Please be forewarned - this is a rant. If you want some serious insight, read something by J. Edward, or, skip to the end of this post.

So I'm on my red-eye SJC-EWR last night. Oddly enough, myself and the other 15 people in F wanted to sleep. CO was even nice enough to dim the lights for us.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. While I passed out before takeoff, I kept waking up throughout the flight. Was it the seat pitch? A loud baby crying? Snoring passenger next to me?

No, it was the lovely and talented Flight Attendants, chatting in the galley. It may also have been said FAs banging and slamming various doors and panels as they chatted.

I really don't understand this. You're working in an environment where your customers are trying to sleep. WHY AREN'T YOU TRYING TO BE QUIET?

Wouldn't CO, which seems to pride itself on its service (as opposed to its industry-minimum 31" Y seat pitch), want to tout in their snarky advertisements that they have the quietest red-eyes around?

And even if they don't, even if they've decided that I'll fly them regardless of whether or not their employees stand around and make a racket while I'm trying to sleep, shouldn't they just be quiet anyway? Isn't that the polite thing to do. And, being that I'm their customer, shouldn't they be even MORE than polite?

Yes, I realize that the FAs have duties to perform, even during a red-eye. And yes, I realize other people may be awake, and require service from the FAs. But shouldn't the professionals at least TRY to be quiet? Wouldn't that be part of doing your job as a service professional?

And I know there are other things that make noise during a flight other passengers, leakage from headphones, the occasional engine catching on fire. What I'm talking about here is the people who's job it is, to, well, BE QUIET.

Anyways, I promised something more than a rant in the beginning, and here it is - Continental! Decide that you'll have the quietest red-eye crew around. Hell, do some "independent studies" against other airlines with a dB meter and prove it. If you want to be about service, be about service. And that includes quiet cabins when it's 3am in the morning.

David

I like to sit in 1B, but the FA's can really keep you awake sometimes!

It seems to be a recurring problem on US based carriers, and not only on Continental.

Ear plugs work wonders!

No, it was the lovely and talented Flight Attendants, chatting in the galley. It may also have been said FAs banging and slamming various doors and panels as they chatted.

I know it is definitely tough to get to sleep on a plane. However, that is why I always bring my Shures which are not only earphones but earplugs as well. I also bring a Brookstone eye shade (expensive but well worth it!). Then , when I am ready to go to bed, I pop in the Shures and if I wish attach them to my MP3 player for low relaxing music, and put on the shades, which block out all ambient light. I don't hear or see anyone.

I think the problem here is that not all people want to do what I want to do late at night (or even not that late). Some want to watch movies, others read, and some talk. I cannot stop them from doing this because I want to sleep. Could the FA's be quieter... sure, but they have to work while I am sleeping. So, my suggestion is get earplugs and eyeshades and sleep without interruption.

This really is not the solution. Quiet on a red-eye from the crew is not like IFE or food - it's not something you should have to provide for yourself.

And I'm not talking about my fellow passengers, that's a marginably valid thread and certainly not the focus of this one. If the FAs could be quieter, they should be. Certainly people can be trained to be noise sensitive, and to do their job both normally and in quiet mode.

You had Chavon working your flight? Nice.

The plane is our office. Our workspace. You chat at your workspace with your colleagues, we do the same at ours. A 5.5 hour red-eye transcon can be a long time to not chat with people. However, we do tend to not realize how loud we can be. I myself have several times been sitting on the rear jumpseat chatting with my coworker, only to non-rev in the rear of the plane a few days later and be appalled at how loud the FAs are- only to then suddenly wonder if I am that loud as well?

The solution is to tactfully, politely, and respectfully approach the flight attendants, acknowledge that you understand that it is their workspace and whatnot, but calmly and politely request that they take the volume down.

Hope this helps in the future.

I don't sit and chat when the guy next to me is on a conference call or doing something that requires quiet around him.

I'm happy that you guys want to chat and catch up, and I understand that 5.5 hours is a long time to be quiet, but y'all could also remember that the majority of folks on the redeye are sleeping and you should be quiet and respect that. The chances of you getting anyone who is woken up in the middle of a redeye to be polite about asking for quiet is pretty mnimal, so don't expect that anytime soon.

hilarious!

or, read an detailed analysis of the next ten years widebody usage opportunities with all new aircraft orders/announced routes incorporated (with flight utilization tables as an appendix), by rkkwan.

That is only useful if we add in the debate on expanded opportunities for TATL service based on removing 4 rows of Y from the 752s and adding leg room and range, as specified by TWA Fan 1 and argued by myself. Then we've got a very serious conversation

^^

Again, that's why I said "we don't realize how loud we can be".

At one time I foolishly thought one of the things I was paying for in domestic F was the privilege of sleeping during a red-eye or night flight. Time and again, CO's (and other domestic carriers') FAs have disabused me of this idea. But I know a quiet night's sleep on an airplane is possible--my SQ Biz fight from SFO to SIN proved that. The only noise in that large cabin was snoring. The FAs quietly sat in the galley, whispering to each other, doing their work quietly and/or reading books and magazines.

You should go and ask them please to be quiet. I did this on what I call the "reverse red eye" last year. It's from EWR to SFO and departs at 8:20PM. With the ATC, it's in the air by 9:30 or so. I like it because it's late enough that I can actually sleep on it and feel somewhat refreshed the next day.

I was in F at the bulkhead on this flight in summer '06. I was awakened from my slumber by the post-service banter. After a few, I got up and asked them to pipe down. They did, for a while. Then I had to ask again. This time they got the point that I'd report the problem if it didn't stop. It did.

This is one area where NW is an improvement. There is only 1 FA in FC n NW flights, even on a 757. So, when s/he is done with the service, they just sit and read...there's no one to talk to.