WN doesn't trust foreign ice, water, lav service

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eolesen said:
Keep on believing that, WT...

Do you have any idea how often are those systems actually tested?

Do you have any idea how often airplanes get treated for roaches or other vermin?

At best, an airplane galley gets a deep cleaning once every 20-30 days. That's the level of cleaning a restaurant kitchen should get at least twice a week.

Same thing with roach and pest control. I'd be willing to guess that's still only done every 30-90 days on domestic aircraft.

You probably also believe that all pillows and blankets were washed after every flight, instead of just getting a fluff & fold between flights.

Thank God those were removed. They only got stripped about once a month when the aircraft went thru a periodic cleaning (best practice was every 30 days). And changing out the blankets is a hell of a lot easier than sanitizing the potable water supply.
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Not to mention you see cleaners sometimes use the same rags to wipe off the galley that they use for the coffeemakers, floors, lavs, etc.
 
WorldTraveler said:
Q told us above how often water systems are tested.
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Yep. That's the source. Not the tanks or the onboard supply.
 
WorldTraveler said:
and there are also laws regarding pest control treatment on aircraft as well.
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There are still countries who require disinsection prior to landing, but you'll need to prove that there are any laws and regulations regarding aircraft which never touch one of the disinsection countries.
 
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There are still countries who require disinsection prior to landing, but you'll need to prove that there are any laws and regulations regarding aircraft which never touch one of the disinsection countries.
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disin*what?
 
eolesen said:
Keep on believing that, WT...Do you have any idea how often are those systems actually tested?Do you have any idea how often airplanes get treated for roaches or other vermin?At best, an airplane galley gets a deep cleaning once every 20-30 days. That's the level of cleaning a restaurant kitchen should get at least twice a week.Same thing with roach and pest control. I'd be willing to guess that's still only done every 30-90 days on domestic aircraft.You probably also believe that all pillows and blankets were washed after every flight, instead of just getting a fluff & fold between flights.Thank God those were removed. They only got stripped about once a month when the aircraft went thru a periodic cleaning (best practice was every 30 days). And changing out the blankets is a hell of a lot easier than sanitizing the potable water supply.
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We were never required to test the potable water systems on the aircraft. We were required to sterilize the systems. IIRC, it was a 100 or 500 hour interval depending on whether it was a narrow or wide body. We would use a mixture of purogene and vinegar.

There were times when we could not do it and would simply drain the systems (when overnighting in ultra cold weather). Some aircraft did have line heaters, but we still would drain.

And you are correct about the vermin. Worst thing is having a mouse on board. One early morning launch , I had dispatch a poor screaming alive mouse stuck to a sticky pad placed in the galley by the pest control folks the night before the RON.
 
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what? pest control is done on aircraft - is that a requirement or just a "bonus" customer service feature?

and you cleaned the water systems just because it was a customer service "nicety," right?
 
eolesen said:
Keep on believing that, WT...Do you have any idea how often are those systems actually tested?Do you have any idea how often airplanes get treated for roaches or other vermin?At best, an airplane galley gets a deep cleaning once every 20-30 days. That's the level of cleaning a restaurant kitchen should get at least twice a week.Same thing with roach and pest control. I'd be willing to guess that's still only done every 30-90 days on domestic aircraft.You probably also believe that all pillows and blankets were washed after every flight, instead of just getting a fluff & fold between flights.Thank God those were removed. They only got stripped about once a month when the aircraft went thru a periodic cleaning (best practice was every 30 days). And changing out the blankets is a hell of a lot easier than sanitizing the potable water supply.
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I was very happy to see the pillows and blankets removed. People would sneeze and blow their nose in them and they would get fluffed. You are correct on the change out time.

As for the roaches and rodents, they only got treated when they were reported by the F/A's by being written up in the cabin logbook. I would be the guy to call them out (or sometimes the station Manager on duty). There was not a regular schedule for them. I would know, because nobody got on the aircraft without Maint knowing. We would pull the jetways back as a security measure when we were done with the aircraft and the jetway doors were access controlled.
 
Glenn Quagmire said:
There were times when we could not do it and would simply drain the systems (when overnighting in ultra cold weather). Some aircraft did have line heaters, but we still would drain.
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Slightly OT, but we're not allowed to drain A/C water systems and/or purge the lines anymore...

AFAIK, Purogene is still used...
 
500 hours for sanitizing sounds about right -- that works out to 30-45 days depending on the fleet and would have been done on what used to be a periodic cleaning at AA. I did the scheduling, and we had a BOW task actually called vinegar (they called it something else out the field...). Not sure if there was a second additive or not, but the vinegar flush also had the benefit of treating limescale buildup in the supply lines. I still use it for my RV water tank vs. bleach.

We'd sit the airplane down for at least 8 hours, throw 10-12 people at a widebody or 6-10 at a narrowbody, and give it a scrubdown in all the sidewall cracks & air vents, seat tracks, lavs, galley corners, etc. and also would do a complete rug changeout.

We also had a contract with Terminix and Orkin (at different times...) to do the pest treatments. Some fleet types got regular servicing, others only as reported. I'd see the roach reports maybe once or twice a week, mice maybe once a quarter.
 
WorldTraveler said:
disin*what?
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Amazed there was an airline term you knew nothing about, WT. Not...

http://www.dot.gov/office-policy/aviation-policy/aircraft-disinsection-requirements


Still waiting to see all those other regulations requiring potable water checks and pest control...
 
The thorough cleaning the plane got was one of my favorite parts of a Monterrey, MX layover (back before it became so dangerous).  Have a lovely long layover, and come back the next day to a plane that looked like a toothbrush had been taken to the smaller cavities (no pun intended) on the plane.  When I say the ground crew at Monterrey cleaned the plane, I mean they cleaned the plane.
 
Draining the water supply allows mold and other growths within the tanks, since they don't get dried out.

WorldTraveler said:
airline galleys and water systems are governed by laws from multiple federal entities for cleanliness and treatment.

sounds like a few people might want to brush up on water requirements starting here
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Aside from setting some guidelines and sampling, most of what's there is pretty benign. But, what WN is doing is certainly in compliance -- taking appropriate steps to avoid cross-contamination.
 
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well, yes, but I'm sure Kevin has an explanation as to why and when DL said it.

WN certainly won't pick up contaminants in Latin America if they don't hook up water hoses south of the border.

but the burning question which still remains is how every other US airline manages to avoid those nasty little bugs and still take on water in Latin America - and keep the EPA and FDA happy to boot.

one of the great mysteries of the world, for sure.
 
Because as with many things, DL doesn't trust ACS employees to tie their own shoes, let alone perform any sort of task involving an A/C system. Apparently, it's much preferable to risk an A/C freeze...

It's quite a difference from what life used to be like.

*Note: before someone comes along to try and drive a wedge, I'm speaking of the ramp performing freeze protection and/or purging of H20 systems in NON-AMT stations... Same with the access control notes Q mentioned earlier.
 
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did they actually provide a rationale in the memo you saw?
 
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