A Delta Air Lines passenger shares what happened when they rang their flight attendant call bell to ask for a drink while flying from Atlanta to Boston recently.
Seated in extra legroom coach, which offers free cocktails, they asked for a Jack Daniels and Coke during the drink cart pass through the cabin. Half an hour later they wanted another drink so they pushed the button about their seat. It lit up. About five minutes later a crewmember showed up and declined their request, as the passenger explains it,
We are still service the back of the plane. I’ll bring you one after we finish in back..AND DON’T TOUCH THAT BUTTON AGAIN.
They did not return, and did not ever bring that second drink. Did the passenger do something wrong?
The head of the largest flight attendants union, Sara Nelson, says you shouldn’t push the call button for a drink.
Don’t use the call button to ask for a drink,” Sara Nelson, the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants told TPG. “As a general rule, don’t think of the call button as your vodka-tonic button.” Nelson explained that it’s “not intended to be for ordering drinks.
Nelson is 100% in the wrong. The alternative to pressing the call button, to let a flight attendant know you want a drink, is to go to the galley. But you don’t want a steady stream of passengers heading to the galley and blocking the aisles, and airlines often announce not to congregate in the galley. In Ms. Nelson’s world, passengers simply wouldn’t hydrate. Cabin crew wouldn’t provide service. And you’d like it, or at least sit down and shut up about it.
The call button exists, what does she think it is for? She says it is so individual passengers can ask to identify themselves when called upon to do so by a crewmember. And if you do use it for something like a glass of water, you’d darned well better have a compelling moral justification (“It may be that you’re a mother, and you have an infant in your arms, and you need some help”).
In the rest of the world this isn’t even a question, of course passengers are supposed to push the button for service. Emirates even monitors response times and reminds crew to answer calls quickly.
Delta flight attendants aren’t even unionized, but the median Delta employee also doesn’t usually scold and ignore passengers this way. The bottom line is that it is not an ’emergency button’ it is a call button, and if you need a drink the best way to ask for one is to let a crewmember know you need one.
That said, if you are in economy, you can expect to wait until the crew finishes serving everyone else. What you shouldn’t expect is (1) to be scolded, and (2) to be ignored.
You have to wonder though.. Was this passenger polite? Perhaps a little inebriated too? So easy to take a one sided view of this…
Amen. Every other airline I have flown, flight attendants respond to the call button, and usually very quickly. I’m talking about Air France, KLM, Korean Air, Turkish Air, Thai Air, ANA.
As usual there are two sides to every story, and we are only hearing the side of the person who wasn’t catered to immediately in Premium Economy. Who’s to say that since they were still in the middle of the service on what these days are packed flights, she OMG forgot. We won’t know what actually happened, because we only have your (biased) side, and that of someone who thinks that just because you pay a couple extra bucks for free drinks thinks that the flight attendants are there for him only. Unless you can tell both sides of the story, you get a definite side eye from me.
This seems like one of those (more and more common) “we’re primarily [only] here for your safety” FAs.
I used to vehemently defend the pricing of Comfort+ because the FAs are usually very nice (at least on my routes) but this kind of crap makes me reconsider all the flak I’ve given Southwest diehards over the years.
I have a neighbor who’s a retired DAL Stewardess (she insists on being referred to as such) and we regularly bemoan what has become of the profession.
““As a general rule, don’t think of the call button as your vodka-tonic button.”
Doesn’t the button typically show an outline of a figure delivering a drink on a tray?
As a frequent Delta flyer I will admit that there is a huge disparity in the service provided by crews. Some come by several times checking on you and getting extra drinks and such. Others do the bare minimum required and then disappear to the galleys where they are on their phone until the landing clearance chimes hit and they make one pass through the cabin. It would be nice to get some consistency but that is unlikely.
