Originally Posted by Lancerrr
Here's something else to consider: I've personally seen FAs have bad days that were far worse than how bad my days can get. Maybe the FA is on reserve, got a few hours of sleep the night before, and had a kid vomit down their uniform and it still stinks. Maybe the FA got screamed at by some disgruntled PAX and spent a flight crying in a galley. Maybe the FA just got furloughed that day. Maybe it was the FA's first day back from years furloughed and they had a rough time of it.
Alls I'm saying is that people in uniform put on their game face, most especially FAs sporting the polyester. We'd be the last to know just how bad their past few days have been. Perhaps the GA was being empathetic, and giving the FA a little help in staying collected.
Your thoughtfulness is very considerate, but the reality of the situation is if this did indeed happen this way, the GA was violating policy and should be disciplined. Flight attendants are compensated for their work. They work at the airline, at will, and are free to leave at any time. If they don't like the working conditions, the hours, the on-call schedule, the pay, the travel benefits, etc., they can tell NW to shove it and quit. Clearly not many think it's so bad, otherwise we wouldn't have people working in that position for the existing terms.
There are many more people who have nastier jobs, but they don't get upgraded. The trash collector hauls around stinky trash all day, but so what, that's his job that he get PAID to do. Someone who works the nightshift has crappy hours, but they get PAID to do it. Are they more worthy of an upgrade than someone who has flown the requisite number of miles or segments as published in the airline's own loyalty program guidelines?
While we don't know exactly what happened here, at the surface it sure looks like it's funny business. And I'm surprised at how many attempts are being made to justify it.