Domestic A332 Bassinet row question

[oz_mark]

On the domestic A332 the first row of economy has two bassinets in the centre rows. All well and good, but is it the case that there are only 5 oxygen masks provided for that row?

I ask because of an issue that came up on a recent flight (I think some pax shuffled themselves around). And if it is only 5, shouldn't there be better signage/policing of the pax numbers in that row?

 

[markis10]

There is enough masks for seated passengers with one spare, no A330s have bassinet oxy masks, as these are provided by the crew should they be need. There is usually one spare mask that can be used in the interim.

 

[milehighclub]

There is enough masks for seated passengers with one spare, no A330s have bassinet oxy masks, as these are provided by the crew should they be need. There is usually one spare mask that can be used in the interim.

I don't know what your referring to by "provided by crew" but we carry nothing onboard that caters to infants during a decompression. Every passenger from infant to adult uses a mask that falls from the ceiling whether you be at your seat, standing in the galley, or in a toilet.

If the oxygen masks drop, I can assure you crew won't be doing anything expect putting on a mask as well. Since you have about 15-20 seconds to get a mask on before passing out, they will don the nearest mask they can find, and wedge between whatever to secure themselves.

Crew then administer oxygen from the portable bottles to passengers showing signs of hypoxia and to those passed out once the OK is given from the captain to commence follow up duties, provided it is safe to do so.

 

[oz_mark]

There is enough masks for seated passengers with one spare, no A330s have bassinet oxy masks, as these are provided by the crew should they be need. There is usually one spare mask that can be used in the interim.

So, there are 4 seats and 2 bassinets, with 5 oxygen masks. I think in a decompression that is going to be a problem.

 

[markis10]

So, there are 4 seats and 2 bassinets, with 5 oxygen masks. I think in a decompression that is going to be a problem.

Not if you are sharing, you have a minute as an adult non smoker at 35000 feet and 20 seconds at 40000 feet before you loose consciousness and a lot longer before its irreversible.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

On the domestic A332 the first row of economy has two bassinets in the centre rows. All well and good, but is it the case that there are only 5 oxygen masks provided for that row?

I ask because of an issue that came up on a recent flight (I think some pax shuffled themselves around). And if it is only 5, shouldn't there be better signage/policing of the pax numbers in that row?

The only time you could have two infants in a bassinet row eg one is if one seat was blocked but obviously that could only happen if the flight wasn't full. If the flight is full there cannot be any more than one infant per seat block whether it be 2, 3 or 4 seats as only one spare oxy mask per seat block.

On a full flight if a couple has two infants whether it's twins or a 22 month old & a 3 month old they can sit in opposite aisles as long as they're not in the same seat block and as flight is full no seats can be courtesy blocked.

It has happened that pax with 2 infants have been seated correctly in opposite aisles on a full flight then a well meaning pax swaps to enable the family to sit together. Of course crew have to ask them to move back to their original allocated seats prior to departure.

 

[markis10]

I don't know what your referring to by "provided by crew" but we carry nothing onboard that caters to infants during a decompression. Every passenger from infant to adult uses a mask that falls from the ceiling whether you be at your seat, standing in the galley, or in a toilet. .

"Provided by crew" was in reference to the seat maps and me wondering what it means by Bassinet Position - Oxygen Mask Provided on the seat maps, as Oz_Mark notes there appears to be a difference amongst models, namely EBN/M dont have the notation:

http://www.qantas.com.au/infodetail/flying/inTheAir/ourAircraft/332-36J265Y.pdf

While EBO/P and the International configs do

http://www.qantas.com.au/infodetail/flying/inTheAir/ourAircraft/332-36J265Y.pdf

Maybe that means there are 6 in the case of the International Config and EBO/EBP. I know that CASA were looking at a rule that required infants to be able to access a seat for the Oxy mask reason back in 98, not sure if it became mandatory? QF have had a number of issues with decompression/oxygen mask deployment, and I would be interested in JB747's feedback as per NMs post in this thread, the 7 minutes it took to drop to 10000 ft from 29000 ft with many inoperative masks must have made for an interesting time:

http://www.australianfrequentflyer....safety-children-and-oxygen-masks-24666-4.html

 

[oz_mark]

For reference, I believe I was on (a full) EBN and there were 3 adults, 1 child and 2 infants (who slept peacefully in their bassinets) in the row, for most of the flight across the country. Up until the cabin was being prepared for landing.

 

[milehighclub]

My answer, based on the information that I have access too, would suggest that there are 6 masks for that row. However I will ask our engineering guy next time I go to work (it's a desk setup up for crew to ask any technical question about our aircraft)

In the thread that you referred to with NMs question:

"It would be interesting to hear from JB747 about the effectiveness or oxygen masks for the flight crew, cabin crew and passengers "

Flight crew have a different type of mask that provides 100% oxygen. The mask looks like something a fighter jet pilot would wear - here is a link to a picture of it
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2391/2210116716_67d747e833.jpg

Cabin crew get the same oxygen masks as the passengers. On the 747 oxygen is provided from tanks (which obviously are not much use if they explode - possibly a reason why some passengers experienced no oxygen, but also possible that the passenger assumed they were not getting any just because their bag didn't inflate). On the A380 oxygen is also provided from tanks.

On the A330 and 767 oxygen is chemically generated from individual generator units for each group of masks and lasts no longer than 15 minutes.

 

[markis10]

My answer, based on the information that I have access too, would suggest that there are 6 masks for that row. However I will ask our engineering guy next time I go to work (it's a desk setup up for crew to ask any technical question about our aircraft)

In the thread that you referred to with NMs question:


Flight crew have a different type of mask that provides 100% oxygen. The mask looks like something a fighter jet pilot would wear - here is a link to a picture of it
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2391/2210116716_67d747e833.jpg

Cabin crew get the same oxygen masks as the passengers. On the 747 oxygen is provided from tanks (which obviously are not much use if they explode - possibly a reason why some passengers experienced no oxygen, but also possible that the passenger assumed they were not getting any just because their bag didn't inflate). On the A380 oxygen is also provided from tanks.

On the A330 and 767 oxygen is chemically generated from individual generator units for each group of masks and lasts no longer than 15 minutes.

Thanks for following that up, its a curiosity to say the least, though largely academic for me now that my family requires a seat for every member .

As for the question on QF30, I was curious as to what happened in a real situation, especially with passengers and the failure of the PATR, the last time I had a real world oxy deployment it was in an empty VH-OJB not long after her delivery and I was on the flight deck in the jump seat (we hit the ground hard during excessive crosswind on landing).