fly co to see the yanks

i wouldn't get too worked up. as you can tell, the vast majority of the posters are on your side.

everton_flyer

I'm sick of us being scared to call FA's out for doing things that most of us could never get away with in our jobs. If I was planning to have lunch at 12.30 before a 1p.m. meeting, but something else comes up, I deal with it. I don't get to tell my customers to wait so that I can eat my lunch.

Why is it that we apologize so much for FA's with bad practices or bad attitudes. GA's don't get the slack that FA's get. When we get on a plane nowadays we are almost scared to ask FA's for things as you are worried that they will snap at you. We are at the point where we feel like handing out those applause cards for a level of service that 10 years ago would have been expected.

And I do know that FA's have tough jobs. I dated an FA for 2 years and my stepmother flew for TWA for 15 years prior to their big strike. I know its hard in some ways. I also know that there are parts of the job that are a breeze. Think how often you are on a flight, where after the meal service, you see the FA's sitting down and reading a book or magazine for the next 30 mins. Nothing wrong with taking a quick break, but come on. How many of the rest of us have jobs where we get paid to read magazine for a living. Fact is there are tough parts to the job, and other parts of the jobs are a breeze compared to most jobs.

Fact is, you dont get to hold up a flight to get food. And the whole being crabby thing is just not right. How many other people have jobs where they can treat their customers badly if they are hungry.

Even though Goblin had different points, its refreshing that someone is willing to actually voice a different opinion than the apologists.

sluggoaafa

the best thing about the whole thing is it gets documented that the crew was delayed due to stopping to get food.

whether you like it or not, they need food just like anybody.

when its documented, AA will seevthat they once again messed up and need to once again provide meals when its warranted.

that is all I'm going to say about this topic.

DCA Blondie

Sorry--food is a physiological need, not a luxury. There have been days when I've gone past 2 pm with nothing to eat--and my last meal was dinner at 5pm the day before, because my work day started before anything was open. If in that situation again, the flight would be delayed a few minutes. Not delayed an hour for a real break, just long enough to grab something to eat and bring it onboard.

My contract allows for a 15 minute physiological needs break. If it delays the flight, I have to 'splain it to my Inflight Manager. A quick look at my schedule for that trip usually tells the story on its own. Fact is, I do get to hold up a flight to get food.

woojink

Completely on the FA's side on this one. They are human, have to work a challenging job amidst conditions that get more challenging as travel dynamics change.

I hear the frustrations of people who don't approve of FA's stopping to get food in cases like this, but I have to really shake my head in disagreement.

Shouting that having sympathy for FA's in this type of scenario is tantamount to saying it's OK to have FA's delay flights whenever they want is insulting to the FA's and human nature in general.

I have no doubt that there are people out there who don't care about others and put themselves first, but my bet is that the overwhelming majority of FA's exercise very good judgment in when they should/would/can/will stop to get food if/when necessary, and won't do so if it would cause significant passenger issues and/or delays. And if they MUST stop (for whatever reason) to get food, I don't think it is unreasonable to trust the FA's judgment that it was needed. Automatically assuming that the FA's "shouldn't do this" is asinine.

The reality is that UNEXPECTED and UNPLANNED circumstance causes stuff like this to happen.

Should there be a better process put in place by AA to help mitigate these situations going forward? Absolutely. Can we reasonably expect AA, or any other organization for that matter, to be on top of every single thing that could happen? No we can't. Does anyone really think AA isn't really trying to make stuff like this better while also maintaining (or trying to maintain) a profitable business? I think AA does want to have better customer experience a happier staff and a profitable business. I also recognize in today's "low cost air fare" economy, that is becoming more and more challenging.

I prefer to assume that people (and FA's are people!) are doing their best, want to help and exercise appropriately good judgment until proven otherwise. This case doesn't prove otherwise to me in any way shape or form.

The mindset of the "I am a paying customer, so I am always right, and all staff from my vendor should put my needs above all else" is one that I am sympathetic towards and understand, but it MUST be tempered with appropriate consideration toward those people who render these services... it can't operate in a vacuum.

As much as many want to live in a completely cut and dried world, that just isn't the case and some level of understanding and consideration has to exist or everybody just ends of mad about stupid little crap.

OK... this was longer than I intended... end of rant. Thanks for listening.

EricJay

MileageGoblin, you seem to be very interested in what is okay at AA (at least in the eyes of FA and other FT'ers) vs. what is okay in other industries. Having worked in a field oft mentioned in this thread, I wanted to comment.

I've worked at several different ambulance services (including municipal and private) as an EMT. At all of them, dispatchers have had to hand off calls to neighboring towns or competing companies because crews were allowed to take a break for food. While this was rare during "regular operations," it was an expected and accepted occurrence in situations when crews were required to work past their regular shift times.