100% – Sarah does a good job making it clear the source of many passenger frustrations – a point of view of labor that ignores customer satisfaction as critical to the viability of their jobs
Wow. I should be glad that the Delta flight attendants offered the main cabin frequent drink service on my 7+ hour non-stop flight from ATL-ANC last summer.
You couldn’t hit the call button for food; there wasn’t any. They kept apologizing to everyone that there to purchase, but handed out a ton of almonds. Think I still have some…
Perhaps instead of using the flight attendant call button in every row, Delta Airlines now wants passengers sitting in Delta Comfort+® to write a message ordering a Jack Daniels and Coke to the flight attendant and use the assistance of the passengers behind the person requesting a beverage. Here is an example of my plan to receive stellar customer service on the DL1221 five-hour flight from DTW to LAX if I want a beverage without using the call button while seated in 15C. First, the passenger in 15C writes a drink order request on a napkin. Then, they turn around to ask the passenger in 16C to pass this message addressed to the flight attendant to seats 17C, 18C, and so on until the message reaches the beverage cart sitting in row 45, near the rear coach lavatories. Hopefully, Sara Nelson, the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants, will approve this plan. Thanks to its people’s dedication, passion, and professionalism, it’s good to know Delta Airlines gets you there with care and always keeps climbing.
Thank you for shining a light on this incident. DL FA’s used to be the best in the business but their ranks have been infected with attitude and laziness since the Vid hit. Hopefully your post gets someone’s attention at HQ.
I was a flight attendant for 25 years, this reply from Ms Nelson
is outrageous. Answering a call button is part of the job.
Has she been around for less than 5 years? That would explain remark.
Also, this why unions get an attitude. Her leadership is questionable.
We have never experienced that kind of issue on a Delta flight . If I ever did on Delta or on American which is the other airline I fly I would get the flight attendant’s name. And then call customer service after landing. And write to customer service as well. That cretin Sara is some piece of work.
Whatever the circumstances, Sara Nelson is wrong. The call button is absolutely for requests such as this.
Just another entitled sky waitress that doesn’t understand her job.
Give them a tip! They are expecting it, and won’t refuse it, and you will get the service. Better still, take the train.
I have never had a problem. I’m going to guess we had a very entitled passenger here. Dont judge by hearing one side of the story.
TravekWarr – what’s entitled about wanting a drink? That’s the only side of the story I need to know. Airline suck ups like you are part of the problem. We have HUNDREDS of reports of entitled sky waitresses being garbage at their job, or making ‘law’ up on the spot.
It’s a service industry. And the lazy ugly old trolls on the airline don’t want to provide service. qv Sara Nelson for absolute proof.
Why not have passengers order from the seatback screens?
Sara Nelson is probably the worst person alive.
Inquiring minds what to know if it is permissible for passengers to use the flight attendant call button to request an application for the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, or the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card.
The FA union has long taken the position that their job is not to serve food and drink, but to be firefighter/EMTs who are too important to do that. Therein lies the problem.
I have said tjis before and repeat it.
Lack of service concept and TrvelWar type of excuse makers of bad service will ensure that good service is not in the near future in aitlrline travel industry in US. And in so called First class too this is a rarity
@ Gary — Well, the person should follow up by pushing some buttons on their laptop for some “free” miles.
@Fred: Wow…angry much? Calm down Fonzie…might come as a shock to u…but u sound worse than the passenger who made the complaint.
Hey unless you were there, that passenger could have been close to being intoxicated. Now if that flight attendant had served them. Than that would be a price to pay. Enough with trying to make flight attendants the bad guy. It is hard to try and please so many people. Let’s try and write about positive issues.
Is Sara Nelson related to Leona Helmsley, by chance? Asking for a friend…
Can’t believe the people defending it with the usual “only one side of the story” crap…
Americans put up with stuff that the rest of the world doesn’t for more expensive flights than the rest of the world. Funny thing is all the European flights have Unions and yet still serve you.
