ND Sol

That is true, but I was focusing on flights that FAM's would be on. I am not aware of any upper deck economy class 747's that FAM's would be on. Which brings up another question. On three-class service flights, do the FAM's also ride in FC? That would be a significant revenue loss to those airlines given how few seats there are. For example on an United Worldwide 1 777, that would be 20% of the seats with the standard complement of two.

ND Sol

Where you say that FAM's don't fly in FC on a 747. That is only half of the story. The other half is that they do fly Business Class, not coach. And Business Class is way better than domestic FC.

law dawg

Not flying in FC does not = slumming, as you portrayed.

I said that FAMs don't ride in FC for the nice seats. They ride in FC for the proximity to the flight deck. Whatever class seats the airline chooses to position there will be utilized.

Relative position to the flight deck is the only real consideration, not the relative comfyness of the seat.

ND Sol

And then there are those that read Playboy only for the articles. You can continue to mention the proffered reason all day long, but until the airlines change the way seats are positioned, we really won't know if that is the "only real consideration."

And I would be curious if the US airline with the most passengers also has the most FAM's assigned to its flights.

law dawg

It's simple math - how far away are you from the thing you're protecting? Why are you having such a hard time with this concept?

If FAMs were there to, say, stop alleged child molestations in airline lavs, where they best be positioned, near the lavs or in window seats near the wings?

That's like saying that the city with the most visitors is the most likely to be attacked.

You also need to factor in like the city in question (Mudhole, TN isn't as likely as NY or DC, for instance), the name of the airline and it's significance (AA is more recognizable in the world stage than, say, Southwest), etc.

It's more than just a numbers game.

thegeneral

Perhaps you should give a friendly, "Good morning Marshall" to the guy. He might take exception to it, but if you're questioned about it, you can always say its a dead giveaway when the FAM takes the best seat on the plane.

law dawg

Why bother the FAM? It's not his or her choice where to sit or where to fly to. That line of thinking is like blaming the secretary at Enron for their fiscal policies.

ND Sol

Because unlike the secretary at Enron, the FAM knows what's going on and can provide feedback to his supervisors.

ND Sol

I am not having a hard time with the concept, but until airlines change seat configurations, we won't know if being five feet back in coach is really such a non-starter for FAM's. What is so hard about understanding that?



Your avoidance of the question gives credence to my query. The departure nor arrival airport is all that critical except for geography. The planes that crashed into the WTC both left from BOS and their scheduled destination was not NYC. So Mudhole, TN can be very legitimate.

And Ma & Pa Kettle are more likely to fly SW and they are the ones that tend to be more paranoid about these issues. SW and "it's [sic] significance" can't be understated to the American public. Hitting the US airline that carries the most passengers would have a major impact in the minds of the American flying public, especially considering that SW has never had a passenger fatality from a crash.

sinanju

Unscreened cargo is probably the greatest threat to flights these days. If the FAMs want to be close to the likely source of action, they should ride in the hold.

law dawg

And have.

Next? Now how are they culpable?

law dawg

Yes, we do. YOU apparently don't. That's fine, but it's bad form to project one's lack of understanding upon others.

What question?

Not really. Mudhole, TN won't be having many big planes fly into it, will it? Smaller plane, smaller threat. From the FAM perspective, I'd think, that is.

This is too narrow in vision, I think. The world stage is the one we're playing on today, not just the USA.

And FAMs do fly a lot of SW, BTW.

sinanju

Playing?

Your choice of words is accurate, saddening, and angering.

sbrower

It appears to me that there has been a substantial decrease in FAM's (or at least FAM's pre-boarding and/or flying in FC). I just flew LAX-BOS (RT) on AA in FC. I was the first passenger to board last night, and there was no other passenger on the plane when I boarded. Further, unless FAM's are now allowed to drink alcohol, or unless they have 14 year old or a 70+ year old 250lb female working as FAM's (I watched very carefully to see who had wine), there were no FAM's in any of the 11 aisle seats in FC last night.

law dawg

Most of the FAMs I know try not to pre-board, but they risk being jammed up on the job if they do, which is crazy. As for having wine, the last flight I took most of the people in first did NOT have any, so that seems a little hit or miss to me.