Professional or Fun Crew?
 

So last night I was in F on a flight from IAH to DFW and I had a very entertaining crew. Part of their speil, "we'lll be dimming the lights for takeoff and to improve our appearance." Part of this made me think, do you guys generally like the more professional crews or a crew thats more "fun"? Personally, as much as I enjoyed this crew, I think I'd rather have a more professional, down-to-business crew. Maybe that's just me?

In F, I prefer the crew to be businesslike but still be a tad social(if that makes any sense). However, when I am in coach I like the crew to be fun.

I like them to have a sense of humor, but not to be over the top.

In F I really appreciate a crew that is at least a bit more interactive than tersely asking for a drink order and then hiding away.

I think I had the same FA working my MSY-EWR flight back in August.

I don't mind a random witty comment every now and then, but if they're practicing their stand-up routine throughout the flight I'm sure I'd start to get bored with it eventually. Professional is what I expect when I fly CO, and that's what I like on the plane.

A little humor on a flight never hurt anything. The world would be a better place with more of it.

I don't mind a little friendliness (a LITTLE), but since this can get out of hand, if I had to chose between all professional all the time or all friendly all the time, I'd prefer the former.

I don't mind a crew that lets their personality show, but it can go too far. The FA that thinks they are funny with a microphone in their hand, usually isn't. Recently a male FA introduced himself during the safety announcement as "Jo-Jo, the lead FA." His name tag said Joe, but using the nickname was a bit much. This was only one of several attempts to be humorous, including his referring to the crew as "fabulous" and always saying "The Motor City" instead of saying "Detroit."

I think the answer is to be professional to the passengers as a group, but individually it is acceptable to open up a little.

YMMV, of course.

As long as it doesn't interrupt the clarity of information or the efficiency of service, I'm happy to see that crewmembers are enjoying themselves! It's possible to be professional and have a sense of humor - makes passengers pay more attention to announcements and feel more comfortable interacting with the crew.

There are times when it goes too far (a WN crew once did the whole safety demo in a beatboxed rap), and times when it seems a little forced (too many jokes, sounds really rehearsed and dry). But a witty and professional FA can make a flight memorable.

One of my favorite FA lines, flying DEN to TUS: "In the extraordinarily unlikely event of a water landing..."

I've flown with an FA that got applause throughout the cabin on every leg (he sounded exactly like Jeff Foxorthy). I've also been on a flight where the entire FC cabin was rolling their eyes ('twas the flight before Christmas...). Personally, I prefer the FAA stuff to be professional; after that, the crew can be as friendly/goofy as they want.

This also depends on the time of day and the mixture of passengers on board (business travelers / leisure travelers).

If it is early in the morning, I am not even awake yet but my body is present or the last flight out, I don't need this fun attitude. Just get your job done and leave me alone.
If it is in the middle of the day, I don't mind some fun as long as it's real fun and not made up on each and every flight they perform.

Could care less about announcements or whether they refer to me as Sir or Mr or even Hey You. What I do care about is how attentive you are. Keep my drink filled. Clear my tray as quickly as possible. If you want to tell a stupid joke, then it is no skin off my nose.

I agree. Earlier this year on a WS (Westjet) flight, the FA started the standard safety announcements with "Ladies and gentlemen, if I could have your attention for a few minutes ... I would be shocked!" There were other bits of humor thrown in but it was still professionally done. I actually listened to the announcements for once.:)

I actually had a very cool pilot on a Southwest flight back in July, LAS-LAX. Some of you might know passenger logbooks and I of course handed mine in (before the flight) to have it signed and planned to pick it up afterwards.

So while we were approaching Los Angeles, the captain made his usual announcement, we are heading "southwest, our favorite way of flying" ;) and finished his announcement: "supermasterphil, please make sure to stop by on the way out, I would like to have a quick chat with you".

That's what I would call personal. Usually I am not too crazy about my name getting announced in public due to privacy reasons but as my name is pretty German, nobody of the usual "Las Vegas - Southwest folks" understood it anyway :p

+1

If I want comedy, I'll fly Southwest.