Narrative:

We had departed this gate earlier in the day and had noticed inadequate cooling from the ground air conditioning unit. We briefed and operated the APU for max cooling as it was now above 100F outside. We closed and locked the cockpit door when we stepped off the aircraft to discuss the extensive convective weather along our route. Upon my return the flight was boarded and the cabin temp was 102 and rising! Someone had unlocked the door; left it open; turned off not only the APU but the packs as well. The ground air conditioning unit was off at this time. The cabin temp was unbearable! To add insult to injury; the a flight attendant told us the gate agents had come on the aircraft told the cleaners to leave even though they had not finished cleaning yet. So now we have a hot; dirty airplane for our 170 passengers! What an impression! The flight attendant told me the mechanic had come onboard; unlocked the cockpit door; turned off the APU and left. I asked for a customer service supervisor and a maintenance supervisor. Both came to the airplane. The customer service supervisor said 'we do not wait for cleaners here; it's just too bad if they don't get done' the maintenance supervisor brought the mechanic who turned off the APU and packs who said 'I was just doing my job. You are not supposed to be running the APU.' policies like these are not indicative of how a world class airline should look. Agents who do not exercise common sense over 'on time' performance are overlooking much more than this particular event. This mechanic should know better than to go on the flight deck and manipulate system controls with out checking with the crew first. Make sure agents understand the customer experience is our highest concern. Make sure mechanics stay out of the flight deck and do not manipulate controls just because they think it the company policy thing to do.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An A321 Captain reported that a mechanic turned off the APU and that allowed the cabin temperature to exceed 100F degrees with an inadequate ground air conditioning unit. The Customer Service Agent then boarded passengers on the hot airplane which was not completely cleaned because of on time concerns.

Narrative: We had departed this gate earlier in the day and had noticed inadequate cooling from the ground air conditioning unit. We briefed and operated the APU for max cooling as it was now above 100F outside. We closed and locked the cockpit door when we stepped off the aircraft to discuss the extensive convective weather along our route. Upon my return the flight was boarded and the cabin temp was 102 and rising! Someone had unlocked the door; left it open; turned off not only the APU but the packs as well. The ground air conditioning unit was off at this time. The cabin temp was unbearable! To add insult to injury; the A Flight Attendant told us the Gate Agents had come on the aircraft told the cleaners to leave even though they had not finished cleaning yet. So now we have a hot; dirty airplane for our 170 passengers! What an impression! The Flight Attendant told me the mechanic had come onboard; unlocked the cockpit door; turned off the APU and left. I asked for a Customer Service Supervisor and a Maintenance Supervisor. Both came to the airplane. The Customer Service Supervisor said 'we do not wait for cleaners here; it's just too bad if they don't get done' The Maintenance Supervisor brought the Mechanic who turned off the APU and packs who said 'I was just doing my job. You are not supposed to be running the APU.' Policies like these are not indicative of how a world class airline should look. Agents who do not exercise common sense over 'on time' performance are overlooking much more than this particular event. This mechanic should know better than to go on the flight deck and manipulate system controls with out checking with the crew first. Make sure agents understand the customer experience is our highest concern. Make sure mechanics stay out of the flight deck and do not manipulate controls just because they think it the company policy thing to do.

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.