As an ex-Pan Am flight attendant, I’m appalled. They did the same thing to a passenger next to me and I contacted Delta when I got back to inquire if this was a we policy. I was assured it was not. It’s called a call button for a reason. I understand telling your pax that you can’t serve them until you’ve finished the 1st go round but not to scold them!
Well said Aida! “Aida Flamm says: Also, this why unions get an attitude. Her leadership is questionable..”
The correct answer would be: “We will look into this and get back to you.”
Then find out what the flight attendants know/understand of what the heck those buttons were/are used for…
Then find out what the coach passengers see that button as…. AND how it has changed throughout the years.
The technology is there… USE IT!
Restructure that button to open a screen DRINK, FOOD, ITEM, EMERGENCY. Follow up questions/notification sending to the cabins. So either cabin can assist.
Lets be serious….
LESS FACE TO FACE COMMUNICATION IS NEEDED…FOR SAFTY AND (let’s be real) WHERE ALL OF SOCIETY IS GOING.
The flight attendant will now turn off the Attendant button over the passenger. Noting how long service took to complete. Holding both party’s accountable when in question.
……With that said. While they are in motion serving ALL of the guests on the plane. ADD “STILL HERE SERVING ALL PASSENGERS” as an flight attendants option. This can be turned on to notify passengers until the full plane has been served. This will ensure you don’t overwork the flight attendants and also passengers have communication.
And please both groups, be forgiving, be calm, be thoughtful. Most of people’s anger has nothing to do with you.
Thanks,
Chris
Only visit this site when it comes up on my google link and for good reason. Almost all of you have absolutely no clue about a customer service job. Try walking a mile in a flight attendant’s shoes before making such ridiculous comments. I’ll be willing to bet half of you are millenials still attached to mama’s tit who waits on you hand and foot whenever you decide to come up from the basement or you have a serious case of flight attendant envy. Those crew members w.were chosen because they can and do wear many hats- not one of them to be a bartender! Get over yourselves and take Amtrak next time!
TravelWarr – not angry at all. Now get back to your street corner.
What a disgusting response a d why most travelers hate FA’S.
Put vending machine in the planes then, and the FAs can do what they most want to. Nothing, while hiding in the galley. It would be a good opportunity to cut back on the number of FAs too.
@Fred: So, clever comebacks…not you’re thing huh? I guess they don’t teach that in ignorance school.
Heads up folks…alot of airlines in-flight service goes by mileage and/or flight time. Someone flying from lga to bos..that’s a whopping 32 min. Flight…if you have to have a 2nd drink of alcohol in 30 minutes…then maybe you should be looking into AA
@Travelwarr … Troll much?
first, Sara Nelson might think that she speaks for every onboard or flight attendant issue. The sooner people recognize her as the political animal that she is, the faster she will disappear from the headlines. Delta flight attendants have repeatedly rejected her leadership.
second, no US airline advertises or says they provide a dedicated flight attendant in domestic economy plus. It is very much reasonable to ask a passenger to wait until everyone else is served once before asking for seconds. The vast majority of passengers understand that principle even in first class; there are certain elements of self control that well adjusted people learn in kindergarten and waiting your turn or allowing others to be served on the same basis you were before asking for seconds is one of them.
third, ATL-BOS is a 2 hour plus flight. It rarely takes any US airline more than 30 minutes to do a full beverage service on a domestic flight. If the guy needed a second drink after less than 30 minutes, then the flight attendant might have slowed him down on purpose. Depending on the length of the flight, I have had flight attendants on multiple airlines ask if I want a double when they do the initial service.
fourth, many Delta flight attendants do come back through the economy comfort section and ask for seconds; even if they don’t, most will accept a request for a second when they pick up trash. That is true with most US airlines.
fifth, people that act entitled and/or act out when they are told they can’t have what they want when they want ALWAYS distort the story. Being nice goes along ways; acting like an entitled first grader than “failed” kindergarten is a sentence to finding everything wrong w/ everyone else except for yourself.
