I ignore this safety announcement, and the others that are generically canned and repititous. Thankfully, the newspapers are handed out ahead of time.

Then again.....I do not talk loudly either, which IMO is rude when done during the FA's breifing. Crude.....but not criminal.

It is law, so they all do it, and will continue doing it, but I guess most of us agree it is a bit boring after the first few 100 times. In Australia (and I am sure the USA and some other countries) all cigarette packages have here HUGE writing on them by law saying

SMOKING CAUSES CANCER
Smoking KILLS
Smoking Causes Birth Defects

etc, etc. Has had little or not effect on those who smoke. ( I dont') but does illustrate how we get numb to ANY message if you see it/hear it often enough.

------------------
~ Glen ~

I almost ALWAYS listen to the in-flight safety announcements. (Except when I"m so tired I fall asleep.) I may have heard them a gazillon times but there's always going to be the time when there's a problem and I want to remember what to do.

I also hate it when people get chatty during the in flight safety announcements.

I had a chatty seatmate, laced with alcohol, who did not shut up. The Male F-A came over and badgered the both of us. I told the guy if he would be quiet I would get him the drink of his choice when we landed and I would save his life if there was a plane problem. (He had a Jim Beam which I tried and made me nautious.)

Good point Beckles and yes PremEx he was an idiot.

Legal Eagle KOKO: thanks for the info on the law. There may be a "Pink" article in this.

If the safety announcements are boring maybe they should get a bunch of us Flyertalkers together and we can do an flight safety video (It can even be humorous!)

Fly Westjet in Canada and you will hear humorous safety announcements. First time I flew them, I had tears in my eyes laughing so hard.

I'll usually listen attentively to the announcements, make eye-contact with the FA, smile and even nod from time to time. It's called being polite. And it's the first step in the type of relationship-building with the FA's that net thank-you gifts from time to time.

OTOH, sometimes I do sleep, read or tune out. But certainly I'd never be so rude as to talk so loudly that I interfered with the FA's legal obligation to orally brief the passengers.

On the one hand, I say again that the FA overreacted. And on the other, sometimes it is nice to see rudeness punished in the extreme...

Jeez, it sure is uncomfortable sitting on this fence http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif.

I find it extremely rude for the cabin crew to tell me to "cease all conversation and put down all reading material" while they recite their safety briefing. The odds of surviving a plane crash just because of some gem of information you gleaned from an oral briefing are next to zero. Some of these flight attendants really do take themselves far too seriously. The public would be much better served by having a well-trained bartender on board and some sweet vermouth and marachino cherries to make a decent Manhattan.

It all comes down to respect, and how we should, and are suppose to, treat one another.

Preventing a Flight Crew Member from performing his/her duties is a Federal offense. As a Flight Attendant, it is my responsibility to make sure each passenger hears the safety announcements. Let us not assume all passengers are as well traveled as you.

Too, if a passenger is going to give me problems prior to take-off, I surely do not want him/her locked in a plane with me. If something were to go wrong, I need all of the cooperation and help I can get, and I need to know to whom I can count on if I am unable perform my duties.

Being a Flight Attendant is not as it use to be. Somewhere along the way, we have lost compassion and respect for another human being.

TransWorldOne expressed my sentiments precisely:

I have had enough of flight attendants "here primarily for (my) safety." Give me a flight attendant primarily dedicated to providing a truly first class service, with safety in mind. Safety is important, don't get me wrong, but it serves as an excuse for poor service far too often. I do my best to respect the flight attendant, I hope (s)he will do the best to keep me comfortable and safe.

Flight attendants are generally nice people and I try to respect everyone -- at least initially -- but let's not delude ourselves (or let them delude us) about their safety role. First, safety issues almost never arise, because probably 99.9% of flights are incident-free. Second, when safety issues do arise, FAs have been known to fall short of expectations. Third, when things really go wrong on an airplane, NOBODY is going to save you!

I'm sure that FAs feel better about their jobs when they cite their "safety" responsibilties, but I'm not impressed. Likewise, I'm not impressed by the ridiculous "security" questions asked at check-in, which collectively waste more time than anything else I can think of at the moment (including waiting at red lights on empty suburban streets at 5 a.m., another of my pet peeves).

