On Tuesday I wrote that American is encouraging their flight attendants to offer predeparture beverages in premium cabins.
It’s an ‘optional’ though desirable service element, in that flight attendants aren’t going to take the time to offer beverages if it delays a flight. A late boarding that’s done quickly for instance, the priority is an on-time departure.
But it’s certainly possible most of the time. Delta manages it consistently (and they have better on-time performance than American does..). Yet American flight attendants have been inconsistent at best at offering this.
You can call this a ‘first world problem’ and it is. When you run from one flight to the next you easily go 90+ minutes without access to a glass of water. Predeparture beverages are a nice feature of domestic first class. They’re appreciated when offered.
The good news is that American’s reminder in crew communications that “first impressions are lasting impressions” seems to be working — at least for now. Both my flights on Tuesday offered predeparture beverages. I was offered something last night as well — just water prepoured on a tray, but this was a flight that was 10 minutes late to board.
The less good news? The folks in the comments of my post identifying themselves as American Airlines flight attendants.
Randy said,
I will not serve pre departures till we are paid for boarding the aircraft
I’ve found that legacy US Airways flight attendants are more likely to offer predeparture beverages than American ones. Monique disagrees and points out that they’re now expected to do more service than they used to as US Airways (remember, US Airways elites were hungry). She said,
Yea first world problem…it’s really not that important. I can tell you as a US Airway FA based in Philly, we hate doing these PDB, most of you be so ungrateful. The AA FAS do it far more than we do, and this merger is a nightmare…they even want me be cooking meals in first class now, you should all bring your own food and drink if it’s such a big deal and stop whining like babies.
The most common themes in flight attendant comments were:
- They aren’t being paid until the door closes, so why should they do ‘extra’ work before then?
- American won’t offer profit sharing to flight attendants. If flight attendants don’t control profit, then it shouldn’t matter what service they provide.
- They’re often miscatered and that eats up time they could have served beverages.
Some of course just don’t like their customers very much and want tips. (Should you tip flight attendants?)
You bought the seat in 1st. The service is optional. FAs are on board to save your ass not kiss it. …Are there no drinking fountains or restrooms in the terminal? Why do people come on and want to use 1st class bathroom when it’s the right by the boarding door and extremely inconvienient. Because you are so self absorbed , you whine about everything. Walk a day in someone else’s shoes for a change. Tip your flight attendant. They make less than minimum wage working double the hours they get paid for. You tip the waitress that brings your food why is this job any different?
DP made an impassioned case that they have lots of priorities and that drinks aren’t that important (again, though other airlines’ flight attendants manage them also) and also offered that serving drinks and hanging coats aren’t part of their job, since in all of the training DP received “[n]ot one time have they shown me how to pour a drink or hang a jacket.” That’s sad if true.
To say the issue stirred passions would be an understatement. One response to a passenger commenter? “STFU you uneducated [expletive] MORON!!!”
A year ago I wrote about whether flight attendants deserve to be paid for time spent during boarding. Most people intuitively feel that they should. In a formal sense they may not be, but in a very real sense they really are paid for that time regardless of how the calculation is done.
Most flight attendants in the U.S. are represented by unions and the terms of their contract — when they are paid, how much, what kinds of expense allowances they receive (to name just a few items) — are intensely negotiated over long periods of time by specialists acting on their behalf. And each contract is a balance of costs, getting the most for flight attendants and those things their union has determined are most important, and ‘giving’ on those things they consider less important, as the airline looks to balance their total labor costs.
In other words, flight attendants and their representatives have carefully considered and agreed to the current method of pay in exchange for other benefits they receive and in exchange for the wage they’re earning for the time that is paid.
Although in fairness, some of American’s flight attendants — seemingly disproportionately represented in the comments here — don’t much like their union.
Definitely read all the comments.
Some of those FA’s who commented sound like an absolute joy to fly with. I sure hope I never have the pleasure of their company!
To me, clarification would help. Are they really not paid until the door closes? As in, they are hourly, non-exempt employees who are not earning a wage until the door closes?
If that’s the case, it sounds like they need a better arrangement. At the point they queue up at security in a uniform, they should be paid.
If not, then the PDB drama is entirely unwarranted.
Gary –
I am saddened by the remarks made by the AA an former USAir FAs
I too have seen the service deteriorate and while I understand if the flight is late boarding
they maybe unable to serve beverages – but I fly many domestic airlines – DL, UA, jetBlue
etc in First Class and they all seem to be able to board and provide the SERVICE associated with paying the premium.
Also I know for a fact that the FAs at the NEW AA received significant raises – and honestly –
if they feel they aren’t paid to provide service and their job is safety – welllll – while safety is their priority – service is what differentiates the airlines … good service will encourage flyers to return.
I think honestly – if you don’t like your job or feel you aren’t being paid enough – maybe you should consider getting a different Job and don’t take it out on those of us who – technically – are paying your salaries.
Wishing everyone –
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!
I agree we are talking about a “first world problem” (if the word “problem” is even appropriate)…but I am still appalled by the acrimony of some of the FA’s comments. At least some of the people flying in the 1st class cabin paid a pretty penny to be sitting there and this airline income is what is used to pay the wages of airline employees. Others have paid for and/or flown 6-figure-plus miles, so they may be enjoying a “free” benefit — but they did so by demonstrating loyalty to AA/US. I realize “loyalty” is increasingly becoming a one-way street but it still should be worth something. It wasn’t so long ago people considered themselves lucky to have a job. I’m not so sure who’s doing the whining here….
“I will not serve pre departures till we are paid for boarding the aircraft”
Just shameful. To whatever point Randy has a cognizable argument, the attitude indicates a willingness to air rank and file grievances with management to the customer – a terrible practice in any industry.
They might be paid hourly and the clock doesn’t officially start until the door is closed but I’m sure their hourly wage takes in to account the boarding process. If they want to be paid for the additional 15 minutes of boarding I’m sure they could but then I’m sure their hourly rate would go down and they would make the exact same if not less. It’s just a mindset issue of “I’m not on the clock yet so I don’t have to do anything”
The same people complaining about not being paid for boarding would then complain about their lower hourly pay even if they made the same. I disgruntled employee is a disgruntled employee no matter what you do
If flight attendants were on-the-clock during boarding, it would incentivize them to drag out the process. The current system incentivizes them to board as quickly as possible, and the no-nonsense service during this period is an unintended consequence. Perhaps the solution is an hourly rate once the door closes, plus a flat rate for boarding?
U.S. culture doesn’t admire people who work for free (outside of charity.) When someone works for free, we tend to view them as unsophisticated or perhaps even worse.
So why do we pounce with such venom when a group of workers actually has the stones to tell their employer, “No, I will not work for free.”
Are you sure these were AA FA’s? They sound an awful lot like the way United FA’s act.
You said it, Louise!
Agreed, if the FAs don’t like the working conditions, then find another job. Really–it’s not like the FAs don’t know what they are getting into.
Also: the wage structure should be changed so the FAs are paid when the enter the aircraft.
How are FAs on other (non-US) airlines paid? How is it that they can provide better service? Are they paid more? Do they have better union representation?
