What REALLY Happens to Inflight Blankets? How Airlines Work Part 1

Have you ever wondered what happens once all the passengers disembark after a long haul flight? What happens to the aircraft? How do they prepare for the next flight and who does all the dishes? And what happens to the used blankets between flights? Let's find out together!

I've been given exclusive behind the scenes access at Qatar Airways to see exactly what makes them tick. I want to know the secrets behind Qatar Airways' success and what makes them one of the world's leading and fastest growing airlines.

First on my list was finding out what happens between flights. In this instance between a 14 hour long-haul flight from Seattle to Doha and a 13 hour long haul flight to Adelaide.

In never-seen-before footage I was allowed onboard the aircraft after all the passengers had left and was there when the cleaning and catering crews sprung into action. Their first task was to completely de-Seattle the aircraft by removing all the used meal carts, pillows, blankets, mattresses and rubbish. The aircraft is then thoroughly cleaned before it is prepared for its next flight, in this case another long-haul leg to Adelaide.

Re-stocking for Adelaide begins with the arrival of a fleet of trucks - carrying 120 fully stocked carts as well as bags and bags of blankets, pillow cases and amenity kits.

With the new crew boarding an hour before the Adelaide flight was due to depart it was time for me to find out who was doing the dishes.

Again I was given exclusive access to how the entire operation of de-stocking and re-stocking an aircraft goes. The Qatar Aircraft Catering Company's operational centre is the largest single building catering unit in the world at 69,000sq metres. Not only does it produce over 170,000 meals per day it also processes 7000-8000 dirty carts and does 1.5 million dishes. Every single day.

On top of that it processes 40 tons of laundry, including 100,000 blankets per day.

The operation is mind boggling and needs to be seen to believed. Luckily Qatar Airways gave me, and my camera, a full-access pass and I was able to see every step of the process. I now understand why Qatar Airways wins so many awards and have a far greater appreciation of exactly how much work and how many people are involved in making these flights possible.

To all the unseen heroes working behind the scenes and to everybody at Qatar Airways who helped make this video possible a massive thank you from me and every other passenger.

This it Part 1 of my Qatar Airways Behind the Scenes video series. Other episodes will feature their Cargo Operations, the Crew Terminal and the super secretive Integrated Operations Centre.

If you haven't subscribed yet please consider doing so because these videos will be equally amazing.

Thanks for watching and as always happy travels

Cheers

Dennis

LINKS TO OTHER VIDEOS MENTIONED:

#Qatarbehindthescenes #qatarairways #behindthescenes

This Qatar Airways Behind the Scenes video covers:
Airport logistics, airline catering, industrial dishwashing, industrial laundry, Aircraft loading, Aircraft unloading, long haul flight operations, aircraft cleaning, aircraft dressing, aircraft turnaround,
Boeing 777 Pit-stop

00:00 Introduction
02:10 Cleaners Board
03:16 Aircraft Unloading
04:25 Q-Suite
05:27 Below the Wing
05:57 Flight Deck
06:38 Dressing the Cabin
07:25 Loading Begins
08:28 New Crew Boards
08:55 QACC Introduction
10:33 Goods Receiving
11:50 Aircraft Catering Truck Unloading
13:09 Doing the Dishes
15:26 Dry Goods and Equipment Packing
16:50 Drinks!
17:27 Dirty Laundry!
18:35 Clean Laundry
20:11 Staging Area
20:39 Dispatch
22:01 Boarding QR914 to Adelaide

[davidcole]

I've worked for over 25 years in warehousing and logistics, the scale of that operation is mind blowing. I commend them on a job very well done.

[eliasarmond]

I've always appreciated waiters and restaurant staff as I had spent many years working in it when I was young. So it's something I always appreciated. This video gave my airline appreciation a few further ticks of appreciation. Rarely complained before and unlikely to irrationally do so (not that I ever did anyway). Thanks for the video and insight. Much appreciated. Elias

[Geezimac]

Nothing makes my day more than hearing that opening theme music… great work as always

[brenl]

As an airline crew member I am so happy you did this Dennis! So passengers understand what is going on behind the scenes…. Can’t wait for you to do the video about the prepping we the crew have to do before the flight starts or even after passengers disembark! Keep up the good work….en helemaal toppie wat je doet 😀

[AdrianJCox]

Really great look at the operation involved in getting the flight all together. Great video

[CuteCatsofIstanbul]

Thanks for showing the hardest working people in the airline industry. I do hope they get very well compensated for their hard work and dedication.

[stevenmaxon]

I have worked in the Middle East for over 10 years and agree that Qatar is the best Business Class in the world. An amazing video on the internal operations for a First Class airlines. Well done!

[kymmoulds]

So very different to your usual videos but oh so very interesting. Thanks for taking the time to make it and a BIG thumbs up.

[KadvaKorp]

What an eye-opener!
Nobody has ever given us a look at the backend like this. Well done, mate 👏👏

[Vivthedocpreneur]

That's why I appreciate these guys, their work ain't easy either. Thanks airport crew

[cafemarlene]

What an enormous operation. When we reach out for a blanket We never realize the work that goes into a comfortable flight for us.

[ricocarlier]

This is one of the coolest backstage aviation videos I’ve seen!!

[PurpleStreakUkulele]

Very interesting video. Very glad to see that the blankets are actually washed.

[killerqueen]

Awesome video, Dennis. Extremely envious of you as I love to see how things work. Keep up the great work😊

[preston]

Thank you so much Dennis and of course to all the staff we never get to see who work tirelessly to bring a fantastic product to us every single flight. Dennis, you are so lucky to have done this, as always your videos are perfect, enjoyable and I never get bored of watching them - unlike most other vloggers - But once again, thanks so much for bringing this video into our homes and for enlightening us on something we basically take for granted. Safe travels.

[jocee]

Incredible video. Thanks so much for sharing and congrats on getting such amazing access. Really informative and gives a great insight to just how many people are involved in making a flight work for the humble passenger.

[AustralianConsultancy]

A unique video Dennis! Absolutely love it.

[gina_borrman]

The content of your videos are different and interesting from the rest. Thanks for sharing!🇵🇭🇺🇸

[RyanLackey]

This was the best video I've ever seen of the behind-the-scenes logistics at an airport. (I've seen some good ones about Singapore Airlines too, but this was more detailed, and they have a really well engineered process.)

[brianking]

We have QSuites booked for our upcoming trip from the US to Vietnam and this was fascinating