Ridiculous or not: Do flight attendants really hate us?

When, exactly, did flight attendants stop caring about us?

I ask for two reasons: First, because of the luscious new trailers for the upcoming TV show Pan Am (see clip, above), which depicts svelte young stewardesses – yes, that’s what they were called back then – serving passengers.

Hard to swallow, that one. But yes, they served passengers back in the day.

And second, because of the preponderance of horror stories from readers like you that suggest things have gone too far in the other direction. That far from the “coffee, tea, or me?” stereotypes of pre-deregulation air travel, modern-day flight attendants employers actually hate us.

Well, “hate” may be too strong a word. How about “strongly dislike”?

Consider the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index numbers. Here are the 10 worst-performing companies, according to the survey. The score you see next to the company is on a scale of 1 to 100.

1. Pepco Holdings (54)
2. Delta Air Lines (56)
3. Time Warner Cable (59)
4. Comcast (59)
5. Charter Communications (59)
6. United Airlines (61)
7. US Airways (62)
8. American Airlines (63)
9. Continental (64)
10. UnitedHealth (65)

That’s five airlines in the top 10. You have to work pretty hard to pull in that kind of performance, and it can only happen with the full cooperation of your employees.

But it’s the stories from passengers like you that make me wonder if the love has turned to hate. And I’m not even talking about the headline-grabbing reports like flight attendant Steven Slater’s meltdown on JetBlue Airways.

Lea McFall was flying from India back to the States when one of her friends started feeling a little ill. The likely cause was her final meal in Delhi. She had a severe case of food poisoning.

“She was sick in the restroom for quite a while, completely ignored by the flight attendants,” she says. “And she was in the back of the plane, in their hangout area.”

When she mentioned that she was concerned her friend might need medical attention, a flight attendant shrugged her off, telling her, “This happens all the time.”

Her friend tried to lie down on several empty seats, but a purser shook her awake and told her those seats belonged to the crewmembers.

“I couldn’t believe how rude the flight attendants were about it,” she says. “We felt completely helpless, and they didn’t seem to care at all that she was sick – only cared about having a place to sit for their break.”

Her friend eventually recovered, but McFall’s faith in American Airlines was shaken. She says she’ll avoid the carrier, if possible.

Reader Nancy Hicks tells another story of crewmember callousness. She was flying with crutches after a recent foot operation, and notified United Airlines she’d need a wheelchair at the airport. Instead, she was greeted by a “surly” skycap who waved her into the terminal without trying to help.

“That’s where the wheelchair people all wait,” he yelled. “Everyone knows that.”

She eventually had to board the small regional jet by herself in crutches, in the pouring rain.

“Not a single person from the airline even attempted to help me or find another way to get me onto the plane,” she says. (She is, of course, referring to the flight attendants who she assumed would lend her a hand, but didn’t.)

I get stories like hers on an almost-daily basis, from flight attendants who refuse to help you stow your luggage in the overhead bin because it’s against union rules, to crewmembers just being indifferent or just plain rude.

And while I understand the reasons behind some of them – for example, lifting luggage can be one of the main causes of injuries among crewmembers, and let’s not overlook management’s role in all of this – there’s really never an excuse to be impolite.

I’m especially troubled by a saying that’s used a lot, mostly privately, among flight attendants: “We’re here to save your butt – not kiss it.”

If the “service” element had actually been stripped out of the flight attendant’s job description, then why not hire security guards or EMTs to take their place? Wouldn’t they do a far more efficient job of saving or protecting lives? (Also, their uniforms would be cheaper.)

No, I don’t think all flight attendants hate us. But too many of them seem to, according to passengers.

That’s no way to fly.

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  • cjr

    “7 of our 8 weeks of training are all for safety purposes.”

    And we have to wonder why customer service is generally lacking?

  • flutiefan

    since you said “the likes of” i was including more than just those 2 carriers…

  • flutiefan

    that’s very nice of you to lift bags for other people. however, flight attendants are prevented from doing so, just for the reasons you and i state. even if it’s “just” 5 bags a flight, they fly multiple flights a day. this repetitive action causes problems. it is NOT in the flight attendant’s job description, they are NOT covered under worker’s comp or OSHA, and even if ONE bag took them out of commission (as happened to one of my girlfriends who was trying to be “nice”), then they ARE NOT PAID for any missed time.
    and the fact that you stick to your contention that bags aren’t much above 10kgs is just plain laughable. you may not “think it’s ridiculous to suggest the FAs between them might lift the other 5 bags,” but every F/A who has actually worked a flight does. ever heard about walking a mile…?

