Are areas beside a galley actually dangerous for pax to mingle?

[MEL_Traveller]

It was a swing, I'm pretty sure. Although I was in J and they were Y class toilets. There was heaps of room even with the door opening.



Because I think the airline is irrelevant (except that it was not a US airline). Their explanation was given to me in most perfect (and very firm) English.

I think it was one of those situations where any firm challenge to it would not have been beneficial. So while I did question it and asked for another place to go, we just gave up and we returned to our seats.

knowing the airline could possibly make a difference. Perhaps people on here know crew working from the airline and can ask. Perhaps there are other anecdotes relevant to the airline in question.

There is no inherent danger standing in that area. Sitting on the slide bustle would be a no no. Or standing where the door might swing out on to you. Not dangerous, but potentially bothersome could be talking right by the J class cabin where people might be trying to rest (even muted conversation can have a tendency to carry on planes).

it seems very strange though. People stand there all the time, so i wonder why they asked you guys in particular to move on?

 

[Austman]

People stand there all the time, so i wonder why they asked you guys in particular to move on?

Well yes.

It can't have been noise made by us. We had only just got there! J-class was only half full by the way. I think it was just a "get back to your seats please", with a false claim of safety issues.

I wish they'd at least use a real reason. Like it's company policy or you might disturb sleeping passengers. IMO playing the "safety" card if it's not actually a safety issue diminishes the importance of true safety issues.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Well yes.

It can't have been noise made by us. We had only just got there! J-class was only half full by the way. I think it was just a "get back to your seats please", with a false claim of safety issues.

I wish they'd at least use a real reason. Like it's company policy or you might disturb sleeping passengers. IMO playing the "safety" card if it's not actually a safety issue diminishes the importance of true safety issues.

Well, depending on the airline it was either a power trip, or their understanding of English was not so good. Pronunciation doesn't always mean a fluent grasp of the language.

 

[serfty]

I think the query has been answered more than once and in several different ways

- No, it is not "dangerous",

- Yes, they wanted you out of their way.

- The FA misused the USA rules to 'enforce' that.

I have flown over 1800 RPT sectors and "stuff happens" occasionally.

I'd simply move on and look forward to my next flight.

 

[dajop]

Well, depending on the airline .

That seat map looks like UL.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

That seat map looks like UL.

Well spotted! That was the only one I didn't/coulnd't think of!!

 

[Austman]

I think the query has been answered more than once and in several different ways

There seems to be a fair bit of opinion here that is actually is a safety matter. And it will probably be impossible to argue the matter with crew.

I'd simply move on and look forward to my next flight.

We did.

That seat map looks like UL.

Except that I realised I posted the wrong seat map. (oops) But it does demonstrate the area I'm talking about.

It's the same (or similar) layout on many airlines - a centre or rear galley with substantial side areas off it that are not actually part of the galley. That was the intention of my question.

 

[RB]

I think it comes down to having to just accept the explanation and move on. I am sure many people have used "white lies" to achieve what they want from a customer.-try nailing down a tradie to get work done & see if they are trueful

 

[MEL_Traveller]

There seems to be a fair bit of opinion here that is actually is a safety matter. And it will probably be impossible to argue the matter with crew.

I don’t think anyone has suggested it is a safety issue per se. There may be issues if a meal service is underway (carts coming in and out of the galley could hit a passenger), or if the seat belt sign was on. But just standing there during a quiet stage of cruise presents no issue.

 

[Quickstatus]

Not a safety issue.
They just want you to be seated.

 

[Austman]

I had the pleasure of doing a few long hauls in this recently:



It's also right beside the galley - with staff coming and going quite a lot right through the area (but no or few trolleys - meals were individually delivered).

And right beside J class.

Fortunately it's a long way from Y class (F class too I suppose).

And you are actually invited to mingle there!

 

[Quickstatus]

Cabin crew often come up with very strange directives.
Nothing you can do.
But what it means is that future cabin crew “safety” instructions become less believable.

Some pilots leave the seat belt sign in the entire flight. Who knows whether it was necessary - we can only presume it is, but when the seat belt sign comes on next time the safety reason is less believable.

