When a pilot or flight attendant with 30 years in the job takes to social media to publicly dissect a brand new plane it's worth listening to. Not because it's melodramatic while it certainly it is but because seasoned flight attendants have a view on aircraft design that you and I simply can't. They spend hours on board, negotiate the galley at 35,000 feet and live with the impacts of design choices.

Heather Poole is an American Airlines flight attendant who has worked for the airline for 30 years and has written a book, Working on the Wing, about her experiences and is an active user of social media where she has consistently been open about the airline. When American started flying the Airbus A321XLR its new long-range narrow body, and the first JFK-Edinburgh route out of New York Poole flew it and wrote about it on her account, which is now a public service announcement.

The Complaints, In Her Own Words

Poole's post-flight feedback was a long list, and here are a few items. She noted smelling fuel on board before takeoff for both flights a concern on Airbus aircraft that she explicitly called out. Particularly vexing was the bathroom arrangement: one in the front of the plane and three in the back of economy, which leads to constant passenger movement through the galley, and crew having to move carts to make way for bathroom use.

The galley itself she reported as small with waste disposal an issue during the flight. First class, economy and premium economy seats also bring a meal service with a tray she described as being so small that food had to be stacked, with subsequent problems in terms of slipping and spilling food. First class service also had its own challenges the aisle is so narrow crew can't easily pass others, and the screens need to be physically moved for meal and drink service.

But the thing that sparked the most interest was the crew rest area. On a narrow-body long haul aircraft where crew rest is notoriously difficult (compared to the rest bunks on a wide-body jet), the A321XLR offers its flight attendants a row of seats at the back of the aircraft, separated by what Poole described and captured on camera as a curtained tent. In the same area as the bathrooms.

Are These Criticisms Fair?

Poole's criticisms come as no surprise for anyone who has been paying attention to how the A321XLR has been developed and early operator feedback. The comparative narrow-body limitations of the aircraft are well known in the industry the cost of opening up thin routes across the Atlantic is that you're doing so in a narrow-body with all the attendant constraints.

Rest on long-haul narrow-body airliners has never been as good as dedicated bunks on a 787 or A350. The A321XLR doesn't change that it just highlights the issues by using the aircraft on routes where the issues are more apparent than a two-hour domestic flight.

What makes Poole's take on the aircraft different from a generalised attack on narrow bodies is the detail on American's configuration decisions. The number and location of restrooms, the size of the galley, the size of the meal tray and the location of the entertainment system relative to the path of first class service, are all decisions that involve airline preference as well as aircraft manufacturer constraints. Some of the complaints she makes are unavoidable for narrow-body aircraft. Some appear to be design decisions that could be otherwise.

But What Is the Industry Thinking?

In addition to the critique of the aircraft itself which is interesting in itself, there's another aspect of interest here.

Heather Poole has been vocal about American Airlines, its planes and various other aspects of her job on social media for a long time. This isn't a first-time, single post by an unhappy worker over a bad flight. It's a regular ongoing stream of comment that is almost unheard of in most non-American airlines.

When one commenter responded that perhaps she should take into account what her employer might think of her comments, her reply was an eye roll (as we would all do) and a statement that she has been doing this for years. In that sense, that was telling of how American is apparently dealing with this situation.

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants, representing American's cabin crew, has guidelines for its members regarding social media, including a prohibition on negative comments about the company. Whether those guidelines are being applied in this instance is another matter, with the frequency of Poole's critical comments.

It's a situation that stands in contrast to the rest of the world. At most international airlines, the social media policies of both the airline and the union would have put an end to this sort of public commentary long ago. The fact that it is and that Poole appears to be unfazed by the possibility of repercussions is telling of something about the nature of the American labor relations climate and, possibly, of American Airline's own priorities.

What Flight Attendants Say Matters

There's a point here about the value of feedback from crew on aircraft design. Customers fly an aircraft for a few hours. Crew fly the aircraft every day, in a range of conditions and on different routes, for years. When a seasoned crew member points to specific, tangible problems not generalised complaints but particular issues related to cart movement down narrow aisles, lack of adequate restrooms and complications in serving meals that feedback is valuable.

Here's the list of operational issues that Poole reported on the American A321XLR, at face value:

• Experiences with fumes prior to take-off on several flights a noted Airbus-related issue she mentioned
• Bathrooms are in the way of crew and passengers, creating an obstacle during service
• Crew rest is curtained seats in the back, near lavatories, without a bunk or significant barrier from passengers
• First class aisle is too narrow to allow crew to pass people during service, complicating service
• Premium economy and economy meal trays must be stacked to create spills and service slow-downs
• All of these are not theoretical preferences. They are operational descriptions of how the aircraft works as an operating environment for a long haul trip.

The Bottom Line

An experienced American Airlines flight attendant, with 30 years' service, flew the Airbus A321XLR and provided a detailed, specific, and credible evaluation of the aircraft from the point of view of the working environment. The design of the crew rest, a curtained-off area of seats adjacent to the rear lavatories, received a particular focus and has spurred much discussion. The grievances about the lack of galley space, positioning of lavatories, width of the first class aisle and size of the meal trays combine to make an airplane that is designed for passenger numbers and route economics rather than the realities of long-haul cabin operations.

It's also interesting that the same flight attendant has been posting similar views of her employer for many years without any apparent issues. Whether you think that's a great idea or a bit of a deal breaker is more likely a reflection on your own attitudes towards employment than anything about the flights.