Airlines redouble efforts to clean cabins
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SHOWS:
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (RECENT - AUGUST 7, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)
1. VARIOUS OF DELTA AIRLINES CLEANING CREW WALKING ONTO AIRPLANE
2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) DELTA AIRLINES VICE PRESIDENT FOR OPERATIONS AT JFK AIRPORT, STEPHANIE BALDWIN, SAYING:
"[VARIOUS OF CREW CLEANING PLANE] We start by going on board when a flight comes in. We do every flight, every day, regardless of whether it's staying here overnight or going back out. And we do electrostatic spraying. So you can think of it as a disinfectant that has an electrical charge in it. And we go through all of those areas and it stays on the surface for about 15 to 20 seconds."
3. JFK AIRPORT DELTA GATE AGENT, CARLOS VILLALONA, CHECKING IN PASSENGERS
4. VARIOUS MORE OF DELTA CLEANING CREW INSIDE CABIN
5. EMPTY CABIN
10. SIGN IN TERMINAL THAT READS (ENGLISH), "COVID-19 TRAVEL ADVISORY"
11. PEOPLE WALKING THROUGH TERMINAL
UNKNOWN LOCATION (FILE) (UNITED AIRLINES - ACCESS ALL) (MUTE)
12. VARIOUS OF COCKPIT BEING CLEANED
UNKNOWN LOCATION (FILE) (AMERICAN AIRLINES - ACCESS ALL) (MUTE)
13. CUSTOMERS AT AMERICAN AIRLINES CHECKING
14. VARIOUS OF AIRPLANE SEATS BEING WIPED AND SPRAYED
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (RECENT - AUGUST 7, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)
15. (SOUNDBITE) (English) DELTA AIRLINES FLIGHT ATTENDANT, KAL KHATIB, SAYING:
"[DELTA AIRLINES GATE AT JFK AIRPORT] "I feel quite safe at work. To begin with, I've done a COVID test once a month and I know most of my colleagues have as well. [AIRPLANE BEING CLEANED] Airplanes are cleaner than they've ever been. [DELTA GATE] As someone who was a passenger before, I definitely noticed a dramatic difference, and I'm very proud of that. "
16. DELTA GATE
STORY: Delta Air Lines has doubled its staffing to handle revamped pre-flight "pit stops" for deeper cleaning and wants to ensure that tray tables and restroom door handles are germ-free with a new testing process, an executive told Reuters.
Airlines' efforts to reassure travelers of their safety during the pandemic have spurred a behind-the-scenes scramble to complete the enhanced cleaning that they are promising without sacrificing turnaround times, a cornerstone of profitability, once more passengers take to the skies.
"We do every flight, every day, regardless of whether it's staying here overnight or going back out. And we start by going on board when a flight comes in and we lower all the tray tables. We close the window blinds, open the overheads, and we do electrostatic spraying," Stephanie Baldwin, Delta's vice president for operations at JFK airport, told Reuters. "So you can think of it as a disinfectant that has an electrical charge in it. And we go through all of those areas and it stays on the surface for about 15 to 20 seconds."
Delta's new airline's strategy is to take "turns" -- the time a plane spends on the ground between flights.
Depending on the aircraft's size, Delta is deploying at least eight pre-flight cabin cleaners, up from three to five previously, and has adopted a new "pit stop mentality" based on industrial engineering studies into the extra resources required for cleaning each plane type, he said.
After cleaners spray with disinfectant and wipe down high-touch surfaces, a flight attendant and gate agent walk the cabin together to inspect. If the cabin is not up to par, they call back the cleaners.
Delta's average clean time for its domestic fleet is now 20 minutes, up from 10 minutes to 15 minutes previously depending on the aircraft size, but it aims to speed up the procedure to protect its turn times once schedules are heavier by adding resources.
To verify levels of cleanliness, Delta is purchasing ATP test kits that measure the amount of bacteria on airplane and airport surfaces. The kits cannot test for COVID-19.
It has already purchased 30 of the hand-held units, which cost about $1,000 each, to test the effectiveness of its cleaning program. The plan is to buy the tests for all of its global airport bases, though details are still being developed.
Among large U.S. rivals, American Airlines said it has doubled the strength of its cabin cleaning crews but has not had to add extra time to its turns given lighter passenger loads and fewer scheduled flights.
United Airlines said it has added some extra time to its cleaning process but not workers given the lighter loads.
Southwest Airlines, whose low-cost model depends on quick turns, has not added staffing and said this month it was scaling back some pre-flight cleaning with a view to preserving an average 45-minute turn once its schedule ramps up. It is still using an electrostatic and an anti-microbial spray that kill viruses and shield surfaces for 30 days, as well as a broad-spectrum disinfectant for lavatories and tray tables before every flight, but is not wiping down seat belts or arm rests.
All of the airlines are eyeing new cleaning technology. United, for example, is testing ultraviolet sanitation deployed by drones and hand-held wands for airport and aircraft surfaces.
Delta is rolling out antimicrobial LED light technology by Vital Vio in all its aircraft restrooms that will continuously prevent the growth of bacteria, fungi, mold and yeast.
The airline is also in talks with Boeing Co and Airbus SE on developing touchless restrooms and is studying a UV light that would sterilize lavatories when they are not in use.
Last week Delta said it would continue blocking middle seats through Jan. 6. Southwest is limiting seating capacity through October, while American and United are selling all seats.
Beyond the jet, Delta is looking at bipolar ionization to improve air filtration at its airport facilities, including jetways. Airplanes already use hospital-grade HEPA that refresh air every two to four minutes.
Delta workers say the adjustments have given the planes a much appreciated makeover.
"As someone who was a passenger before, I definitely noticed a dramatic difference, and I'm very proud of that," Kal Khatib, a flight attendant with Delta Airlines, told Reuters while working at JFK Airport. "Airplanes are cleaner than they've ever been."
(Production by: Tracy Rucinski, Hussein al Waaile and Dan Fastenberg)
