So they are thinking that instead of people griping about overbooked flights, hours-long delays, missed connections, rescheduled flights, ridiculous carry-on restrictions, paying to eat/drink, etc.. their customers will say "Wow what a clean airplane!" ?

Must be nice to live in the fantasy world they do.

I thought they were trying to make the airplane cleaner by not offering snacks and beverages

What's with the snark? I fully agree that there's a ton of stuff they need to work on, but over the last 10 years or so, planes have been getting filthier and filthier, so the fact that legacy carriers have finally realized that one of the reasons people hate them is the fact that their planes are disgusting, and is actually doing something about it, is good news.

Shouldn't they have always been doing this?

So does this mean they won't force passengers to sit in pools of urine anymore?

@Tallanvor: Yea, it's great that my 3x5x3 box I'm shoved into on a plane is clean. No way that it beats possibly hiring more people to work the ticket counter to make lines move quicker.

Wow, so is Northworst finally going to clean their ancient filthy fleet? I used to fly them in college circa 2001 and their planes were so nasty I wanted to seal myself in plastic before I boarded. I was always afraid I'd catch lice or bedbugs or something during my long flights. I definitely saw bugs on those planes more than once.

Oh wait, it's Northworst. Of course they're not going to clean their planes - the flight attendants will probably urinate in the corners before each flight instead, so you're distracted from the dirt by the strong odor of urine.

So does this mean next time I fly, carrying a UV/woods lamp wouldn't be a good idea if I want to sleep well?

maybe I'm just lucky but I've never encountered a filthy plane

@weakdome: No, that's only in First Class (where the "priveleged" fly). The rest of us get to bask in coach smelling a mixture of polyester and pee (but at least you can see out those Windex clean windows!)

Ever sat in the last seat in the very back of the plane? No matter how clean, that row is totally neglected. Hardly bolted down, dirty with weird trash in the pocket. I'm guessing they start at the front of the plane and are over it by the time they get to the back.

@Neecy: Having never been significantly affected by overbooked flights, ..., paying to eat/drink (I don't see how that's a gripe, but that's another discussion), I'd have to say that yes, clean planes are very important.

If I'm going to be stuck in a 1.5'x1.5' space for hours on end, you bet I'm going to want it to be free of "mystery stains." If they didn't clean the planes and instead let them get (more) disgusting, I'm sure you'd be complaining about that, too.

Ha, pretty sad when "not having rivers of poo flowing down the aisles," is a plus they start touting in press releases.

I'd be more interested if they were doing something to make them cleaner, as in less of a sealed influenza missile.

@Neecy:

Agreed. If I don't enjoy the long lines, ridiculous security and frisking, restrictions on electronics and food, and lack of anything on the plane itself (like a meal.) I no longer fly.

Gas prices are still half the cost they were before, so now I'll be driving down to disneyland. It's not so much about money, it's more about how much I HATE flying. The whole experience is always awful.

@youbastid: Once, at IAD, I was sitting at the gate waiting to board my quickie flight to JFK and the woman next to me was chatting on her cell phone -- to and then about her doctor(s). She went on, at length, describing every one of her symptoms for her sinus infection and stomach bug. In detail. When we boarded and she turned out to be in my row I very nearly tried to claw my way out of the window.

Which is a roundabout way of saying: the only thing the airlines could really do about that would be not to let people fly. And that wouldn't do much either.

Hey people it is a start.

@MisBehaving_GitEmSteveDave: I'm fairly certain you're no longer allowed to sleep on an airplane. You're also not allowed to be awake.

You figure it out.

When push comes to shove, the airlines don't have a chance here. They can clean it up all they want, but all it takes it for one passenger to have a nasty experience in the bathroom, then every other passenger afterwards is going to blame the airline for it.

After seeing a passenger actually take a blanket into the bathroom, I'm petrified of touching anything when I'm on a plane now. Not completely the airlines fault.

All planes will be dipped in the Hudson River to make them less filthy.

