Dear Sky Steward,Of course, everyone’s talking about passengers not behaving themselves on flights! I have never heard a topic being discussed by so many simultaneously.
If you remember, I also had written you about an article I read “7 Ways to Annoy a Flight Attendant” and to tell you the truth I was a bit put off. Do flight attendants know that there are things they do that irritate the passengers? Let me just name a few:
1. Zombie: Standing there at the door not looking at anyone with arms crossed and coffee cup in hand is an odd first impression for customers, no? Also, I’ve walked on more than one flight where the crew is having meeting in the galley completely oblivious to the customers. Heaven forbid, I ask a question!
2. Ax Murderer: Hacking away at the ice in the galley with the back turned to the passengers. They are hitting that ice so hard. Don’t worry, the ice will get broken!
3. Bin Hog: Crew baggage taking up all the best overhead bins in the front of the plane. Isn’t there a closet for that?
4. Iron Jaw: Gum chewing by a representative of a major airline? Who raised you?
5. Prison Guard: Make the announcement for tray tables to be put up, electronics turned off, etc. and then snap passenger heads off as he/she is putting the microphone back in the cradle. Give me just a little more time (remember the song?) Also, what’s with the list of items? ” This means Blackberries, iPhones, Gameboys, Kindles, noise cancelling headsets, cell phones of any kind; in other words anything with an on and off switch!”? How old are we?
6. Iron Curtain Chef: Overcooking the meals to the point of inedibility! (Is that a word?) I know the main duties of flight crew involve safety, but please!
7. Houdini: The moment the last desert plate is picked up, the flight attendants disappear!
Well, as much as I’ve complained please understand that I do appreciate flight crew very much. I just wish many of them could understand how much of an impact they have on the overall flying experience.
Thanks,
F. FC Flyer
Dallas, TX
Dear FC Flyer,
The Sky Steward expresses his most sincere regrets that your travel experience has been impacted by these types of occurrences. He has asked that we disclose that in his early years, he was guilty of many of these infractions himself.
Hopefully, many crew members will read this post and use the information wisely; getting a view through the customer’s eyes, rather than becoming defensive.
He apologizes for any inconvenience this may have caused you. (He ends every paragraph with that line)
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I am a working flight attendant and I would like to respond to your list of 7…as far as meetings in the galley during boarding, we are required to brief with the captain about flight info,emergency procedeures etc before each flight, however most gate agents ignore this and board before we give them them the ok to do so….crew closet? I wish there was such a thing!!! As far as the ice and cooking? If u only knew!!!! 1 temperature convection ovens and ice which has been frozen and refrozen with dry ice and comes in blocks fit to sink a ship!!! The gum chewing I will give you, that is totally unprofessional!! As far as the listing of devices, maybe you don’t realize how many people say their kindle isn’t electronic and that they are not using the phone, just texting…everyone seems to have an excuse about their device!! Now, this disappearing act you speak of, are you saying that after we feed you,give you drinks,and clean up after you we shouldn’t get to sit down and eat ourselves? Wow, do you get a lunch break on your job? If you don’t, you should look into it because federal law requires that your employers provide you with one!!
Vanessa, you said exactly what i was thinking. although i might add;. 1:Zombie please stand next to the Flight attendant at the door next time you fly. you might be surprised at the number of zombies boarding who won’t acknowledge you. 3: Bin hog. that’s what the person in the front row said about YOU. you took up “his” space” 5:prison guard: does it really take you 5 minutes to turn off the phone you’re holding in your hand? 7;houdini: what else would you like us to do for you? shine shoes, escort you to the bathroom, change YOUR baby’s diapers, or YOUR depends? we are working up to 16hrs a day. do you mind if we sit for just one minute?
Just so we are on the same page…..the responsibility of the airlines is to get YOU, the traveling public from point A to point B, safely, professionally and close to scheduled arrival time. WE are not your personal valet, sounding board, analyst, babysitter, or server! WE, your crew are their for your safety. One flight attendant for every 50 passengers We are onboard also to enforce the FAR’s. A much over-looked fact.
