Why do US carriers leave the pax signs on?

[500 above]

I've noticed on several occasions that American Airlines tend to leave the seat belts signs on for the duration of the flight. A tad annoying on a LHR-DFW, lets say. Of course, most pax ignore the signs, even when obviously below 10000'.

What are the reasons for this "house arrest"? Security, liability?

The flights, coincidentally, were smooth. Not even light chop.

[clearblueskyy]

Because they don't want you to be taking a piss when you feel like ...

[radeng]

I was told that if you hit CAT, they aren't liable if you were out of your seat when the signs are on. Plus adherence to the signs in the US appears to be voluntary.

[Hotel Tango]

This subject has been covered before. Basically the Yank airlines are paranoid in case they get their arses sued. Understandable of course when one considers the total mockery of judicial interpretations on liability in the USA.

[Gulfstreamaviator]

But all the above are valid.

I would suspect that if pressed in court, the failure to illuminate the valid signs at the appropriate times as per the company operations manual, might just bite them back.

Unless the company SOP is leave on at all times, and let the uninformed passengers guess the status re CAT.

what ever.

glf

[grimmrad]

This is on all US carriers and usually there is an announcement to that effect. BTW - LH switches them off but has the same recommendation to leave them on all time (which I do).

[Hotel Tango]

LH switches them off but has the same recommendation to leave them on all time (which I do).

That's pretty standard on all carriers (except U.S.), but that's not quite the issue here.

Personally, I feel that the American carriers' policy is potentially more of a danger to pax. I rather have the advisary "to keep them on at all times when seated" but only have the signs illuminated when the threat is real. What the American system does by keeping them permanantly on is encourage pax to eventually ignore the signs.

[500 above]

What the American system does by keeping them permanantly on is encourage pax to eventually ignore the signs.

That's my whole point. And yet the c/c walk past overhead lockers that have been open for twenty minutes, ignore pax standing up even before the crew have been released etc etc. That's not a safety culture!

[WHBM]

Discussion with a US skipper showed that each time they put the Seat Belt sign on, there is an extensive set of FAA-mandated SOPs that the cabin crew then have to perform around the cabin. This pi$$es them off, and as many regular travellers on mainstream US network carriers will be aware, that is something you don't do to the cabin crew of such carriers. So, it seems, for a quiet life in the hotac afterwards, just leave them on.

[RevMan2]

Not a "recommendation" - it's mandatory on LH