Originally Posted by flymeaway
If the attitude you described truly is the rarity and not the norm, then perhaps you are flying with the wrong people. I didn't look at your profile before beginning this response, so I don't know who you spend most of your time in the air with (and wouldn't it be sad and funny if it were my airline, after the rambling I've just done?
) But seriously, the image you describe is very poor...and since the vast majority of my co-workers don't fit it, I find it difficult to believe. Certainly those FA's exist, as all stereotypes do exist, but they are not representative of the whole.
It varies by airline. On NW, hostility towards passengers is the norm, and this has rubbed off on KLM too. UA is somewhat like NW, cattle car run by prison guards. AA is OK, the veneer is generally pleasant although it's often a thin veneer. On BA, the mood is largely upbeat and sincerely helpful. I won't fly Southwest because of the clowning.
Of course it also varies by load. On a half-empty plane, there were smiles and jokes, and the FA chatted with me about how February (transatlantic) was a brief period of respite between the holiday and summer rushes. Of course, what she meant was respite from people like me, the cattle in the cattle car.
PS Surliness may not be the norm, but only a little of it is needed to set the tone and to be what a passenger remembers. On your plane, aren't announcements made to the effect that "We're primarily there for your safety..."? Well, that may make you feel good, but it doesn't make me feel good about you. It sounds like insecurity to me.