Psst! Wanna know the airlines’ dirty little secret?

In a recent post, I made a comment about clean airplanes that resulted in scoffing responses from readers. They didn’t seem to feel clean planes were that important. Perhaps clean planes aren’t as important as clean water (also in short supply on some planes), but cleaning makes a difference to passengers and to the airlines that pay for the service.

Anyone who has flown recently should have noticed a marked improvement in the cleanliness of aircraft. That is because the airlines have finally realized that passengers do not enjoy sitting in the midst of other people’s filth.

I can’t count the times that I have reached into the seat-back pocket and stuck my fingers into a piece of leftover sandwich or old tissues; or opened the tray table to find it sticky with who-knows-what; or slid my laptop case under the seat in front of me and into a puddle of soda.

Last November at the top online travel conference, PhoCusWright in Hollywood, United Airlines’ managing director for customer service and metrics let the lax aircraft cleanliness cat out of the bag when, surprisingly, one of the improvements he touted was increasing the cleaning of the cabins. The top travelers at the conference actually were surprised that United’s aircraft cleaning schedules had been manipulated for profit.

Even WebMD posted a blog about airplane cleanliness, or lack thereof. The author, a pediatric infectious disease consultant, took swabs from the tray tables, bathrooms, air ducts, etc. on several flights around the U.S.

The results were VERY eye-opening since several of those cultures grew out coliform bacteria (bacteria from our intestinal tract), and not necessarily found just in the toilet areas.

He noted, “Since there are significant penalties for canceling flights, people think nothing about flying while they are ill. In the close quarters of an airplane cabin microorganisms can be freely shared.”

It has the makings of a perfect germ storm. Airlines will not allow sick passengers to change flights and at the same time, the airlines are not cleaning their planes.

United wasn’t the only airline to curb the scrubbing, vacuuming and seat-back pocket emptying. Most of the airlines decided that cleaning planes was not part of their profit plan. This past decade can be called the “decade of detritus” when discussing aircraft cleaning. All this, in the name of saving money.

But airlines now are cleaning up their act. The filth and dirt in the cabins has become so obvious, it is affecting customer service surveys. United Airlines and Northwest Airlines were regularly showing up at the bottom of surveys when consumers were asked about airplane interiors.

United instituted new cleaning procedures and Northwest will start to fall under the Delta cleaning regime as its merger moves forward. Even American Airlines has been forced to spend more money on cleaning aircraft and it has resulted in a drop in passenger complaints.

Finally, the airlines are realizing that cleanliness counts. I’m still finding “treasures” tucked in the seat-back pockets, but at least the overall look of aircraft interiors seems to be improving. I’ll take all the cabin cleanliness I can get.

The WebMD post ended with these suggestions to reduce your infectious disease exposure on air flights:

1. Wash your hands thoroughly and often, and avoid touching your eyes or nose – the main entry points for disease-causing microorganisms.
2. Carry some disinfectant wipes for the tray tables and seat arms. It is a good idea to wipe down the window if you are sitting in this particular seat. There can be some odd-looking stuff on that window!
3. On short flights, avoid using the airline toilet. If you must, do so with caution. Short of wearing a Hazmat suit, you are putting yourself at risk. Again, carry those disinfectant wipes with you to the toilet and use them. After carefully washing your hands (again), use a paper towel to flush the toilet and open the door again.
4. Notice if your seat-mates are ill. If they are blowing their noses, sneezing, coughing, etc., then be extra, extra careful. If there are empty seats (unlikely), then consider sitting somewhere else.
5. Bring your own magazines.
6. Stay hydrated. When your own mucous membranes dry out, you are more susceptible to respiratory organisms. Drink plenty of WATER, especially on long flights. The air in the cabin is usually dry, so use a saline nasal spray.

When you arrive safely at your destination, you are still at risk. It is not unusual to get ill when you are traveling, since you may not have any acquired immunity to circulating diseases in other communities. We tend to develop herd immunity with our family, friends, and co-workers, but when you are traveling the herd quickly changes. Respiratory viruses (colds) can have an incubation period from 12 to 48 hours, so don’t be surprised if you get one of these unwanted gifts on your vacation.