  • flutiefan

    hmmm…my mom got hired a few years ago, at age 61. maybe it’s you.

  • flutiefan

    “full-time” to an airline is not like full time to the rest of the business world. flight attendants and pilots are paid by “trips”, not by hours. a flight may take an hour and a half, for which they are paid one “trip”. the airline gets to decide how many trips are in a base schedule for a full-time F/A or pilot.  rest assured, this does NOT equal 40 trips per week, nor 40 hours a week.

  • flutiefan

    funny, i just read a report that their load factors are UP…

    but otherwise, i agree that the change to the program wasn’t a good one.

  • flutiefan

    while everything else is true, SWA is *not* pulling out of any of their markets. 
    perhaps you’re referring to them not taking on 4 of Air Tran’s cities?

  • flutiefan

    exactly.  things that are out of the norm–miracle medical cures, terrible experiences at a company, murder plots–make the news precisely because they are unusual.

  • Anonymous

    I don’t accept that lifting sub-10kg weights 20x a day causes problems, as long as you’re trained at lifting. Otherwise, most delivery jobs would be illegal.

    I *know* that it’s not in the JD for US cabin crew, I know it’s not covered, and I know they’re not paid for missed time. I don’t blame cabin crew at all for not lifting bags under the current arrangement, giving those facts.

    I do think that *if airlines gave a stuff about customers* they’d change their staff’s T&Cs so that these things weren’t the case.

    On the 10kg point, *whatever*. If airlines are enforcing published hand luggage size restrictions, then only people who’re transporting gold and bricks are gonna be much above 10kg. If they aren’t enforcing them, then they should be.

  • Tony A.

    Yeah I’m very picky. Luckily I can hold on to what I have before I qualify for Medicare.

  • Tony A.

    Pilots are most definitely paid BY HOUR.
    In fact you can read their hourly rate here http://www.airlinepilotcentral.com/airlines.html
    As far as I know FedEx has the highest pay scale in the USA.

  • DavidS

    There is a big difference in pay between a regional and a major carrier. FO’s at regionals are generally entry level positions and many pilots use them to gain experience and hours to qualify for jobs at better paying carriers. Some of these kids are so excited, they are happy to get their foot in the door somewhere…and some complain about not making enough…just like anywhere.

    Once you gain the experience and hours, and get on with a major carrier, a 10 year Captain can make over $200k plus benefits.

    Even then, it’s not about not being able to afford to buy a ticket. With jumpseat privleges, a pilot can usually find a way from their home to their base and back with someone.

  • Guest

    Ugly stews and “load” factors up?  Not likely.

  • RonJeremy

    Feminist trolls.  Yes.  You ever see how people treat ugly people compared to pretty people?  If you have not you should.

  • Guest

    Actually I can’t read. 

  • Guest

    Sorry, I’m not even creative enough to come up with a made up name.   *sigh*

  • BillyG

    I respectfully say absolutely wrong.  Flying has done nothing but get more efficient every year (not counting the TSA BS).  The airlines, despite bad press, fly millions of people in relative comfort every year.  And they do it with a greater safety rate than the interstate on my 30 mile drive to work.  No, it is we customers who are unreasonable.  I make it a point to say thank you as I deplane every time (and I travel a LOT for work) and some of those poor SOBs look at me like I’m talking swahili.  In the grand scheme of things being in an aircrew is a good job (go work construction or any other job in a service industry) and they have to deal with a TON of a$$holes.  They should be issued tasers and a free ticket to use them.

  • Guest

    Ahh the days when a stew was a pleasure to look at……

  • guest

    Not being able to take drinks on the plane AT ALL is still happening in some places.  I’ve had drinks purchased past security taken from me in: Costa Rica, Mexico, Honduras, Indonesia, and Taiwan.  It makes long haul flights so uncomfortable and miserable. 

