Aer lingus' staff rest area' on flight

jetfiremuck

What gives!!!!! on a flight to the USA recently after the meal an announcement that passengers cannot go to rear of aircraft as its Crew rest area. Quickly the 8 hostesses disappeared as if by magic. No one came around for quite a while...it was help yourself. The laugh of it all is that they only came on duty 3 hrs previously. Never seen it on another plane. Did i miss something here?

L1011

All flights over a certain distance have crew rest areas, depending on the plane they can sometimes be in the crown of the roof or an area on the deck. I believe there's specific rules about separation from the main cabin but I'm not 100% sure.

I imagine had you pressed the call bell, a crew member would have come. Not all the crew would have been on their break at the same time. Also, while you might have been in the air for 3 hours, the crew would have been working before that.

LeftBase

Regularly enough I have seen a compartment up front where the pilots come for a drink(I assume a soft drink or water.....) or to go pee etc(in a toilet). Employment law says that an employer must have a staff rest area and they must get rest breaks etc every so often. A 9 hour flight would run well over those rest windows....its the law in this day and age.

kona

What difference does it make? they are just having a break in the rear galley! Hardly a place passengers would even want to go.

jetfiremuck

kona wrote: »

What difference does it make? they are just having a break in the rear galley! Hardly a place passengers would even want to go.

Never seen or heard of it on any other 5hr flights to boston ,jfk chicago with other airlines.....thats the difference.

Terrontress

jetfiremuck wrote: »

kona wrote: »

What difference does it make? they are just having a break in the rear galley! Hardly a place passengers would even want to go.

Never seen or heard of it on any other 5hr flights to boston ,jfk chicago with other airlines.....thats the difference.

It isn't a five hour flight though. You'd be pushing supersonic speed to do it in 5 hours.

kona

jetfiremuck wrote: »

Never seen or heard of it on any other 5hr flights to boston ,jfk chicago with other airlines.....thats the difference.

Ive never heard of it either, and thats on Aer Lingus. The Cabin Crew may be 7+ hr in the air but they will have been working a few hours either side too, with pre flight work and a de briefing and the likes.

Was every member of the crew down the back?

Terrontress

There was a show on BBC2 recently which showed an overhaul of a 747. At the very back there was a crew rest area, hidden up a ladder.

kona

Aer Lingus A330 rest area was located in the cargo hold, access was through stairs near the back. It was removed when they came off the west coast US routes.

Terrontress

This is an interesting album

http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?album=6217

View Profile

LeftBase wrote: »

Employment law says that an employer must have a staff rest area and they must get rest breaks etc every so often.

Must mention that rule to MOL.

basill

There will be a minimum of 8 cabin crew onboard. If as you say 5 went down the back then that left 3 to answer your call bell or for you to find if you had stretched your legs.

3 hours into the flight would seem like a reasonable time to take a break. 30 mins will see us established in the cruise and if it was a smooth enough climb out then the cabin crew would have started during that time to get the galley sorted for the first service. By the time that the meals are cooked, drinks service done and food trays handed out and collected in again then 2-3 hours would have elapsed. Most pax want to get into a movie, sleep or read a book by that stage and not be nagged. Hence why the lighting is dimmed and a perfect time for the CCMs to take a break.

You seem to be begrudging them having a break?

LeftBase

View Profile wrote: »

Must mention that rule to MOL.

They work for Brookfield..you'd have to ask them about that, not his problem...never seen them before in his life!:D

Dacian

jetfiremuck wrote: »

.................an announcement that passengers cannot go to rear of aircraft as its Crew rest area. Quickly the 8 hostesses disappeared as if by magic. No one came around for quite a while...it was help yourself. .......Did i miss something here?

AFAIK you did miss something. You missed the announcement that duty free service was starting. I have been on flight like this where it seems like the crew have gone but in fact they are in the cabin behind be going through with the shopping carts and/or up in the front galley ready to serve pax when called upon.

You said 8 hosties. In fact EI have 8 cabin crew on their A330's. 2/3 would be in Business class, with 5/6 looking after the main cabin. So there would have to be 2/3 on duty in the main cabin at all times. Just because you couldn't see them doesn't mean they aren't there. Personally I don't need to see the crew standing in the aisle in case I need another coke.

On another note, have you ever been in a galley? Not really a relaxing spot to sit and eat your dinner. Cramped seats,tray on your lap,often beside toilets and/or the tail of the aircraft.
Those pics posted were of proper crew rest cabins used on long haul flights (10+ hours)

Preset No.3

I really want to ask if the people commenting are wannabee journos for the Daily Mail and just making up stories?

In the centre galley, there are alway 2-3 crew on duty to deal with call bells and safety etc. To say that all the crew disappear down the back is not only stupid but completly inaccurate. Aer Lingus crew are highly trained and some of the best out there. Like everyone, they are entitled to a break.

