Ever been on an airplane and it felt like the Sahara Desert at one moment and the Arctic Circle in the next? You’re not alone.
Flight attendants at United and Southwest are mounting an effort for the benefit of all of us. The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) and Local 556 are two unions that represent a lot of flight attendants across the country. These two unions are going on the offensive to persuade the US Department of Transportation to regulate airplane cabin temperatures.
There will be keychain devices!
Part of this pursuit will require loads and loads of data points. The unions want every traveler to log the “real feel” of an airplane cabin via an app they developed called “2Hot2Cold”. These data points will then be compiled and sent to the DOT as a big ol’ “NOW DO YOU BELIEVE US?”
Further, the unions are providing flight attendants with miniature thermometer keychain devices that will collect data as well….so that they can focus on assisting us and not logging temps on their phones 🙂
What about this app you speak of?
The 2Hot2Cold app is available on iOS and Android and requires you to enter the date of the flight and the recorded temperature.
One problem with this — we don’t all carry around mini temperature gauges, but If you’d like to pick one up, I use this one for $8 on Amazon. It shows me the current temp and humidity.
A small sacrifice, but all in the name of making travel better!
(Thanks, Chicago Biz Journal)
I wonder what is considered too hot or too cold. Asian airlines tend to roast you, which is rough on very long flights when you’re trying to sleep. There are a couple of super obvious solutions, including keep the cabin cold, since it’s a lot easier to bundle up or add a blanket than to stop sweating due to a really hot cabin. Another simple solution is individual air nozzles at every seat.
I stopped flying AA longhaul because their cabin is like the Sahara. I am consistently drenched in sweat while trying to sleep in biz. Between the incredibly hot biz cabin temp on AA and their lackluster service, I gladly went back to UA.
I find that planes are usually too hot for me. Part of the problem seems to be weaker air vents on some aircraft.