I'm glad that planes will be cleaner, but it does seem to be a way for them to address "customer service" without actually having to deal with those uncomfortable "customer contacts" - by that I mean that adding cleaning crews doesn't actually put them in contact with customers. Which is what I think they need - more gate reps, more ticket agents, etc.

I really question the validity of their claims. My younger brother-in-law, who currently lives in my basement (It's a boy! thanks, recession!)was unable to find any job but to clean airplanes at O'Hare over-night for United. It's a pretty nasty job, about what you'd expect.

Early this week, he claims they laid-off about 60% of the cleaning people, and cut his hours from 5-6 nights a week to 2. I realize less people are flying right now, but really: They've supposedly increased their deep-cleaning* schedule by... what would that be? Like 1200%? (somebody help me with the math here...) on the whole fleet*, but suddenly more than halved their workforce-it kinda defies logic.
*Keep in mind, if you didn't read the article, deep cleaning includes things like cleaning and/or replacing upholstery on seats, same for carpet, replacing arm-rests and various other panels, components, etc. Think detailing your car X10 here...

There are so many bigger issues, like security, I can't believe they are making this a priority.

How about some Customer Service training?

This is funny. I echo people's statements about the shitty service, but I also raise an eyebrow when they first thing the airlines come up with is the cleanliness of the planes. ORLY?

Airline: "Now that fuel prices have dropped, we can finally replace all of those wing bolts that are about snap from not being changed in a timely manner. Then we're going to get to fixing that airplane diagnostics computer that hasn't booted up since last year."

@Patrick Henry:
My wife and I did the math on before our vacation. Flying from NJ to FLA and renting a car was going to be much more expensive than just driving ourselves down. The trade off was travel time.

So, 5 hours flying time (considering airport nonsecurity delays) vs 20 hours driving each way and a few extra meals. The price difference in flying and renting vs driving was big enough that we could actually extend our vacation 2 days.

@nicemarmot617: In case you haven't read the news lately, Northwest has merged with Delta, and they're planning interior upgrades starting later this year/early next to bring most of their planes (namely the A320-series Airbuses and Boeing 757s) up to Delta standards, IIRC.

Expect leather seats, Delta's entertainment system, Wi-Fi... and less dirt.

@rexmus1:
Easy. They laid off most of 'their' expensive cleaning people, and outsourced to a company that pays their people much less, and probably doesn't offer benefits.

1) Run your airlines like Singapore Air.
2) Find a way to prevent crying babies and make parents attend to their brats.
3) If you are going to charge us for food, figure out a way we can bring our own on board without paying airport prices at the terminal.
4) Stop the annoying rules about booking a flight in the first place.
5) Allow ticket changes 24 hours before a flight without having to re-pay for the ticket.
6) If you're going to have a "rewards" program, make a rewards program, not a complicated SNAFU program.
7) Stop lying about delays.
8) Give us more leg room. I can't sit for more than 30 mins. Before my legs hurt.
9) Replace those old CRTs that hang from the ceiling with seat back LCDs.
10) Stop charging for luggage.
11) Eliminate the TSA scanning. I'm willing to risk a terrorist attack. It's way less than a plane crash.
I could go on and on and on...

@edwardso: Maybe you've got a different definition of "filthy"?

@vastrightwing:
12) Solve world hunger.
13) Cure cancer.
14) Develop a grand unified theory of everything.

@FreeShaggy: I said there were other things they needed to work on as well, but one way or anther, I'm usually spending more time in the plane than in line, so, yeah, having a clean plane is important.

@suva: I would check those blankets that you pay for for some excess DNA. I know there are people who have rubbed one out on those blankets

@homerjay wants Boston Legal back!: you're not allowed to fly either. enjoy your incarceration on the tarmac.

@Michael Belisle: 15) Turn a profit.

@Tallanvor: Indeed. Just over a year ago, this same site (rightfully) took AirTran to task on this issue, albeit on a rather extreme case: [consumerist.com]

@torgonius: Also, you can no longer count on that flying time being 5 hours--it can balloon to 8 or more in a heartbeat, particularly on such a busy route. Your drive, while definitely subject to the whims of weather and traffic, is still likely to be in the ballpark that you planned.

