Art at ISP
Veteran
I had the opportunity to fly on an A319 the other night PHL-ROC whose first class cabin was an embarrassment. I am not even referring to cleanliness or lack thereof. The airplane's interior looked worse than the Boeings!!!
8 of 12 seatback pockets were stretched out to the point that they no longer retracted. In my row, 2D/F, the plastic panel atop the armrest was cracked with a couple of pieces missing--and the swingout cupholder wouldn't extend. When the FA brought me a drink, she noticed it and gasped in embarrassment.
The APU must have not been working, because there was no AC, and we waited about 20-25 minutes after scheduled departure for an air trailer to come up since the captain said we needed to air start the engines (there almost wasn't enough pressure from the air start truck--it took a long time to get the required RPM for ignition).
Of course then we hit the 8PM rush from PHL, with a 45-50 minute wait on the taxiways for departure.
This is NOT a dig at the fine crews who work the airplanes, but there is obviously no more pride in the product any more--these defects didn't occur overnight, and one could assume that a long layover at PHL (it was US 350 on 2 Sep) would have allowed the change of a broken panel.
It's not a major deal, but remember--perception is everything. I know better, but many do not.......
8 of 12 seatback pockets were stretched out to the point that they no longer retracted. In my row, 2D/F, the plastic panel atop the armrest was cracked with a couple of pieces missing--and the swingout cupholder wouldn't extend. When the FA brought me a drink, she noticed it and gasped in embarrassment.
The APU must have not been working, because there was no AC, and we waited about 20-25 minutes after scheduled departure for an air trailer to come up since the captain said we needed to air start the engines (there almost wasn't enough pressure from the air start truck--it took a long time to get the required RPM for ignition).
Of course then we hit the 8PM rush from PHL, with a 45-50 minute wait on the taxiways for departure.
This is NOT a dig at the fine crews who work the airplanes, but there is obviously no more pride in the product any more--these defects didn't occur overnight, and one could assume that a long layover at PHL (it was US 350 on 2 Sep) would have allowed the change of a broken panel.
It's not a major deal, but remember--perception is everything. I know better, but many do not.......