I always thought onboard showers were reserved for first class A380 passengers on Emirates and Etihad, but I was proven wrong. What happens when the overhead panel starts leaking during taxi and takeoff? A shower.
As our Lufthansa A380 taxied out of the gate and toward the runway at LAX earlier this week, condensation (brown water) began to form and quickly drip around the reading lights in the overhead service unit in the row in front of me.
First, it was just a few trickles, but soon a steady stream of drips followed…like a leaky faucet. The passengers, especially the poor lady in the middle seat, were getting wet. They pressed the flight attendant call button, but because we were taking off their call was ignored.
Since the middle seat next to me was open, I handed them an extra blanket, which was used to absorb the drips. But the dripping continued for a good 10 minutes. Then it started in the row behind me as well. Somehow, my row, 84, was spared.
About five minutes after takeoff a FA came over, surveyed the damage, and summoned the purser. He showed up, explained it was just condensation from a change in humidity, ensured the passengers that the A380 would not crash, and walked away…
I knew the problem would correct itself and sure it enough it did. But I still think Lufthansa should have done more than shrug. Perhaps get some tape and tape the sick bags over the light switches and air vent?
But everyone survived…and eventually dried off.
CONCLUSION
I guess you can add Lufthansa to the list of A380s that offer onboard showers…though I’m sure I’d much rather experience one on Emirates or Etihad.
Mathew, I want to add that this happened to me in business class as well on Lufthansa Frankfurt to Seattle a couple of years ago. The flight attendant didn’t seem to care a bit. She handed me an exta blanket to hold for absorption, and no apologies was made throughout. Her reaction to the problem made me feel this was a normal process at the beginning of taking off, and I shouldn’t be complaining at all. But the truth was, I’ve never had that happened to me other than that lufthay flight.
Just like on Emirates, the shower is limited to 10 minutes.
Well done!
Kind of gross. I’d have offered the passengers some premium product as minor compensation — maybe a glass of champagne or premium liquor.
That’s actually why I’ve been so critical of LH’s service in Y. The FAs had a disturbing tendency to flippantly ignore call buttons, or issues such as this. Looks like that hasn’t changed much.
In all fairness, as Matt described it, when the incident occurred they were taking off. The cabin crew are strapped to their seats and aren’t allowed to get up until they’ve been released by the flight crew. Even on the ground, only select crew members are allowed to roam the aisles should it be necessary, depending on what area and crew seat they’re assigned to. I, for one, have not experienced any real issues with LH Y service the times I’ve flown it, through I agree more could have been done to at least help the passengers feel more at ease.
I flew LH in Y a couple years back .. and swore never again. When meal was served, the seat in front of me was fully reclined so I requested the FA to have the passenger return the seat to the upright position since she was in a better position to do so. She literally snapped at me and told me to do it myself like its not her job to do so. Horrendous and appaling attitude.
Premium airlines such as SQ does it automatically.
The purser should have offered at least some pajamas from First Class, so the passenger could change out of the wet clothes.
Classic Lufthansa… When I was traveling with them in Y, The food portion was very small, I asked if I can have some snack, a spare meal, or something. The answer was a rude “No, you just ate”.
Thats not the way you treat passengers.
ANA gives premium economy passengers extra Business class deserts
I live in Germany, and this is typical German attitude unfortunately.
This happened to a lady in front of me on a LH A380 from SF to Frankfurt back in 2015 I think. They said it was just the Air Conditioner. Glad to see this is just an A380 thing.
This is not just an A380 thing. Has happened to me on many types of aircrafts.
Dripping condensation is quite common. If you haven’t previously experienced it you were just sitting in a section of the plane where it wasn’t happening.
During my 30 years as a flight attendant I worked aboard the DC-8, DC-9, DC-10, 727, 747, 757, A-319/320 and A-330. They ALL dripped water onto passengers during certain conditions. I sometimes joked “The liferafts stored overhead haven’t dried-out since our last ditching…” as I handed out blankets to those getting wet.
5 star service haha. Both lh and skytrax are a joke lol
If they complain, knowing Lufthansa’s service recovery style, it will very likely be replied to with an €150 euro in cash offer so the unlucky parties will do okay out of it.
If you wanted to be cynical about it you could drop them an email yourself to see if they read it or fob you off… but I hope you take the high road
They called the purser – not the pursuer! Please edit your post.
That is all grammarly. I am turning it off. Enough of it.
There are some bitter people in these comments.
1.) During Taxi, Takeoff, and Landing flight attendants must be seated except for safety related duties. By the time someone pressed the button (out of 535 people on that A/C they were probably cleared for takeoff. It was too late and technically against the law for cabin crew to be up.
2.) This can happen on any plane where it’s humid outside; A380 to 777W it doesn’t matter, the PACS are the same on any A/C type and the condenser operates the same.
3.) If they would have asked for a change of clothing then I’m sure they would have recieved it, the cabin crew has hundreds of others to attend to. (Although this one looks to be pretty bad)
I personally would have done more to help the situation but each FA has their own discretion to abide by.
If they were that upset they should have asked to speak with a purser, tweeted Lufthansa after the flight, or asked for another FA.
Matthew, stop complaining… That’s all your blog has been about lately
Who is complaining?
A frequent flyer! in economy… Gets paid for flying. And bashing european airlines. What a joke. What happend to me on us airlines is beyond a couple of waterdrops
It happens all the time. Matthew, on a variety of airlines and plains, mostly in economy for some reason…
Same thing happened to me on a KLM flight. None of the crew seemed to particularly care. Never seems to happen on Asian airlines…
It would be fun if a muslim passenger decided to pray on his/her seat near the leak…..
I flew LH in Y a couple years back .. and swore never again. When meal was served, the seat in front of me was fully reclined so I requested the FA to have the passenger return the seat to the upright position since she was in a better position to do so. She literally snapped at me and told me to do it myself like its not her job to do so. Horrendous and appaling attitude.
Premium airlines such as SQ does it automatically.
The phenomenon is called “rain in the plain” and it can happen on all airplanes. Most condensation on airplane structure occurs during flight when the temperature of both the outside air and the structure are very cold. Structure temperatures are usually below the dew point of the cabin air, causing some amount of condensation to form during most flights. In addition, because structure temperatures are normally below the freezing point of water, most condensation forms as frost. Frost melts rapidly during descent if conditions allow the airplane skin temperature to rise above freezing. This causes a sudden onset of drainage, which, if not managed completely, drips into the crown area (attic) of the airplane and possibly into the passenger cabin. Insulation blankets generally keep most of the water out of the airplane crown. However, a small amount of water may drip onto passengers.
Mathew, such a famous guy and flew in cattle class?! Shame…