As a former In-Flight Purser for Pan American World Airways, Inc. it is very sad for me to see the state of the airlines today and how much they have changed over the last twenty-five years. The glamor of the job is all but gone.Working conditions and pay and benefits have been severely altered. And passengers need to remember their basic “P”‘s and “T’s” (please and thank-you’s) We’re all in this together. So please, when the seat-belt sign is illuminated and the Captain makes that announcement “please remain seated with YOUR seatbelt fastened until the plane has come to a complete stop at the gate”. Please do so, not only for your safety but for those seated around you. We will all get to baggage claim about the same time!
Love all seven. I miust say BAMiller-Stacey, spoken like a true union worker. While you are suppose to get us from point A to Point B – the other part of your JOB is to be nice and provide customer service. I wish the four seasons came out with an airline – then paying $600-$1000 from ORD to LAX would not be that bad. When you refer to back then – wern’t the flight attendants also good looking and fit – today – it seems as if its the waiting line for the biggest loser.
While I have the utmost respect for flight attendants, I have some pet peeves as well.
This weekend I used my air miles to sit in business class, as I was exhausted from tending to
my father who is being treated for cancer. The flight attendants were friendly and attentive, but do they have to sit in the front galley talking and laughing on and on while passengers are trying to sleep? And I also dislike how they wait until the plane starts the descent to serve the final snack, then they practically wait for you to eat it so they can clean up. What is with that? Also, the problem with the bins….I have seen the airline staff who check our boarding passes let people carry three and four bags on the plane, without reminding them of the rules. With the airlines charging for checked bags, people are trying to get away with too many carry-ons. And I appreciate flight attendants who do their job, checking that people turn off cell phones!
@BAmiller-Stacey,
Believe it or not, there are some of us out here in the flying public who are still respectful and mindful of what you have to do. Essentially, I we treat each other with the common decency expected amongst us, and flying can still be pleasant.
@teresa..Without sounding insensitive to your situation, what are the FAs supposed to do? Sit quietly like robots?
Vanessa,
While a Kindle IS electronic, for the purposes of electromagnetic interferance with the airplane the Kindle doesn’t put out an EM signature that could interfere with anything, including your airplane, any more than a book or magazine. I am sure there are other reasons to turn off and stow equipment, such as attention to the flight crew and the possibility of the objects becoming a projectile in an unexpected bump or turbulance, so simply ban magazines and books at takeoff as well. If a book is allowed, there is no reason not to allow an e-ink device.
I am disabled and preboard, riding in my wheelchair to the plane and boarding with crutches. I do not decide WHEN I am boarded–an airline assigned attendant pushes my wheelchair to the door of the plane. Yet I have yet to board on any flight without at least one flight attendant yelling at me because I am on board before the flight crew is ready and one yelled until I was in tears that I needed to get my bag, left in the asile by the airline assigned attendant, into the overhead compartment. I USE A WHEELCHAIR! Where do you suppose she got the idea I could lift anything into a bin 5-1/2 feet plus above the floor? I spoke with the disability services for the airline when I booked the flight and AGAIN the day before departure and was assured the airline understood that the DOT requires the airline to assist with my carryon. If not the flight attendant then she needs to find the person who is supposed to do this. Yelling at customers because your employer’s policies bother you is counterproductive to keeping a job in any other field. If you want my respect you’re going to have to treat me with respect. Yes, you FIRST. I do pay to be on the plane–you get paid.
Spooky wrote: “I am disabled and preboard, riding in my wheelchair to the plane and boarding with crutches. I do not decide WHEN I am boarded–an airline assigned attendant pushes my wheelchair to the door of the plane. Yet I have yet to board on any flight without at least one flight attendant yelling at me because I am on board before the flight crew is ready and one yelled until I was in tears that I needed to get my bag, left in the asile by the airline assigned attendant, into the overhead compartment. I USE A WHEELCHAIR! Where do you suppose she got the idea I could lift anything into a bin 5-1/2 feet plus above the floor?”