I think part of the issue is that when FAs first started out many decades ago–think Catch Me if You Can– a job as a “stewardess” was a glam job for young women. Those 20- somethings were not so picky as the older, middle age (and higher!) FAs we see currently. Nor were (some of) the passengers such unappreciative lowlifes as they are today.
It’s a whole different game now and that is why the wage structure needs to be redfined.
Might there be a relationship between the FA’s grousing over whether or not they are paid for boarding (and all it may entail) and the airlines’ endless efforts to squeeze additional revenue for things that used to be included in the price one paid for one’s ticket? I can only hope AA’s senior executives responsible for the customer experience and the AAdvantage program pay attention to this particular blog entry!
I work for Delta connection, where we have 25-30 minute turns. There is also rarely much of a break between boarding first and coach. However, I want to provide the best experience to our customers and it is what is expected of us. Every international carrier I have flown with offered a PDB. If we want passengers to fly with us, we should provide service. In fact, I wish we were given more to help the customer experience. American does not get this and with devaluation of its mileage chart, more passengers will switch over to DL.
Regarding whether they are paid when the door is not closed, it is my understanding that while they are not directly paid for the time while the door is open, but when the hourly rate is negotiated that was factored in their inflight hourly rate (higher hourly rate) to compensate for the “downtime” where they have to be on the plane, but aren’t being paid for that time.. With that said, FAs are technically being paid for the time they spend on the aircraft before and after each flight.
If the FAs want to start being paid the every minute their foot is on the plane, then expect lower inflight hourly wages. In other words, you will still be paid the same.
i am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sick of this ‘we’re here to save your ass, not kiss it’ delusional mentality of US FA’s. i’ve heard it parroted countless times to me/other passengers when asking for such luxuries as a stupid blanket (ie: they point out their job is ‘our safety’ and they’ll get to it if/when they get the chance). i’ve seen a medical emergency on a plane twice. the FA’s were so clueless and ambivalent to, in 1 case, an unconscious older man, that it was shocking. non-medically trained passengers stepped in bc the FA’s didn’t know how to check for a pulse- i am NOT kidding.
our safety? ahhh… not really. in the HIGHLY unlikely event that there is a slide evac on one of their flights in their ‘career’, that training entails telling you to take off your shoes and stay in the middle of the slide! that’s it, folks. as a ‘on point’ song once said:
sanitation expert and a maintenance engineer
garbage man
janitor
and you, my dear…
an (American) flight attendant
my , oh my
you ain’t nothing but a waitress in the sky
don’t let the drink cart hit you in the ass when you quit and take the only other job your qualified for at Denny’s. FA’s who understand their job (ya know, the one you willingly applied for because you wanted free travel) and treat their CUSTOMERS with respect, i also treat with respect. the % on US vs intl carriers is, well…. well established.
btw, anybody else notice that a big part of this ‘hectic’ preboarding routine of US FA’s is hanging in the galley messaging in their phones?!?
There are some remarkably embittered F.A.s out there. I’m sure they are a small percentage of the team, but wow.
Unemployment is in the low single digits, folks. If you don’t like serving customers, I think you can find a back-of-the house job either at AA or, really, anywhere else. Please consider it. I’m pretty sure there are people who enjoy customer service who’d be interested in joining AA (or other airlines) and flying in customer-facing jobs.
As others have pointed out, pre-door closing tasks have been accounted for in the hourly wage. I guarantee the union did not forgot about that. (For reference: I’m in a union.) I too have to deal with people who I might consider rude, entitled, self-important, but you know what? It’s my job. Full stop. I do the tasks that are part of my employment and don’t get to decide which I will do and which I will not. I would have been on the FAs side before but these arguments just make them look bad and give hard working union members like me a bad name.
The “I’m not being paid until the door shuts” argument is so stupid. I’m a teacher. I get paid for working from 7:30 until 3:10. But I show up at 6:55 every day, stay usually until 4, and then go home and plan/grade. It’s all part of the job, whether or not I’m literally being paid for it or not. Almost every other teacher I know is the same, and none of us respect the few teachers who boast of never bringing work home
What a fascinating though unfortunate series of exchanges in the original PDB post’s comments, Gary. And I never knew so many FAs read your blog!
Anyway, I fully agree with other passengers that the attitudes displayed by some FAs’ comments are excessively negative and not the kind you’d want from folks responsible for either our safety or our service.
Nevertheless, one thing that’s missing from the discussion is the strong possibility that Delta (and many international carriers, for that matter) manages better PDB service simply because it’s a better-run airline. We all see the cuts that the new regime running American is making. One FA’s comments pointed out the changes this has meant in terms of dealing with catering cutting into their time for other tasks. If we in fact know that Parker and Company are cutting back in many regards – or even of pre-existing ways in which American’s systems might have been inferior to other airlines – why can’t we acknowledge at least the possibility of the sub-Delta PDBs service at American being a product of American’s systems rather than the FAs? And if we complain about how Parker is in many ways indifferent to passengers’ concerns, why can’t we see how tough it can be to work for such management?
