Devil in the Details: Life Jackets

by Chuck Hawley, SAIL magazine
Recently, I flew on a Boeing 737 on an international flight, and as luck would have it, I was able to fly in business class. The aircraft was similar to every 737 that you’ve flown in, but the business class cabin, consisting of 10 seats, was very different; sort of like a mini-version of a larger aircraft’s business seating.

As I customarily do, I reached under the seat to find the life jacket, as some of our flight would be over the Indian Ocean. Hmm, no life jacket, nor was there a compartment in the armrest that I shared with Susan. Having never had to evacuate an aircraft, thankfully, this wasn’t a crisis, but it was curious: did they not offer lifejackets for some reason?

Eventually, I “found” them, although their location was indicated by the pre-departure briefing (in Arabic, Swahili, and English) as well as the card in the seat back. The life jackets were stowed overhead, where you’d expect to find the emergency oxygen masks.  – Full report