Delta Airlines experience: Good service, lousy commuter planes

Just returned home from the Yucatan Peninsula and flew Delta Airlines both ways.

Comments:

• I do like the Delta staff- Friendly, professional and helpful.
• I dislike the Bombardier CRJ900 commuter planes that Delta uses a subcontracted “Delta Connection” branded regional airline to fly out of Lincoln and other smaller Delta hubs. The planes are uncomfortably too cold or too hot. American, Canadair, US Air and other airlines also fly the CRJ900 under agreements with other subcontractors.

Here’s the problem: The CRJ900 ventilation system is very poor to the point of being almost nonexistent.

The Bombardier CRJ900 commuter airliner has a ventilation system that can make flying downright uncomfortable for passengers sometimes.

Have you ever experienced this issue?

On our outbound flight a week ago between Lincoln and Atlanta our plane was so cold most of the passengers were asking for blankets to bundle up in even though we already had our winter coats on. It felt like a meat locker inside the plane during our flight.

The flight attendants kindly apologized and told us there was nothing they could do about the cold cabin temperature.

It was the opposite situation on our return flight last night from Atlanta to Lincoln. In the rear of the CRJ900 where our family sat the temperature was so hot (I’m guessing in the 85-90 degree Fahrenheit range) passengers were peeling their clothes off and the air flow was negligible. Very stuffy and hot. Too bad we couldn’t just roll down the windows.

Some passengers complained that the conditions made them feel nauseous. The flight attendant was as kind as she would be. She agreed to ask plane’s pilot if there was anything that could be done about the situation but said “probably not.” She explained that passengers in the front of the aircraft were complaining that it was too cold where they sat. The temperature was consequently reduced a few degrees but the air flow was still poor and we continued to be hot, hot hot for the better part of two-and-a-half hours.

The flight attendant agreed it was stuffy and hot in the rear of the plane. She conceded that it can be a very real problem with the CRJ900 planes. She told us that’s why she preferred to spend more time up front in the plane. Unfortunately, it was little consolation for us passengers stuck in the back (row 19) of the plane without an option to relocate to a cooler place in the aircraft.

I had a similar experience with these ventilation problems last summer when flying the CRJ900. A quick web search  reveals similar complaints about issues involving the plane’s air venting and circulation system. Is this just poor engineering or something else?

Another regional airline pilot blogged about some of the inherent CRJ issues:“Okay, WHY is it always so darn cold in the cabin of a CRJ? I had on thick socks and leather boots and my toes were icicles! It’s all about air circulation. Basically, you have the gaspers (air vents) up top, and larger vents for heating/cooling on the sides near the floor. Those floor vents are a bit bigger, so the temp closer to the floor (and your little piggies) is going to be less (If it’s set to a cooler setting. Plus, cool air tends to sink. So the air near the floor of the cabin is going to be cool than at the top. Also, since at cruise, the cabin is at 8,000′, your circulation might not be as good. Nothing dramatic, but just enough for you to feel like your toes will snap off and rattle around in your boots. Also, the F/A’s (flight attendants) are up and moving. They’re going to feel the temperature in the cabin differently than you in your chair due to their physical activity. They’re also the ones who tell the pilots (i.e., the F/O) to turn the temp up or down.” 

Hope you’re listening Delta Airlines, Delta flight subcontractors and Bombardier.