How much service you’ll get on a U.S. airline flight varies a lot. Some crews are helpful and engaging. Others retreat to the galley to play Candy Crush or read People. A couple of American Airlines flight attendants so badly didn’t want to be disturbed by passengers on a flight from Dallas to Toronto on Sunday that they constructed a barrier to keep customers out of the galley area.
Flight attendants are given seat belts for safety demonstrations on American Airlines, since the airline has removed seat back entertainment screens from domestic planes and can no longer show safety videos. And they get seat belt extenders for larger passengers. But seat belts have another ingenious use to crew, apparently – prevent them from having to provide service to customers.
Hey @AmericanAir. Do @FAANews, @FAASafetyBrief, @USDOT, and @Transport_gc allow your crews to block off access to rear exits DURING flight so your FA’s can sit and chat ? Seatbelt harnesses connected together. AA2804 DFW-YYZ, 29 Oct 2023. #safetyfail, #clueless, #infuriating pic.twitter.com/iGJ1KUVJaj
— Lori Soler (@lorikaycan) October 31, 2023
Southwest Airlines flight attendants are known for their enthusiasm and fun. Delta cabin crew are known for offering marginally friendlier service. In both cases, and on average, they don’t seem to hate their jobs.
While there are great crewmembers at American and United, the sense at those airlines is different. There are too many flight attendants who shirk, and that makes it tough for those who want to provide great service. It’s demoralizing, and it brings down the service even the good ones provide.
Being happy at work requires being well (or at least fairly) compensated. But it also includes feeling like you’re on a mission that’s bigger than yourself, doing something important. And it requires respecting your colleagues, feeling that you’re in this together trying to build something.
Right now American Airlines flight attendants are in confrontation mode over contract negotiations. But threats of a Christmas strike are just about pay.
The airline has been lacking a clear purpose to rally around other than not spending a dollar they don’t need to. And there’s no mechanism to remove the bottom 1% of performers who make life more difficult for all other employees, making them pick up the slack and demoralizing them.
@alex
Of course exits would not be opened inflight…similar to Hawaiian Airlines that suffered a explosive decompression and the flight made an emergency descent. The FA’s may be unconscious or lack of time to take down their trap that was not authorized by the airline or the FAA. This would or could impede access to the emergency access.
The galley is not their designated rest area and all passengers should have access thru the galley, to walk around or to the bathrooms.
They should have a curtain
(d) If it is necessary to pass through a passageway between passenger compartments to reach any required emergency exit from any seat in the passenger cabin, the passageway must be unobstructed. However, curtains may be used if they allow free entry through the passageway.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/25.813#:~:text=(i)%20For%20airplanes%20that%20have,a%20distance%20from%20that%20exit
@bill
There is no FAA reg that prohibits standing for the lav. What are you referring to?
Flight crews do not have a designated crew break nor is the galley their rest area. Their electronic flight manual does not authorize either.
Planes for long haul flights have crew bunks. This is the designated area for crew rest (not breaks).
The crew members have probably been terminated and the airlines will be fined.
25.813 Emergency exit access.
Each required emergency exit must be accessible to the passengers and located where it will afford an effective means of evacuation.
d) If it is necessary to pass through a passageway between passenger compartments to reach any required emergency exit from any seat in the passenger cabin, the passageway must be unobstructed. However, curtains may be used if they allow free entry through the passageway
You folks missed the golden age of flying back when the 747’s first came out with piano bars, huge seats with space between and open areas to walk around as soon as the wheels left the ground. And a flight crew who loved and valued their jobs.
Now the job of the flight crew is to make sure you notice that you are in the steerage dark, cramped cavern in the rear and want to upgrade (for five times the money) to the front, where the seats do not compare to coach class of yesteryear.
Where is Robert Maclean? He could have patented this!