.....

Ah maybe this is shooing J passengers away from a Y area. J passengers think they can just walk into a Y area without consequences- it’s like Malcolm Turnbull walking into someone’s Local Pub

 

[BAM1748]

Safety is always an easy but often lame excuse people and business use for a variety of things, including to move people on. It's very hard to argue against the use of 'safety'.

 

[JohnK]

I've chatted to CSMs and FAs in the galley on Qantas flights for 20-30 minutes without issue with other FAs coming and going. Some join the conversation.

There have been other times when I've gone to galley to get a drink and hung around and been told to move back to my seat.

It's not dangerous but if they see you standing around they may want you out of the way.

 

[Quickstatus]

That’s why it’s a BAR - on one side of the bar are customers on the other side is the bar person.

Galley is a cabin crew work area.
If they ask you leave the area and vicinity then that’s OK.

Calling it “safety” reason is a bit silly.

 

[harvyk]

Was there a safety issue? Probably not.

However we're not cabin crew with the particular airline in question, we don't know what training they've done, what safety procedures they have and we don't know what company policies exist, or what previous events that airline has experienced. For all we know there could have been an event on that airline which meant that they now ban people standing outside galley's to prevent the event from happening again.

For all the flights we as a collective group have done, we might not be aware of the actual safety issue in standing by the galley because whilst we're adapt at sitting in seats and drinking drinks, we have not actually being through the training procedures of that airline.

 

[Austman]

That’s why it’s a BAR - on one side of the bar are customers on the other side is the bar person.

Actually in the EK bar area (my pic), pax mingle where they want. No-one stood at the actual bar much on my recent flights except to order something. Forward of the bar is the J class cabin and aft is the galley for the whole of J class and all the J class toilets. The result is that there's quite a lot of staff and other pax going through the bar area. The bar mingling pax can certainly be in their way. But everyone seems to manage!

The area I pointed out in the seat map pic of an A330 was a far more out of the way area, I thought. But I got told "no standing".

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Actually in the EK bar area (my pic), pax mingle where they want. No-one stood at the actual bar much on my recent flights except to order something. Forward of the bar is the J class cabin and aft is the galley for the whole of J class and all the J class toilets. The result is that there's quite a lot of staff and other pax going through the bar area. The bar mingling pax can certainly be in their way. But everyone seems to manage!

The area I pointed out in the seat map pic of an A330 was a far more out of the way area, I thought. But I got told "no standing".

We note the ability to stand around galley and service areas on different airlines. We also know it is not dangerous (absence of any signs, it's where pax must wait to use the WC, and it's a crew seating area). Why your particular airline asked you to move is anyone's guess. A number of reasons have been put forward. It might have been you in particular. It might have been any passenger that would have received the same instructions. If it was Sri Lankan airlines, it's possible they may have particular problems, in general, with people crowding that area on certain flights, and they've simply extended their prohibition to all flights.

 

[Austman]

Why your particular airline asked you to move is anyone's guess.

Except they clearly stated it was for safety reasons.

Of course that's probably not the real reason - but I was unsure at the time. Maybe it was close enough to the galley to count as the galley...

As I think I've mentioned, I then asked where else we could go? Y-class was full - no spare seats. The answer was: "You can go nowhere". So on an A330, after meal service was complete, there was absolutely nowhere that 2 pax could even stand together? Even for a few minutes?

On reflection I think that confirms that it was just a crew member on a bit of a power trip.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Except they clearly stated it was for safety reasons.

Of course that's probably not the real reason - but I was unsure at the time. Maybe it was close enough to the galley to count as the galley...

As I think I've mentioned, I then asked where else we could go? Y-class was full - no spare seats. The answer was: "You can go nowhere". So on an A330, after meal service was complete, there was absolutely nowhere that 2 pax could even stand together? Even for a few minutes?

On reflection I think that confirms that it was just a crew member on a bit of a power trip.

We have established safety was not the real reason. But the reasons for the crew not wanting passengers there could be many. They may have been on a power trip, or maybe they just didn't want two passengers standing chatting becoming 4, 6, or 8 passengers standing chatting.