Bruce

Sorry, I'm not comfortable leaving this broad-brush slur unchallenged:

I suggest that you read the NTSB reports (http://www.ntsb.gov/aviation/aviation.htm). You'll find some instances in which FAs have been faulted for their actions during accidents and incidents, as well as instances where other crew members and where passengers have been faulted. In my reading of such reports, however, I've seen far more instances in which the FAs were instrumental in preventing or limiting injuries or fatalities. (It's true that no FA announcement or action is going to help if a wing falls off at 37,000 feet; the issue is, for example, when a plane makes an emergency landing and people need to be evacuated as quickly as possible.)

And then it also comes down to a matter of respect for people. Every frequent flyer knows that FAs are required to give the safety demo, and they have given that demo far more times than even the 3-gazillion-mile-a-year flyer has heard the demo. It is sad indeed that some find it so burdensome to shut their traps for those 45-60 seconds and allow the FAs to do their assigned tasks.

OK folks - It is five minutes out of your life that may save your life and someone elses in the case of a survivable incident such as fire, runway collision, pig stampede and the like. We all know how to buckle our seat belts, not smoke but we don't always know where the BEST exit is. Use this time to take a look around. See how you fit in with the other passengers (amount and type) in relationship to the exit and when you've got that figured out plan an alternative. Be quiet, be respectful and be aware. Hope the other guy is doing the same so you don't fumble over each other in case of an emergency.

Awareness, knowledge and PRACTICE saves lives - ask any cop or fireman. I've seen the results of people not using these skills and it ain't nice.

This goes for hotels also. You need to know 2 exits and how to get there in the dark on your stomach because ladders don't reach that far.

FA's serve an essential safety role. FOr those new to flying it provides information and practice and for those on their 5th mileage run this year it provides a reminder to be aware.

Good luck and safe travels.


Dick

wideman,

You read too much into my posting. I did not say that FAs always (or even often) fail to perform during emergencies, just that they "have been known" to not do as well as we might expect. In an incident last year, many news reports cited the poor performance of the FAs, although the accuracy of those reports has been challenged.

I, too, am quiet and couteous during the safety demonstration. Even though it is wasted on me, I understand that it may be quite important to infrequent flyers. In any event, I hardly ever say anything SO important that it can't wait a few minutes!

Bruce

"...Somewhere along the way, we have lost compassion and respect for another human being..."

So sad that there is much truth to this - but perhaps we can ALL try to do our little part to prevent further erosion of kindness and respect and perhaps improve things just a bit! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

My dear friend, Jose Chiu, was killed just days before Thanksgiving day while commanding an evacuation of an A300 in Miami.

The Flight Attendants working that flight tried in vain for 6 minutes to open the doors. One door handle was actually pulled off the the door and was rendered unusable. The cabin filled with smoke and the occupants were screaming and choking. Suddenly, the A300 pressurized and Jose landed on the tarmac. He was killed instantly.

Other than Jose's death, the only other injury was a passenger receiving a strained back. The Flight Attendants did not leave the aircraft until all passengers were safely off of the smoke-filled airplane.

Due to the tone of this board, you won't see me post here any longer. I have met and helped many FTers on the American Airlines board. Helped them on my own time. Taking their suggestions into the Station Manager of LaGuardia and my Base Manager. Meeting with them on my days off, and spending my time and $ for phone calls trying to get a catering situation straightened out, or help with moving their flyer miles from another carrier to American while keeping their high flyer status.

Now I find out what you really think of Flight Attendants (me). We are only on the airplane to make sure YOU and comfortable.

Adieu.

Dear EA/AA/FA,

I apologise to you on behalf of everyone on this thread including myself if you felt that our comments were out of line and contradicted with your professional opinion but do you really need to be so thin skinned? Look what I copped very recently in Buzz for opening my mouth on the issue of infants in the front cabin. I just ignored the posters who I found offensive leaning on the principle that if you touch dirt it sticks and will make you dirty too. I have simply learned to be thick skinned no matter how hurtful various comments may be. Being selfish is not nice but we all have our good days and bad ones.

I sincerely hope that you will not abandon us for such an incident and will continue to contribute your invaluable information to this board.

EA/AA/FA: I don't know you have never met you and never even fly your airline if I can help it. But I want to ask you to reconsider. I for one think it is truly special that you have chosen to participte here...it shows you really care, and we need MORE airline employees like you.