Again, I’m not condoning some of the lousy FA attitudes displayed in this discussion. But I’m asking that we at least be open to the possibility that sometimes such problems are a product of the poor systems or management or cutbacks being imposed, rather than of the particular FAs involved. And I do appreciate the many factors that affect dedicated FAs’ ability to deliver PDBs, as so well articulated by this comment on the previous PDB post:
Megan says:
December 17, 2015 at 10:12 am
I’m a rather new flight attendant, been at it for about a year now and I am neither jaded nor lazy. I love my job and I am a genuinely kind person who cares about providing good customer service and the impression I leave passengers with about my airline. I want to say that for flight attendants like me, pre departures are still difficult to complete everytime. I think it’s difficult for passengers to understand what exactly your #1 first class flight attendant is doing up there, please keep in mind that everything that needs to happen before departure is happening in, best case senerio when boarding starts 30 min to departure as it is supposed to and the boarding door needs to close 10 min to departure, that gives us 20 min (in a best case scenario) to have that plane ready, not just first class, but the whole plane. The first big impediment to getting out into the aisle to start taking drink orders for every row and then running those drinks out to you is the fact that passengers are boarding down that aisle. On a full flight, the min boarding begins it is usually a pretty constant stream of people coming through right up to the point boarding ends, the aisle is not wide enough to manuver through while people are trying to get down it with their luggage without causing delays in the boarding process and continued congestion. We have to think about departing on time bc I assume that this is important to you the passenger as well, we are trying to provide you good customer service by not impeding boarding so that we can get you to where you are going on time or even early if we can. Not only do I want to help you get out on time but I know that the agents job is very centered on this and the company wants this too, one little delay for the company at the beginning of the day could have a snowball effect for the rest of the flights that plane is taking that day. It is my experience that boarding Of passengers usually takes at least all of those 20min, meaning when the last passenger has walked through first class the agent is hot on their tail handing me the paperwork for the flight and looking down the aisle saying “why are there still people in the aisle? Why are there still bins open? Are you ready to close the door?” When the agent comes down and hands me that paperwork it is the only signal I get to let me know boarding is actually complete, it’s at this time that I have very important and FAA regulated and company regulated PAs I need to give, I need to make sure that if anyone doesn’t wish to travel to our destination for any reason that they know this is their last opportunity to do so and I actually have to look and make sure there isn’t anyone who wants to, then, per FAA regulations I need to make sure that all passengers are seated and all luggage is stowed and bins are shut. Of course this doesn’t always go as smoothly as we would all like it to. Throughout the entire boarding process we are not only trying to stay out of the way in the aisle to keep things moving but we are also helping passengers who have been given the same seat for whatever reason, passengers who can’t find their seats, elderly and handicapped passengers who need help with their luggage, passengers who can’t find room for their luggage, making room in overhead bins bc someone took up rollerboard spaces with small purses or coats, rearranging, refitting, taking a multitude of questions from passengers, trying to assist those who ask us for different seats, trying to explain the FAA regulation to those in bulkhead rows that none of their items may be at their feet and trying to find room for them in the bins, getting everything shut, and asking passengers to sit down, making sure the FAA regulations for who may and may not sit in an exit row are being followed and briefing passengers on their responsibilities there, while much of this is being helped by my number 3 and number 4 fa throughout the cabin, they have to call me at the front and relay a lot of these issues to me so that I can relay them to the captain or agent to get them taken care of, two passangers with the same seat assignment, I need to get that info to the agent and then they need to get the new seat assignment to me all while I’m not allowed to leave the aircraft even to step into the jet bridge and then I need to get it to the back of the plane where the issue is. It’s a bit chaotic even if it might not look it. I often have multiple calls coming in from the back of the plane to tell me info I then need to relay to the appropriate division to get it resolved before we take off, often this is all happening during boarding, all at once. The other big thing that is happening during boarding is catering. This is important, especially on a long flight I feel it is important for me to make sure my passangers are going to have everything we need for the next 4-6hours bc there is no stopping somewhere in the sky to get anything, all the water, cups, toilet paper, paper towels, coffee, juice, alcohol, food that I have on that plane to serve you with is often being brought into the plane as you are boarding, in that busy 20 min window. Once they bring it all on it is then my responsibility to make sure I have everything and enough of everything and that is often just not the case. If you are upset about not getting a pre departure, imagine how upset you would be if I didn’t have half my meals, or a couple of the meal trays and set ups, or if I ran out of cups or toilet paper or water, when I’m not catered headphones. I really have to meticulously check all of this and when things are missing or I don’t have enough of something I have to then call that department up and try to get them back to the aircraft again, before it’s time to get the door shut. Once I finally get my catering, which often doesn’t happen until well into the boarding process, I have to not only check for everything and call for what I’m missing but I then have to get it all ready to go so that I can start your service once we reach 10,000 feet. There is no other time for me to get the meals in the oven, the nuts in the ramekins, the ice cracked, the coffee in the pot, etc other than during boarding as soon as I am catered bc once we have to close the door I am doing FAA regulated procedures and I am required to take my jumpseat until 10,000 ft. So, going back to the agent coming down the jet bridge after the last passanger boarded and giving me that paper work and saying, “are you ready to close the door yet!?” I have to make sure everyone is seated and all overheads shut, I have to make those important pas, I have to communicate with the captain and ask if it is ok to close, I have to close the door, I have to make sure all FAs onboard have armed their doors, I have to make sure the cockpit is ready for me to shut their door and then I have to get the safety demo going. Now I don’t know what you or anyone else is capable of completing in 20 min and honestly, usually less time, often we are already late before we’ve even started, but getting all of that taken care of and going around to every 1st class passenger and taking their drink orders and then making all their drink orders and giving them out, amidst all of that, with time to spare for them to actually drink them before I’m required to then take them all away (as we are taxiing out I am not supposed to allow you to keep those drinks) is honestly pretty difficult to do much of the time. If I don’t get it done it is not because I didn’t care to or am lazy, it’s because I just wasn’t able to, and if I didn’t go out and apologize to you for not doing it, it’s bc honestly there was no time for that either. While my job may seem ynportant to you and you may think of me as only a waitress or bartender in the sky, I do have some very serious FAA regulated safety and security procedures I am constantly working to comply with and company pressures to depart on time, with often many roadblocks thrown into the mix. And for the commenter here who so brazenly declared we sky waitresses will never see an emergency onboard, though this comment had little to do with the pdb issue at hand and was instead just sort of disrespectful, I have only been a flight attendant for one year and I have had to do two emergency landings and had two medical emergencies of passengers onboard who I had to preform first aid and CPR on. Many flight attendants have been at this for 25-30 plus years and trust me when I say they have seen and assisted through some very serious events in the air. Anyway, I think throughout the rest of your flight you should be able to tell a good flight attendant from a bad one, please cut us some slack, if you are familiar with air travel you should know that things hardly ever go as planned in this industry and we all have to try to be flexible and accepting of it, you just aren’t going to get 160 people on a little metro tube and expect that everything is going to work out perfectly for everyone without a few hiccups here and there, but hopefully we can do the best we can for as many people as possible and get you to where you are going safely and comfortably.
James, are you hourly or salaried?
I am salaried because I am paid for a result, a goal. If I can accomplish my goals in 6 hours instead of 8, I can take a long lunch or leave early. Some weeks I work only 35 hours, and some weeks I work 60, but I am paid the same either way because I chose this arrangement.
For an hourly worker, the situation is different, and I don’t think the comparison to a salaried position is useful or relevant.
Pointster: I am salaried, but we are contractually obligated to work from 7:30 to 3:10, so it would be easy to maintain — as some do — that that is when we are on the clock, and everything else is “unpaid.”
Pretty sure that those were internet trolls. I’m not blown away by the FAs, but have never run across any so unpleasant as that. Welcome to the internet- people lie about who they are.
James, either way, thank you for what you do. We would do well to treat teachers better across the board.
Service on domestic carriers will suffer until FA’s figure out the difference champagne and sparkling wine
I entirely agree with pointster. Their pay should start when they line up at security. After all, if they really are as they say primarily safety officers, then safe boarding should be a core function, rather than serving drinks, and it should be compensated as such. Here, it appears that actions don’t support the stated priority.
Of course, the games with hourly pay go both ways; employers in this situation tend to say with unbelievable precision when the pay starts and stops, and many of those limits appear arbitrary and unfair to the employee. This is the case in many large-scale uniformed industries; everyone from cops to Disneyland employees sue over pay when donning/doffing uniforms and costumes, for example. The employee rationally takes such actions as necessary to stay within the employer’s limits. Salaried employees have other problems but salaries at least solve this nonsense.
In airlines, unfortunately, flight attendants are the face of the carrier, and their rational and understandable reactions to arbitrary employer-set limits hurt customer service.
I, too, agree with pointster and John. Why is everyone upset with a flight attendant who interprets their management’s rules precisely as those rules have been written? (Yes, MANAGEMENT – they’re the guys who ACTUALLY get paid, very handsomely, to run the airline).
If you believe it should be different, ask management to rewrite the rule book. And if that means they have to (gulp) pay an FA for serving drinks while you board, well, that seems pretty reasonable. Just ask that lawyer who won’t take a call in the middle of the night without billing you, even if the call is five minutes.