If you can’t fly from ATL to Boston without two cocktails the call button isn’t your problem – America has an alcohol problem.
@Tim Dunn: I know nothing about Sara Nelson so I’ll accept 100% you know more about her than I do. As for everything else you said? 100% correct. You spelled it out succinctly and perfectly. And to those on here who seem to want to demean the FA’s….all I can say is…how about a bit of respect? Are there a few folks without the best attitudes? Sure…show me any job where there aren’t? But, by and large the majority show up and do the best they can everyday. As you said Tim…be nice…goes a long way…and u just might find the better you.
The call button is for emergencies. The alternative is not to go to the galley. The alternative is to sit in your seat and stop bothering flight attendants. Airplanes are not restaurants. You get a refill if the flight attendant comes by and offers one. Otherwise, sit down.
Tim and TravelWank – GFYS. Air monkeys don’t get to tell someone how much they can drink.
Sharpay – get a towel, bootlicker. You’re drooling. ‘Bothering’? They’re sky waitresses.
@FRED: By continously referring to the FA’s as “Sky Waitresses” you are able to confirm for us what a spoiled, little misogynistic cretin you really are! Do us all a favor…drive your ignorant self next time and you can pull off the road and attempt to abuse working people on land. Which I doubt you’d have the guts to do.
I love you- Thanks for the article!!
More lazy service from an airline, especially after the customer paid probably 50% more of his fare to sit in Premium. The FA’s get more and more entitled. The airline seriously needs an overhaul, and that includes better training for its stewards. This is why I avoid flying anymore. You pay a ridiculous amount of money to be consistently treated this way.
TravelWank Al- what would you know about working people?
Certainly aren’t any as sky waitresses. They’re lazy trash. Like you.
Yup. This sky waitress is incompetent and useless. All waitresses can be trained in safety. But they still have to bring my drink.
Nelson and Sharpay are correct. I am a 500k Skymiles flyer. Commence with the insults at me; I can take it.
@ Tim Dunn
“…the faster she will disappear from the headlines…”
That maybe less likely when folk like @ Gary Leff re-process quotes out of context from a 3-year old interview!!!
Safety is a skill they’ll use 1% of their career, if that. The rest of the time, sky waitress is exactly what they are.
All American airlines and their flight attendants are nothing short of disgusting good for nothing folk. Its ridiculous how much leverage they use against the passengers, why the hell should the passengers be obliged to answer a call botton either, they can very well figure themselves. Paying money to be treated like a 3 rd class traveller, while its these attendants who are individuals of that category
Decency is a skill you use 1% of your life if that, Fred.
I’m thinking the major snafu is that he used the button while the beverage service, (one of the busiest portions of the flight re: flight attendant’s tasks,) was actively going on. They were busy trying to get everyone a first drink, when this person interrupted them to ask for a second. Hence their annoyance and instructions to wait and not bother them again. And also likely why they forgot, since they had to get through serving dozens more people and his single drink order fell from their heads.
They are primarily customer service agents, though. So if he had used the button during a more appropriate time, he likely would have been able to get his beverage, without the exasperation, unless he was visibly intoxicated.
On another note:
If the purpose of the call button has so radically changed, then the airlines need to engage in some customer education. It will cause issues otherwise. Since the pervasive passenger view, held by the majority of fliers, is that the buttons are similar to rasing one’s hand in class, and should be used whenever one needs to speak with a flight attendant, for whatever reason, that would conflict with the airline’s view of the buttons being emergency-use only. If this is the case, then airlines need to retrain their passengers on when and why they can use the buttons, instead of just getting angry and assuming they should know.
Last week I was sitting in 1A in one of those American Airlines puddle jumpers to DFW, operated by Skywest, Envoy, or Mesa, and after his first go-around the Flight Attendant absconded to “working” in the front galley, mostly obscured from view (have you ever wondered how about how long FAs can take to re-arrange the beverage cart and do inventory and then re-arrange again?). Anyhow, I didn’t want to use the call-button and simply got up and politely asked for a second drink. He nicely told me I should just use the call button and that I wouldn’t need to get up, and he gave me the drink.
