A first class passenger on Alaska flight 142 from Juneau to Seattle on Thursday shared their experience at the start of the flight. They asked for coffee once they had boarded and were safely ensconced in their seat. What the flight attendant told them was shocking.
Passenger gets on the plane and asks the flight attendant if she could get a coffee, she is in seat 3a. The FA responds, maybe, it depends on how nice I’m feeling, I don’t get paid until the door closes and we don’t work for free… I mean, a “no, I’m sorry, we don’t offer beverages until we are in the air” would work, but …. it, let’s be rude and introduce our drama to a random person…”
The customer is right here. While Alaska Airlines in particular isn’t known for offering predeparture beverages (other than water) in first class, the issue isn’t the drink it’s bringing contract issues into the cabin with customers.
- Not doing predeparture beverages in first class is a huge missed opportunity. American Airlines, which has its own predeparture beverage challenges, found that they are a key driver of premium customer satisfaction.And when customers are sitting in first class, having boarded first, with a drink in their hands happy that is marketing to every customer walking by them who might someday buy that premium product too.
- If a decision has been mad not to have it as a service element – at the end of the pandemic, American surveyed whether they really needed to bring this back – then politely saying though would suffice.
- But galley gossip within earshot of customers is bad enough – complaining about matters between them and the company is far worse.
The contract that Alaska Airlines voted down offered 32% raises over 3 years, retro pay, and boarding pay.
But the idea that flight attendants ‘aren’t being paid until doors close’ is perhaps one of the biggest misunderstandings cabin crew have.
- Hourly rates paid for flight time are meant to include time spent boarding and deplaning.
- Unions generally had not pushed for boarding pay, because they preferred higher hourly rates instead. That’s because senior union members tend to take fewer, longer flights and benefit more than higher wages. It’s a way of redistributing pay from junior employees to employees with greater seniority.
- Then non-union Delta introduced boarding pay as a true add-on. It was on top of existing pay. And unions had to start negotiating for it. Delta had embarrassed them.
- But in contracts like the new one at American, some senior flight attendants have been unhappy – they know this isn’t free money, and boarding pay means lower pay rates than they would have been able to negotiate otherwise. It is money out of senior crew pockets back into the hands of junior crew (who are the ones paid very little, that have been the face of union bargaining campaigns).
Alaska Airlines usually provides good service, though it frequently isn’t as good as it used to be. Maybe it’s having absorbed Virgin America? They’re going to be digesting Hawaiian now, which surprisingly doesn’t have as good a service offering as you’d expect.
They’ll integrate seniority lists, which can be rocky, though they promise to maintain separate brands which at least allows some continuity in existing service standards if they so choose. (This will be interesting, when legacy Alaska crew work Hawaiian flights and vice versa, so some standardization is going to be needed.)
The needy and entitled sit up front..I feel sorry for the attendants at times..having to deal with the public in general can be a traumatic experience, especially in a airplane..The Karen’s and Kevins at 30,000 ft.
I feel like it was a joke a lotta customer service workers make that just didn’t land. FA should know their first class audience a bit better, but it just shows how outta touch yall are more than how rude the FA was. If your ExPeRiEnCe is more important than whether a FA knows they’re getting paid, you should rethink your priorities. Employees that know they’re getting paid don’t make jokes about not getting paid. Even if you don’t think it’s a joke, the sentiment still stands, I don’t get how you think this is on the employee. Why should your ExPeRiEnCe matter to someone who isn’t on the clock?
Seriously, would love to know when the last time someone in first class had to wonder whether they were getting paid at work. I would bet money I don’t have on never.
This is the problem with US Carriers, I’m American and fly extensively to Asia, over 1M miles flown in over 900 flights in 5 yrs, every foreign Carrier i fly has exceptional service and offers a fair product, I can fly to the Philippines for as little as $500 if I was economy, I fly BC, when I booked a flight from Seattle to LA, $585, i was booking Dekta their site froze, my fare was ,$285, After I started over on their site in 5 mins it skrocketd to over $700 same flight same everything, us carries SUCK, and us Business class abmnd first class 100% do not exist, if I’m flying overseas, I make sure my carrier is the one I’m booking, not some code share crap with me on AA or united, I 100% refuse American carriers, i flew to Canada, on Air Canada, it’s another country, oh but it’s NOT INTERNATIONAL ! WHAT ! I GOT SCREED FOR BAGGAGE FEES, CANADA. I WILL NEVER FLY TO EVER AGAIN, I HATED THE PLACE,
Delta provide preflight beverages to first class.