  • DavidS
  • http://www.talestoldfromtheroad.com Dick Jordan

    I’m probably in the minority.  I generally find that service from flight attendants is quite good.  Smile when you ask them for assistance, thank them for anything they do (even if serving you a “snack box”). and you’ll probably not have any complaints to register.

  • Tony A.

    Hey DavidS, Have you ever jumpseated regularly? Get stuck in the middle of the night, nowhere? Try to do this for years. It was a requirement in my old job. That got old fast.
    How many openings do the majors have each year? In the 80′s, experienced pilots joined the FedEx call center as telephone agents. Why? So they can bid internally after 6 mos, 1 yr, etc. I actually know one who did it.
    Moving up to the majors is not easy – they need to add more aircraft, flights and the seniors retire or lessen guaranteed hours; none of which is gonna happen easily nowadays.
    I’m not sure what % of pilots make it to the majors. But the problem with low pay is true since there were several Congressional hearings about it. I remember Capt Sully testifying and said the same thing –
    My Pay Has Been Cut 40 Percent In Recent Years, Pension Terminated

  • Tingbudong

    I fly pretty often for work, mostly international flights to Asia. At this point I insist they book me flights on the various Asian airlines. Not only are the attendants cute and young like we used to have here back, I don’t know.. In the 60′s? But the are super friendly and the customer service is really great at all times. They feed you much better, don’t give you a hard time about getting up and walking around or even hanging out in their section to stretch your legs and practice your language skills with them, but they will make you drinks and noodles etc while you “congregate” in e back of e plane socializing, a thing that is strictly verbotten on any US carrier.

    Ive been asked if Im worried about safety on those flights, but honestly Im a diabetic motorcyclist, LOL and I’m much more likely to buy it any number of other ways and apparently you can even die of a thrombosis or blood clot in your leg while stuck in your seat for 12 or 18 hours on the US carrier so I’ll take the sweet, friendly, pretty girls on China Southern who treat me like a person and a friend for the time I’m stuck on the plane over the bitter angry, “I can’t be bothered with you so sit down and shut up till we get there” attendants we get stuck with on US planes any day of the week.

  • flutiefan

    no,, it clearly states that figres used are converted from $ per trips to $ per hour.  they’ve just done the typical conversion for the public. pilots are paid per trip, which are not equal to per hour (should be obvious since there’s a conversion required).

  • flutiefan

    troll.

  • DavidZ

    Pssshhht…what’s that boss? I can’t hear you…so much static…boss…hello? Click…

  • DavidZ

    Pssshhht…what’s that boss? I can’t hear you…so much static…boss…hello? Click…

  • DavidZ

    Sad to hear, but that can explain why the seeming neglect to assist such people. Sigh.

  • DavidZ

    Or fire the CEOs to begin with? Heh.

  • Carver

    That’s a great way to get fired.

  • Carver

    My boss was a *hole, but he wasn’t stupid.

  • Carver

    We just hired a 52 year old after offering the position of co-counsel to a 60 year old.

  • Carver

    Kevin

    With respect, think about what you just said. You are suggesting that there are people who take jobs as flight attendants because they had no other job opportunities, i.e. they need to eat. That’s silly

    Taking a moment to reflect critically, you should quickly realize that the types of job in which one takes because they need a job immediately are those which require little or no training and can be quickly obtained. 

    I have a friend in that situation and he is working at a grocery store.

    By contrast, becoming a flight attendant, like any other skilled profession, is a choice made hopefully with appropriate research and dligence.

  • DavidS

    My point is I don’t think wages have anything to do with buying a seat to commute to a base.

    Do you think a pilot making $200K is buying a seat or jumpseating? It’s a lifestyle. I know many and they all comment how they can’t recall the last time they bought a ticket. So a $16K entry level pilot or a 10 year $200K Captain are both commuting and will take the jumpseat if that’s all that’s available. Wages don’t have anything do do with the commute.

    American Eagle is hiring pilots right now and guaranteeing a track to American Airlines. I know all major airlines have major hiring plans for pilots over the next few years.

    I admire the pilot who started in the call center. He/she obviously loved the opportunity to get in and hopefully fly someday while gaining an appreciation for the company’s business model as well. I know pilots who started on the ramp emptying lav tanks just to be around planes.