Of course, just like every other Envoy, et. al. FA (that I have encountered this year) he did NOT offer any pre-departure drinks (yes, that can be something as simple as a cup of water) for passengers in First. AA makes a big deal out of this as an added amenity for premium passengers (provided there’s time or other circumstances don’t allow this service). The difference in service provided between FAs is simply stunning. Mainline FAs provide in my experience 3 out of 4 times this service, maybe more. Some of them ought to be fired after the plane has landed as they are lazy and rude, and others should be given immediate raises and better schedules because they take their jobs serious. Strike up a conversation with an FA and it takes just moments to know what kind of employee you’re dealing with.
Typical for an American airliner to believe that the call button is only to identify yourself. There is a reason that every single American airliner is on the bottom of every lever airlines in the world list. Often you hear the flight attendants are primarily for your safety, which is great but also here airlines in America fail. Flight attendants talking, texting, reading during take off and landing. Rarely a cabin check after the fasten belts sign has been switched on, allowing passengers to loudly talk over flight safety demos, allowing ADA passengers to seat on aisles seats etc etc – so the conclusion is that non of it makes sense because neither on safety nor on service any Amerindian airline is remotely up to par to many European, Asian or Middle East carriers.
Some people forget a flight is about transportation. Safely. Everything else is a perk, a flight attendant is not required to serve anything.
Nobody else in the world but you, in case you haven’t noticed there are lots of other people here too.
@Kimberly Chandler
For which airline do you work as a flight attendant?
Who is this Sharpay who, as they say in the South, “has no education”?
Honestly, US flight attendents must learn from Emirates, Etihad and Qatar airways.
Their flight attendents know how to pamper customers. Economy class equal to US buisiness class. can you beat that
I’m a FA. The flight attendant call button is a signal for that we have an emergency on board. No I’m in no way scolding anyone for using the call button. I would educate them and get their drink too. Now I know people don’t look past their row after they have been served. Their are different plane sizes and certain routes can have a more demanding service, which take more time. So yes, I would’ve told them after service I’ll get them another drink, but added if I don’t come back please ask me again. I’m serving multiple people, trying to remember their order. On top of that try to remember their drink. While doing service most of the time more people ask for more stuff. By the time I get to the back i never remember. We get into breaking down the cart and trying to restock and get out there if it’s another service. You asked for one thing, but I promise you wasn’t the only one to ask. If they didn’t come back, I’m sure they forgot. I often remember in the car home that someone asked me for something and I forgot to get it. To add to this we have a service guide for every route. We try to follow that. For those who say we stay in the Galley. Times have changed. It’s less socializing and more people on their phones with head phones on. There is no engaging these days plus the more we are in the aisle we block people getting the lavatory. It’s always two sides of the story.
Ask for two the first time.
They don’t call DL the airline of SkyPesos for nothing
You get what you pay for with DL, and it’s near the bottom of the barrel for any experienced flyer. Sara the wack-a-doo not withstanding.
The FA heard the alcoholic beverage request and might have thought: “Oh great, I have a potential flying drunk on my hands.” But, it’s only the 2nd alcoholic beverage request you think. Nope, it’s his third-fourth request. At cabin altitude you double the BAC%. effect.
Double bac has been disproven by science
Alaska Best,
I have never read or seen in any pre-takeoff briefing that the FA call button is only for emergencies, not general service requests. The airlines need to update pre-departure briefings as well as written briefings to reflect that.
Samir Ben if you want to be pampered go visit your mama.
I tend to disagree. In economy class, the call button cannot possibly be for ordering beverages or other amenities. The service you get in economy is that you are served food and beverages when the trolley passes your seat. There is no on-demand service in economy. So in my book the call button is for emergencies, such as a passenger feeling unwell. Perhaps airlines should make this clearer.