This is similar to an experience I had with an AA flight from LHR to DFW last month. I wanted to use the toilet at the back of the plane on the other side and needed to go via the galley. The attendants were not pleased with me doing this and velcroed the dividing curtains into place. They were even less pleased when I had to open these curtains to get back to my seat. Great customer experiences don’t seem to be a priority with AA any more.
Fire them all! Nothing brings me more joy than getting outraged about this on the Internet and simping for a big corporation, which I’m totally going to be the boss of one day and everyone like me will have to watch their step because this is best system in the world!
Not to excuse this behavior, it is wrong. But you deal with the general public loaded with Karen’s in a tightly packed aircraft, and tell me how your day/flight was. Not like the early days when I started working for the airlines.
Not surprising for American Airlines at all…..seems every time I see some headline about flight attendants doing bad things, or an airline being anti-customer, it’s usually American who is the airline in question. I haven’t flown American in over 20 years considering they stole 20k airline miles from me that should never have expired and pretty much told me I was SOL when I questioned them over it. They really need to consider renaming themselves Sh*t Airlines
@gene
No they didn’t !
I think American airlines is the worst airlines by far. Spirit is pretty bad, as well, but at least they advertise as a budget airline, unlike American. I actually canceled a trip to Barbados because I found out that American was the only airline that flew there.
What a useless article. Must be a slow airline news day. It’s only intent is to stir-the-pot and rile up people. Useless
As a flight attendant I can tell you I have never seen this, ever. This is not protocol nor is it acceptable. However, there is very little space provided for doing duties and quite often flight attendants are trying to compose a meal from their coolers or taking a break after a 12 hour day before the next service. We barely get a chance at using the bathroom and have passengers using our tiny space to perform stretches on a 2 hour flight or trying to schmooze more alcohol out of us when they likely had enough. Try speaking to hundreds of people, 4 days in a row with very long days dealing with people clipping nails, trying to have sex in restrooms, arguing over seats, changing dirty diapers and handing them to you. The things passengers do would blow your mind. I still wouldn’t lock the seatbelts together but there is a huge misunderstanding of our job, duties and sacrifices we make to be there. Not to mention what people are like. People used to have class and be respectful. Oh, and they didn’t wear bikinis or pj’s either.
Well Gary.
The exit has to be available to use while on the ground.
Not 35,000. So the fool who stated “exits have to be made available needs to educate himself!
Passenger come into galley attempting to exersize,fart,chit chat with bullshit conversation,etc.
That is flight attendant space.
Imagine someone coming into your cubicle,office,etc attempting this?
I think not.
Go suck some more Delta butt.
Paid influencer!
Will the FAA do something about this or is it acceptable?
Flight attendants are onboard to help ensure the safety of the passengers. Yes, there is an element of customer service to their jobs but that doesn’t include letting passengers wander around in a work area because they need a fourth gin and tonic or want to hand off a dirty diaper.
Fight attendants are always available either via their walkthroughs or with a call button.
I’m a regular reader of your articles , so based on your position here I am sure you would be willing to engage and visit at any point during your business day – with no break or downtime.
I personally find this ridiculous, it’s not like you can exit the aircraft at 35,000 feet. The door isn’t opening for you to safely evacuate. Like I get that it’s tacky, but for someone to try to ruin their livelihood over this is so petty. Maybe they should have had a conversation and said how they felt about it. Wrote into the company with a complaint instead of posting on every platform possible for attention. They were still available and had a clear view of the aisle, despite its tackiness. The lights were still on. This was probably for a quick bite.
Was on AA today for 2 flights. First one the FAs sat and talked about their new houses until 5 minutes before the pilot said prepare for landing. I was served my drink and had one sip before they took it away. Second flight was better b/c there was a trainee on the flight who was doing all the work and she was trying hard. Her trainor did nothing but sit and read. But at least I was able to finish my drink.
Hello, a passenger doesn’t have to walk into a gally to get anything, in fact, they should never walk into that area in the first place. Use the call button, or simply say Hi… may I have..