    Yes…starting pilots get paid crap, what percentage of entry level jobs out there pay well? (Yes, a FO with a regional is an entry level job for pilots.) Do we want Congress mandating what industry pays the workers? This is just a period of a pilot’s career similar to when doctors have a residency period where they get little pay and no sleep while faced with constant life and death decisions where some find they are not up to the task. (Not exactly comforting either!)

    And make no mistake about it, I know jumpseating is not glamorous. Sometimes (rarely) you luck out and get an ugraded cabin seat, but many times you are hanging around the gate during weather delays and cancellations, filghts are sold out and you are with other pilots wondering who is going to get the now coveted jumpseat in the cockpit.

  • DavidS

    My point is I don’t think wages have anything to do with buying a seat to commute to a base.

    Do you think a pilot making $200K is buying a seat or jumpseating? It’s a lifestyle. I know many and they all comment how they can’t recall the last time they bought a ticket. So a $16K entry level pilot or a 10 year $200K Captain are both commuting and will take the jumpseat if that’s all that’s available. Wages don’t have anything do do with the commute.

    American Eagle is hiring pilots right now and guaranteeing a track to American Airlines. I know all major airlines have major hiring plans for pilots over the next few years.

    I admire the pilot who started in the call center. He/she obviously loved the opportunity to get in and hopefully fly someday while gaining an appreciation for the company’s business model as well. I know pilots who started on the ramp emptying lav tanks just to be around planes.

    Yes…starting pilots get paid crap, what percentage of entry level jobs out there pay well? (Yes, a FO with a regional is an entry level job for pilots.) Do we want Congress mandating what industry pays the workers? This is just a period of a pilot’s career similar to when doctors have a residency period where they get little pay and no sleep while faced with constant life and death decisions where some find they are not up to the task. (Not exactly comforting either!)

    And make no mistake about it, I know jumpseating is not glamorous. Sometimes (rarely) you luck out and get an ugraded cabin seat, but many times you are hanging around the gate during weather delays and cancellations, filghts are sold out and you are with other pilots wondering who is going to get the now coveted jumpseat in the cockpit.

  • Tony A.

    Thanks Carver. I feel a lot hopeful now!

  • Tony A.

    You mean flight (duty) hours, right? Then we are talking about the same thing. Note the majors guarantee a minimum monthly in hours not trips.

  • Tony A.

    DavidS, my point is many people have to put their lives on the skilled hands of a pilot. Should those skilled hands be paid $16k a year?
    Yes there are many crappy jobs out there (maybe too many), but they are not all flying airplanes.

    Also many young flyers are coming out of FOR-PROFIT flying schools. In the 70-80s, a vast majority of pilots came from the service (military). The young pilots are DEEP IN DEBT with crappy pay. Yeah it’s the sign of the times.

  • intelliwoman

    FA have no business lifting anyones luggage.  In fact they are not supposed to at all, the airline considers it a liability issue, and, in addition, if they get hurt, they are not covered by WC

  • DavidS

    I think this exchange started with the surprise that a regional FO could not afford to buy a ticket to commute…my point is that many $200K Captains also choose to commute via jumpseat without buying a ticket, even if they could afford to.

    Many professions that involve life and death are in the hands of the young and inexperienced. How many people die each summer in a public pool staffed by teen lifeguards? (I gave the Dr. in residency example already as well for being underpaid vs. their debt, inexperienced, overworked and exhausted.)

    There are public universities that have great aviation programs, some will offer in-state tuition to out of state students so the debt factor can be similar to anyone with a 4 yr in-state public university degree. Once completed, they can pick up a regional FO job and track into a career path with a major airline. Many of those ’70s-’80s hired pilots are on the cusp of retirement, the demand will pick up to hire more entry level pilots…as will salaries.

    Yes, going in debt to get a crappy starting job is a large part of lfe…sigh. :(

  • Jmiller45

    You are a very considerate person but I don’t mind helping people that need help puting their bag in the overhead bin.I had the help returned to me when I had to travel with a broken arm & I didn’t have to ask.

  • cjr

    You’ve obviously got a different definition of ‘relative comfort’ than the rest of us.

