Seat Belt Signs Duration

[bealine]

In Continental's case, it is now there policy to leave seat belt signs on at all times during the flight.

Apparently, this is to prevent litigation against the airline in the event of injury because "the passenger shouldn't have been out of his seat!!!"

Presumably, other US carriers are following suit!

[Mr A Tis]

Recently flew Air berlin out of BCN. Calm day, smooth air. 35 mins after departure level FL410, still got seat belt signs on. Only after begging the cabin crew twice, they asked the Captain-who turned the signs out straight away. The crew also barred all pax from using the front washroom on the B738 as "not working", yet both cabin crew & flight deck used this washroom during the flt. Not a happy bunny on this on.

[BOAC]

The crew also barred all pax from using the front washroom on the B738 as "not working"

- not wrong, Mr A - f/crew SHOULD use the front toilet on a 737 - imagine being stuck behind 2 trolleys in a queue at the rear of the a/c when an engine quits . There are 'health and safety' issues which could cause the crew to bar ANY toilet from 'public' use. E.G. Would you fancy a non-flushing toilet after 3 hours of use...................

Regarding belts - it is probable it got 'forgotten'. I doubt there was a devious plan!

[fmgc]

The crew also barred all pax from using the front washroom on the B738 as "not working", yet both cabin crew & flight deck used this washroom during the flt. Not a happy bunny on this on.

The other day we had to mark the front toilet as u/s. You could do a No 1 in it but not a No 2, therefore as crew we could use it but it had to be closed off to pax.

[BOAC]

You could do a No 1 in it but not a No 2

- need to be careful, fmgc - I'm not sure those notations are internationally agreed.

[FCS Explorer]

working on the same type (B738) i just experienced the following:
washroom wastebin lid broken off. so what, i think? yeah, but lavatory has to be blocked and marked u/s, only to be used by crew. says the book.

and why? waste bin contains automatic fire extinguisher. the flap/lid is springloaded and closes the bin. with the lid missing flames could come out of the top of the waste bin.

but there's a lot of other possibilities of breaking one of those vaccuum sh***ers. just throw a diaper in. u wouldn't believe how much fun we can have with parenting pax....
often i'm glad to be back in my narrow cubicle behind the tank-style door.

[OZcabincrew]

if you notice during cruise that the seatbelt sign has been turned on and has been on for quite a while, take note of any other passengers that are getting stuck into the booze and it's probably more than likely that the cabin crew have asked the flight deck to turn the seatbelt sign on, meaning cease of service, meaning no more service of alcohol to irresponsible passengers due to the cabin crew also having to be seated. It only takes one idiot to ruin it for everyone else!

Oz

[Globaliser]

OZcabincrew: ... it's probably more than likely that the cabin crew have asked the flight deck to turn the seatbelt sign on, meaning cease of service, meaning no more service of alcohol to irresponsible passengers due to the cabin crew also having to be seated.

I like the thinking, but two points occur to me:-

1. This only applies to airlines which have a rule about all service ceasing automatically and cabin crew being seated whenever the seat belt sign is on. I know that QF does this, and used to think that it was an Aussie thing. But DJ didn't seem to do this when I flew on them last month - the cabin crew were up and serving before the seat belt sign was off, and checking that the cabin was secure for landing after the seat belt sign went on. So I'm now wondering whether it's just a QF thing.
2. It's a bit hard to deny service to all the other well-behaved pax on board the flight, just because someone doesn't want to simply refuse service to those to whom service should be refused. I've personally seen QF cabin crew specifically refusing service to individuals, so it's definitely part of what they can do

[christep]

QF is the only airline I know that has the cabin crew follow the seat belt signs. BA, CX and AA certainly don't. On CX the only effect on the service is that hot drinks are not served while the seat belt sign is on.

[Piltdown Man]

I turn the belts off when (everything else being even) it would be safe enough for my Granny to walk down the aisle and take a piddle. Regularly I let the Cabin Crew start their service earlier than this because in our airline, they are at least 70 years younger than my Granny and therefore more able to maintain their footing. I think in some airlines that this is not the case - NW for example. They are also more used to moving about on a moving platform than most other poeple - hence the dual standards.