Originally Posted by pmanchuk
Well boys and girls... it's official. AA has placed food & beverage at the BOTTOM of the list when it comes to important amenities in domestic first class. Of course, we've all long sensed this with ongoing cut backs in catering, lack of predeparture drinks, hot 'wet-naps', etc.
One of the issues that bothered me most (not sure why... but it did), was the inconsistency in offering predeparture drinks in the domestic first class cabin. So of course, like any diligent flyer, I contacted AA to ask them what their stance was on the matter.
As per AA, the main duty of their flight attendants is to ensure safety requirements are met... fair enough (although I don't think that really holds water when the FA's are reading magazines and helping themselves to a beverage predeparture instead of offering a drink to those seated in first).
More importantly, as per what AA explained to me, they feel the significant difference between first and coach is the privacy and comfort we get from the extra space. It is this extra space (they claim) that is the most important amenity (and also highest in cost to them). The way I interpreted that is: first class = big seats... NOT service.
Ok... I know it seems a lot of airlines are going this way too... but doesn't anyone actually want service anymore? I mean a big seat is great... but I always thought first class was a combination of that PLUS at the very least above average service. If we're considering first class to be based pretty much only on a big seat... I might as well buy two coach tickets for myself... put up the arm rest and there I go... my seat would actually be bigger than those in first and it would probably be a lot cheaper! But alas, according to their priorities... that's what first class is about... not good.
Who knows, maybe they were just trying to fluff me off with a p/c answer instead of admitting that their F/A's were lazy for not offering the service... I just hope that they look at my previous flights and find those F/A's and tell them to 'pick it up or move on.' Of course the other solution to my predeparture drink dilemna is to just start boarding all flights from a mid cabin door... and setup a self-service bar in the forward galleys for the first class cabin passengers... oh and might as well leave a few hangers out too so we hang our own jackets while the F/A's are in the mid and rear galleys having their own predeparture drinks.
Anyway... I just wanted to vent on that and I do apologize to all F/A's who actually offer predeparture drinks, hang jackets, etc... obviously those individuals do want to offer some level of service to their customers and were not included in my comments here.
This whole thread disturbs me.
Yes, the FA job is safety first and then service. I was unclear whether you were aware if the flight was catered on time not. There are plenty of occasions where I had poured myself a drink from the leftover catering prior to boarding and had to tuck into the recessed cockpit entry area for them to finish and as the boarding passengers filed past. Because I am having a drink while I wait for them doesn't mean I don't want to do predepartures. It is just that I needed to have something and grabbed it just prior to them getting my galley stuff boarded. There are also times when I do have catering items onboard and I am running around trying to settle a safety matter which takes priority over counting food and mashing ice for predepartures.
That being said, while there are excuses for not providing predeparture items there is no excuse for providing a poor first class experience.
What disturbs me about this thread is that so many people have shifted their priorities so much in the last few years that they actually agree that first class is only about the seat size. I don't think I would have seen that sentiment on here 3 years ago.
I think that has to do with the fact that you guys spend so much time on airplanes that you have become jaded. When I feel myself going in that direction there is always someone in the cabin who is having their first first class experience that helps me to remember that first class should be a better experience than any other cabin on that airplane.
I agree with another poster who stated that they should just simply call it Big Seats and Little Seats if they truly feel that way in headquarters.
My stance is that First Class is about the seat but not only about the seat. There should be more attentive service and a better cabin experience than coach. One of the ways this can be accomplished is to bring back the curtain to give it some semblance, or illusion, of exclusivity like it used to have. Possibly another way is to come up with an upgrade program that recognizes miles flown as being worth more points than cereal box miles or credit card miles and charging more money for the difference. Maybe this could help them put back more amenities for everyone in the forward cabins.
Whatever the case, First Class should not simply mean a larger seat and to hell with a clean cabin, attentive stews, and good food and liquor.