The writer of this article is an idiot who wishes he works for the Wall Street Journal.
To all the dolts claiming that a pressurized aircraft blah blah blah. What happens if there is an actual real emergency, like extreme turbulence that causes those FA’s to be incapacitated along with, I don’t know, maybe sudden cabin depressurization? Huh? Captain has to make an emergency landing and these butt heads are knocked out and 2 emergency egresses are blocked when every second counts? Safety regulation is written in the blood of victims. This is abhorrent behavior and the whole crew should be fired immediately.
Those are not seat belt demonstrators. It’s 2/5ths (one shoulder and one hip) of each of the 2 jump seat 5-point harnesses joined together. “The five-point harness is preferred as a safety mechanism for its high amount of safety compared to other designs. The five-point harness consists of five straps: two are located at the shoulders, two at the hips, and one at the crotch that all connect to a buckle release mechanism.”
The regulation is applicable for the entire duration of the flight.
Flights that suffer decompressions with emergency descents or are on fire will land and need to evacuate immediately. There is no time for the FA to take down there illegal trap..let alone if they are alive or conscious.
25.813 Emergency exit access.
Each required emergency exit must be accessible to the passengers and located where it will afford an effective means of evacuation.
d) If it is necessary to pass through a passageway between passenger compartments to reach any required emergency exit from any seat in the passenger cabin, the passageway must be unobstructed. However, curtains may be used if they allow free entry through the passageway.
The galley is where the flight crew needs to stand and prepare drinks and food for the customer. Otherwise, they should be in the cabin tending to customers needs or buckled in their jump seat,
SO many combative excuses on the X/Twitter replies to that post. Oh well. The flying public DOESN’T have these FA’s back in the union negotiations, so keep letting the AA FA’s dig their own graves. I sincerely hope they get locked out and their replacements get better training, a mission statement, and a 15-20% raise. Plenty on new and experienced FA’s looking for jobs.
For all of those that say you don’t need the emergency exit 35,000 ft. You need to remember that Air France left 35,000 ft and hit the ocean in 4 minutes. That plane was almost recovered at the last minute and those exits would have saved people.
This is proof that the FA’s claim of giving poor service because they are primarily there for your safety is bogus. They are creating a safety hazard in order to be lazy.
Stolen miles, bad service, canceled flights. I could go on. but all airlines no matter which country they come from are the same no matter who you fly with .
The once classy AA FA has morphed into the lazy, careless America West syndrome.
Spot on, they should be fired! Safety first then service aspect is important. Some try to make a difference, others do nothing beyond what they have to. I have had many more impressive FA interactions with both UA and DL. It’s sad.
All of you customers are so entitled. Think about what pushed these flight attendants to this point. Could it have been the fact they have to help grown people count to find their seats during a hectic UNPAID boarding? Or the fact that during service you morons look like a deer in headlights when they asked you a simple question only to mot say thank you when another human hands you something? Could it be that it was time for their break to eat a meal and you intrusively shuffle in the galley and hand them trash/ask for water WHILE THEY ARE EATING? Could it be that their company thinks so little of YOU and THEM they sent the plane off the ground with several deferred items including the curtain?
You miss the golden age of flying? Well flight crews miss customers that were appreciative, hygienic, courteous, and didn’t walk in the bathroom barefoot.
Want to see the worst in society look on any plane and look at the person next to or beside you chances are you’ll get pretty close.
Xoxo, pay flight attendants for the bullshit they put up with and maybe they’ll start caring again.
I think we should go to Gary Leff’s job go through his desk and in general see if he’s any good at it, and if not, write an article about it on the Internet.
If this article is any indication, he’s not.
The quote “But threats about a Christmas strike are just about pay” tells me that there was little research done to find out all that is encompassed in a flight attendant contract. In my experience there are work rules that are equally as important as pay.