American has been a poorly managed airline, with poor industrial relations as a result of that poor management. It shows in their profits, their dirty aircraft, and their terrible service from the ground all the way to the ramp and the sky.
And I’ll add: this is not a first world problem in any way other than it being a complaint from a group of people who feel entitled to have something that is “optional” from those who are (not) paid to provide it.
Take a look at Downton Abbey sometime for a reality check on our evolution in this regard.
First off, like others here, I’m appalled at these comments (assuming they are from real FAs).
Second, I recognize that at times, there are unexpected tasks that occupy the FAs during boarding, or delays that shorten the overall boarding time. But know that when I’m sitting there in 4B, I can see into the galley area. I can usually tell the difference when an FA is busy with catering prep or working issues out with the captain or the ground crew, versus when the FAs are simply chatting with each other or playing on their cell phones.
Third, as noted, other airlines (including pmUS) manage PDBs well enough. It doesn’t delay boarding to ask the coach pax to wait for a moment at the front closet to allow an FA to take or fill a drink order and get back up front – since the coach pax would only end up waiting in the aisle anyway as the fellow in 10E struggles to get his bag stowed.
Finally, as to the issue of pay for boarding time. Of course it makes sense that FAs should be paid for that time. Likewise, they should be paid for time at the airport transferring from one flight to the next. Yes, higher hourly pay for flight time mitigates this, but I wonder if that is skewed unfairly in favor of more senior flight attendants? The senior FAs select the longer routes. Their work day may include an 11 hour flight to Europe, plus 40 minutes to board and 20 to deplane. A junior FA may working the same 11 hours may be doing 8 short hops back and forth between DFW & AUS, with just 7.5 hours of paid time while the aircraft door is closed.
But even if so, that’s between them and their union and the airline. As long as the job description includes PDB service as a task, the FAs should make every effort to complete it.
Maybe the airline could pay the flight attendants a few bucks for each pre-departure beverage served in first class. Same for the warm nuts and ice cream sundaes. That would be a win win.
I’ve never been crazy about AA’s FA’s but I do think there are a lot of over demanding FC passengers who think it’s bubbly time the minute they sit down in their seats. If I see the FA’s are busy and trying to deal with other pre-flight issues I don’t ask them for anything until we’re up in the air. If they have a tray with drinks and offer that’s a different story. I have seen many times where FC passengers were offered a choice of a few pre-flight beverages but NO they wanted something special. That’s just being obnoxious and rude especially if it’s a narrow body aircraft and it’s not easy for the FA to navigate through the aisle while people are boarding.
Of course FAs should be paid for all work related duties, in addition to PDBs, that they are compelled to do before the door closes. Clearly, however, there is no legal requirement under the Fair Labor Standards Act or the Railway Labor Act that FAs be paid for those duties or the airlines would have been long ago legally compelled to pay for this time.
Airlines are probably extremely reluctant to pay for pre departure activities because that time would then be counted as part of the FAs duty period and have a costly impact on FA crew scheduling.
This is appalling. The entitlement here for once are the FA’s, not PAX’s. It is a SERVICE job, interacting with and serving passengers while representing the company that PAYS FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY TO LIVE. You knew this when you applied for this position. There are friendlier, younger, higher qualified people all around the world willing to do your job better, and for less pay. Take some fucking pride in what you do! Who do you think you are?
JRL
How do you know that these are actual AA flight attendants? Then again, if it’s on the Internet it has to be true.
@ Travis — Thank you! I look forward to flying with you one day soon. If we all treat each other nicely, the flying experience can be better for everyone.
Hmm…
Well, as a disinterested observer, I can see points on both sides of the discussion.
Frankly, I don’t see all the fuss being made over pre-departure drinks or food & drinks in flight. Other than on long haul international flights, I could care less whether or not food is served on a flight. Caring about cookies, warm nuts, taking pictures of meals… Caring about flight attendant uniforms, who uses what lavatory…
I can sit in coach fairly comfortably for a couple of hours, nap or read, and mind my own business without need for in flight internet or fancy entertainment options and just get safely from Point A to Point B and get about my business.
I can see where some FA’s might think that some passengers are self-entitled jerks.
On the other hand, while airlines are basically in the transportation business, they are also, to some extent, in the service business. If multiple airlines serve the same routes at similar times and prices, service to customers can be an important differentiating factor for some. That can impact the airline’s bottom line and, in turn, their willingness and ability to hire and compensate their employees.
I don’t believe we have indentured servitude in this country. Employees should heed the directives of their employers. If that is found to be objectionable, resign and work elsewhere. If one feels that they are not being fairly compensated for your labor, work elsewhere.
And they wonder why we have no interest in stockpiling more AA miles and why “any” Middle East airline + Alaska miles are the miles we want for the future…………AA you are now loved with the same passion as UA and Greyhound…………you are old and you are slow………….
Those lazy old FAs should be all fired.
It’s the stupid union keeping those lazy ungrateful FAs from being fired.
Sam, your thoughtful, nuanced opinion is a welcome surprise in a sea of breathless, parroted sloganeering.
I recently flew American instead of Delta. I was truly surprised at the difference. The product Delta has on a daily basis is far superior to American and being more so by the day.
Both the original article where the FA’s fired back and this one make me sad. It also reinforced my decision to leave AA last year for Delta. I flew well over 100 times this year on Delta and cannot report one bad flight. Conversely, I flew United 12 times this year and only had two good experiences. I refused to fly AA at all this year, because of how terrible they were to me in 2014. I really believe that AA has lost its way and it’s people like these entitled FA’s that are part of the problem and not the solution.
Maybe the FA’s should consider that their elite passengers got there, because they are constantly flying every week and are typically running to make their flights to another meeting. So yeah, the old saying ” A Coke and a smile” would be nice. Service is a thankless job. Get over yourselves.
@pointster – “When someone works for free, we tend to view them as unsophisticated or perhaps even worse.”
Who is this “we” you are referring to white man?
Interesting piece Gary. In fact I wrote a small article on how US attendants can improve their service in 5 simple yet unique ways. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-practices-american-carriers-stay-original-ahead-middle-vishal-mehra?trk=prof-post
“They aren’t being paid until the door closes, so why should they do ‘extra’ work before then?”
I’m confused. On almost every flight I’ve ever been on I’ve seen FA’s directing traffic in the aisles, helping people lift bags, rearranging bags in overhead bins etc. They can do that for free risking physical injury but not serve drinks?
@pointster At the point they queue up at security in a uniform, they should be paid. That is called communing time. Just like when I walk from my car to the office door I do not get paid for that.
“I will not serve pre departures till we are paid for boarding the aircraft” That is what you agreed to when you signed your contract with the union. If you do not agree with it 1) quite the union and go independent 2) get a job somewhere else.
If they are really working for “free” while boarding then the Dept of Labor would be all after the Airlines for Labor violations but because Labor has forced the Airlines to accept them as a Union they have to agree to the terms of the union contact which says they that FA do NOT get paid for preboarding.
