Individually-controlled air nozzles above your seat, also known as “gaspers” or “eyeball vents,” have been a key feature for passenger comfort since the middle of the last century.
In the early days of commercial aviation, air circulation in passenger cabins was rudimentary. Early commercial aircraft, like the Douglas DC-3 (introduced in the 1930s), offered minimal climate control.
The development of pressurized cabins after World War II, with planes like the Boeing 307 Stratoliner and the Lockheed Constellation, allowed for higher altitude flying but also created the need for more sophisticated climate control systems. Without proper ventilation, cabin temperatures and air quality could become uncomfortable.
By the 1950s and 1960s, jet aircraft like the Boeing 707 and the Douglas DC-8 started to offer more sophisticated environmental control systems. That’s also when individually-controlled air nozzles were introduced to let passengers customize airflow for their seats. This became standard by the 1970s and 1980s.
These are especially popular in coach, where passengers have limited control over their surroundings. Some modern aircraft, such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350, feature highly advanced air circulation systems that maintain consistent cabin humidity and temperature, so some airlines choose to omit personal air nozzles, especially in premium cabins. Passengers still prefer the option, though!
Air nozzles are also useful, by the way, for drying unmentionables inflight.
Sometimes the nozzles break down, and get stuck open or closed. If a vent is stuck open, blowing on a passenger, sometimes that person will take matters into their own hands to shut off the airflow. The problem is that their ‘solution’ then imposes blocked airflow on the next customers, too. Gum was used to block one vent here, and paper stuffed inside the other.
@AmericanAir no air on plane because air vents have gum and paper jammed in them. Fix plane issues! AA 3504 from Midland to Dallas pic.twitter.com/JPTeavVTOw
— MexishipOcean (@MexishipOcean) October 10, 2024
Planes don’t get much cleaning or maintenance between flights, and unless this is reported and written up it may not get attention overnight (or may be deferred even then).
I will never understand defacing an aircraft (someone else’s very expensive property!). But then I’m reminded of a FlyerTalk member who used to bring a small screwdriver with him to disable or damage inflight entertainment systems, looking for compensation because their screen was broken.
Passenger cabins are small-d democratic, bringing all sorts of people together inside of a metal tube, and some of those people are quite awful.
In modern aircrafts, the cabin air recirculates very quickly, in just a few minutes above 10000 feet. When It recirculates, the air is filtered through a very fine filtration system, which filters out bacteria and viruses. Plugging it with gum and paper impairs the protection that the ultrafiltration provides for everyone on the flight, and not just the persons nearby.
Society continues to degrade.
No, the reason is that modern leftist society has produced a generation of sociopaths.
Think the wind is too strong, just close the vents.
I like air circulation. When I board, I try to open the vents of nearby seats. I often find them completely closed. I usually open several of them slightly so there is air flow, but not so much that it creates an undesirable blowing of wind. I then open mine full blast.
Good synopsis on cabin pressurization.
Mantis is still a flipping infantile loser. He whiney ignorance always has to bring his idiotic political viewpoints. Give it a rest and quit running your incessant piehole
I like individual vents but most of the airplanes I have flown in the last five years do not have individual vents. I never believed the airlines claim that the filtration systems made transmission of Covid-19 unlikely. I can use PMC7588538 for as much proof as I need.
Passengers often enjoy freshening up the air inside the aircraft by choosing between Ice Breakers Peppermint Ice Cube Gum, Wrigley’s Extra Peppermint Gum, or Dentyne Ice Peppermint Gum to stick into the above-seat air vents. You can also enjoy the minty fresh aroma before arriving at your destination. For more information, visit https://www.today.com/food/groceries/best-peppermint-gum-rcna62877
“Someone jammed gum in the air vents”
“You’re kidding.”
“Bunch of savages on this plane…”
Stunned at the pic of someone drying a thong in that vent, it’s literally a biohazard: Any particles coming off that thing are going to circulate around the entire cabin. That Pax should have been thrown off the flight.
That’s probably the same passenger who boarded the flight to Wisconsin in October wearing Daisy Dukes and a halter top.
@Mantis
You mean Chump, Steve Bannon, Robert Vought, Stephen Miller and Kevin Roberts and all the Gaga hats that follow your leader.
Some people are too stupid for this world.
Never seen any of this on planes,except on the bottom of the seats on planes,which is quite gross
I quit renting my beach house because of screwdriver guy. He is why the rest of you don’t get any more nice things.