A vast majority of call buttons literally have a drink or a person holding a drink on them.
I will normally go to the head and stop at the galley and ask for a drink. Most times, I’m told by the FA to return to my seat and they will bring me the drink. They also tell me I can use the call button next time to get a drink.
Personally I think the pax should be banned from flying for life
How dare they
As an RN I completely understand.
Act like you have good sense even if it’s not your norm. Give out more DTP charges and ban from flying to help stop this madness on planes.
Once you have flown with Korean Airline with outstanding service from the flight crew, you cringe when you step into a Delta plane!
This passenger was not sitting in the cheap seats. One of the benefits of upgrading to comfort plus is free alcoholic beverages. The call button is not there only for emergencies. The passenger should have complained to Delta after the flight.
I’ve been surprised that “locked seats” have not made their way into typical us airline service..after all, if all passengers are locked into their seat, like an amusement park ride, then the safety factor for the flight goes up right? And everything is explained away by ‘safety’.. also if no beverage is served then fewer restroom needs. And you save all that weight to reduce fuel costs and free up FA time to focus on contemplating safety from their seats.
Seems like the next natural progression. Maybe a non-locked-in seat would be a new ‘upgrade’ paid option.
Samir, comparing airlines in America to those on the middle east is comparing apples to oranges. This companies are heavily subsidized (if not fully) by their oil rich government. They aren’t concerned about turning a profit. You want capitalism or not?
Also, everyone else quit whining about flight attendants. You’re not in a restaurant, you’re on a transportation vehicle. That’s not a long flight either so I’m sure they were trying to finish the service to ensure everyone gets at least one drink. Flight attendants can’t win. They are being blamed because this guy didn’t get what he wanted but if they didn’t finish the service, it’s guaranteed those who didn’t get one drink would also bitch about it. And for those who say “it’s just one person. They could have gotten the drink.” No
It’s monkey see, monkey do. They would bring that guy his drink and someone else would then ask for something. The fa would have likely had to run back and forth 3 times(min).
Unmotivated and unpleasant FAs are not new on any US airline. It’s a sad statement about how little pride some people take in their work.
While some people would like to argue that the only job of an airline is to get you from point A to point B and the flight attendants are only there for your safety that dog just won’t hunt. Airlines are marketing and selling SERVICE (except AA which says ‘the schedule is the product’). DL markets itself as a premium airline, not a taxi service. As such, their crews should align to that business model or move on to a company that is more aligned with how they want to provide service as a flight attendant.
The FA was in err for scolding the pax. End of story. The call bell is for communication with the flight crew. End of story. The cabin crew, at least on airlines like DL, are there for pax safety first but also for pax comfort. Sorry, that’s just the way it is.
I turn the chime system off as soon as I board.
Flight Attemdants are hospitality employees up until the unlikely event of a water landing or any other airline emergency that requires emergency assistance for safe evacuation.
While many stories do exist over the years of FA saving lives of passengers, they are few and far between – so until the moment comes when the FA emergency training is required, then the FA serves a fiduciary duty to take my drink order and have the humility of understanding that waiting tables is hard work, valued work and much appreciated work.
To all the US based flight attendants, clearly none of you have flown Singapore Airlines or Emirates, where it is PERFECTLY acceptable to press the button when needed, in all classes of service. Expectations need to be tempered in economy of course.
I have a a travel rule, and voted with my dollar : I refuse to fly US flag carriers where possible. And yes, I buy premium, expensive tickets. If you would like me a customer, then please be kind and courteous.
I have cautioned seatmates to not use the button unless it is serious..but they do it anyway for a drinkk etc!!!
And then We have “Sharpay” the shill who most likely works for DL. We pay for service Sharpay not just a seat to put our butt in.
