The Importance of Clean Linens and Uniforms on Airlines
For any reputable airline, passenger comfort and safety is at the core of their ethos. Whether you are boarding a short-haul flight or flying for a long time, your comfort and safety come first. Hence, safety and cleanliness play a paramount role in the airline industry.
Cleanliness ranges from things as simple as ensuring the plane is clean, to the laundering of upholstery, linen, and airline staff uniforms. Each small detail plays a vital role in the overall positive passenger experience. After all, each airline has a reputation to uphold.
Here at Love2Laundry, we understand the importance of a clean and safe environment, so we’ve put together a guide to cleanliness aboard an aircraft- no matter whether you are in the comfort of your own home, or thousands of feet in the sky, a positive passenger experience begins with clean and hygienic surroundings.
Passenger Comfort: The Pinnacle of a Good Flight
When it comes to flying, being comfortable is the most important aspect along with feeling safe.
No matter the airline, or class you are flying with, clean linen is a simple expectation. Whether it be the upholstery of the seat you are sitting in, blankets, pillows, or towels, the expectation for clean and freshly washed linen is vital to ensure passengers are satisfied.
Clean linen allows passengers aboard a longer flight to rest with ease and unwind during their journey. The use of clean linen on flights increases comfort tenfold, meaning passengers are more likely to have a positive flying experience and leave their flight feeling well-rested.
If you are uncomfortable on a flight, this will likely reflect badly on the airline you are flying with. Even with well-presented staff. An unclean aircraft with used linen is likely to gain any good reviews from airline passengers. Keeping on top of cleanliness is the key to upholding any brand’s reputation.
This is where services such as Love2Laundry may be able to assist. By hiring an external organisation to take care of laundry, airlines can benefit from an efficient and professional laundry service whilst airline staff is left to focus on their passengers and their needs.
Presentation of Airline Staff
Airline staff, from pilots to cabin staff, are considered the face of the airline. If you have ever been aboard a flight before, you will notice how well-presented the cabin staff are, with crisp, clean uniforms. But, how do airlines ensure the clean presentation of their airline staff?
Each uniform for airline staff will follow a strict laundry regimen to ensure it is kept in optimum condition. Whether it is laundered professionally, at home or dry cleaned, each uniform is left looking as good as new between each wear. This allows airline staff to look at their best for every flight they are working on.
The good presentation of staff members reflects positively on the airline by showing the neat presentation of staff is synonymous with the hygiene and cleanliness of the airline the passengers have chosen to fly with.
Hygiene and Safety
There are many reasons that hygiene and safety are important on a flight. For example:
- To protect passengers with allergies- clean laundry allows passengers to fly in comfort. Dust and pollen allergies could become exacerbated by unwashed laundry; creating a negative flying experience for passengers with allergies.
- To ensure infection control- in such a small space, the spread of infectious or contagious illness could be increased. To minimise this, airlines should be washing linen and sift furnishing regularly to avoid any spread of illness to passengers and staff. This is especially important since the Covid-19 pandemic.
- To adhere to company policies- each airline will have scrupulous compliance policies regarding hygiene and safety. There could be potential spot checks to comprehend the standard of hygiene and safety.
As an airline, having a reputation for being unhygienic and uncomfortable could be incredibly damaging to the overall business. This may result in less or no return passengers, or a series of poor reviews, in turn, putting off prospective passengers and their families. After all, poor word of mouth is detrimental to businesses looking to adopt a substantial customer base.
How Is Laundry Done on Planes?
In order to ensure that laundry is done to the highest standards, laundry is done off the aircraft. At the end of a flight, laundry will be bagged and taken off the plane to be washed until the next use. The majority of aircraft do not have washing machines aboard.
Once the laundry has been washed, it will be stored in protective plastic bags and labelled to ensure no cross-contamination. This keeps the laundry fresh until the next flight it gets used on. No item of linen will be used twice- each item is washed between use to make sure each passenger receives clean linen.
What Type of Laundry Do Airlines Have to Do?
Depending on the aircraft and its purposes, there will be multiple types of garments and linen that need to be laundered. These could include:
- Towels
- Blankets
- Pillows
- Dressing gowns
- Pyjamas
- Staff uniform
- Reusable napkins and serviettes
- Bedding in staff cabins
Aircraft Cleaning and Maintenance
To uphold their reputation, airlines must not only ensure that their linen is clean, but that the aircraft is clean and well-maintained also. To do so, the aircraft must be promptly cleaned between each flight.
Once passengers and staff have departed the aircraft from the flight, cleaning staff will enter the plane and clean it. They will ensure all of the upholstery is cleaned and vacuumed, that the toilets are cleaned and sanitised and most of all, the plane is free of litter.
The allocated time slot for cleaners to enter and clean the plane is often very stringent, meaning that they have to work quickly and precisely to ensure that a satisfactory job is done.
Aircraft cleaners will be expected to clean the following:
- Bathrooms and toilets
- Seats
- Carpets on board the planes
- Plates and cutlery (prepared to be taken off the aircraft)
- Laundry (prepared to be taken off the aircraft)
How Cleanliness Aligns With Brand Reputation
Cleanliness is of great importance to airline companies as the cleanliness of aircraft and their staff have a direct impact on the reputation of the company itself.
Brand Image
The brand image starts with the staff being dressed well and appropriately for their job. A clean uniform not only helps staff members to look and feel good, but it also reflects positively on the image and ethos of the airline. By dressing smartly, flight attendants and pilots are setting a high standard of cleanliness and hygiene- allowing passengers to feel reassured that they will fly in comfort on a well-maintained aircraft.
Customer Feedback
One way of ensuring good feedback on a flight is making sure that customers are happy and comfortable for the duration of their flight. Receiving good feedback from passengers allows airlines to increase the probability of repeat customers and positive word of mouth. By doing so, the reputation of the airline increases.
In Summary
Clean linen and uniforms are vital to maintaining the best standards of cleanliness on an aircraft. They help to increase customer satisfaction and contribute towards a positive customer experience. Whether it comes down to a well-presented flight attendant wearing a clean uniform or passengers having access to clean linen and blankets to increase comfort on their flight, cleanliness reflects on all aspects of the customer experience. By adopting cleanliness as part of their ethos, airlines can show their passengers and prospective customers they are trustworthy and professional.
How Can Love2Laundry Help?
At Love2laundry, we pride ourselves on affordable laundry services adhering to a sustainable ethos. Whether you require personal services or commercial-based laundry, we can provide a five-star service to meet your needs.
We have experience in a number of commercial sectors:
By outsourcing laundry, businesses can cut down the time they spend doing their own washing and focus more on their business and clients.
For more information on how we can help you, visit the Love2Laundry website today. We look forward to assisting you further!
