Originally Posted by
interceptorpilo
During taxi don’t they have at least one engine running? Last I checked all the aircraft in our fleet provide sufficient cooling with an engine running.
Personal experience with the 737-800 on a hot day suggests a single engine won't cut it by itself for cabin cooling.
By far the worst is sitting in the back with the "conditioned" air hooked up and no APU until d-10.
For the gate there's probably some psychological effects of transitioning from a conditioned jetbridge (when available) to an aircraft that feels significantly warmer by comparison. The reverse is also true: when the jet bridge AC isn't working (Las Vegas, cough cough) even a marginally cooler AC feels like relief.