THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE CHATTER IN THE NIGHT…

POST Hermes1964 DATE February 25, 13:21

I feel the need to vent on something that has driven me mad for years. I flew in first class with BA from New York last week in the fifth row. From the get-go the pervading sound was the raised voices of cabin crew chatting in the forward galley. Now, I’m not expecting complete silence, but when this is in raised voices for all to hear, I do object. It started on the ground and continued for at least the first hour of a rather haphazard service. The galley curtain behind me remained open, pouring light into the otherwise dimmed cabin. Interspersing the chitchat came shouted orders – “one cheese and biscuits and one cup of tea”, “two banoffee pies with champagne” – it was more like being in a New York diner than a premium cabin. I’ve frequently encountered the same problem in the upper deck.

nevereconomy February 25, 20:08

Sorry, but if that had been me, the cabin service director would have been politely summoned, that curtain would have been closed and I would have asked for the chat volume to be seriously reduced. I have actually on occasion just closed the curtain myself. Of course the dreaded 777 is another matter, where you have first between two galleys (wonderful BA design) and the disturbance from the Club galley can be considerable. If I am paying several grand for something, it had better be right! And of course if on an award, those points did not come free of charge…

GivingupBA February 25, 20:24

It shouldn’t have happened and I sympathise with you. Personally though, after decades of travelling I quickly just put the noise-cancelling headphones on when awake/sitting up: earplugs in and eyeshades on when resting/lying down.

FDOS_UK February 26, 00:20

I find noise-cancelling headphones can make it worse if travelling on a quiet aircraft like a 787 or A380, as they cancel steady noise, which does not include people talking. The answer is cabin crew who are properly trained to provide a level of service commensurate with a premium cabin, which includes taking steps to reduce noise in the proximity of the passengers trying to sleep.

seasonedtraveller February 26, 04:52

You should not have to wear bulky noise-cancelling headphones to cut the needless noise of the crew. This has happened to me several times with BA on Atlantic crossings (but strangely, not so much on Asia flights). The last one I recall was three female crew loudly discussing the merits of certain handbags (not a joke) for more than an hour, at full volume, whilst we tried to get some sleep.