Southwest Airlines is reportedly trialing a policy that would see professional cleaners brought in to tidy aircraft - but only for premium seats.
Cabin crew are currently expected to clean up between each flight, but the test policy will introduce dedicated cleaning teams for the more expensive seats with added legroom, according to air travel blog The View From The Wing.
A member of the flight attendants’ union compared the plan to first class passengers on the Titanic “having cigars and sipping brandy and telling their stories of their untold fortunes” while the lower classes “below deck” travel in less salubrious conditions.
Union board member and safety chair Chris Click says he received a memo from the airline on Tuesday “about the experiment they’re doing with cleaners coming on board and cleaning the airplane.”
Click claimed said it was “an insult to the passengers”, and warned flight attendants could end up taking flak from passengers in the cheaper seats.
“I know Southwest says, oh, we don’t have class service. This is class service,” he said. “This is first class seating. And now that you’re bringing cleaners on board to provide a different cleaning product up front than you are in the back, this is definitely class service".
“When passengers see what’s going on, they’re going to be very upset. And who are they going to turn to about these complaints? They’re going to turn to the working flight attendants that are on the airplane.”
It comes as researchers have called for airlines to scrap business and first class seating on flights to make more room for economy passengers and make flights more efficient and therefore less damaging to the environment.
A spokesperson for Southwest Airlines insisted flights would continue to be cleaned every day.
“Our Flight Attendants tidy every aircraft between every flight today,” they told The Independent. “That will continue, and in addition, we are looking at potentially bringing in additional cleaners when needed, and only at certain airports.
“We will continue to make sure our aircraft are ready for every customer, regardless of where their seats are on the plane.”
