight for the APU scoop. (That’s like seven months in dog years when suffering from Cabin Fever.) The company gives us hot dogs for a month of sundaes, but ask for air and the response rate gets cold. You may be as tired of this topic as we are in writing it, but it’s not departing until cabins are cool. We have appealed on every reasonable level to Inflight Services, the VP of Operations, the Director of Safety, published overwhelming member feedback, and formalized our concerns in a letter to Delta’s CEO, Richard Anderson. Our passengers are clearly as heated. If the air is out this time next week, next time we’re turning up the heat, so stay tuned.

Help us triage this epidemic with your intake on this outbreak; we’ll measure Delta’s remedy as the mercury drops. Share your continued feedback, hot or cold, HERE.

In the meantime, follow these steps, pending further details and information from the company, in the event you encounter extreme cabin heat:

     
  1. **Share cabin safety and comfort concerns with your pilots immediately. Request air conditioning as soon as possible to permit adequate cooling time prior to passenger boarding. If they decline APU utilization or the APU is inoperative, suggest they secure an air cart.

    2.  
  2. **If your pilots have not yet arrived, make the same cabin cooling request of ACS personnel, so they might coordinate with maintenance or ground staff or call the OCC for further action.

    3.  
  3. **Open air vents and close window shades, if time permits.  Advise passengers to do the same, if boarding has commenced.  

    4.  
  4. **If your pilots have not arrived, ACS staff cannot accommodate your request or you are minimum crew on a flight that has begun boarding, Flight Attendants may call the OCC directly . Coordinate with the Purser/Flight Leader to contact OCC at (800) 233-4638, and identify yourself, your city, flight number and gate. Explain the urgency of the situation and your lack of other options to reduce dangerous cabin temperatures. Document procedures you take to rectify the situation and indicate whether they are effective.

    5.  
  5. **If the aircraft gets so hot you become ill, advise the Captain, contact the IFS Manager on Duty, and seek medical care. Fill out OJI paperwork, including the heat related illness diagnosis from the medical facility or the Doctor.
     

READ PREVIOUS ARTICLES IN THIS SERIES:

CABIN FEVER I: FEELIN’ HOT HOT HOT!!!
CABIN FEVER II: THE HEAT IS ON!!!
CABIN FEVER III: HEATWAVE!!!
CABIN FEVER IV: MR. HEAT MISER

Posted by soltersdorf on 08/03 at 08:17 AM

» CABIN FEVER IV: MR. HEAT MISER

Untitled Document

 

“I was sweating from the time I got on the plane and throughout the flight. We are working not in shorts, tank tops and flip-flops, but in fabrics that do not breathe, along with panty hose.  This seems to be a common occurrence to have only one pack working.  This is unacceptable and will cease to be a cost saving measure when you lose your customers.”

Since summer’s hot streak first began, your NWA-AFA MEC and ASHS Committee have been pulling out the stops to cool down aircraft cabins on your behalf. It is no exaggeration to suggest member pleas for corrective action are nothing short of desperate. We are certain IFS reporting data will substantiate this trend. In addition to possibly over-zealous compliance with the company’s APU fuel efficiency plan, Cabin Fever has been susceptible to a domino-like series of operational challenges in an infrastructure apparently unable to bear the weight of its overly aggressive summer flight plan. Over the years, each of us has experienced the occasional inop APU, broken air cart or temperamental temperature gauge, but no one recalls Cabin Fever to this degree. Help us triage this epidemic with your intake on this outbreak; we’ll measure Delta’s remedy as the mercury drops. Share your continued feedback, hot or cold, HERE.

“If we are all about saving money due to fuel costs, how about cutting all the air conditioning "luxury" corporate-wide? All buildings owned and maintained by Delta airlines could join in the cost savings and experience the same effect that we are onboard!”

A lack of Cabin Fever response from Inflight Services prompted THIS LETTER to Richard Anderson and Joanne Smith. Our request for cooler cabins synopsizes how cost-cutting plans from a pencil pusher’s air conditioned office have turned our workspace into steaming saunas. Additionally, excessive and sometimes conflicting layers of internal protocols and priorities often hamper response to immediate flight attendant air conditioning requests. The overall lack of interdepartmental coordination was emphasized as a prime culprit—particularly Inflight Services’ exclusion from the cooling equation, when we bear the brunt of the heat. We respectfully insisted on immediate corrective action for the health, safety and comfort of passengers and crew, with effective contingency plans that include flight attendants, to prevent overheated cabins.