The flight attendant call button is basically a relic of a time when flight attendants were actually attendants, that is, they acted as service people to attend to your needs. They were ultimately subordinates whose job it was to make sure you as the customer had an enjoyable flight, and get you anything if you needed it.
With services so cut back, flight attendants to economy have basically taken on a superior, nanny police, prison warden supervisor role. Their job is now to make sure you adhere to the rules of the flight and correct your behavior so you conform to standards and don’t do anything unsafe, illegal or in violation of rules. You get a drink when they ask you what drink you’ll have, and that’s it. Unless someone is dying or violent, there’s no other attending they do, therefore no reason to use the call button.
That conflict about role leads to the disagreements here. You’d absolutely ask a server, a valet, a butler, an assistant to get you a drink and that wouldn’t be making a special request, it’s just part of their job. You wouldn’t ask a teacher, an inspector, a jail warden or a supervisor to do that. And where an economy flight attendant actually falls determines how you feel about that.
No wonder the US empire is dying. It’s because of such disgusting attitudes and horrifyingly irrational nonsense that spews from the heads of these lazy union losers.
While the opinions will go on for days, the entire thesis of the argument is based on the jilted passenger’s interpretation of what went on. He clearly expected that he should be able to click his fingers (or push a button over his head) and be served alcohol whenever he wanted. For reasons noted above, including the timing of his request for a “refill” relative to when he was served the first time, there might have been very good reason for the flight attendants to deny his request, even if it was made nicely.
Add in that he could well have demonstrated behavior that a flight attendant rightly decided was not compatible with more alcohol and s/he had every reason to cut him off.
If he had pushed the button more than once and been told that they crew was not through with service in the remainder of the economy cabin and could not return to offer seconds, then the FA could very well have asked him to refrain from pushing the call button – even if he interpreted that as being scolded.
But let’s be clear about one thing.
Gary LOVES to throw anecdotal stories out and get people wound up making generalizations.
None of us has any idea what took place and won’t know.
JUST DISPENSE WITH THE “if I ran the zoo comments” because you have no idea about 95% of what took place on either side.
Did he turn around and see the cart in the aisle? Was one FA doing something else, like cleaning up a vomiting child, administering oxygen, communicating with the cockpit about conditions that the passengers have no need to know. FAs monitor family disputes, passenger disputes, watch for potential dangerous situations, deal with catering snafus and issues with turbulence. The job is physically demanding and exhausting. Passengers ask us to put their luggage in the overhead (we are not allowed to do that because of issues with FA backs and injuries on duty), ring call buttons on take off and landings when we are seated for our safety and expect us to entertain their children so that they won’t annoy other passengers. While I do not condone the FA admonishing the passenger for ringing the call button (why would you try to train a passenger when you are never going to see them again), I certainly understand how this could have happened. There are many duties that must be accomplished during the flight and a full plane makes even a two hour flight difficult to fulfill all of one’s duties in a timely manner. Easy to order two at a time, but remember that the FAs primary responsibility is safety. If there is an issue with that, and passengers are rarely aware when safety becomes an issue – short of preparing for an emergency landing, and should be understanding if their service requests are not fulfilled. If you have not been through FA training, you have no idea how well and how thoroughly FAs are trained.
@Tim Dunn He clearly expected that he should be able to click his fingers (or push a button over his head) and be served alcohol whenever he wanted.
And that fundamentally is the distinction here. If flight attendants are, in fact, attendants, hospitality staff, as the name “attendants” suggests, yes, you should be able to press a call button to let them know you’d like something, and they should come over to you as they are able to and perform a task for you as they are able, including purchasing alcohol. It is, after all, a call button, not an emergency button.
And this certainly is a basic expectation in first class, especially on international flights, where flight attendants do in fact wait on you, and you may well call them out and explain you’d like a particular meal now, you’d like a drink, you’d like dessert now, you’d like them to make up your bed for you so you can go to sleep. You are certainly not asking for anything special from a flight attendant in these circumstances.
