Late FA get punished?
 

Sitting in Memphis and will miss connection because FA is late for work. Are you serious? Any compensation expected? Not late because of other flight. Just got to the airport late. Are you serious? And why are they playing Christmas music during boarding???!!

Yes. I would imagine said FA would get reprimanded. It's certainly annoying, but haven't we all been late to work at some point? At least you aren't calling for termination. No excuse for the xmas music.

Depends on if the flight attendant was short called (under 2 hrs) for the assignment.. We have 2 hrs to get to the airport. Otherwise they would get a late report which is dependably mark. 1st one you get a coaching. after a coaching you go on a level there is 4 levels then your terminated

Contradicting points:

For those below Gold status, if we arrive at the airport late and provided there are seats available on a later flight, we must pay a $50 SDC fee.

Then again recenty I woke up in my home an hour after my plane left, got to the airport and passed security 2 1/4 hours after my booked/checked-in flight and they put my FO sleepy self on a later itinerary free of charge.

So do we hold them to the fire or cut them some slack? I don't know. I think it's worth a polite email with modest expectations.

I had this problem at DTW last month... I didn't even complain about that, because I had already complained once about my missing double MQM (BNA-DTW-LAS), and then again about missing my connection home due to mechanical trouble.

The late FA was on my rebooking.... (which the rebooking was apparently the cause of the double MQM screw up). I thought three complaints on one itinerary was excessive.

It was a little irritiating to see the FA when she showed up. Apparently, even though she was late, she had plenty of time to stop for a cup of a coffee and breakfast....

Right. You paying for same day confirmed. Had there been no availability, you'd be waiting and waiting for a seat to be open. It could have been a while, depending on the circumstances.

Why do you think she was late? As long as she brought enough for everyone... ;)

I've seen this when FAs are late (supposedly) because their incoming flight was late. It's maddening when the passengers waiting in the gate see them amble up as if they have all the time in the world, carrying food and coffee from different airport outlets. I don't expect them to do an OJ-style run through the airport and arrive panting and breathless, but they could at least walk with purpose when the passengers waiting in the gate are watching. The deliberate stroll and pause routine seems like giving their passengers the finger before boarding even starts.

If that flight in was late then it cut into our time for food.. (yes we need food too) We don't always get crew meals. I am concerned about my heath as #1. The only person that cares about me is me so If I need to eat and we are late. I stop! We always eat on the go and usually food that has gotten cold.. So cut us some slack. All these delays and weather takes a toll on us as well!

Agree 100%. If you thought the meals we get as F passengers are bad, then take a look at some of the crew meals - they just look rather poor. Can't say I blame a crew for needing to grab something to eat, especially if they have something like an 11-12 hour duty day with a lot of one-hour layovers (which really means they have 10-15 minutes to go gate-to-gate after deplaning flight #1 and enplaning flight #2 for an ontime depart).

Sitting in Memphis a few months ago, I overheard a conversation an FA was having on his cell. He was very upset that he had delayed a flight, and the impression I got was that he'd be in deep...

Preparing to be flamed as I type...

Stuff happens. Yes, it's annoying when we have to wait because an FA is running late. Yes, we are inconvenienced when we miss connections. But c'mon, we're all human. Who among us, even with the best of planning and allowing for extra time, hasn't gotten a flat tire, stuck behind a jack-knifed semi or accidentally set the alarm for PM instead of AM?

One would think DL monitors which FAs are late when. Hopefully, if this FA has made being late a more-than-once habit, DL is dealing with it appropriately, but if it was a one-time screw up, it's noted and forgotten, unless it happens again. One must also believe the FAs, knowing the consequences of being late, take extraordinary steps to be on time. Even the best laid plans, though, can be impacted by the unexpected.

As for the breakfast and coffee, that might take away my even keel on this. Do you know for sure that was the FA who was late? Or might another FA been assigned to your flight since she was already in the airport and the FA running late be expected to take the other FA's original flight?

I can say that this is the case. A good friend of mine often stays with me when she's in town to save on a crash pad or a hotel room. Even though the airport is a 20 minute drive from my apartment, we leave at least an hour before her report time to build in for any sort of delay on the drive down so that she isn't late.

Knowing my other friends as well, they tend to arrive about 30 minutes minimum before their scheduled report time. Better to be safe than cut it close and have something unforeseen happen and be late. It's not like many of us at all, where if we're late we call the DM line and SDC to another flight, or have OLCI'd beforehand and might be able to quickly make it through TSA to get to our flight, even though we missed the check-in cutoff.

Pressure is on everyone.. even FA's.. nowadays, time is money, and money is accumulated through flyers who want flights on time, every time.

& sometimes crews have minimum rest times that must be observed, which might include sleeping & eating. If their plane arrived at 2 a.m. instead of midnight, odds are the 8 a.m. flight they're scheduled for will be delayed. What they do during that rest time (coffee & breakfast is a distinct possibility) really isn't your concern.

Let those who are without sin cast the first stone....:D

Like Airline crews I too work in a rigidly "scheduled" field... and like some of the FA's who have already commented, I too make serious efforts to ensure I will never be late.

What that means of course is that I am usually at work rather too early... but to me that is a reasonable trade off for the peace of mind of not letting the side down....:rolleyes: Jeez.. I sound "all for it" don't I???