“I must have apologized a hundred times to passengers.”
 
  “Never cooled off before we started boarding pax. Pilots kept calling for air carts since the APU was inop.  One family [got off the aircraft] due to the heat. The gauge in the cockpit showed the aft cabin temp to be 102 degrees.  Hard to look professional and gracious with sweat running down your face!”

Fortunately, key members of management agree that cabin comfort should never be compromised—and “never at the expense of passenger and crew comfort and safety.” These comforting words do not equal cool air yet, but they mark an inroad to rectification. Sharing member feedback with Delta leaders at the quarterly, contractual Joint Safety meeting earlier this month, your MEC Air Safety Health and Security Committee emphasized that Flight Attendants must be provided with procedures to follow and numbers to contact when faced with extreme cabin conditions.  ASHS Committee Chairs Jeannie Elliott and Gary Helton secured a commitment from Delta management to issue a memo directly to Flight Attendants regarding cabin environment, with options to secure cooler air.

In the meantime, this is what you need to know, pending further details and information from the company, in the event you encounter extreme cabin heat:

     
  1. Share safety and cabin comfort concerns with the pilots immediately. Request air conditioning as soon as possible to permit adequate cooling time prior to passenger boarding. If they decline APU utilization or the APU is inoperative, suggest they secure an air cart. The value of CRM skills and an assertive—not aggressive—statement, such as "Captain, I am concerned for the safety of our passengers," cannot be understated, as previously discussed.
    2.  
  2. If your pilots have not yet arrived, make the same cabin cooling request of ACS personnel, so they might coordinate with maintenance or ground staff or call the OCC for further action.
    3.  
  3. Open air vents and close window shades, if time permits.  Advise passengers to do the same, if boarding has commenced.
    4.  
  4. If your pilots have not arrived, ACS staff cannot accommodate your request or you are minimum crew on a flight that has begun boarding, Flight Attendants may call the OCC directly. Coordinate with the Purser/Flight Leader to contact OCC at (800) 233-4638, and identify yourself, your city, flight number and gate. Explain the urgency of the situation and your lack of other options to reduce dangerous cabin temperatures. Document procedures you take to rectify the situation and indicate whether they are effective.
     

Your MEC ASHS Committee has made additional inroads with other key safety and service related areas, providing valuable input that helped shape the company’s recently published “Safety and Service Must Work Together.” Changes to harmonized service design, while slow in coming, are beginning to coordinate safety factors called out by our AFA Safety committee and alert members. Reports on additional progress will follow in an upcoming eNews.

As always, report incidents of Cabin Fever and other service/safety concerns to the company via the FACC/FAST form and an automated Inflight Incident Report, if the situation warrants. And keep on keeping us in the loop via our Online Feedback Form HERE. There’s a whole lot of reporting going on this summer. But remember, if you don’t report it, it didn’t happen.


READ PREVIOUS ARTICLES IN THIS SERIES:

CABIN FEVER I: FEELIN’ HOT HOT HOT!!!
CABIN FEVER II: THE HEAT IS ON!!!
CABIN FEVER III: HEATWAVE!!!

Posted by soltersdorf on 07/27 at 08:50 AM

» CABIN FEVER III: HEATWAVE!!!

Untitled Document

 

“On boarding, hot air was coming out of the gasper valves.  We tried to adjust it but it just got hotter and hotter. It was miserable. Heat in the summer makes the AC unsafe, especially for elderly and those in less than perfect health.”

Airline analysts widely predict Delta’s just-announced $549 million second quarter profit—our best financial performance in a decade—could blaze the trail to an industry-wide recovery. The trend toward tepidity ending, business travel is heating up and moving bottom lines out of the red with higher yield fares on fuller flights. This is, of course, fantastic news, and it’s forecast to continue beyond second quarter results. With an eye toward collective success, we hope our sizzling summer stays hot on the books, but that sold-out seats grow cold. Or get cooler, at least, with gasper valves pumping fresh air toward the deserving customers who make profits possible.


