Struggling Airlines Pitch Clean(er) Planes

As customers become more valued, so does customer service
By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 29, 2009 1:48 PM CST
Struggling Airlines Pitch Clean(er) Planes
The interior view of the first Airbus A380 Superjumbo.   (Getty Images)

United Airlines used to give its planes’ interiors a thorough cleaning only every 6 months to save cash. But with carriers now fighting for every passenger, cleanliness has become a crucial weapon, the Chicago Tribune reports. Some United planes now get “heavy” cleans every two weeks. “People don’t normally return to a restaurant if they think it’s dirty,” one exec said.

Other airlines are following suit, but the stepped-up cleaning schedule is a logistical feat: Turnaround times are tight, and workers must use specific chemicals to avoid damaging the planes. Some, though, think the effort is a smokescreen to cover up more endemic problems. “You ask people to rate the planes, they notice dirty,” one travel writer said. “They assume late.” (More United Airlines stories.)

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