BA tells flight staff not to clear up cabins as part of trial to speed up turnarounds
British Airways stopped cleaning planes between flights as part of a trial to see if it could speed up turnaround times without impacting passenger satisfaction.
The flag carrier asked cabin crew on an aircraft serving a London to Dublin route not to carry out the standard practice of touching up the cabin during their break between passengers.
The four-day trial was carried out only at Dublin airport, with the plane cleaned as usual on its other stops during the day. BA said the trial was to see if turnaround times - typically around 40 minutes on short-haul flights - could be reduced in times of disruption.
In a memo to staff, the Unite union, which represents BA cabin crew, said it was “absolutely imperative that crew do not do any cleaning of seat pockets, crossing seatbelts etc”, but it has been reported that many felt compelled to do so out of habit. Staff were told to collect as much rubbish as possible before the flights landed.
Airlines have increasingly become adept at fast turnarounds in an effort to avoid late departures and knock-on delays later in the day, with Ryanair aiming to have the aircraft depart for its next flight within 25 minutes of arriving. BA typically takes 40 minutes for short-haul flights.
The airline said that during the trial, while staff were asked to refrain from clearing up, contracted cleaners still removed rubbish from and rearranged the cabin as usual, and that despite not receiving any complaints regarding cabin appearance it will not be rolling out the trial further.
A spokesperson said: “We know our cabin crew work extremely hard looking after our customers and understand their rest period between flights is very important. We consulted with our crews during this short trial to advise them not to carry out additional tasks during their down time between flights.
“We understand our customers value arriving at their destinations on time, that's why we completed a short trial on one route.”