Y29M

Sometimes, amongst all the rants about poor service and grumpy/disinterested flight attendants, it's easy to forget the real reason that they are there.

Whilst flying home on Saturday night (AA54 - ORD-MAN) I got a reminder of what they are really there for. About three hours into the flight I saw an old lady walking up the aisle towards the back of the plane, she stopped, grabbed the back of a seat and then fell backwards (luckily the passengers on the row she was passing had noticed and grabbed her before she hit the floor). Within seconds the flight crew had been informed and were trying to help; the cabin lights were quickly turned on and an announcement made asking for a doctor. They quickly made sure the aisle was clear and got out all the medical kit they had before assisting the three doctors who, thankfully, had come forward for around an hour.

The way the crew sprung into action, without a second thought and without panicking was fantastic. Being in such close proximity, it was obvious how well trained they were and that, along with the three doctors, the lady was in good hands.

A special mention also to all the passengers, for around thirty minutes all passengers had been asked to remain seated, I didn't see one get up(apart from those who were moved to free up a row for the lady to lie on). It's so unusual these days to see announcements obeyed and the same applied to when we arrived at the gate to allow the paramedics to enter the plane.

Thankfully, the lady began to recover pretty quickly and it appears that she had just fainted rather than collapsed and quickly improved after being put on a drip and given fluids. Although the paramedics boarded when we landed in MAN, they checked her over and left, when I de-boarded she was sat in business class waiting for a wheelchair (the crew moved her there before landing to give the paramedics easy access).

The incident reminded me that FA's are there for our safety and to deal with emergencies and has left me with the knowledge that if I was ever unfortunate enough to have a medical problem on a plane, that i'd be in good hands!

Just thought it would be a good thing to share

bthotugigem05

Great post. Be sure to tweet or email American with the story to ensure the flight staff gets their due compliments.

Y29M

I tweeted AA last night, I was really impressed and I hope the crew get due recognition!

rwoman

^^

Thanks for sharing, Y29M!

Thunderroad

Good story and even better outcome. Thanks for sharing this reminder.

Y29M

The outcome couldn't have been better, really good!

tkelvin69

Thanks for the post and reminder that a majority of employees try to do a good job - AA, TSA, lounge, etc. ^ So many on FT attempt to justify their actions or negative beliefs based upon a few experiences.

Spiff

TSA employees are not AA employees.

cynicAAl

So the Hot Fudge Sundae cart was delayed for this ?

Just kidding....I've been on a couple of flights with medical emergencies and the FAs training really shows during these times.

chanp

Call me lucky, with over 2mil miles flying, I've yet to come across an in air emergency. Glad she was ok.

tkelvin69

I never stated they were. In fact, if you will read my initial post, I separated out AA, TSA and lounge (contracted) employees. I intended to suggest many FT posters skew the perceptions of all travel based employees from their biased and often inaccurate views.

Seems I hit a nerve and you're over sensitive.

Spiff

Seems you have difficulty staying on topic: Flight Attendants.

Perhaps you should consider starting an Empty Platitudes for the Undeserving thread elsewhere?

tkelvin69

Perhaps you should flippin ignore posts that get your panties in a wad and let the thread continue on point. My comment was to affirm the OP and to suggest most employees strive to do a good job for those who travel - which is most FT'ers. God forbid that we might include other employees that weren't mentioned in the original post.

nsoltz

Unfortunately, I've had 4 AA flights with in air emergencies and each time the FA's were there on the spot.

One of my AA flights actually had 3 separate emergencies-- serious asthma attack, passenger passing out from diabetic hypoglycemic episode, and then someone suffered an MI, requiring us to put down in COS. The spooky thing-- it was in fall of 2000 on AA11 from BOS to LAX.

elitetraveler

Being there for safety and emergencies isn't mutually exclusive from providing good service to customers. The FA job is all of the above. @:-)