Of course, you post another denigrating article about FA’s with no context and no validation. Frequently, you slam flight attendants without any true evidence these acts ever occurred, never citing your sources. It is highly doubtful that someone would risk their career over such a blatant violation of basic safety rules. Your attack on flight attendants happens far too often and fuels the fire for passenger disrespect for those whose job it is to provide a safe flying environment. Salacious articles such as this are designed to get more clicks and help build your subscription base resulting in more money for you. Perhaps a conflict of interest?
Imagine being as lame as the person writing this. Lol get a life bro. You literally have nothing better going on in your life than coming up with meaningless stories? Go get some of those chins removed and leave the flight attendants alone.
Seen a few commenters suggest using the call button to summon that FA to ask for something. Have you tried this on a US carrier? Sometimes it may work, but more often than not you will wait forever, or encounter a grumpy FA wondering what the emergency is. If you need more water, taking your cup to the galley to ask politely for a refill is a lot more effective and easier for everyone. If the FAs are busy, they will tell you. If you are polite, they will tell you politely.
The galley is the flight attendants work space. No one other than the flight attendant should be there. And as far as a curtain goes, passengers do not respect the curtain. Do you go into the kitchen at a restaurant and hover over the chef? There is no break room for these people to go to to get away from the public for even a minute. Taking a break does not equate to someone as being lazy. They need a break from people like you!
If flight attendants would remember to SHUT UP AND POUR THE DRINKS then we wouldn’t have:
*setting up obstacles to allow them to talk to each other (they should not be speaking to anyone, especially not each other)
*people posting on here apologizing for their behavior with justifications about how anyone who expects them to do any work is a “Karen”
*the absolute nonsense assertion that flight attendants are there for “safety”
The cultural problem is so deep that it can only be solved by firing and replacing the entire FA corps, at least at American. They earnestly, openly believe that they are there to be given free travel and report mixed-race families for “human trafficking” and that asking them to do any actual work is horribly gauche. There’s no fixing this mindset, it has to be replaced.
@laura
You have valid points and thank you validating how wrong the seat belt trap is.
Anita..are you entitled when you travel for free as a nonrev? You do get paid and its called a paycheck. The money comes from passengers buying a product the airline sells (not entitlement).
Your airline and manual do not provide you with s meal break. You sneak first class meals to the back. Your job is to accept/pick up trash and provide beverages.
A deferred curtain per the MEL does not allow a FA to put up a seat belt trap and jeopardize the customers safety. Mx takes care of any items per the MEL. Your attitude towards the public is horrendous and you should quit or be fired.
To report a Flight attendant FAA violation, American Airlines POI may be reached at:
https://faa-aae.my.site.com/s/hotline
Kirk Baldin, P.E.
Principal Operations Inspector at American Certificate Management Office
8700 Freeport Pkwy #225 Irving, TX 75063
Phone: (214) 277-8500 Fax: (214) 277-8569 / 8570 / 8571
Anita’s and other FA duties:
121.571 Briefing passengers before takeoff.
(a) Each certificate holder operating a passenger-carrying airplane shall insure that all passengers are orally briefed by the appropriate crewmember as follows:
(1) Before each takeoff, on each of the following:
(i) Smoking. Each passenger shall be briefed on when, where, and under what conditions smoking is prohibited including, but not limited to, any applicable requirements of part 252 of this title). This briefing shall include a statement that the Federal Aviation Regulations require passenger compliance with the lighted passenger information signs, posted placards, areas designated for safety purposes as no smoking areas, and crewmember instructions with regard to these items. The briefing shall also include a statement that Federal law prohibits tampering with, disabling, or destroying any smoke detector in an airplane lavatory; smoking in lavatories; and, when applicable, smoking in passenger compartments.
(ii) The location of emergency exits.
(iii) The use of safety belts, including instructions on how to fasten and unfasten the safety belts. Each passenger shall be briefed on when, where, and under what conditions the safety belt must be fastened about that passenger. This briefing shall include a statement that the Federal Aviation Regulations require passenger compliance with lighted passenger information signs and crewmember instructions concerning the use of safety belts.