I now work at a major medical center... while a "Code Team" would never stop at the cafeteria mid-response, it's not uncommon for members of a surgical team to make a short stop for nourishment before going into emergency / unscheduled surgery.

Find a new career path is an easy thing to say. Experience, seniority, age, and education can all make it extremely difficult for many to just up and change careers... regardless of industry. Going from having food on board to making a 5 minute stop for to-go food sounds like a proper adjustment to me.

I have personally had a PB&J sandwich stopped at security* since the two gel items (pb, j) were not in 3 oz or less containers in a zip-top bag. I've also had nutri-grain bars and pop-tarts stopped.

*PAH airport about a year ago.

everton_flyer

Fact is, I do get to hold up a flight to get food.[/QUOTE]

Yes you do get to hold up the flight. Your contract says so. And its that type of "stick it to the customer because my contract says so" attitude that makes so many people hate flying the majors in the U.S. in this day and age. Remove that attitude, lock in favorable long term fuel contracts, and boom... her comes Southwest.

Nobody says you shouldn't eat, but maybe you can pack food ahead. I don't know but there must be a better solution than holding up flights. Also, is it in the contract that you get to take long breaks during the flight reading instead of taking a walk up and down the aisle to check on passengers, pour a drink in first etc. And YES I realize I am generalizing, and I don't mean you personally. The problem though, and too many people are scared to say it, is that it happens way to much.

everton_flyer

For being crabby towards FA's. I realize I am generalizing, and I'm also very hungry right now.

ADMNY

This discussion shows how the whole legacy airline system continues to break down. The employees have been so beaten up that the only protection they have is to stick to their contract and the more they do that the more officious they become. Senior managment is useless because they are so removed from the operation that they do not have a clue as to what the paying passengers and employees are going through. And we the passengers (the other end of the spectrum) are so fed up with rude FA's, GA's, reservations agents and others that we now consider it a problem when an employee, as allowed by law actually has something to eat.

As my father used to say, "When one employee fails, fire the employee. When all of the employees fail, fire the boss."

RxCapt

Also have to side with the FAs. It is important to note that this was NOT the first flight of the day. The crew is required to sign in 1 hour prior to scheduled departure for the first flight and be on board the aircraft 40 minutes prior to departure (for domestic). If the FAs caused the first flight of the day to be delayed because they stopped for Starbucks/McDonalds, couldn't find parking, etc or for any other reason, the late sign in would go into their file and they would get into trouble.

Mileagegoblin is correct in stating that the FAs cannot cause delays to flight operations at will. However, without knowing all the facts - (were the FAs expecting to go home and eat after their previous flight(s) only to get a last minute call that they now have to fly an extra flight? Were they previously delayed earlier in the day, sitting on the tarmac or stuck in a holding pattern?) there is no evidence to conclude that they intentionally or malicously delayed the flight. This was most likely a relief or reserve crew covering the flight, not the regularly scheduled crew as the op pointed out. I would rather take a brief delay so that the FAs could satisfy their basic human needs rather than take a cancellation. The point of nicotine breaks is also irrelavant because the FAs were seen carrying bags of McDonalds, not cases of Marlboro.

SAT Lawyer

I don't see any problem with what the flight attendants did under the circumstances. If they were hungry, then they should be excused for taking a few minutes at the most to grab some to-go fast food. Now, if they made a pit stop at Hudson Booksellers to peruse some magazines or decided to sit down for a three course meal at a restaurant while the delay was piling up, then I think the disaffected passengers would have reason to complain. But flight attendants are human, and like the rest of us can get hungry, needing sustenance. This complaint, without more, seems incredibly petty.

RxCapt

Would you like to eat a 3 day old, stale sandwich?

I work in healthcare and routinely see other healthcare professionals sitting down chatting, reading magazines and surfing the net for extended periods. These people get paid much more than FAs do. Not saying either one is right but it is not fair to single out FAs.

everton_flyer

Quote:

Originally Posted by RxCapt

Would you like to eat a 3 day old, stale sandwich?

It is fair to single out FA's if that is the discussion point. If this board was about hospitals I would think it would be fair to single out health care professionals.

Ate the end of the day, the more I think about it, to take a 3 minute stop to get food is not a big deal, and should not be a problem, although some might argue that it wouldn't hurt to hide the McD's bags. My problem is that this is just one more example of getting bad service/ attitudes from FA's. And, as I said earlier, I know I am generalizing, however bad service from employees happens more amongst major US airlines than in the vast majority of other industries.

I however would love to be corrected. Name a business (not another airline) that has consistently worse service than AA?

woojink

Could not resist... Utilities (Electrical & Natural Gas) and the Cable company.

skylady

Would you cut the FAs any slack if you knew they were diabetic? Food is a medical neccessity for some. 5 minutes to get food can save hours getting the FAs replaced due to insulin shock.