"Attention Shoppers..."
 

So I just gotta ask...

Why do people think that an airplane is a place to announce birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, etc?

As an airline employee, I feel like on a nearly daily basis, people approach me and say things like: "It's my sister's birthday, can you announce it to the plane?" or "Its their anniversary, can you make an announcement?" or I get passed a note that says: "Can you announce that our team is headed to a game and wish them luck?"

I just have to know... why do people think that an airplane is the place to make announcements????

I have yet to be in a grocery store and hear an announcement like: "Attention shoppers.... someone in the frozen food section is celebrating their 21st birthday! Let's give them a round of applause!"

I have never been at the bank or the gas station or the drug store or the pet store where I have seen/heard/witnessed someone say: "Its my friend's birthday... can you make an announcement?"

WHY...on an AIRPLANE.... do people think it is the appropriate time and/or place to inconvenience and/or annoy 100+ other people by pretending like it is a restauraunt?

An airplane is NOT TGI Friday's.

Yet....on a daily basis, I am asked to announce a birthday/anniversary/engagement/etc etc.

Why do people ask for this kind of attention on an airplane when they don't ask for it at the grocery store?

I guess I don't understand whats the big deal about doing it for an extra special event. Shopping in a store is definetely not the same situation as a person travelling in a celebration of a monumentous occasion in their life. What does it cost you to show customer-care? My son flew LH on his 13th birthday and the flight attendants presented him with the flight plan signed by the captain and all the crew. It was really nice especially because we didn't ask for anything. I bet you work for a US carrier. Because they did this I have more affinity to select LH for my next travel plans including full-fare business travel.

Something quiet like that shouldn't be a problem, but the major US carriers fly about 200,000 people a day. That would probably amount to several hundreds of announcements every day. It would get old fast, very fast. Many of us who fly like to fly in peace and dislike the number of announcements we already have.

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It's due to inability of people to look beyond themselves. Your birthday,which occurs once a year, every year, is an insignificanrt event for others. In a group of 60 people, the probability of any two people having the same birthday is already more than 99%. My birthday, anniversary, or anything else is my private matter and I have no desire to share with strangers, some if whom might be willing to sit in my seat, hog my space or a shared armrest. ;)
I don't understand why some people want attention from strangers.

I really don't understand it either. Why would I want a few hundred strangers to know that it's my birthday/anniversary? On any flight there are sure to be several people in the same situation.

It's a throwback to the 'good ol' days' when flying was a special event - A once-in-a-lifetime thing for many people. So if you had a special event (birthday) on top of a special event (plane flight) it was unique, and it got called out. The tradition carries over today, even though flying is as common as going to the drug store.

every time i travel, at least one special event is happening. dog's birthday. we are going to peoria. my mom is feeling better. give it a break. get face book, go to your church, announce on yahoo. the people there really really care.

i do not watch the entertainment on a plane(other than the people), but i would be really upset if my watching of some movie were interrupted 250 times to hear who is getting married in hawaii tomorrow and is on the plane with her 10 bridesmaids, or that the kincaid(illinois) flashes have a critical game tomorrow. on a domestic flight, that would be 1 announcement a minute. and, if you don't think my important moment is not the most important of all on the plane, think again.

i also think we should have a separate forum for "help me plan my wedding/honeymoon"

Personally, I can think of many, many places I'd rather spend my birthday than strapped into a cramped seat inside a pressurised metal tube at 30,000 ft.

Perhaps its just the folks with a sense of entitlement doing this, in the USA?

Why can't you just REFUSE them saying PA is only for business purposes, not for pax life events. Hand them back the note. Simple.

Never heard any such thing on any of the other international airline. Keep it that way please, as the annoucements regarding duty free and sales onboard are already too much disturbance while trying to kill time being immersed in a movie or program.

I think it has something to do with the tendancy people have to think THEIR situation is special, when it is just like anyone elses.

I see alot of that on FT. It is very common for those complaining about an incident with an airline to highlight the purpose of their trip as being critical and that the airline should have taken that into account. For example, a common newbie complaint is that a flight was cancelled (even when due to weather) and that they were late for their sister's wedding as a result..or that they ended up late for a very important biz meeting..or that it ruined their honeymoon. It's like police taking statements..they want just the facts, but the witnesses always say something more like moral judgements and dance around the facts. Complainers talk about the "condescending attiude of the agent", or get up in arms when they split itineraries across 3 airlines and the airlines did not commnicate to each other that the pax was delayed The fact is, as the COC states, the airlines are only responsible for getting the pax from point A to point B, not for weighing the import of the trip for the passenger. They don't (and are not obligated to) care if you are going to your sister's wedding, going to a convention, or are on your honeymoon.

It is a great peeve of mine to see folks either here on FT or on the airplanes suggest that it being their anniversary or honeymoon entitles them to a free UG. There are hundreds of thousands of people who pass through each airline each day, and thousands of them are ALSO on their honeymoon or anniversary...in a crowd, what is special is actually mundane.

And no, I am not giving up my aisle seat to you because you are newlyweds who somehow could not sit together.

Those who like this crap..and let's face it, it's mostly Kettles and that low rent airline "Southworst" that they fly...and are not exposed to it constantly have no idea how annoying it is to be awakned or startled by useless announcements constantly. I want as much peace and quiet as possible. I don't care that it's the anniversary of some peon, and nobody else but that peon does either. It is NOT levity. It's annoying.

As an airline employee, I am sure you have developed interesting ways of saying No.

Because for you flying is a job related daily routine, for many others still a special event.

Empathy helps in life.

Or harms.

How does empathy harm?

Yeah, damn passengers asking someone to do something nice for them. Life would be so much easier without them, wouldn't it?

I'll tell you something - I've heard more announcements of FA's announcing that it is their colleagues anniversary or birthday more often than for pax.

Same reason - you are locked in a tube with >100 people, and it is nice to lighten the mood. I recommend doing the same.

By making the rest of us have to listen to needless anouncements.