By the way McDonalds is hiring and you get paid once you walk in the door.
my personal opinion, there is nothing wrong with the service because culturally, we aren’t like the subservient asian and middle eastern cultures. Thats why we are very similar in the service level as our european counter parts. Just like culturally we are expected to tip at restaurants to receive service and servers will openly complain if you happened to tip lower than what they expect, but most of the other parts of the world do not have this practice. We just have to understand the cultural context and what to expect. Unfortunately, in the US, we have bred over-entitled FAs who believe they are really doing us a favor by ensuring our safety rather than providing a service. Its like saying law enforcement and military are doing us all a favor by protecting us instead of its their job.
If airlines really cared our safety, they wouldn’t employ some of the flight attendants I’ve seen. One experience sticks out in my mind, on an AA flight from CDG to ORD. I believe the female FA was about 70 years old (possibly older). She looked very fragile and weak and her movements were slow. I’m not criticizing her per se, as her service was unremarkable (not particularly good or bad). She did offer to refill my empty Starbucks cup with water which I thought was a nice gesture. When she brought the meal, I gave it a look and she said something to the effect of “that’s airline food for ya”. But the point is, I don’t think I could count on her to assist in an emergency. Oh and the plane was an ancient 757, which made the entire experience pretty crappy.
The FAs comments that they are there for safety and NOT service. I get that comment or hear it regularly on flights now by FAs goofing off. If that were true, 3/4 of the FAs can be fired as they would not have anything to do. A few can handle safety. A bunch of BS from the double talk of unions and pay us more for doing less.
Never had this problem of 90 minutes without a drink. I’m always stuffed after I leave the business or first lounges before a flight and often decline the PDD service.
So easy solution…but business or first tix.
They are there for safety? What the hell are they going to do in a real emergency? They are going to strap in like the rest of us. They are waiters and waitresses in the sky. Stop acting like your gods gift and do your job.
Some really rude comments on here. Yes there are some bad FA’s but there are also some very good ones who do their jobs well and are extremely well trained. None of us are perfect so stop being such demanding SOB’s. If you need a drink that bad then buy one in the terminal before you board. Such princesses.
Wow! Pretty insane comments! It’s true that experiences on AA regarding in-flight service have become really mixed. Some attendants are wonderful and others can’t seem to conceal their hatred for their employer and the passengers unlucky enough to be seated in their cabin. It would seem that they have an especially toxic culture happening at the airline and there isn’t likely to be a quick fix. Which is why I will continue to avoid AA for international travel. Similarly priced as most foreign carriers, but with Russian roulette service and uninspiring food and hard product.
Good grief. Why do they work in the service industry if it’s so terrible and oppressive? Hey, the economy has recovered, right? Should be plenty of jobs out there. Also, this “flight attendants are here primarily for your safety” approach is pretty lame. The key word is “primarily.” If I’m demanding a cocktail while the FA is trying to deploy an escape chute, then I’m out of line (actually if I’m “demanding” a cocktail, I’m probably out of line, period). But I’m pretty sure FAs don’t spend the entire prep and flight time using Force meditation to keep the plane in the air. Safety may be the primary goal, but FAs also must act as drink servers, cooks, waiters, etc. Passengers: please recognize that FAs are doing a tough job and have many competing demands on their attention. Be polite. FAs: please recognize that you work in the service industry and resenting your customers is not productive.
Hey Waitresses, if you don’t like the job requirements go find a new job. Why go thru life being angry, and taking it out on those who pay your salary?
The joke that the Waitresses are there for our safety is laughable at best and a safety risk at worst. Look no further than recent emergency landings or aborted takeoffs that required emergency evacuations of the cabin. On the Hudson landing a rear door was opened that led to faster flooding of the cabin. On the BA LAS fire a door was opened on the same side of the plane as the fire which lead to increased smoke in the cabin. How were the Waitresses helping those pax safety on those flights? Even if the lax had opened those doors the waitresses should have been directing traffic and preventing said doors from being opened.
Or how about the Waitress that recently was screaming in terror as a plane experience turbulence on descent into SAT? How does screaming lead to pax safety.
All that said I am glad that AA gives out the certs to recognize good service. I often request more of these from AA since I give so many out. There is nothing better than handing them to on Waitress at the end of a flight while the coworkers look on and wonder (or sometimes even ask) where theirs are.
The issue is expectations.
If an airline advertises pre-boarding drinks, in-flight meals, pony rides for kids <50 or whatever – then people will expect to receive that service. Even if the advertisement material has qualifiers next to it referring to fine print stating "as time allows, on every 29th day of February in even years".
The worst possible outcome is when a service is advertised and then inconsistently delivered.
This isn't an FA issue, or a customer, its a policy issue. Either offer and advertise a competitive benefit that can be provided consistently – or don't offer one. Inconsistent benefits only lead to angry FAs, and customers which will not help grow revenue.
I’ve worked service industry (waiter/bartender) for a lot of years, and I’ve worked salary for a lot of years. At the end of the day, you get paid for doing your job – delivering a product or service. How the calculation is made, by the hour or by the week, doesn’t much matter. Do your job. If you can’t handle living up to the expectations of a service industry job, get out. The comments you posted here are amazingly entitled on the part of the FAs. I don’t care what YOU think your job should be. I paid for a service with an expectation. Obviously, it’s in line with what the marketer and seller of that service is, since they’re telling you to do it. Who else gets to have a job where they get to say to their employer and their customer, “I will only do what I want to do when I want to do it?” Get over yourself.
@AA EXEC PLAT- really rude comment. I hope one of the AA FA’s recognize you so they can dump a sticky cocktail in your lap. You must be one miserable person to be that rude and arrogant. Nobody’s perfect in life, even you. Just because some flight attendants may have a poor attitude doesn’t mean you have to paint all of them with the same brush. At the end of the day don’t blame the FA’s blame management who allows it to happen. I’ve had some awful FA’s and I’ve had some great FA’s who really care. It’s like anywhere else, there are good people and there are bad people. FA’s are no different.
Just had a regrettable experience in J on route to Asia. For the first time decided to fly something other than Cathay and I regret it. There was NOTHING I could do to get a smile out of the attendants. I was super nice always smiled and never asked for much. But I was met with the strangest demenors . As if they re mad at me! And my mistake for thinking that a light snack was something I could get anytime between the meals of a 15 hour flight . “that’s not served for a few hours , not now”. Okay.. Sorry for asking for something for my daughter since she didn’t like her dinner served 6 hours ago by this time. Was handed my desert as I left the restroom . Just came and slammed my tv without saying a word upon descending . Was told I asked for a particular entre for my daughter when in fact I pointed to mine and said she wants chicken like me. So maybe she didn’t hear don’t be rude to me! I’m not rude to you. Never again!
@Anon,
You flew AA from Dallas to Narita didn’t you? I had a lovely FA drop part of a packaged meal on my shoulder that slipped down between my seat and the cart reading on the arm rest. The package was still closed so I went to pick it up and she scolded me not to touch it as it wasn’t mine. My fault, there is probably some FAA regulation that says I’m not allowed to remove objects dumped on me.
