username

I had occasionally seen these guys with grey suits on TPAC flights. I can't remember the official title but something like In-Flight Service Manager. Then an FA I talked to in September said they did away with them. What the FA told me was that these guys are sort of in a awkward situation onboard - they are not allowed to perform the FA tasks and I can see that. They sort of are there but can't really help the crew or passengers. So, it is a little strange.

Then I had one on my flight this week.

He came and introduced himself during boarding and shook everyone's hand. I didn't want to be rude but shaking hands during flu season on a plane might not be a good idea. Washing hands thoroughly with soap in the 744 lav is not an easy task because of the faucet setup.

Anyway, the service on the flight didn't seem better because he was on. He sat in C, ate his meals, took his naps, wrote on his forms, chatted a lot with the FAs.

In a way it is nice to have them but, from what I can see, the main downside is that they take a C seat (lost revenue for UA or lost upgrade for passengers) and I am not sure what other benefits there are. I am sure there are, otherwise, they would not be doing this. He said there are about 80+ of them in the company.

Just wonder what your observations have been and does having them onboard make a difference for your flight experience.

Thanks.

heraclitus

I don't recall seeing these guys myself but the way you describe them, they sound like higher-ups from the HQ making sure that standards and protocols are being followed, finding out what improvements are necessary, etc.

There are so many flights that these officials obviously can't be on all of them, but they certainly have to get out there into the "real world" and see how operations are going...

MSPeconomist

SQ has a similar position on every long haul flight I have taken, although they do help somewhat with FC service.