Large Mouse Running Loose on AA Plane FLT: 169
 

My husband spotted a large mouse running down the aisle of the business class :eek:, notified the flight attendant, ...and the flight attendant shrugged it off and did not care. :mad:

This was an international flight from LAX to NRT (Jan 9, 2010) and we were seated in row 20, seats D and aisle seat C, right behind the divider wall between the main cabin and the business class because we needed the bassinet for our baby. During the first meal preparation time, my husband saw a large mouse run down the aisle of the business class. It came out from under one of the seats in the business class section and ran down the aisle toward the front of the plane.

In shock and disgust, we notified a flight attendant and she gave us a short and matter of fact reply, “well, there’s nothing that we can do about it right now.” Yes, of course we didn’t expect the flight attendant chase down the mouse and capture it at that time, but we felt like there were indeed plenty of things that she could have done that was within her responsibility. She could have made sure that the food items were properly covered, she could try to notify the cleaning crew to put out traps, she could vacuum or spray down the aisle, etc, but her response was simply, “there’s nothing we can do about it.” She appeared not willing to take responsibility for it, felt no sense of representation of the company (American Airlines), and was not a bit concerned about the customers being alarmed.

This was disturbing and very upsetting to us!

To parents of young children, or any passenger really, please remember to bring lots and lots of disinfecting wipes to wipe down your seats and surrounding areas because these planes are FILTHY!!!!!

Now I'm not saying I don't believe you... but did anyone else see the mouse? I mean it ran during the first meal service and usually most if not everyone is awake. Someone else SHOULD have seen it.

I would have to agree with the statement. "There's nothing she can do about it". I mean other than ensure food areas are covered, I don't think they have vacuums, sprays, or cleaning crews 30,000 some odd feet in the air. Now when they land, that's a different story.

You should bring those anyway, especially adults travelling with kids because they tend to get everywhere! Forget the plane being filthy, what about the terminals? Looks clean... I doubt its all that clean though. Public restrooms? Food court areas? McDonalds? Do you know what kind of germs you attract merely stepping outside your door? And don't forget that recycled air you breathe. Can you imagine? Madam, a filthy plane is the LEAST of your worries.

I believe her. I, early in my wonderful airline career, got stuck on the 11p-7a shift which included the duty of cleaning a DC9, myself. Not routinely but it happened that the local pest control company came out and met the plane on arrival, put out sticky traps and such then came back before boarding time to retrieve them. I never saw a dead rodent but I do believe there are probably some on some aircraft.

But, like the OP even said, not much can be done inflight. But how do you know the ground staff wasn't notified on arrival. Your post indicates you don't believe they were.

Mice are not necessarily indicative of poor hygiene, and if the aircraft was in flight, there is little that can be done. However, her response was poor. First, she should have thanked them for letting her know, and second reassured them. Mice and other animals, such a birds, regularly get onto aircraft. However, with rodents, once spotted it is important they are removed as they could potentially knaw through wiring.. which is clearly problematic.

Food items on aircraft are routinely properly covered, and whilst I think the FA was unduly curt and failed to reassure the OP, there is a hint of over-reaction to the situation in the posting.

AArest the mouse!
 

I see this happened on American. The FA did nothing about the mouse because the mouse did not try to order orange juice with its meal! However, since the mouse did not have a ticket there was a missed opportunity for a diversion.

Seriously, Jim is right about mice knawing through wiring. It would be nice to think the FA took the time to alert the cockpit of the situation so they could monitor the instruments for signs of wire munching.

i remember when i was in singapore last december i was watching a show/documentary about tragic plane crashes i believe on the discovery(x) or history channel and they were showing and describing how and why planes went down (engine failure, pilot error, terrorism, etc) and they were saying in one episode that a bigger problem then what people realize is when animals such as mice and rats get into the interior and start nibbling on wires, this is a huge hazard and needs to be sorted asap

if one is seen on a flight it is essential to let the correct people know, notify the airline and managers so that they can get it all checked out and at the same time relocate or "get rid" of the pest

the flight attendant may have been rude, but there really isnt anything much he/she could do until the flight has landed and telling the pilot about the situation so that they can forward the info......if the FA gets on their knees and looks then people may see and may panic thinking that something may be wrong......or if its a male FA and there is a female wearing a dress/skirt in the area they may say its sexual harrasement stating he was looking up.........so the only real thing to do is wait for the plane to land and then catch it

I agree that trying to catch the mouse to ensure the proper function of the plane is important. Thank you for bringing that up, that is a good point. However, rudeness is simply unacceptable. My reason for posting this is not that I don't believe they did not notify the ground staff upon arrival, no need to jump to conclusions. Thank you Silent Bob for notifying us of the dirtiness of our environment - I'm sure parents are very much aware of that already.

Wow Inflammatory and unhelpful..... so how was my comment inflammatory? I didn't say anything different from anyone else. Was it the filthy comment? That's just a general observation. EVERYTHING is filthy! But alas...

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want to talk about filthy environments, has anyone ever seen those shows that take the blue(black?) light into hotel rooms and run it over the comforter on the beds YIKES!!!
One report stated they found more fecal matter on the TV remote in several hotel rooms then around the toliet....handiwaps always come in handy

As a person with allergies I would not like to see they flight attendants spraying anything in the cabin...perfumes on some people are enought to make people like me have to grab our inhalers