British Airways Flight Attendants Can Now Sleep In Empty First And Business Class Seats

British Airways now lets flight attendants sleep in empty first and business class seats.

• Flight attendants are to use designated crew-rest seats where those are available, “high-comfort” cabin crew seats, and vacant passenger seats in any cabin, provided passengers are not moved to accommodate crew.

• They will also be placing a ‘soft block’ on seats 40 D, E, F, and G on some Boeing 777s and seats 47 and 48 D, E, and F on Boeing 787-10s.

• Flight attendants using passenger seats are supposed to cover or remove visible uniform items, and use the bedding for that cabin, in order to be as inconspicuous as possible.

The reason for this is that British Airways configured some of their aircraft without crew bunks. Current 787-10s and some older 777-200s don’t have these facilities. This was a cost savings and also allowed for installing more seats on planes. The plan was always to use these planes on routes short enough where additional rest facilities weren’t required.

That limited how useful the aircraft are in the fleet, and angers flight attendants who get less rest. They’ve been stuck with ‘high comfort’ crew seats which are fold down jumpsets, not actually comfortable seating. The flight attendants union has been pushing the issue, and BA chose the cheapest workable compromise.

Certainly on planes that still ahve the old Club World seats, this is awkward – because it means crew climbing over passengers to occupy “honeymoon” middle-of-middle seats.

And paying passengers will find it odd to have crew sleeping next to them. British Airways markets their first class cabin as private, so using it as a staff break room undermines that image.

• Some people think if a passenger seat is otherwise empty, it’s fine for flight attendants to use it. Blocked rest seats on BA’s 787-9 has not caused problems.

• Others see it as a “really bad look,” cheapening the experience, and shows BA made penny wise, pound foolish decisions designing its aircraft.

• As a British airline, this is viewed by some customers as it being improper for “the help” to be seen or heard unless serving customers.

• Although at the same time the notion that this is what damages the brand seems quaint, as that ship sailed with this airline long ago.

A UK airline can operate a long-haul flight without bunk beds if the crew’s scheduled flight duty period fits within rest limits.

• There is no legal bunk requirement just because a flight is long haul
• For instance, a London–New York flight doesn’t need bunks as long as the flight duty period fits the basic limits.

There are 3 categories of rest acccommodations.

1. Reclining seat (at least 40°), leg and foot support, curtain separation, and not adjacent to an occupied passenger seat.
2. Cabin seat, at least 45° recline, 55-inch pitch, 20-inch width, leg and foot support, separated from passengers by at least a curtain, with darkness and some sound mitigation.
3. Bunk or near-flat surface, at least 80° recline, separate from both cockpit and passenger cabin, with light control and noise isolation.

Bunks are mandatory once the planned flight duty period exceeds 17 hours, since there’s no longer a lesser accommodation permitted. And while empty premium seats may improve fatigue, but unless they have a curtain, disturbance protection, and are not adjacent to passengers they may not legally count as qualifying in-flight rest facilities for extending flight duty period.

It seems to me that a First suite or Club Suite in the passenger cabin doesn’t get the longest duty period extension that a bunk would, but that a middle level is satisfied based on sufficient pitch, width, leg support and being “separated from passengers by at least a curtain” because it has doors and is reasonably free from disturbance. However, it would need to be part of the airlines planned and approved crew rest plan, not just based on ad hoc availability.

(HT: Paddle Your Own Kanoo)