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Version 1 Version 2
For Want of a Working Coffeepot, Your Flight Is Delayed For Want of a Coffeepot, Your Flight Is Delayed
(about 9 hours later)
Sometimes it’s not stormy weather, security holdups or late cabin crews that delay flights. The captain is at the controls, the tray tables are stowed, and nobody is smoking in the lavatories. We’ll be taking off shortly.
Instead, it could be trouble with the galley coffeepots. But wait, what about the coffee machines — are the coffee machines ready for departure?
If one of the $7,000 to $20,000 coffee makers on the plane isn’t working, the ground crew needs to make sure there’s not an electrical problem that could cause a fire or other hazard. Once that is ruled out, it’s a matter of the airline’s choosing the lesser of two evils. Airlines blame flight delays on many things — missing paperwork, storms in faraway states, planes stacked up at La Guardia — but one explanation in particular trips up some travelers. It’s the broken coffee maker in the airplane galley. “Not sure why an @AmericanAir flight has to go back to the gate because of a freakin coffee maker...... that baffles me,” wrote Ryan Fahey on Twitter in February.
“If it fixes the coffee maker, there’s a delay; but if the flight leaves without a coffee maker, the passengers will complain there’s no coffee,” said Ronald Carr, an assistant professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The miracle of human flight with onboard snacks is one of humanity’s great achievements. How is it, then, that a balky coffeepot can bring a jumbo jet to a dead halt?
Mr. Carr is a former pilot for American Airlines, which is particularly intent on improving its departure-time ratings. It turns out to be a surprisingly complex problem to fix. An “inordinate amount of coffee maker problems” are causing short flight delays, the chief of operations for American Airlines, Robert Isom, said recently in a podcast for company employees. “If we can’t find a fix, we ought to just replace all the coffee makers.”
In a recent podcast for the airline’s employees, American’s chief of operations, Robert Isom, said that an “inordinate amount of coffee maker problems” were causing short delays. In the competitive airline industry, even small flight delays matter. They can cascade across the nation, affecting “hundreds, if not thousands, of passengers,” Mr. Isom said in an interview. It’s not just about the coffee, he said, it’s “the most financially sound way to run an airline.”
Mr. Isom came to American as part of its merger in 2013 with US Airways, where he had helped achieve one of the industry’s best on-time records. But American’s on-time performance — measured in part by the percentage of flights departing within 15 minutes of schedule — is only middling. Mr. Isom came to American in its 2013 merger with US Airways, where he helped to achieve one of the industry’s best on-time departure records, which means taking off within 15 minutes of the scheduled time. American could use help on that score. At 83 percent for the first three months of the year, American ranked between two of its main rivals, Delta Air Lines (86 percent) and United Airlines (81 percent), according to the Department of Transportation.
At 83 percent in this year’s first three months, American ranked behind one of its main competitors — Delta Air Lines, at 86 percent — but ahead of another, United Airlines, at 81 percent, according to the Department of Transportation. Mr. Isom declined to say precisely how many of American’s delays are caused by broken coffee makers. The Department of Transportation, which tracks delays, said it couldn’t provide that level of detail.
In trying to improve that score, Mr. Isom is tackling not only coffee makers but also other seemingly mundane nuisances, like spills on cloth upholstery, that can delay the ground crew’s ability to prepare the cabin for the next flight. (If you start seeing more synthetic-leather seats in economy, their superior ability to be wiped is why.) In his quest to get American’s planes off the ground on time, Mr. Isom is looking not only at coffee makers but also at other seemingly mundane delay-causing problems, such as spills on seats. Spills on cloth upholstery can delay a flight because the crew must remove the seat cushion and replace it with a dry one. Economy travelers can expect to see more “synthetic leather” seat covers, which have superior wipeability.
“One delay at the beginning of the day can impact hundreds, if not thousands, of passengers and their belongings,” Mr. Isom said in an interview. “It’s not only the most customer friendly,’’ he said. “It’s also the most financially sound way to run an airline.” Onboard coffee machines are trickier. They cost anywhere from $7,000 to $20,000 apiece. And they are electrical, so if one isn’t working, the ground crew needs to make sure there’s not a problem with the circuitry that could cause a fire or other hazard.
How can something as seemingly minor as a balky coffeepot delay a flight? “You can’t just put Mr. Coffee in an airline,” said Jeff Lowe, president of Aviation Fabricators, a certified airplane repair station in Clinton, Mo. “You have to do all kinds of engineering and analysis and provide test results to the F.A.A. to get approval.”
The Federal Aviation Administration requires coffee makers to have safety features like circuit breakers and insulation around the wiring to protect from electrical fires. So when a coffee machine starts misbehaving, maintenance crews must inspect it to ensure there is no fire hazard. The Federal Aviation Administration requires coffee makers to have safety features like circuit breakers and wiring insulation to protect against onboard fires. So when a coffee machine misbehaves, maintenance crews must inspect it to ensure there is no risk.
In some cases, a broken machine can be quickly replaced by a spare from a maintenance warehouse. But if the coffee maker cannot be easily repaired or replaced, mechanics will disable it by turning the water off, shutting down its power source and recording it as inoperative in the aircraft’s logbook. Other special features include latches to ensure that the coffeepot does not shake loose during turbulence. These elaborately engineered details mean there is more that can go wrong.
“You can’t just put Mr. Coffee in an airline,” said Jeff Lowe, president of Aviation Fabricators, a certified repair station in Clinton, Mo. “You have to do all kinds of engineering and analysis and provide test results to the F.A.A. to get approval.” Airplane safety rules try to anticipate problems because if something goes wrong midflight, there’s little room for error. For instance, even though smoking cigarettes has been banned since the 1990s, planes still must have ashtrays in the lavatories. Because if someone does smoke in there, they have a place to put the cigarette other than the trash bin, which is full of flammable paper.