The two FAs I saw during that flight were generally not happy to be on that flight and treated everyone rather rudely – so it was nothing personal.
As a customer the solution is to just think of it like a subway, you’re buying transportation only- not service. Despite the marketing, that is how the FAs and management see it, so if you just adjust your expectations you won’t get frustrated.
@Mark – Thanks for commenting. I appreciate your perspective. @AA EXEC PLAT – Thank you for providing more evidence for a growing suspicion of mine. I have been trying to figure out the connection between AA Executive Platinum flyers and the rude and arrogant behavior they frequently exhibit. Where does this originate and what allows it to continue? In my experiences, people with much more money and status seem to be a bit more humble and certainly more gracious when using public transportation. There are always a few exceptions, of course.
I’m a current AA (US Air side) F/A and whenever I’m up front working I always offer a beverage during boarding. Why not? I’m not going to kiss your butt, but my paycheck appreciates your business – whether you are upfront or in the rear. For the most part, most F/As I know do it without any grumble.
Don’t worry – we complain too about all the nasty F/As. You think its bad to be with them for a few hours? Try working with them for 4 days and them yelling at you and going crazy because you put the Coke in a different place on the cart! 🙂
Most of us are really fun and love our jobs ^_^ Sometimes with delays, we have a 13 hour duty day, 8 hour layover, and then another 12 hour duty day. So we might’ve gotten 5 hours of sleep (different time zones make going to sleep not the easiest). No excuse to be mean, just something to keep in mind when your F/A looks super tired drinking that coffee. Might of caught us on our not so flattering day 🙂
But every airline has “those” F/As. Don’t worry—we too are waiting for the day that they leave 🙂
Having worked for 3 legacy US Carriers I have to say that people who get the job in the US as Flight Attendants become super lazy.
They hate doing the pre departure beverage service because they are simply lazy. They rather stand at the boarding gate and gossip about other Flight Attendants, the cockpit crew or passengers or who they slept with on the layover in detail or which passengers they picked up or bought them drinks at their layover stop.
I was an International Purser for many years for United. Let me tell, you that United and American both have the laziest rudest Flight Attendants. Yes, their time on ground is paid and negotiated and perhaps it might not be as much as a flight hour however it is a negotiated rate in the Flight Attendant pay with the prospective Union.
Flight Attendants are also paid to cook meals and serve beverages. Which moron Flight Attendant said that we are here to kiss your ass? Oh, please? How many times you have crashed in your career and had to evacuate an airplane?
The primary job of a Flight attendant is to provide service to passengers. The job listings are in the contract and part of that job is known for a phase of the Flight before departure and it is dictated. Flight Attendants are suppose to be in their boarding positions and say greetings and the assigned Flight Attendants in the galley are suppose to prep the food and pour drinks and the aisle Flight Attendants are suppose to serve you drinks and even keep the bathroom tidy.
Yes, It is also the responsibility of Flight Attendants to keep the bathroom tidy and clean.
But how many Flight Attendants on US carriers, specially the lazy rude nasty mean Flight Attendants at United and American actually do this?
For years, my stress and work load as an international Purser involved around Flight Attendants. It was always a dramatic event, just to get a crew to pour the damn water and oj. We were actually suppose to ask for the beverage of your choice. And believe me, there is time for efficient Flight Attendants to do this but AA and UA Flight Attendants are lazy and self absorbed and they think that they entitled. Please, they are there to serve you. Which “Moron” lazy US airways Flight Attendant said bring your own food and drinks and do not pee? What is the bathroom there for?
Since most Flight Attendants do not travel as business people or regular passengers they do not understand the pain of travel. Most Flight Attendants in the US are arrogant, and rude and I am sure the American culture has something to do with it.
That is why I never fly US Carriers if I can, if even I have to pay more I choose to fly other carriers. If I go east, I mostly choose Turkish (%1000 more polite and kind and no matter what I get a choice that wonderful fresh juice or lemonade and the raspberry with mint)..
When I go to Asia, I choose Thai, Ana or Singapore where elegantly they choose the phrase, “As you wish” and kind terms as such. Where in the US, most Flight Attendants yell and scream while they have gravy on their uniform, with their ugly clog shoes that they wear.
Just look at their appearance in the US? Both American Airlines and United Airlines Flight Attendants, tacky shoes and attire. Flight Attendants even get tax deductions for shoes and dry cleaning. But do you see any of them dry clean their Uniform?
So, the question is pride and having integrity. Most Us based Flight Attendants have no pride in their own appearance. Hence, I have flown with Flight Attendants who were a hazard at weights of upwards of 300 lbs to even 400 lbs. That is ridiculous. Tell me what kind of safety professional you are, if you can not even “Save your own ass” because you are too big to fit through the overwing emergency exit or even to be able to walk down the aisle.
Now as a business passenger I am so disgusted when I look at Flight Attendants whether I fly on American or United which I am able to avoid at most times because my trips take me to international destinations.
Flight Attendants, argue about everything and they are the most self absorbed group of people that I have ever met in my life. They are never happy with their duration of their rest break, hence on United where they are suppose to have cabin coverage and the Purser is suppose to divide the crew into group of 3 and each must get 2 hour rest, they end up with group of two, (no cabin coverage and perfect opportunity for something bad to happy because half the Flight Attendants are sleeping on Temezapam and Ambien on their rest break) they still feel entitled to do as little as possible. On many international flight, on United and American Flight Attendants make their own rules. They are too lazy to do a separate beverage service at the beginning of a meal, that is why you often wait for an hour or an hour and half in economy before Flight Attendants show up, (after long time in the galley eating and gossiping again).. and they combine the meal service and the beverage service. That means they can get down quicker and get to their rest break, because they are simply lazy and they are not their to save your ass or anyone else’s ass! They are there to chit-chat, gossip, spit in passengers food, drop the meal on the floor and put it back on the tray and if they hate you, because you said something that they did not like, to take the visin out of their pocket and pour it in your drink, so you will end up spending your entire time in the bathroom. Flight Attendants in the US, are one of the meanest, educated, and the rudest bunch of people that I have ever met.
I have no idea that I wasted my time, just because of silly airline benefits which I never used. Because when you fly as a standby passenger, agents and Flight Attendants treat eachother poorly. They are the most disgraceful employee bunch and I have no idea what the transition take place. They all lie, when they interview for the job, “I love people and I love to fly”….
I was a recruiter for a long time, interviewing Flight attendants and you have no idea how many times I heard that phrase, but once they get hired and pass the probation period they become the mean girls and guys in the sky….
Do not fly United or American if you want to have your sanity!
Flight Attendants (waiters and waitresses in the sky) are the most “UNEDUCATED’ and trashiest of all people. I correct myself, Uneducated.
They are on the plane not to serve you but to cause “DRAMA”.
Flight Attendants are their to eat their food, gossip, and have rumors about each other to go around and around.
They say, Telephone, Tell a Friend and Tell a Flight Attendant if you want any news to get around.
Flight Attendants specially on Us Carriers such as United, American and Delta (Northwest had the trashiest next to United and American and now Delta)…are the most arrogant, self-entitled people.
How many times they even perform safety functions?