    The airlines have made flying a miserable experience for passengers and their own employees alike.

    And efficient? You mean like when some routes are late the majority of the time?

  • Anonymous

    Do you have problems with reading comprehension? See, in the comment you replied to, “I *know* that it’s not in the JD for US cabin crew, I know it’s not covered, and I know they’re not paid for missed time”.

    My point, as made clearly using words, is that if airlines gave a stuff about passengers, then FC would be supposed to, they would be trained to, it would be in the JD, and they would be covered by WC.

  • http://twitter.com/anthstr Anthstr

    I travel frequently, and usually on United. I have seen a number of times where passengers randomly go off on airline staff [checkin, customer service, gate agents, baggage, FAs etc]. Most of the time they are treated like they are the ones that PERSONALLY caused things to go awry.
    I’ll give you an example: A few weeks ago, there was a massive hail storm in Denver [my home airport] that affected 2/3 major carriers here (Frontier and UA). Many planes had to be withdrawn from service to be repaired. The storm was on Wednesday, and I was scheduled to travel on Friday. Well, push came to shove and my flight got cancelled. I was told by Customer Service via phone that the best they could confirm me for was Sunday Afternoon (when I was scheduled to return on Monday morning). I let the rep know that wouldn’t work for me, and that I would have to call them back. Later that night, I saw that seats had opened up on a flight to Chicago, and that there was a connecting flight available onwards to my destination.
    Fast forward to Friday: I had boarded the plane to Chicago, and had been sitting at the gate for 35 minutes with a full cabin crew, and no pilots. We were informed that our pilots were delayed (it evidently happens to them too) and that we’d need to wait. A few of the passengers let the cabin crew have it, saying things that culminated in the similar theme of “I’m never flying this airline again”. On the other hand, I sat there, and even helped give the guy beside me some options as his flight from Chicago got cancelled as we were boarding.During the flight, I chatted a bit with some of the FAs. Some of them said that this had been happening all day, because people had been bumped from other flights and their schedule had been impacted so much.When we got to Chicago, even though I was in First Class, I waited for most of the other passengers to deplane. I had already missed my connection, and would be spending the night there. One of the older FAs [who had been with UA for more than 30 years!] asked why I was just sitting there. I responded that I had missed my flight, and maybe someone else might be able to catch theirs if they were able to deplane more quickly. She hugged me and said I was a doll.My point is this. In my travels with UA, they usually try their hardest to deliver on providing good service. However, their employees are treated with disrespect on a recurring basis. How many of you strike up a conversation with the FA on your flight, or are personable with customer service as they are trying to help you? I am, and I never have a problem.Oh and to those of you who “will never fly this airline again”. Please do. My bet is that you don’t travel frequently enough to affect the airline’s bottom line. As a frequent traveller who is accustomed to travel, and actually still enjoys the experience, my flight will be better without you aboard.

  • flutiefan

    no i don’t mean duty hours, i mean trips. that is how my airline calculates and pays flight crews, NOT per hour. your duty day may be 16 hours but you’re only paid 12 trips (for example). unless you’re in it, i guess you don’t get it.

  • Raven

    Don’t feel bad – I’m not very good at it myself.

  • http://www.facebook.com/shawn.chong Shawn Chong

    Hmm… I fly a lot from Asia to Canada, and I’ve always had excellent service. Especially with Asian carriers… they’re so polite and well-mannered that it feels so fake! Obviously, it is, but at least they put on the show.

    I think the problem here is not the job itself, but the job within the confines of American airline companies.

  • Fred D.

    Actually, my experiences are generally the opposite. I usually get great service in the US (mostly flying Alaska, occasionally DL or B6), while international service is alright. Cathay Pacific and Alitalia are usually pretty good, Thai and Lufthansa are alright, FAs do their job but aren’t particularly friendly, while Air France is downright worthless.

  • Fred D.

    They are cutting a few significant routes such as PIT-PHL and GEG-SEA but not abandoning markets altogether. Yet.

  • flutiefan

    no, “giving a stuff about passengers” does not include lifting the baggage those passengers have chosen to carry on with them.and it’s called “carry-on”, not “hand it off”.

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