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Comment by CountHackulus | Hacker News Reader

Using existing air systems for these seems like a nice hack. It's something that's easily implemented, though I fail to see airlines implement it any time soon. There's no financial benefit to them for this. Someone having a cold will hardly stop them from buying a plane ticket.

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There might be. I bet flight attendants take more sick days than most workers do and there are very real financial implications of a flight being delayed due to lack of staff.

>I bet flight attendants take more sick days than most workers do

I'll take your hypothetical bet with my own speculation to the contrary: I imagine most flight attendants are in better physical shape than, say, your typical office worker due to the nature of their job, as well as being more on top of preventative health measures (vaccines and such) precisely because they know they're at higher risk due to the number of people they're exposed to.

Very good point. Hard to know who is right without data, which I can't imagine we'll find. I know for a fact that if I were a flight attendant, I'd certainly make sure I had the latest flu vaccine, etc.

I suspect it also works like it does with primary school teachers. They have immune systems made of iron, in part because of selection but also because they're exposed to so much every day.

Their significant others on the other hand, they're sick as hell all the time...

Keeping staff healthy would reduce the number of sick employees at any given time. There is no way this will actually be as cheap as $1k per plane, but almost any smallish one time cost will eventually pay for itself if you can meaningfully improve worker health.

I avoid flying because I always end up ill afterwards. There is a cost to airlines of doing nothing.

I fly frequently and I always get sick, even though I'm fairly religious with hand sanitizer and what not. I'm not sure what I do wrong.

Maybe it's not just because you are more exposed to germs on the plane. One possibility is that air on planes is quite dry, and you are not drinking enough, which would stress your system. Or there can be a combination of conditions that get you sick.

Or the airport bathrooms. Which are more often than not kind of filthy and do not have a process for washing and drying your hands w/ paper towels that is completely touch-free.

>do not have a process for washing and drying your hands w/ paper towels that is completely touch-free

This is different from my personal experiences. In the last few years, I've dried my hands with a touch-free system in the vast majority of airport bathrooms I've used. I've found airport bathrooms to be touch-free at a much higher rate than public restrooms in general.

Also, the first airline to do this will get great PR, for very little cost.

I know I would pick an airline that installs this.

That may have less to do with airborne illness and more to do with dry air, reduced air pressure, and consequent irritation.

Unless this system is perfectly tuned, it is going to strip a belt of warm air around people and they'll get cold.

Even when air is warm, breeze can make you uncomfortable, and in-flight air is often cool on its own.

Net result might be more people becoming sick, not fewer.

Boeing has made steady improvements in passenger comfort, and that includes increasing cabin pressure and better air circulation. They've also made a lot of improvements in reducing cabin noise and vibration. Also, the ride is a lot smoother these days.

Maybe there's a segment of the population which will prefer to fly in healthier planes ?

If it is a cold. Just wait for the next pandemic scare.

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