I was on an eagle flight dfw - hou early this morning and the FA was brand new. First day on the job. A more senior FA was training. The thing that was interesting was it seemed like today was the first she had ever seen of the plane and the first time she had done any of the proceedures. I know they train for safety but found it odd that they wouldn't spend at least a day training in a mockup or something. She did a fine job by by the way.
Also, the first officer was brand new too. I saw the captain explaining the layout of the cockpit as well. He also did a fine job. It did take us an extra 15 mins but no complaints today. Just an observation.
I'm fairly certain they wouldn't allow the first officer to just jump in the seat without some extensive training. This isn't drivers ed...
They spend a lot of time in the sim before they get on but there are all sorts of funky rules about what (and how) they are allowed (by the FAA) to put in the closets etc.
I would say the first officer was in his mid to late 20's. I thought he could have been new to Eagle and perhaps moved over from another carrier. He seems pretty comfortable up front though his announcements definitely revealed he was a bit green.
The FA was in her late 20's, early 30's. Nice lady but you could tell she was a bit wide eyed and nervous.
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Had a new crew once on a dinner LGA-BNA flight. Quite comical. The trainers were having to go through how to make simple cocktails like gin and tonicas. The trainee liked serving booze and the 9 of us in F were quite liquored up. When the "we are beginning our decent into BNA" announcement came on the trainer basically went "...., we haven't even served dinner yet." Needless to say, I had to hold the tray back while I ate dinner as the plane descended into BNA.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by system error
I was on an eagle flight dfw - hou early this morning and the FA was brand new. First day on the job. A more senior FA was training. The thing that was interesting was it seemed like today was the first she had ever seen of the plane and the first time she had done any of the proceedures. I know they train for safety but found it odd that they wouldn't spend at least a day training in a mockup or something. She did a fine job by by the way.
Also, the first officer was brand new too. I saw the captain explaining the layout of the cockpit as well. He also did a fine job. It did take us an extra 15 mins but no complaints today. Just an observation.
Several years ago I was on an AE flight somewhere, and the end of the flight the captain came on the loudspeaker to ask us to welcome the FO as we disembarked as it was his first flight with AE, and by the way he landed the plane too!
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I had a FA on ORD-DSM who forgot to do the safety demonstration. She was extremely embarrassed and actually attempted to do it mid-flight. Service was particularly stellar as she likely didn't want passengers to report her (I didn't)
I had a FA on ORD-DSM who forgot to do the safety demonstration. She was extremely embarrassed and actually attempted to do it mid-flight. Service was particularly stellar as she likely didn't want passengers to report her (I didn't)
Not having to listen to the same old-same old demo is a plus. I would have thanked her
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Maybe part of the new hire crew? What was the approx age of the new FA?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bachovas
I believe someone mentioned new FAs would start flying 01/28. Or maybe they meant would start training?
You're both talking about AA mainline. The OP was on an Eagle flight, not AA mainline. Eagle has hired FAs on and off since Eagle began, without any extended period of hiring freeze. It's AA mainline that hasn't hired a new flight attendant from mid-2001 until just recently (except for the several Mandarin-speaking FAs recruited for the LAX-PVG flight).
The trainee FA observed by the OP had certainly been on a mock-up and had been on an actual plane of that type before that flight.
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Exactly! And some layouts may have slight changes from the simulators.
Example: the 777 and 787 have "commonality" - but FAA still requires five days of training before one jumps cockpits, and UACO actually provides seven.
Quote:
Originally Posted by IflyonAA
They spend a lot of time in the sim before they get on but there are all sorts of funky rules about what (and how) they are allowed (by the FAA) to put in the closets etc.
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Also, the first officer was brand new too. I saw the captain explaining the layout of the cockpit as well.
Take it nice and easy for the new guy. Go over the basics again just to be sure. I'm sure there's a lot of nerves and excitement that can cause problems.
I actually had the youngest FA I've ever seen on an Eagle flight this weekend. I wrote AA a compliment about her as she was great and being that young she could be a very valuable, experienced employee for many years if they take care of her.
