Airline Service Workers Hand Out Cleaning Wipes to Passengers
July 16, 2008 · Print This Article
Early Wednesday morning, service workers at LAX and SFO airports handed out sanitary cleaning wipes to passengers in the airline terminals, telling them that they deserve to know about the challenges they face that prevent them from properly cleaning the planes. According to workers, chronic understaffing and a lack of proper equipment are some of the key barriers to cleaning the planes well. Some report having to work without proper cleaning supplies, often cleaning bathrooms with only water because they have no disinfecting cleanser. Others report that, when planes are behind schedule, they are not given enough time to properly clean the interior.
“It’s kind of sad that we have to give cleaning wipes to passengers,” said Marta Sanchez, a cabin cleaner at LAX. “But, when we are understaffed and are not given enough time to clean planes properly, then we think that passengers should know about it. The airlines can do a lot more to improve passenger services and airport security, while at the same time make these good jobs for our families and our communities.”
Service workers informed passengers that airlines need to improve cleaning and other services by providing appropriate equipment and training, decent wages, and family healthcare for workers.
According to a recent report by J.D. Power and Associates, the airline industry has experienced a rapid decline in customer satisfaction, bringing ratings to the lowest level in three years, due to declining quality of customer service rather than high fares. The study makes a direct correlation between poor customer service and dwindling job quality.
“Across the airline experience, from check-in, to the flight, to deplaning, passengers are being affected by the ramifications of carriers making staff cutbacks and have expressed that per-formance and attitudes of airline staff are suffering,” said Sam Thanawalla, director of the global hospitality and travel practice at J.D. Power and Associates. “In this unstable industry environ-ment, it is critical that airlines invest in their employees as a means to enhance the customer experience, as there is a strong connection between employee satisfaction and customer satis-faction.”
one word: gross. no wonder people don’t want to fly anymore. higher ticket prices, new fees, and now, dirty pillow and blankets.
I just saw this story on Fox News. Really disturbing. Why don’t airlines seem to care about customer service anymore?
Wow. It’s one thing to suspect that the flight experience is not clean, it’s another to actually know that workers aren’t being given sufficient equipment to even give us a chance at a clean plane. Was this yet another thing they attempted to “unbundle”? Are we going to have to pay more if we want to have a clean lavatory, or a clean pillow? Really.
Congrats on this great website. I just heard about it on FoxNews (of all places). I have young children, and we fly out of LAX often when we take family vacations. Now I’m just grossed out – I’m sure this isn’t just a problem at LAX – we’re talking about the same airlines here. I think we might just stick with driving for our next family trip. Thanks for the info!
Any wonder that airlines are going out of business?
Everyone is so quick to blame the airline for cutting back, however if you could see the messes that some “trashy” passengers leave…it would make you sick. Here is a partial solution. The “airline cleaners” need to mark the seat numbers of people that leave crapped-up baby diapers in the seat backs, sweaty socks, snotted up tissues and chocolate or playdough mashed into the seats” When these low-lifes check in for thier return they should have to pay a $50 cleaning surcharge if they want to return. With as much of this as I see, it would raise enough $$ for the airlines to be able to have ample cleaning supplies and personell to do a good job.
We were flying back from Reno, Nevada to Austin, Texas July 18th 2008 about 12:00 noon and as I looked out the window on the starboard side of the plane I saw another jet flying past us in the opposite direction. It was close, I thought, but I could not read the name on the plane. Have seen other planes in the air but non ever this close, must have been under 1/2 mile. Thanks, Joe
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