Bushdog

I take full responsibility for my children. i hope oters will do the same, but I sadly, cannot expect it. Again, sometimes you do what you have to, not what you should do.

PDXPremier

Paging COInsider...what exactly is CO's policy with regard to free child labor?

MelesMeles

If this happened to me, whether I was in F or Y, I would be extremely upset about it. The behaviour of the FA's kid (while the FA is on duty) = behaviour of the FA (as far as I'm concerned).

I'd be expecting significant credit/reimbursement as compensation, just as I would as if the FA had been behaving inappropriately.

tarheelnj

I wonder if we would all be reacting this way if this had happened on Southwest? Or JetBlue? The reason I ask is that there are numerous YouTube videos of their FA's doing announcements in rap, etc. Anyone ever fly on Hooters? There was a "Hooters girl" on the flight (not in an FA capacity) whose sole responsibility seemed to be to run up and down the aisle demonstrating how gravity works.

PhillyPhlyer40

I did not request and will not expect compensation. Not really what I was looking for. Just wanted it to stop in the future.

Actually, yes, I did. Quite a few times, as they had the most convenient schedule out of my local airport.

The difference was, the flights were not at 6am!!! They were at ~1,2,3,4PM! Oh how I miss that airline! (For the schedules! )

MelesMeles

Then you're a better man than I.

Honestly, though, I would definitely feel that I was not receiving the product I paid for. Continental, like other airlines, markets their F cabin as a "product", and when I receive other products that don't match what I reasonably expect, I return the product and ask for a refund. Since you can't "return" a flight, all you can do is ask that you be paid some compensation to make up the difference between the product paid for and the product received.

Still, hopefully you get a satisfactory response from CO. If your letter ensures that this doesn't happen to any of us, then I thank you.

AAExPlat

Exactly. I am not an expert in labor law, but it seems to me that CO, by the actions of its FA(s) on this flight has opened itself to significant liability.

As a manager, I am trained to look at all events and distinguish and anticipate the ones that bring liabilities to the firm.

With that being said, I don't see how CO will NOT terminate this FA. Not because anything bad happened, but because not terminating the employee might send the wrong message to the rest of the employees, further opening CO to more liability.

What happened on that flight was clearly not just a momentary joke or moment of indulgence. It sounds like the kid was truly working and helping out, which, given his age, would be against the law.

IMO, if CO gets the details of this event, and after consulting with its counsel/compliance, the employee should be terminated. I know I would if I could.

My 2 cents from the peanut gallery.

HeathrowGuy

You are ALL off-base.

Continental and United are both training employees' kids to work as crew so they can operate the E-170/190 aircraft the merged airline will order post-merger. It's a CHANGE in stafffing expected to yield substantial cost benefits for the airline and service quality enhancements for the customer.

pptp

The next initiative is to recruit volunteers from the PAX cabin to fill FA positions.

sbm12

I'm qualified. I even got to do the safety demo on the StarMegaDo flight last year.

stratofortress

My guess is that this is probably a violation of FAA policy as well.

Ever notice one of the exit row questions is whether you're traveling with a child under the age of 15. If you do, you can't sit in the exit row because it violates FAR 121.585:

"(i) A condition or responsibilities, such as caring for small children, that might prevent the person from performing one or more of the applicable functions listed in paragraph (d) of this section; or..."

The thought behind this being that you're more likely to be worried about the welfare of your child than to spend your time assisting with the evacuation of the plane. I would be *shocked* if there isn't a similar regulation that applies to working flight attendants...

Yoshi212

Otters are very caring parents.

Section 107

that makes excellent cents to me.

but it seems they might not have correctly calculated an opportunity cost here since one must be 18 to serve alcohol and that will surely impact that little revenue stream.

or maybe they realize that more pax will just do what I do and bring their own booze aboard.

gawhite411

Isn't that illegal?

marklyon

Give me a couple of vouchers for RT F flights and I'd be happy to serve drinks on my random, short connecting flights in those tiny ERJs.