How lazy is that to get paid for a job and they can not even do their job properly which part of is to make drinks for passengers before departure?
Even if they even elect to do that service they are too lazy to get you a coke or a sprite and instead it is just water or oj!
Flight attendants spend hours and hours, bickering and arguing in the galley, in how to make the job easier and skip a service.
In my recent American Airlines 6 hour flight from Miami to LAX, we were suppose to get soup with that tacky salad, the Flight Attendants refused to serve the soup as she said it was too hazardous to heat it up and put it on the tray and she was too lazy to even warm up the steak pieces that came in a tin-foil it and place it on the Salad.
Instead they sat on their jumpseat (1L and 1R) and they gossiped the entire flight and we could here all their detailed conversation that how much they hated the pilots and if they want anything they should call and blah blah blah.. and they even complained about my girlfriend because she asked for a 2nd glass of a bloody mary and they even called her the “B” word and we could hear them.
So, who says that we, as passengers are rude and entitled?
Most passengers and specially frequent flyers such as Exec plat on AA or Global Services and Million milers and 1k’s at United, and Delta all are seasoned travelers and do not ask for much and if we do, it is suppose to be part of the experience?
In what contract of carriage does it say that we are suppose to pay for a service and not get it or get abused by overpaid by waiters and waitresses in the sky…
Yes, a senior Flight Attendant at United and American make $55-$60 dollars per flight hour.
In how many jobs you are paid to sit around on your lazy ass, eat for hours and spread “Malicious” gossips about other co-workers, passengers and pilots?
Flight Attendants at United are disgraceful to write eachother up all the time to get each other fired and they are the meanest people on earth.
American and Delta Flight Attendants follow them right behind.
i should write a book about how mean Flight attendant population and subculture can be…
They all hate each other as well and gossip, as soon as one walks outside of the galley and then it is next and next and so on…
Waitresses, why should I get tipped in the air? Yes, the job is different. The waitresses and waiters work hard at a restaurant. But flight attendants are there to sell sandwiches and drinks for 10 minutes and then sit on their ass on the jumpsit or sit a whole last row of seats on the airplane and spread all their gossip and trashy magazines around, read, eat and listen to music and or pay their bills and do their personal stuff.
On how many jobs you are allowed to go to work and sit and eat all day and pay your bills or read your magazine?
Give me a break… you trashy lazy tacky Morons… who have no pride even in your appearance… That is why you are 400 pounds and can not even fit down the aisle and have to walk sideways and your hair is all over the place.
Even greeters at Target and Costco put lipstick on but Flight attendants at United, Delta and American are too lazy to even tidy their hair…
It is a service job, I do not want your nasty hair in my food so put it away…
And to those gay Flight Attendants, we know that you are all gay so you do not need to force your sexuality down our throat by wearing rainbow flags on your Uniform, wear your damn name bar… and use your real name… instead of silly names for a guy as “Cha Cha” on United…
How unprofessional and tacky.. is that…
Passengers and people laugh behind you…
And Yes, Flight Attendants are there not to serve you the pre-departure Champagne because there are there to steal it for their long layover..
How many times I see Flight Attendants stealing wine and putting cocktails miniature drinks away for their layover before landing..
It is so ridiculous that trashy Flight attendants of AA,UA and Delta specifically have taken the job to another level.
Also, it is disgusting how they can throw their weight around, specially after 9/11 under ..
Oh, passengers are interfering with my Flight duty..
Because someone asked for a second up of water…in row 39…
How many times on AA, Flight Attendants have told me that the First Class closet is for their bags.. Which I know for a fact is a “LIE”..
Or on a recent American Airlines flight I wanted to sit in the last row and the Flight Attendant lied to me and said that was reserved for the crew..
Really?
On a 3 hour flight from DFW-SFO you get rest break? How hard is to be up for 3 hours so you have to sit on your sorry lazy ass and take up to 3 passenger seats???
Really?
Airlines such as American, United and Delta have the worse management that is what they have lost control…. and it is all over false advertisement…
All the services are advertised and you get “NONE.”
Save my ass… haha these FAs are sooo full of crap, how often is there an emergency that REQUIRES your intervention? that is not the main purpose of your job. This is why I refuse to fly American carriers. THANK GOD or whatever that I do not live in the US, it would be plain torture to have to deal with these c**ts. They should realise that they are in service positions, and if you do not like providing good service you should be fired or get another job. Try pulling that shit in any asia carrier… good for nothing uneducated people, so ungrateful. WE PROVIDE YOU WITH JOBS, you should be happy to have a job and be working… I am very simple, I do not attempt to make conversation with you, I smile I ask for my shit, I am not demanding, but dont you give me attitude, if you throw some crap at me like I read I would take that and throw it at your face.
Small wonder. I stopped flying AA a good decade plus ago and it was for all too obvious reason. Since that time the operation has further nosedived. Under NO circumstance will I ever fly AA……………. And it should be stated in equal breath I have not witnessed a US based carrier since the mid to late 1960’s who FA’s demonstrated so much as a scintilla of concern regarding REAL service AND appearance. Getting on a US based carrier these days – even international – and one would think they’re in a biker bar from the “appearance” of the FA’s…………. Sows!
I agree with David wholeheartedly. I worked as an “A-Line,” or lead F/A for Delta for 7 years. As a younger, more junior crew member, I constantly had to deal with lazy FA’s skipping parts of the service so they could plop their asses down on their jumpseats and peruse the bid packet, read, or sleep. I was so thrilled to be working for an airline and I couldn’t understand why they were so miserable and cranky. Once you have a few years of seniority, its the most flexible, low stress job in the world! Typically, senior crew members will work 2 on 5 off, or just give away most of their trips. I hate flying U.S. carriers in part because of the rude, sour faced crews I have to look at. They seem to have forgotten that service, along with safety, is a basic function of their job. This pervasive bad attitude has gotten even worse, post 9-11. Now they act like hostile hall monitors, alert for any hint of passenger behavior that they can call “interfering with a flight crew.” So glad I’m out of that industry!
To have a Job or Career is one thing these days …Everybody swinging from vine to vine paychecck to paycheck ..Since I was a child I was enamored by Flight Attendants on National and Northeast flying from JFK to Fort Lauderdale .The G Forces / Fan Blades / Speed Force , Blue Runway Lights and the Scent of Jet Fuel…& the Thrust the Drama and Orchestration of The Technologhy of TakeOff and Style and Charismatic Crew.
For Decades I’ve witnessed Disturbing Inconsistencies on Legacy Carriers -/ BUT I have already flown as an F/A and will say this -/ this JOB TITLE / ROLE / CAREER is something your BORN to LOVE and PERFORM .-/ FOR LIFE -/ without ANY CONCERN of CIRCUMSTANCES.. It takes a Certain Person Born with THE DESIRE to SACRAFICE and DEVOTE merely for the LIFELONG PASSION of FLIGHT and being CHARASMATIC GRACIOUS ROLE MODEL to DEVOTE and serve All Passengers Equally and COMPASSIONATELY… YOU KNOW your going to SUFFER be subjected to many things in the Enviro -/ but it’s that DO or DIE devotion or SERIOUSLY get a 9 to 5 Desk job…
Remember the Speed of Sound -/ 10 Miles in the Air and a 777 at 300 tons and 300 or 34 Million Per Craft -/ Woo! What a way to get around -/ Time Magic Machines…
I will be forever grateful for my Career and every morsel of food or any promotional item given to me by the Airline .. I was Born to Fly ,Help , and Comfort with the gifts I’ve been lucky to have been born withJetBlue ,.. SOUTHWEST and VIRGIN are Exceptions …(they hire a certain caliber-/ ya got it or ya don’t) & you can’t get under the radar at their interviews. …
If I was inflight manager these crew members would be gone…
American Airlines, the armpit of aviation.
