B777-200
Flight Attendant Current
Training / Qualification; Distraction; Communication Breakdown; Time Pressure; Confusion
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Maintenance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General Maintenance Action
Aircraft; Procedure
The passenger pointed out that there were no visible red life vest tabs at his and his wife's seat. I tried to open the compartment to verify whether there were actually any life vests inside but could not open it. I had the Purser call for a mechanic. He opened the compartment up to check they were there and pulled out the red tabs so they were visible; the same with other seats. Having already taken a substantial delay due to cleaning issues we departed. However it then became apparent shortly after take-off that other seats in the Business Class cabin also were missing the red tabs. If we had been in an emergency ditching the passengers in those seats would not have had a life vest to put on as they wouldn't have been able to open the life vest compartment. This is a safety issue that needs to be addressed. Flight attendants are not responsible for checking every seat is equipped with a life vest!
[Narrative #2 contained no additional information.]
A B777 passenger observed that no red life vest tabs were visible thus preventing the vest from being removed for use. On examination several other coach and business class life vests were similarly unusable.