Feelin' Hot Hot Hot

[Mozz1]

Everytime I travel overnight it seems that the heating is turned up to uncomfortable levels. I have found this to be the case on most airlines. Why? Is there some reason the air-con isn't cooling things down? And since you don't get personal air outlets much these days there is just no respite.

I can't sleep in such uncomfortable conditions! Why are things so hot?

[TightSlot]

I assume that you have asked for the temperature to be turned down? If not, you can do so.

It is quite difficult for your crew to assess cabin temperature. When in the cabin, they tend to be both standing and active: Crew perception of temperature will always be different to that of somebody sitting still. When crew are in the galley during non-service periods, they are still (usually) standing, and are adjacent to a chiller system and the doors - both are sources of low temperatures.

There are many sophisticated bits of technology on an aircraft - cabin heating systems seem to be the forgotten child. In approaching 35 years of flying for a living, I have never worked on an aircraft with a truly effective heating system.

Cabin temperature is inevitably a compromise for a large group of people, some of whom travel in T-Shirts, some in sweaters. During sleep periods, people, as a general rule, tend to feel colder.

Shortly, one of the forum cynics will tell you that the temperature is always deliberately turned up by the crew in order to keep passengers drowsy and therefore quiet. This is occasionally the case, but never as frequently as the legend would have it: An inappropriate temperature generates more complaints (i.e. work) than getting it about right.

[Manchikeri]

How about using a simple household thermometer?

Or would that be too simple for a multi-billion pound enterprise like an airline?

[PAXboy]

Hi Manchikeri, welcome to our 'cabin' where the temperature can vary from Hot to Chilly! ;)

The problem with a thermometer is that it will tell you what the air temperature IS not how a person PERCEIVES it to be.

Example 1: Attending a swimming club every week, we were constantly complaining that the water was colder than advertised. We bought a check thermometer and found that the displayed temp was correct, every week, to within 1 degree C. It was our perception. It was how warm was the air in the changing room, it was how cold it was outside the building, that changed our perception of the water temp.

Example 2: One of my housemates finds any temperature above 22C to be hot and 25C makes him feel physically ill. He wears a t-shirt and open sandles in the winter and feels happy. I am the reverse and keep my rooms of the house as hot as I can. If there were one heating regulator for the whole house - we could not share the place.

Modern airliners have multiple heating zones but each may contain 50+ pax. Perhaps read the post from TightSlot, who is our forum moderator and has been cabin crew for some years, currently on long haul, and knows of what he speaks.

[redsnail]

Try heating/cooling your house to exactly the same temperature using heated/cooled air from one source.

It's a challenge.