Narrative:

Typically the night before a trip I review the aircraft routing and maintenance status; thus allowing me to be more prepared and a proactive captain. In this case; I found the airplane to have multiple deferrals; which included the APU and pack inoperative. The computer showed that maintenance had been assigned the items for repair during the overnight. Before leaving the house in the morning; I checked to confirm that these items had been fixed; but nothing had changed. While driving to the airport; I called dispatch to discuss the status of the airplane; because I wanted an operable APU and pack for our flight to ZZZ; due to the hot summer temperatures. The dispatcher indicated the APU was still deferred and I refused the airplane; giving advance notice hoping we could get another airplane or maintenance could fix the APU. During this process; I learned that the APU is no longer a dispatch item and curious when and why this has changed? Upon arriving in operations; I contacted dispatch and learned that the APU was no longer deferred and I released the flight. At the gate; we were informed maintenance had taken the plane back out of service; due to a further problem with the pack. We were given a plane change and I immediately went to the crew room to flight plan. Unfortunately; I learned that the aft flight attendant jump seat was deferred and I once again refused the airplane via dispatch. For safety of flight reasons; I do not believe any flight attendant jump seat required for FAA minimum crew should be an MEL item; as it structurally bolted to the airplane and has a shoulder harness for a good reason. This enhances the flight attendant's ability to survive; minimize injury in the event of an incident/accident and be in position to evacuate the passengers. The jump seat is also co-located near the interphone; which I find to be an essential communication device during an irregular or emergency situation. I would appreciate some feedback on this particular MEL item. I also contacted the zone controller and notified him of the refusal; hoping to minimize the impact. We as a crew elected to still prepare the aircraft for flight; in case maintenance could repair the jump seat. Eventually; I received a telephone call from operations informing me the flight had canceled; because there were no parts available to repair the jump seat. I was appalled that no one from zone or customer service notified our crew of this decision. Eventually; I took time to visit the aircraft scheduler and explain how I derived at my decision and educate him on how I was doing this in the best interest of safety for my crew and our fellow customers. We ended up having a great discussion and this was another example of how important it is for all of us to treat each other with mutual respect and open the lines of communication.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A320 Captain refused two aircraft due to deferred maintenance and explained his reasoning.

Narrative: Typically the night before a trip I review the aircraft routing and maintenance status; thus allowing me to be more prepared and a proactive Captain. In this case; I found the airplane to have multiple deferrals; which included the APU and pack inoperative. The computer showed that Maintenance had been assigned the items for repair during the overnight. Before leaving the house in the morning; I checked to confirm that these items had been fixed; but nothing had changed. While driving to the airport; I called Dispatch to discuss the status of the airplane; because I wanted an operable APU and pack for our flight to ZZZ; due to the hot summer temperatures. The Dispatcher indicated the APU was still deferred and I refused the airplane; giving advance notice hoping we could get another airplane or Maintenance could fix the APU. During this process; I learned that the APU is no longer a Dispatch item and curious when and why this has changed? Upon arriving in operations; I contacted Dispatch and learned that the APU was no longer deferred and I released the flight. At the gate; we were informed Maintenance had taken the plane back out of service; due to a further problem with the pack. We were given a plane change and I immediately went to the crew room to flight plan. Unfortunately; I learned that the aft Flight Attendant jump seat was deferred and I once again refused the airplane via dispatch. For safety of flight reasons; I do not believe any Flight Attendant jump seat required for FAA minimum crew should be an MEL item; as it structurally bolted to the airplane and has a shoulder harness for a good reason. This enhances the Flight Attendant's ability to survive; minimize injury in the event of an incident/accident and be in position to evacuate the passengers. The jump seat is also co-located near the interphone; which I find to be an essential communication device during an irregular or emergency situation. I would appreciate some feedback on this particular MEL item. I also contacted the Zone Controller and notified him of the refusal; hoping to minimize the impact. We as a crew elected to still prepare the aircraft for flight; in case Maintenance could repair the jump seat. Eventually; I received a telephone call from operations informing me the flight had canceled; because there were no parts available to repair the jump seat. I was appalled that no one from zone or Customer Service notified our crew of this decision. Eventually; I took time to visit the aircraft scheduler and explain how I derived at my decision and educate him on how I was doing this in the best interest of safety for my crew and our fellow customers. We ended up having a great discussion and this was another example of how important it is for all of us to treat each other with mutual respect and open the lines of communication.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.