A B757-200 captain reported noticing deficiencies in the new life vests that will be replacing the o...

Narrative:

During my [recurrent training] we were shown new life vests which [my airline] will be putting on its airplanes. They have a single chamber; and a single strap which is wrapped around the body and a plastic clip to connect the strap. I did not notice whether or not there was an oral inflation tube on the new vest; but we were not told of one; nor did I observe it. We were told that this was being implemented to save weight. I am extremely concerned about this reduction in safety. Two chambers are important since; if one fails; the other will be available. If one fails with the new design; the passenger or crew member will be left without any flotation. We were also told that the infant life vests will be discontinued; and the parent must figure out how to place an infant into an adult life vest. The instructor also said that infants will not be held in the adult vest and will fall out; or float with their face under water and be killed. Why are we compromising safety in this way? In the past; [my airline] went to the extra expense; and safety was important. Now it appears that we are doing the least possible and providing a life vest of marginal utility in order to save money; and perhaps based on the belief that they will never be used; and if they are; the fatalities are an acceptable cost of doing business.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B757-200 Captain reported noticing deficiencies in the new life vests that will be replacing the older design; including single chamber vs two chamber; no infant vest available; and no backup inflation tube.

Narrative: During my [recurrent training] we were shown new life vests which [my airline] will be putting on its airplanes. They have a single chamber; and a single strap which is wrapped around the body and a plastic clip to connect the strap. I did not notice whether or not there was an oral inflation tube on the new vest; but we were not told of one; nor did I observe it. We were told that this was being implemented to save weight. I am extremely concerned about this reduction in safety. Two chambers are important since; if one fails; the other will be available. If one fails with the new design; the passenger or crew member will be left without any flotation. We were also told that the infant life vests will be discontinued; and the parent must figure out how to place an infant into an adult life vest. The instructor also said that infants will not be held in the adult vest and will fall out; or float with their face under water and be killed. Why are we compromising safety in this way? In the past; [my airline] went to the extra expense; and safety was important. Now it appears that we are doing the least possible and providing a life vest of marginal utility in order to save money; and perhaps based on the belief that they will never be used; and if they are; the fatalities are an acceptable cost of doing business.

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.

Attributes
ACN	976208
Time
Date	201110
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	DEN.Airport
State Reference	CO
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B757-200
Component
Aircraft Component	Lifevest/Jacket
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Not Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 150 Flight Crew Total 22000 Flight Crew Type 3000
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

A B757-200 captain reported noticing deficiencies in the new life vests that will be replacing the older design; including single chamber vs two chamber; no infant vest available; and no backup inflation tube.