Some passengers on these flights (yes that’s you AA Exec PLAT) think they’re entitled to be treated like they’re in a 5 start resort in Bora Bora. It’s a plane and just be happy you arrive alive. If I had to choose between lousy food and lousy service and worrying for 15 hours if the pilot knew what he was doing I would choose the lousy food and lousy service. I’ve been on many flight where the flight attendants couldn’t be nicer but I spent most of the flight worrying about arriving in one piece.
In my line of work it is called triangulation. FAs are bitter and irate with the management, so take it out on the passengers.
Very, very foolish. Passengers (still) keep the airline flying. Passengers get angry, management tightens the belt on employees, not on themselves (i.e., management.)
You hate your job? You hate the passengers? You think you should be tipped, paid more, kowtowed to, take it up with management. Organize, picket, protest, dispute, relay complaints.
Don’t take it out on passengers. Passengers can be the FAs biggest advocates. And, believe me, given the behavior of some of your fellow FAs, you need the support.
Pout and read Vogue for all to see? Don’t count on any support from anyone.
Just like elephants in a procession at the circus holding the tail in their trunk of the elephant in front, so apparently does American’s Board of Directors walk the line in goose step with its failed management team, offering painfully little oversight or stewardship.
Is it too much to expect any seasoned executive on AA’s Board to be so nauseated by its anti-customer and anti-employee policies to resign in protest? How can any AA Board member not look with jealousy at Southeest’s maxim for success, predicated upon:
-First, treat the employees well;
-Than the employees will treat the customers well;
-As a result, those customers will in response purchase the company’s stock.
Who on AA’s Board and management team could honesty embrace the corporate concept of Southwest knowing how lousy their new seats are; how iffy their pre-flight services are, etc.
As a final point, despite the lay down union contract, it makes no sense to have so many unpaid expectations before the door is closed and secured. Take that issue totally off of the table so we can begin to focus on who has the disposition that merits serving as a FA.
I’ve literally never heard of a flight attendant “saving” anyone. They’re glorified waiters if anything. If you want tips, work at a restaurant. We’re already spending ridiculous amounts on the flight, airport food, and checked baggage as it is. To all FA’s who didn’t get the memo: grow up and be professional or find a different career like everyone else.
I worked as a FA&Purser for 43 years from DC3’s to 777’s and now retired, fly the world. My wishes for todays flights are bring back some of the appearance rules and uniforms that don’t look like washroom wear it would perk up the FA’s plus some rules on manners and the rules in their manuals being used. WE use to have Supervisors on board from other bases to secretly check on the work of the FA’s . For the passengers T0-stop looking like you just got out of bed and using foul language, as regular conversation, keep the cell phone down and enjoy the flight and be helpful to one another, the FA’s can’t get to everyone for boarding or deplaning or even in flight. Stop tryng to get something or food from the different areas or taking liquor or duty free when the FA is trying to serve others, the Purser is accountable for it for the airline and customs. A smile works both ways. This is what seems to be missing. Plus a little more leg room which most airlines think the passengers all have short legs and small bodies This I think causes a lot of irritable passengers along with the tight aisles.
Look, I worked as an FA for 3 domestic airlines. Pretty much ALL domestic airlines suck. Union or not, the airlines don’t pay you well for the work you do, treat you like they are doing you a favor by giving you a job.
Nickel and dime you to death while the CEO sits on his/her fat ass and gets $8- $12 Million a year. What can he possibly do to earn that kind of money ??? Only in America is there such a disparity in wages between the people who actually do the work and interact with the Customers and Management.
In training they keep telling you: You are the face of the company, it is what customers see and you are the most important. Then they treat you like crab, you starve to death while in training (Because airlines don’t pay you anything), they even charge you Absurd amounts for the cheap uniforms. United charges each FA $900 for the uniform.
Then some of the Flight attendants themselves are complete morons. Find a 22 year old with High school education, barely speak one language (English), in many cases never been out of the country or can find other countries or states on the map (Thanks to the poor American education system), many are Overweight and out of shape (How are they going to save someone’s life is beyond me), add to this the attitude many have once they are on the plane (I’ve seen it) as if they are Brain surgeons. I’ve seen many who ignore the customers so they can sit in the back and read Romance Novels (Delta).
And the insane expectations of the airlines themselves…..you basically have no life anymore because you are on call all the time and at their mercy…..instead of hiring more people and pay the CEO less money so that the people who do the actual work can be less stressed.
But this is America, why share the wealth when you can enslave the Workers.
Another thing I wanted to say:
Just about every american company says the same thing: Our customers are very important…blah blah.
But this is just a bunch of PS and the reality is something else.
No respect for the customers and customers who for the most part tolerate this and view it as “Normal”.
Then those same companies including just about ALL domestic airlines treat their employees like crab.
During training, everyone was intimidated and afraid to ask questions. Even though the teachers told the Trainee Flight Attendants to ask questions. But the attitude of the teachers when someone asked a question was obvious. So there is a culture of fear and intimidation, not one of support and care. Then magically you expect these same people to care for your customers.
You can cut the fear and intimidation with a knife. An entire day was spent on telling the new FA’s how the company will be watching their social media posts even if they change names and you don’t even have to say anything about the company.
It could be any posting the company doesn’t like that will cause you to get fired. The entire training is like this…nothing clear or transparent. Basically you are now a slave.
Having been a 1K on United for 6+ years, I have seen both sides of the coin. With over 40 trips to China, I can definitely confirm that there is a difference in how you are treated based on your status. Flying 200K miles per year, I ALWAYS got upgraded to business. United flight 835 ORD to PVG, always got seat 15A, 747 upper deck, exit row window. Huge difference on a long haul flight. I found most of the flight crews to be pleasant, and got to know many of them personally from all of the trips. There was one particular crew that had a an angry, crusty veteran that I always dreaded having as crew. She was mean, and not customer centric, and you could tell she was doing her time to retire. She always had a problem when you hit the call button for another glass of wine. But I did it anyway to prove a point that this service was her responsibility. Flash forward a couple of years and I am not traveling nearly as much due to obvious reasons. When I fly now, I am relinquished to coach. It is a total change from having top status. The money you spent (or your company spent) in the past means nothing once you lose status. Back to cattle class with no acknowledgement of your past contributions to the airlines prosperity. Zone 1 to zone 4 in a heartbeat. No previous loyalty acknowledged. And I can say from experience that the cattle class treatment on UA SUCKS. No easier way to put it.