Technical or Safety?

[TeeVee]

Today I received this email from AA:

Important Information Regarding Your Upcoming Trip


Dear,

Because you are one of our most valued customers, we want you to be aware that due to a technical issue, we have recently deactivated the DC power ports on our 767 aircraft. You have an upcoming trip scheduled on one of these aircraft, which means you will not be able to access supplemental power at your seat. All personal electronic devices will have to be powered exclusively by battery.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and hope this information will allow you to prepare for your upcoming flight.

Thank you for choosing American. We appreciate your loyalty and wish you a pleasant trip.

All ports on all 767's? kinda strange, dontcha think????

[3WE]

Technical or safety? Probably "yes".

Like you say, "all" aircraft makes me think there's a story behind it.

Safety? Well, electricity (including 12V) has been known to start fires, and to put a power part at every seat is a lot of wires and a lot of connections.

Now a NEAR TOTAL DISASTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ticking time bomb of flaming death??? Probably not.

I'd bet that the legal dept, and safety dept, and the extreme safety culture (nothing really wrong with any of it) made the decree- Deactivate all 767 power ports.

Plus, it would be a very significant undertaking if (for example) someone determined there was a minor safety flaw in the actual power point? A lot of time and money (and parked airplanes) would go into such a repair.

[/Parlor talk]

[TeeVee]

originally posted where? and for some reason, i doubt very much that AA is the only airline with power ports at seats in their 767's.

has anyone heard of other airlines doing this with the 767?

[Fear_of_Flying]

Some discussion found here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-aadvantage/1172739-1-15-11-aa-maintenance-deactivate-all-762-some-main-cabin-763-powerports.html

Not a lot of substance, but maybe some additional info.

[TeeVee]

thanks FOF. that site is filled with a lot of cry-baby whiny, self-proclaimed platinum thises and ex-plat thats, bitchin about not having enough juice to make it from NY to LA. Jeez, people, get Macbooks and shut up. not to mention the fact that hardly anyone i have ever been near on a transcon flight works from takeoff to touchdown. i guess people just need something to gripe about

turns out AA has done something similar with their 757's. funny how planes that are relatively old, no suddenly develop power port issues. that coupled with what others have said--not all seats on all AA 767s will be deactivated, kinda makes me wonder.

[Gandalf123]

Sounds to me to be a technical issue that has been disabled in order to, as cheaply as legally possible, prevent it from becoming a safety issue.

You may find in some of the older aircraft, some of the wiring has become brittle, especially near the power outlets. Outlets might be worn and be getting hot, which could cause the wiring to short and melt.

I think it would cost quite a bit to replace all those outlets and related wiring. Just pop the breaker and the problem is solved at little to no cost

[HAWK21M]

Its all about $$$.

The Airline is thinking If something can be deactivated without a safety issue....Why not.....