  “Passengers were red faced, fanning themselves and asking for air.”

After conveying everything from simmering irritation to searing frustration over unresolved cabin fever and safety issues via our ONLINE FEEDBACK FORM, our members’ unanimous concern boils down to one more common theme: “What about our passengers?” Indeed, even while facing a cabin heatwave, customer service remains our chief focus.

 “Within minutes of boarding, the air conditioning was shut off. The aircraft became hotter and hotter. Conditions on the plane were intolerable. Passengers complained loudly, several became dizzy and nauseous.”

 “We can’t have our passengers passing out before we even take off. . .99 degree cabins is not good customer service.”

With today’s upbeat announcement, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Hank Halter also acknowledged, “We know we have to work hard to earn and keep our customers’ business.  As the economy stabilizes, it’s more important than ever that we focus on providing a reliable operation and excellent customer service while maintaining our revenue momentum and cost discipline.”

We agree. After all, we are solution-oriented, safety-minded customer service professionals. Excellent customer service is imperative, and we’re onboard to make it happen. However, from the air conditioned office where cost-cutting, policy-makers write memos that shut down APUs to save cash, cooler heads must prevail. Comfortable, happy passengers bring repeat business. Hot, miserable ones do not.

“Let’s all work together to serve our customers in the most efficient, productive, and friendly manner possible. Let’s make Delta Air Lines not just survive but thrive as the best airline in the world.”

Now, more than ever, the penny-wise cost disciplines of cutting cabin air can’t override the greater need to live up to the product we promote. Delta must provide the travel experience our passengers expect with the comfort and service they deserve, or this financial turn-around will continue full circle. Just where would that leave us?

Delta policy maintains the Captain is empowered to assess the overall situation, costs, and comforts and provide power and air accordingly. These days, however, tighter scheduling and irregular operations frequently prevent our pilots from being present at boarding time. Even when present, reports suggest some appear to be more concerned with APU operating costs, or simply may not recognize how truly hot it is.

AFA-CWA is leading the charge to gain OSHA safety protections in the workplace for crewmembers. According to OSHA, factors leading to heat stress include high temperature or humidity, direct sun or heat, limited air movement, poor physical condition, some medicines, inadequate tolerance for hot workplaces, and insufficient water intake. OSHA has provided this HEAT STRESS QUICK CARD and THIS FACT SHEET with helpful information to protect workers from heat borne danger. You may find it useful, whether fanning yourself in a hot galley or tending to a passenger experiencing heat stroke.

Flight Attendant feedback suggests Cabin Fever is primarily due to:

     
  • APUs that are turned off to save money, per company directive
    •  
  • APUs that are completely inoperative for unknown reasons
    •  
  • Pilots not arriving at the aircraft in time to cool it down
    •  
  • Gate staff boarding flights prematurely or without complete understanding of onboard heat safety dangers
    •  
  • Lack of company communication and the requisite coordination above and below wing to have air carts available and hooked up as a necessary alternative

 

“Putting passengers and crew on an aircraft and turning off the air conditioning in 90 degree heat is inhumane.  This was a very dangerous situation—high heat, no air conditioning, and a full 757-8000.”

“90-plus degrees in Atlanta. Agent insists on boarding aircraft although there are no pilots and no air conditioning on the ground. We are told by the agent that we do not wait for pilots to board the aircraft. The plane is sweltering. Complaints by passengers.  Waited onboard for approximately an hour with no explanation from agent.”

“not enough water bottles to even do one water walk”

Your NWA-AFA MEC once again asserts that Delta must take immediate corrective action for the health, safety and comfort of both passengers and crew. Contingency plans must be implemented to address these scenarios, stop Cabin Fever in its tracks, and turn things around. Our passengers expect it. Our bodies require it. Our future depends on it.

READ PREVIOUS ARTICLES IN THIS SERIES:

CABIN FEVER I: FEELIN’ HOT HOT HOT!!!
CABIN FEVER II: THE HEAT IS ON!!!

Posted by soltersdorf on 07/20 at 08:32 AM