@vastrightwing: Heresy, I know, but I agree with #11. I have never been through a post-9/11 security checkpoint that I thought would prevent a terrorist attack. (With the exception of the NYC-Israel roundtrip I took a few years ago. They do not fuck around. Israeli security would make a Girl Scout feel guilty. So much eye contact. Jesus, I'm having a little anxiety attack just thinking about it. I swear to God, I forgot I put the 6-oz hand lotion in my carry-on!!)

@suva: You touch upon a good point, it is the passengers who make the mess (most of the time)... Don't get me wrong I think the plane should be cleaned after every flight but passengers can't use it as their own trash bin either.

Heres wishing that Amtrak would follow suit.

MISTER MUSCLE! YAY!

BTW, clean aircraft does not equal good service, which airliners have failed to grasp.

@GirlCat: I completely agree I was flying from Rochester, NY to Boston for winter break. At the time it seemed crazy to spend the money on gas plus the 7 hour drive when I wouldn't need the car(it was a 1 week break). The flight is normally 45minutes to 1.5hours, but it ballooned to a 9 hour flight due to weather delays and that was the time on the plane.

Carey, no offense, but if you think this sort of thing doesn't matter, maybe you'll forgive restaurants if they don't clean off tables before seating you too. You're only going to mess it up yourself, and hey, those boogers will keep the plates from sliding around.

I love to fly. It isn't like it was in the '70s or '80s or '90s (or even 2000, when everyone around us oohed and aahed over the vegetarian meals that my girlfriend and I ordered in coach), but I love to fly. The only two things I don't like about flying are kids on the plane (I'll take the snakes, thanks) and the people who whine about how much it sucks. Oh, and the jerks who lower the windowshades. So yeah, the airlines are acting just as dickishly as every other business these days, and I don't see why it's such a bad thing for the airlines to say "OK, you win, we're going to be a little less dickish."

The only reason I fly these days is because there's no real alternative offered that works as quickly to get me from A to B.

At least the TSA offers the marvels of Security Theater to while away the hours until interminable entrapment on the tarmac begins.

@GirlCat: I totally I agree with #11. If they stopped with the TSA security theater I might actually fly.

My cousin, Jonielle, is a NAZI about ensuring her "space" is clean when she enters an airplane.

She will hassle the flight attendant until she gets a straight answer or a fresh pillow that has been "untouched" by another head. (Ha. Good luck with this one.) She then ensures that she is always wearing a jacket with a hood so she was not only pull it over her head but PULL THE TIE CLOSED! (/shakes head -- imagine a black Kenny....)

Oh no, it doesn't stop there folks. She also carries on handy wipes to wipe down her entire area (even though she has absolutely NO intention of touching anything else, she (not so quietly) sits there with her arms folded until another "germ" appears that she can fuss about. (Damn, OCD ruled Taurens...)

Aside from being on the plane she is an ab-so-lut blast to be around. :-)

TSA = Thousands Standing Around

There are bigger issues, but I have to admit that I have noticed that JetBlue planes are much cleaner that United, American and Delta planes. I do think this is an important customer service issue because it contributes to how often people get sick when traveling.

That being said, I hope I never have to fly United, American or Delta again, no matter how often they start cleaning their planes. I'll stick with the airlines that have better customer service all around... or start taking the train.

Once again the dinosaur airlines play the game of appearing to care when they do not.

I'm sure during some moronic executive meeting one of the corporate drones told the CEO if they actually clean the planes once-in-a-while that ticket sales would increase 4200.987 percent. The figure is then justified by said drone pointing at a pie chart. The rest of the herd in the boardroom then nods approvingly since any disagreement might jeopardize their bonus & executive membership in the golf club for the following year.

@Tallanvor:
Yep, earlier this year I wrote a nice long letter to AA about eh disgusting dirty plane that I was on (blood smears and everything). Cleaning the planes is not a bad place to start.