Comments on: The Sky is Falling – in America Anyway

By: Jimmy

Jimmy — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:36:07 +0000

Hi Desiree. No, I have not heard the story you describe but I have heard similar stories that sounded like over-reactions by flight attendants to that sort of situation. In a comment above PJ (a flight attendant herself) says she believes that FAA oversight has little to do with flight attendant stress or rudeness. The flight attendants I met on Friday would disagree, and they felt that no one should be fined for passenger behavior other than passengers. Without more input from others in the industry I’m not sure what to conclude, but the amounts described above seem excessive to me. And under any circumstances, FAA oversight on that sort of thing while unsafe plans are getting the nod from FAA personnel seems ridiculous. Seems like a big case of misplaced focus to me.

By: Desiree

Desiree — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:27:28 +0000

If that bit about the flight attendants being monitored and fined excessive amounts is true, then I have quite a bit more sympathy for the flight attendant who recently wouldn’t allow a mother to keep a bag under her feet with playthings for her autistic son. Did you hear about that whole ordeal? Most seemed to blame the attendant, but that sheds new light on the situation.

By: Jimmy

Jimmy — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:29:51 +0000

Thanks Ted, that’s kind of you. Especially calling my comments concise. I’m afraid I tend to get a bit long-winded when I climb on the soapbox…

By: Ted Hill

Ted Hill — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:29:17 +0000

Wow. Thought I was the only one. I think you’ve nailed just about everything that is wrong with the flight industry in more concise words than I could articulate myself. Excellent.

By: Jimmy

Jimmy — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 21:07:05 +0000

It’s hard to disagree with anything you have to say here PJ. Yes, my flight attendants in this case were very nice – even “old school” you might say – and they seemed truly saddened that they couldn’t do their jobs the way they used to, the way that the preferred.

There is no doubt that the flying public has become rather more coarse in the time that I’ve been flying. A few years ago when I saw a loud, disheveled man flip-flop on board with his things thrown up overhead in a trash bag I knew that things had gone far downhill. In fact, I’d say that I’m irritated about 100 times more often by my fellow passengers than flight attendants. Most airline staff that I’ve interacted with have been very pleasant – even when the pain of air travel has left me irritable.

Maybe someday we’ll get something out of the FAA more than wasted money and time, and actually get the new traffic control system and higher capacity that we all deserve from our taxes and departure fees. Until then I think it’s going to be more unpleasant for all of us.

What is your opinion of these postings on the rather large fines noted on the APFA web site? Do you think these stories are overblown, untrue or examples of delinquent staff being justly punished?

Regards,

Jimmy

By: pj

pj — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 19:04:35 +0000

In response to The Sky is falling. I would like to assure you that it’s not the FAA that is making flight attendants rude to passengers, it’s the fa’s themselves. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against flight attendants, because I just happen to be one. The FAA does not waste their time and money watching us that closely. We are at the bottom of their concerns right now. There are, however, people from the airline that we’re employed at that sometimes do what we call a “ghost ride” to see if we’re doing our jobs properly, but that doesn’t happen all to often either. Do and can flight attendants get fined? Absolutely. We have certain guidelines to follow for a reason. There are more good fa’s than not, so I don’t want anyone getting angry with me out there. We’ve all worked with the fa that just didn’t like people for whatever reason. But with so many airlines now, that means more flight attendants, and there are just too many who should not be working with the public. As for airline travel, I do agree with you. It’s not the way it used to be, but also people don’t take into consideration that in the good days of flying, it was mostly for the upper class and the wealthy, and the percentage of flyers were business men and women. Now everyone flies. As for the cost of flying, it’s not cheap, there are many costs that the airlines have that the common person just doesn’t know about. And it shouldn’t be cheap. The airlines in the past weren’t used because they were cheaper, they were used because they were more productive for the business man. Quicker and it also allowed for more prep time for those important business meetings and last minute business deals. It’s true that there are more delays and problems with the airlines, but it’s also true that there are many more airlines than ever before. The congestion in the sky is kind of a scary thing. Air traffic is ridiculous. Especially in the New York area. So much congestion. You have JFK, LaGaurdia,Newark and other airports close by such as PHL. And when you realize how many more airlines are occupying those airports compared to years ago, then you may start to understand some of the delays. I certainly agree with you that something should be done about that. It’s a safety issue more than anything. But I’m getting way off the point I was trying to make about fa’s. I have never been rude to a customer even when they have been rude to me. I try to put myself in their shoes, they’re tired and probably fed up with the airline industry as well. But I also know that they are not really angry at me, and the majority of the time, they don’t mean to be that way towards the flight attendant. I hope that you experience in the future more flight attendants who actually care about their passengers and really are concerned about you, because we are out here, I promise, and if you were on my flight and we were at a “safe” altitude, I would certainly warn you that the seatbelt sign is still on, but I wouldn’t stop you from using the lav. When you gotta go, you gotta go! Some flight attendant just have this power trip thing going on. I just don’t understand that behavior. We as flight attendants, of course, are there mostly for safety reasons, that is our number one goal, but we are also there to serve our passengers and help them out in any situation if we’re able. Good luck with future flying. Hope you always get a kind fa. (I would just like to say, that I’m not implying that the fa’s you encountered that told you these things were not kind, but you just can’t believe everything you hear). The FAA is not the reason for rude flight attendants.