As for crew rest in the hold on the west coast routes, what movie are watching and getting that evidence from? The older 330's had the 'shed' in the middle of the cabin for crew rest.

Bearcat

Preset No.3 wrote: »

The older 330's had the 'shed' in the middle of the cabin for crew rest.

Aka the horse box......a ridiculous contraption.

Cant see AL going west coast for the foreseeable future until there is transparency re future ownership.

PattheMetaller

I was on a BA 777-400 (?) Heathrow to JFK in March. I was seated in the very back row double seat on the left of the airplane. Just to my right there was a door with steps inside that every so often cabin crew would dissapear up. I presumed it was a rest area. No announcement was made

Skuxx

PattheMetaller wrote: »

I was on a BA 777-400 (?) Heathrow to JFK in March. I was seated in the very back row double seat on the left of the airplane. Just to my right there was a door with steps inside that every so often cabin crew would dissapear up. I presumed it was a rest area. No announcement was made

Yeah I was on a BA 777 about 3 weeks ago LHR to PHL and they had something similar, there was no announcement or anything, the crew were always there of needed!!
Must have been a -300er you were on, I've never heard of a 777-400, and BA defo don't have any!!

Skuxx

Preset No.3 wrote: »

As for crew rest in the hold on the west coast routes, what movie are watching and getting that evidence from? The older 330's had the 'shed' in the middle of the cabin for crew rest.

It is possible to get the A330/340 with a mobile crew rest area that can be loaded into the aft cargo!! I'm fairly sure Air France and Lufthansa have them....not sure about EI when flying to the west coast but it's certainly not just something from the movies!!

urajoke

alan1990 wrote: »

It is possible to get the A330/340 with a mobile crew rest area that can be loaded into the aft cargo!! I'm fairly sure Air France and Lufthansa have them....not sure about EI when flying to the west coast but it's certainly not just something from the movies!!

Probably is but Aerlingus defiantly didnt have it or want it, there was huge issues around crew rest on the west coast flights, spend a few minutes doing a google search and you should find something.

OP they are employees not slaves and your tone certainly gives the impression that you begrudge them a break. 8 of them didn't go on a break at the same time.

I have to agree with the poster that said that posters here on A&A seem to be more on the line of Daily Mail jorno types. It's starting to make it a pain to read this forum.

Skuxx

urajoke wrote: »

Probably is but Aerlingus defiantly didnt have it or want it, there was huge issues around crew rest on the west coast flights, spend a few minutes doing a google search and you should find something.

OP they are employees not slaves and your tone certainly gives the impression that you begrudge them a break. 8 of them didn't go on a break at the same time.

I have to agree with the poster that said that posters here on A&A seem to be more on the line of Daily Mail jorno types. It's starting to make it a pain to read this forum.

From another forum....

I work for EI. On our flights from DUB/SNN to JFK/BOS/ORD/IAD/MCO there are no crew rest areas provided, so the crew take their breaks in the aft galley. On our LAX/SFO flights we have two different rest areas. EI-DUO has a crew rest area below the cabin at Door 3. On the rest of the A332s we have a rest area in the cabin at Door 3 in what we call the Wendy House. There are bunks in each of those rest areas.

Tenger

PattheMetaller wrote: »

I was on a BA 777-400.....I was seated in the very back row....Just to my right there was a door with steps inside that every so often cabin crew would dissapear up. I presumed it was a rest area. No announcement was made

I presume as it was a private area there was no need to make an announcement. Having been on a few of the EI A330's, I think there is only a small curtain to close off the back galley area. So the announcement was made to point passengers towards the on duty crew i they needed anything?

kona

Preset No.3 wrote: »

As for crew rest in the hold on the west coast routes, what movie are watching and getting that evidence from? The older 330's had the 'shed' in the middle of the cabin for crew rest.

Its sitting in the hanger in shannon.

Stimpyone

I would guess that the crew were having their break in the rear galley with the curtains drawn. Some passengers take this as an invitation to snoop.

Many times I've seen passengers pull back the curtains and just stare at the crew, which promptly shoo the passenger out of the galley. I would reckon that after a few passengers were shooed the announcement was made.

As I've said I've seen it happen loads of times.

Case closed Scooby..

cruais

jetfiremuck wrote: »

What gives!!!!! on a flight to the USA recently after the meal an announcement that passengers cannot go to rear of aircraft as its Crew rest area. Quickly the 8 hostesses disappeared as if by magic. No one came around for quite a while...it was help yourself. The laugh of it all is that they only came on duty 3 hrs previously. Never seen it on another plane. Did i miss something here?

Op, are you currently in employment? If so, would you work the guts of a twelve hour day without taking a break? "what gives!!!" I hardly think so.

No matter what job a person is employed in, hey are entitled to a break.

Stop being a troll.

castie

A380 Singapore airlines has a section in the middle of the lower deck.
Door opens and theres a stairs down.

Must of been 10-12 of them go down there at one point!
Seemed a bit like a clown car.