While I don’t agree with the attendant’s approach, if management at Alaska were serious about providing an adequate contract, Flight Attendants wouldn’t be bringing these issues into the cabin.
@ David Kines. On a single aisle aircraft with 8 First Class seats it’s pretty easy to see how many are “needy and entitled sit up front”. It’s been my experience that there are VERY FEW. Most seem to, like myself, just want the extra space after enduring Economy for many years. We don’t pay 4 to 8 times the Economy fare just for a predeparture beverage, snack or meal. Stick around David, it’s not a matter of feeling entitled it’s a matter of comfort.
I just flew Alaska, free upgrade to first class on a short connection. They held the boarding line while they served water, juice or coffee. Maybe it’s at the departure location discretion to serve? Or the FA was just having a bad day?
She pays good money for her seat. Flight attendant was rude as far as I feel. She could have reworded it differently and been polite. Instead chose a rude response.
And these A holes want more $$$
I would like to clear a a mistake that was stated. “Hourly rates paid for flight time are meant to include time spent boarding and deplaning.” First off Flight Attendants pay does not start until push-back! (Alaska). The pay for boarding is their pre-diem which is $2.00 hrs…Who works for $2.00 hr?…. Second the boarding pay that was offered was not the “full” pay when boarding starts. Again are you paid in full, the minute you start work? Third if the airlines would have first class boarded like the “old days” where there was about 10mins lag, before general boarding starts…so the FA could provide pre-departure drinks. Instead the airlines want the FA to “STOP BOARDING” so they can run through the cabin with the coffee, OJ, H20, while boarding is backed up in the jetway, agents are worried about “on time departure” which then cause stress between the agents and FA. As far as the Contract being votes down, the FA have not had an increase of pay for at least 10yrs. Their pay has not kept up with inflation. There are FA that are living out of their cars because they cannot afford the increase of housing. The contract that was offered also had to many “open ended offers. and many more. As I feel the FA could have handle the situation in a more professional manner, there are some that are just feed up.
This post is EXACTLY why we need to get money out of politics. God forbid first class passengers (me being one of them) learn about the hardships FA’s face on a daily basis and the status of their contract. The rich are so greedy that they now need to be shealded from the hardships of the working class? Gtfo. Just observing what they have to do deal with during boarding is absolutely ridiculous, and crying over a damn pre-departure drink just shows how entitled the wealthy are. Maybe if you simply showed some solidarity with them, they’d have a different “view from the click bait wing.”
This is very unlike Alaska Airlines, I have flown many, many miles with them and they usually better than any US airline (Dean, I flew Air Canada too and it was bad, they weren’t rude they were petty and hostile)
Was in first last Sunday on the AUS-SFO flight. My breakfast was served cold – could feel the temperature of the sausage before taking a bite – and the only services were breakfast and taking back the trays. Never came back through for drink refills or to take empty cups / glasses.
Best to avoid all US-based airlines if you can.
Some of the comments in here are beautiful. Rich, entitled, out of touch… God forbid someone asks for a coffee, only to get chastised about union contracts and pay rates. It’s nobody’s business. Talk to your union rep, fight for change, but the passengers can’t help you with that. People are glorifying FA’s. You are baristas at 30k feet… customer service is customer service, leave your problems at the door and excel on the floor and all that jazz…. Furthermore, Juneau is the only departure I have ever flown with Alaska that does not offer a pre flight drink. All other airports offer one. And last but not least, I spend a lot of money to fly First class, because I need legroom. Not because I’m entitled, though, from of these comments, I should be.