Spooky, what a nightmare for you. I am sorry to hear about these miserable experiences. I want to ask you “is there anything I can do?” and I think maybe there is. What if you asked the attendant, when helping you board the airplane, to let you stop and introduce yourself to at least one of the members of the flight crew before being seated? And if you don’t meet at least the majority of them then, then ask those you do meet to let the other members know that there’s a special needs passenger on board. That way, if anyone yells at you, then you can say, “I gather from your unhelpful tone, *Madam* (or *Sir*), that you are ill-equipped to cope with a special needs customer!” Really emphasize *”madam”* Hmph. That should settle their hash.
I haven’t seen these replies until today. @ Spooky, I understand what you are saying about the Kindle as I have one myself. However, the FAA says that an electronic device is an electronic device and I am not allowed to pick and choose which job requirements I have to follow. I wish I didn’t have to care, but I don’t get paid enough to pay the fines if I get caught not adhering to the rules. Now imagine, trying to do your job and having to debate with every person that has an electronic device has a reason why theirs doesn’t have to be turned off. It gets old. If you would prefer that a Kindle is not considered electronic, then you should write to the FAA
passengers check their brains at the aircraft door is a common flight attendant saying, before we even walk through the door the f/a’s are looking for a reason to complain. Grow up if a passenger does get out of line “more often than not something minor” deal with that person and stop taking it out on the rest of us.To many flight attendants check their brains before they get on the airplane like that loser steven slater “this unstable idiot is their for our safety yea right” flight attendant air rage is out of control and it gets old,this could be a wake up call that passengers deserve better treatment,self entitled childish attitude is not the passengers fault you should be embarrassed by this kind of pathetic drama. Treat passengers with respect for a change just because we bought a airline ticket doesn’t mean you can be disrespectful to us.let’s bring back the customer service to air travel. We don’t expect all the frills or even a blanket and pillow we understand the cutbacks just cabin crew to lose the lousy attitude and stop screwing over the passengers for no reason.
Glad your here for my safety NOT ” steven slater” thanks for the worst customer service of any occupation on the planet,starting up trouble and running away like a whiny punk would not have been acceptable in any other occupation,bet theirs a lot of other passengers that wish they never flew on one of your flights,hope you never make a dime off this anti customer service, look at me I need attention, self entitled pathetic childish cant control your emotions air rage crap,late night talk show host used to make fun of lost luggage now they crack jokes about bad cabin crew service,people like you are why, theirs a law against passengers stuck on a plane for more than 3 hours, hope this help’s get some laws for passengers rights against surly flight attendants starting trouble with passengers that all to often leads to flight attendant air rage.
In my experience as a flight attendant I think fatigue & work rule changes (plus those darn pay cuts after bankruptcy) greatly affect the customer service we provide. This is not an excuse for bad behavior or poor customer service but the reality of the flight attendant job.
At the airline I work for we have 4-5 day domestic trips. We can fly up to 6 flights a day (I’ve heard commuter airlines can fly more). On layovers minimum rest on the ground is 9 hours from the time the plane arrives at gate to the scheduled departure the next morning. In a given day I come across roughly (depending on the size of the aircraft I’m working) 500 passengers. On a 5 day trip that is 2500 different personalities from all over the U.S./World.
Fatigue affects how I perform at work. My body never gets use to crossing time zones or working overseas. I constantly feel jet lag/fatigue on every trip. I work mornings, afternoons & midnights. I have been flying for 10 years and I still sit on reserve (on call) so I have very little choice what trips I fly. Usually that means I get stuck with trips that no one else wants with 4-6 flights a day and very short layovers. The reality is fatigue/exhaustion affects how I handle things at work, and can make the most insignificant things that happen grow from a mole hill to a mountain!
As far as my behavior on board I’m cordial and I smile even when I feel like crying. I try to keep my discussions low key in the galley. As far as ice goes I would rather not be bothered to try and break up bags of ice that have melted and frozen again over dry ice. As my memory serves me, most Americans love ice in their drinks! I would gladly stick my nose in a book but I’ve heard that passengers feel ignored. Shall I perform a song & dance for entertainment after the service since a lot of our domestic aircraft do not have video monitors?