Other special features include latches and locks to ensure that the coffeepot does not shake loose during turbulence, as well as special electrical circuitry that is compatible with an airplane’s power source. All those elaborately engineered features mean there is more that can go wrong. When a coffee machine breaks down, often it can simply be replaced by spares kept on hand for that purpose. If that’s not possible, the plane can still take off, but only after mechanics disable the coffee machine by turning the water off and cutting the power.
Because they operate at higher altitudes, aircraft coffee makers must also be designed to heat water to a lower boiling point than household machines. And even the water is complicated in an airliner. This, though, can cause a new set of problems for airlines. Passengers expect on-time departures — but they expect coffee too. “@AmericanAir- seriously no coffee on a my morning fly 5797 to ONT? Doesn’t that violate a law or something?” wrote Tim Swearingen, a technical project manager based in Phoenix, on Twitter a few days ago.
Marcos Jimenez, an engineer at Zodiac Aerospace who has developed patented coffee maker technology, said there were two main types of machines: those that use water from an airplane’s water reservoir and those that require a flight attendant to pour filtered, bottled water into the machine. Reached by phone, Mr. Swearingen added this thought: “And why would you wait until I’m on the plane to announce that? I would have gone to Starbucks.”
Most commercial airlines use machines hooked up to a water tank. Even the water is complicated in an airliner and can contribute to breakdowns. Marcos Jimenez, an engineer at Zodiac Aerospace who has developed patented coffee-maker technology, said there were two main types of machines: those that use water from an airplane’s water reservoir, and those that require a flight attendant to pour filtered, bottled water into the machine.
“Because it’s in a tank, they have to take particular care to make sure the water is not growing bacteria and whatnot. So they treat it with chemicals, kind of like a pool,” he said. Most commercial airlines use machines hooked up to a water tank. “Because it’s in a tank, they have to take particular care to make sure the water is not growing bacteria and whatnot. So they treat it with chemicals, kind of like a pool,” he said.
These chemicals, along with minerals in the water, can cause residue to build up in the tubing and other parts. Clogs can cause the machine to break down over time, especially if maintenance crews don’t clean them thoroughly at least once a month, Mr. Jimenez said. “I don’t drink the coffee unless I know the water’s coming from a bottle.” These chemicals, along with minerals in the water, can cause residue to build up in the machinery. Clogs can cause the machine to break down, particularly if maintenance crews don’t clean them often enough, Mr. Jimenez said. “I don’t drink the coffee unless I know the water’s coming from a bottle.”
Delta and United acknowledge that coffee makers can cause trouble, though they do not seem as focused on it as American is. Delta and United acknowledge that coffee makers can cause trouble, though they do not seem as focused on it as American is. “We do have some delays due to coffee maker problems from time to time, but it’s not a prevalent cause,” said Jonathan Guerin, a United spokesman. He noted, however, that United’s maintenance crews recently increased the frequency of checks on coffee makers specifically to reduce delays.
“We do have some delays due to coffee maker problems from time to time, but it’s not a prevalent cause,” said Jonathan Guerin, a United spokesman. He noted, however, that United’s maintenance crews recently increased the frequency of checks on coffee makers specifically to reduce minor delays. American is working with B/E Aerospace, a manufacturer of aircraft cabin products, to replace malfunctioning coffee makers on many of its planes, at thousands of dollars each. American’s Boeing 737s, which make up about a third of its fleet, typically have four of the machines on board. Larger planes like the Boeing 777, which usually flies international routes, may have more than a dozen coffee makers.
American, though, is working with B/E Aerospace, a manufacturer of aircraft cabin products, to replace malfunctioning coffee makers on many of its planes, at thousands of dollars each. If the overhaul is effective, it might cut down on the number of complaints from passengers like Darren McGrady.
American’s Boeing 737s, which make up about a third of its fleet, typically have four of the appliances on board. Larger planes like the Boeing 777, which usually flies international routes, may have more than a dozen coffee makers. Mr. McGrady, a personal chef based in Dallas according to his Twitter bio, boarded a 6:45 a.m. flight in April, only to find his departure delayed by a broken coffee maker. He complained about that on Twitter, and American’s corporate account replied: “We’ll get the coffee maker up and running so we can have you on your way!”
If the overhaul is effective, it might cut down on the number of complaints on Twitter by fuming passengers like Darren McGrady. A few minutes later, Mr. McGrady tweeted again, this time with a photo of an empty galley — no mechanics in sight. “I can see technicians swarming around the coffee machine trying to fix it,” he wrote.
Mr. McGrady, a personal chef based in Dallas, boarded a 6:45 a.m. flight in April, only to find the departure delayed by a broken coffee maker. American followed up: “It’s all set now! You’ll be wheels up soon.”
After he tweeted his unhappiness, the American Airlines corporate Twitter account quickly replied: “You can sit and wait on an airplane for the dumbest things,” said Mr. Lowe at Aviation Fabricators. But he takes a philosophical view.
A few minutes later, the American Airlines Twitter account gave him an update: “They have to wait for some guy in maintenance to say, ‘It’s O.K.,”’ Mr. Lowe said. “And frankly, that’s probably the way it ought to be.”
“You can sit and wait on an airplane for the dumbest things,’’ said Mr. Lowe at Aviation Fabricators. But in hindsight, he took a philosophical view.
“They have to wait for some guy in maintenance to say it’s O.K.,’’ Mr. Lowe said. “And frankly, that’s probably the way it ought to be.”