Delta, is my preferred American based airlines. Delta does offer pre-service. First class seating includes those customers who pay for convenience and comfort of that cabin and those who receive complimentary upgrades for their loyalty. Being in first class does not speak to an entitlement mindset. However, weather in first class or other classes a customer asking a question does not warrant unloading your workplace grievances. I remember being in main cabin and needing some water to take medicine. When I asked a flight attendant she was gracious and brought me water. She then said just ask if you need anything else. So while we all want to be adequately paid for the work, customer service and human kindness should go together.
Finally, shame on the industry for not creating a valued work environment for these workers. Feeling value can be equated with pay often ca be manifested in work benefits and recognition too.
this employee is going to grow old and retire as an employee to live off terribly on her pittance pension, that is, if she doesnt get fired before she gets there.
that “employee mindset” is not helping her, it’s weighing her down, making her callous and angry of her work. why spill it on the client? if you can’t provide good service and afford respect to your client, then resign. You don’t deserve the job, you don’t deserve the salary, there are a lot more other nice people out there who knows how to convey messages in. a nice way, without hurting clients’ feelings.
TheDudeWhoSaysItAll summed it up nicely, as does DMK Travelor. Service is service. Your job is to be friendly, nice, and helpful. No matter what industry. Do not ply your customers with employment issues. Period. They truly have no power to change something out of their control. Also, getting beverages for 8/12 people builds brand loyalty and makes for happy clients. Is that really that difficult? I comprehend the resentment for off the clock tasks but it boils down to the employer, whose responsibility and value to their employees is the crux of the problem. Take the fight there.
I am favor of FAs, I found out about they being paid only when wheels are up, frankly is dishonest, the CEO got huge bonus, and the real people working have to fight for their salaries, some passengers should just sit down and wait a little bit,or buy your own damn plane.
Having worked for 50 years in a grocery store in a small community in Canada, my worst customers were the ones with money.
It’s a grocery store but they would make demands and requests that the average person would not ask for.
They treated the employees as if they were paying their wages.
You have the right to be offended in America. But telling a worldwide audience this silly exchange is really petty. People are going to do or say things that are offensive to us all. It is part of life. I do believe that the FA was not trying to be rude.
As a retired Hawaiian Airlines employee I take exception to your comment “ They’re going to be digesting Hawaiian now, which surprisingly doesn’t have as good a service offering as you’d expect.” during our travels I find Hawaiian’s service superior to other US based airlines.
Curtesy is expected regardless of which class the passenger is seated. Ir’s nice to be nice. The FA’s issue is not the passenger’s and the FA’s response should have been anything other than rude. But people are people and sometimes they wear their problems in the open. Perhaps not having the job would be better and the FA would not have complained. So if the complaint is a valid one, does the passenger actually negotiate the FA’s salary? No! To the point, the FA should be respectful to their customer and take up the issue with their employer. And if she wasn’t “feeling” so well that day as she said it depends on how she’s feeling, then a sick day would have been better for everyone.
PS: add this story to the famous Travelers Tales printed in various magazines
He asked for coffee, not a snotty lecture. No one forced the FA into that job. Other people Want that job. This person may very well be working during that flight. At no extra pay. He may be on his way to a funeral or a hospital and first class was the only seat available. The FA doesn’t know his situation and the passenger shouldn’t have to explain. Coffee is a simple request. All that is required is ” I’m sorry, we can’t serve your coffee until we are in the air. But I’ll bring it to you as soon as I can.”
It would have been courteous and faster. And not generated ill-will.
I have asked, as I was boarding, if coffee would be served. Most often the FAs were very kind and brought it to me. And I mostly travel in coach.
The flight he was on is long enough for that FA to have had time to ruminate on her comment and go up and apologize to that man. Every flight on Alaska generates a questionnaire about the flight and the service received. So even if she wasn’t sorry about her outburst, she should’ve considered a possible consequence.
The problem is that passengers want to carry on all of their baggage to save time and cost. The FAs are doing the work of baggage handlers as well as getting all customers safely seated for on time takeoff. If you can afford to fly first class, you can afford to stop at Starbucks before boarding. You will have plenty of time to complain about the service once the plane is in the air. Whining and entitlement seem immature compared to the over reaction of a FA.