(iv) The location and use of any required emergency flotation means.
(v) On operations that do not use a flight attendant, the following additional information:
(A) The placement of seat backs in an upright position before takeoff and landing.
(B) Location of survival equipment.
(C) If the flight involves operations above 12,000 MSL, the normal and emergency use of oxygen.
(D) Location and operation of fire extinguisher.
(2) After each takeoff, immediately before or immediately after turning the seat belt sign off, an announcement shall be made that passengers should keep their seat belts fastened, while seated, even when the seat belt sign is off.
(3) Except as provided in paragraph (a)(4) of this section, before each takeoff a required crewmember assigned to the flight shall conduct an individual briefing of each person who may need the assistance of another person to move expeditiously to an exit in the event of an emergency. In the briefing the required crewmember shall—
(i) Brief the person and his attendant, if any, on the routes to each appropriate exit and on the most appropriate time to begin moving to an exit in the event of an emergency; and
To report a Flight attendant FAA violation, American Airlines POI may be reached at:
https://faa-aae.my.site.com/s/hotline
Kirk Baldin, P.E.
Principal Operations Inspector at American Certificate Management Office
8700 Freeport Pkwy #225 Irving, TX 75063
Phone: (214) 277-8500 Fax: (214) 277-8569 / 8570 / 8571
American is a marketing firm that flies planes.. Period… Delta is a close behind them with its current CEO. It’s all about the dollar..
American and Delta both are becoming marketing firms that are flying planes as a side business. It’s all about the dollar..
A couple of thoughts on some of the comments here…
Correct – access to egress through the galley is not required while at cruise. However, it is required during an emergency and it may not be physically possible to remove that barrier under many situations with little time and having to secure galley carts, don oxygen masks, etc.
I DO have people enter my workspace all the time to meet and confer with me. Why? Because it’s my job.
And don’t give me the ‘safety is our only job’ routine…
Safety related duties take, at best, 20 minutes of any flight. If were in a dive from 35K, go ahead and suspend drink service. Other than that… work for 8 hours like the rest of us. If it’s so impossible to perform safety duties and be service oriented – how do other flight attendants at other airlines manage to? Anyone that’s flown an Asian or Middle- Eastern airline knows what I’m talking about.
Finally, if you don’t like people or understand the human condition or aren’t wiiling to actually work for 8 hours? I have an idea for ya… don’t sign on to be a flight attendant.
I can tell that Gene is a flight attendant in his dreams, and want to have flight benefit….
Julie… your restaurant analogy is very interesting….
To answer your question: if I were eating in a restaurant and the wait staff decided to sit and shoot the bull with each other, play Tetris on their phone, text their boyfriend, whatever… and ignore me for hours on end while cordoning themselves off from restaurant patrons?
Yeah… I would go to the kitchen to get some service.
@jim
Your living in a fantasy world.
Non rev travel is considered a privilege. Are all airline employees privileged and entitled?
Did you ask for something or ring the bell and not get service? Oh, I’m guessing not. Instead it’s easier to make up facts that suit your latest round of bashing. Try eating with someone doing yoga stretching in the galley or bouncing their screaming child. Get your facts straight before you write about it. And that goes for you commenting too!!
Geez, @Gary, I never realized so many of your readers were flight attendants.
As an aside, it is interesting that this story picked up such a large and immediate angry response. Has something changed?
My opinion? The optics are bad. Right or wrong, justified or not, it’s hard to argue that the optics are not bad. Sometimes good, intelligent people make bad optics. We all do from time to time. It’s life. Learn from it.
Apparently our “thought leader” does not know the difference between a jump seat harness and a seatbelt extension.
FA is a thankless job. Flights have become a greyhound bus on the air. Drunk and entitled passengers dragging on suitcases overpacked to stuff in bins. I’ll pay the extra money to fly business to not have to deal with the dregs in the back.