Is premium economy so different that you can’t expect a flight attendant to come over and attend to anything besides some pressing safety or medical issue? Under a barebones economy model in which you see flight attendants as superiors who regulate you, yes. Your interactions with them occur only when they feel like talking to you, when THEY feel like offering you service. Asking for anything else is a transgression outside of emergency.
Under a model in which flight attendants are attendants, in which their job is to serve YOU, yes, you can ask them for a drink whenever you feel like it, and while you shouldn’t expect the most prompt of service in economy given they do have to wait on loads of other people, it’s a completely reasonable request, as reasonable as asking a bartender for a drink on a crowded night.
Airline ads for premium economy need to have all the disclaimers accompanying drug ads.
TLDR? FA’s are worthless entitled nazi trash that couldn’t hold down a job in a Dairy Queen.
I have travelled for both business and pleasure a lot, achieving million miler and 1K on status United over the years. Etiquette dictates not using the call button for service. Go to the galley or flag the flight attendant down to get a drink. In coach it may take a little longer. In the specific instance of this article, the passenger was well served. It was a second drink and others did not have their first yet. Yes the flight attendant should have handled it better, but the flight attendant was correct. The person complaining is probably an inexperienced post-Covid pleasure flyer that is unfamiliar with in flight etiquette. By the way, I highly doubt if either Emirates, Singapore or any other carrier expects passengers to use the call button for service, other than non-seasoned tourists. Travelers will not do so.
OMG! Grow up! Cry like a baby because you didn’t get your booze. Seriously, your not the only person on the flight. You had your turn, wait until their done and the aisle is clear. It their job to get drink service done as quick as possible for many reasons. Mainly incase of an emergency. The FA was probably joking, but this grown baby doesn’t know how to take a joke. Most likely had plenty booze already. Just because they had “one” on the flight, how many did they have at the airport bar before boarding? No need for booze on flights anyways.
BS. of course other carriers like Korean Air will do exactly that. They will even serve you a drink with a heavenly smile. Fly some non-American airlines and you will see. The American airlines are the worst!!
As many here have said, the call button purpose is not entirely clear to the flying public and FAs don’t say how to use it during the safety briefing or during boarding, so how are anyone to know (especially infrequent flyers)? I wouldn’t use it to order a drink, but I’ve seen others do it and I’ve been on a flight where a FA told a seatmate “that’s what it’s there for.”
With this inconsistency between airlines and even opinions between individual FAs, of course no one should be scolded.
The bigger issue, in my mind, is how airlines market services they expect us to pay extra for vs. how the services are actually delivered (if at all). I’ve flown Comfort+ on Delta where my snack and level of service is identical to coach whereas in the marketing materials say premium snacks and often show happy smiling FAs bringing a drink to happy pax.
An earlier commenter said some call buttons show a person with a tray and drink – last time I noticed that was on a MD-80/Super 80 – but perhaps they exist on newer planes too…
Some say call button is only for emergency use….then why did it take 5 minutes for the FA to respond?
@Bill H: “The person complaining is probably an inexperienced post-Covid pleasure flyer that is unfamiliar with in flight etiquette.”
This post was originally posted on Flyer Talk and the pax was not as you described but flew on a weekly basis.
@JustMe: How judgmental of you. I fly regularly and noticed on my last flight how many times a passenger across the aisle from me attempted to get the FA’s attention for a refill (of a non-alcoholic beverage) and it took three tries (in FC).
So self-entitled FAs are growing in number. In all fairness, this is partially the result of all the DYKWIA passengers, along with outright nut cases, now flying the ‘friendly skies’.
And this is why I no longer fly I drive flying is nothing but a big pain
How about we check the Delta website for the flight attendant job description-
Prepare, serve, and sell beverages (including alcohol) and meals (which may include beef, pork, seafood, peanuts,
Need I say more?