Rudest Airline Crew
 

Hello everyone. I have almost never posted a thread and always prefer to read what others have to say. A friend of mine is a flight attendant and she was on Airlinecrew.net when I had a chance to read some of the stuff they posted. I was absolutely shocked at their observations and comments reagrding passengers. One posting referred to passengers as SLC - self loading cargo - and some of them made a very big deal about the smallest things passengers say and do.

Before reading their postings I always paid cabin crew professional courtesy due to a safety professional, paid attention to the safety demo, said please and thank you and if I ever ask for anything out of their service order always said, " whenever you are next free may I please...." No more!!! Now as far as I'm concerned they are just wait help on a fast moving object.

So in return I would like to ask you what airline, in your experience, has the rudest flight attendants in the industry? While we are at it, lets also add ugliest uniform and oldest most tired looking crew categories and crappiest service.

Ua....
 

...I was on an UA flight from CDG to....I think SFO in eco, but it's a few years back (and a few years since I flew UA), so it may have been to somewhere else on the west coast. I had had a hard week with little sleep, so by the time we took off, I was napping. I have fairly long legs, and had recently had knee surgery, although this was mostly healed up - "mostly" is the operative word here, I still had stiffness, pain and a fragile joint.

Anyways, upon takeoff, I gather that the gentleman in the seat in front of me wanted to recline his seat, but (due to my legs) couldn't, and I didn't register anything since I was by now fast asleep....not for long, though: he summoned a FA, who proceeded to apply his full body-weight in slamming the seatback backwards - yes, into my knees.

I woke up with...shall we say "a loud exclamation of discomfort and pain". The FA looked at me with a grim face and said "just shut up and spread your legs...."

Had I been female and american, I'd have filed a sexual harrasment suit right there and then.

Ok, as if that wasn't bad enough, I was now in pain and wanted to take one of my strong prescription painkillers - so I asked the FA for a glass of water. Without a word, he left....30 min passed, I flagged another FA with the same request, adding that I really needed it to take my medicine....another 30 min. I pressed the call button.....nothing...pressed it on-off-on-off....nothing.

I then proceeded to crawl (yes...walking was no longer an option due to my surgery acting up) into the pantry, where three FAs were busy flipping through a peoples magazine, and starting searching through the storages until I found a bottle of water. The FAs simply shrugged, and kept to their peoples magazine, letting me crawl back to my seat.

Deplaning, I asked for assistance to get out, but was told that "you walked in, you can well walk out..." Well, the good news was by the time I'd made way from the gate to immigration, all other passengers had cleared so I didn't have to wait in line - have to look at the bright side of things.

Contacting UA about the incident, I got a patronizing letter with no apologies in return.

That was the last time I flew UA - LHR and SK have been happy to take my ~100KEur/year in transatlangic airfares ever since, and while not flawless have at least neither tried to cause me physical damage nor insulted me verbally.

Not another thread about this.......

anyways, my motto was/is/and always be "you get back what you put in"

Never really had a problem with any FAs. On occasion there were some lazy ones, some were not very helpful, but in most cases, if not all cases, at the very minimum, doing their job as required.

I have flown 1/2 BIS M miles in the last few years so I experienced many different situations....

for the amount of crap these people have to put up with from spoiled passengers who think they are entitled to special treatment, I think they do a great job. First of all, some people are never please, so some FA's are always going to complain. As long as they do their job and are not abusive to you, why should I care what they think of me? I am polite, as long as I get that in response, I am good. I then also remember, everyone is entitiled to a bad day.
I fly every week and I know if I were a FA, I would be biting my tongue all the time. People trying to cram oversized bags in the overhead bin, trying to keep everything orderly, having to pick up after people after a flight (and I see all the time, people leaving their trash for the FA's to clean up).

Voop, sounds like yours went beyond a crew having a bad day, you had a bad crew. I would have taken names and stayed with it until these people lost their jobs.

Whilst i understand and appreciate that cabin crew do endure certain stresses that are entirely unique to their profession - they are still in the service industry - not the safety and security industry.

If you are incapable of treating someone with the least bit of respect then one would suggest that this is not the career for you. I've had some great crews who worked hard and provided service with a smile under the hardest conditions - but i cannot understand the ones who seem to go out of their way to make sure your trip is memorable for the wrong reasons.

I used to work in the service industry - and i shudder to think what would happen to my business if my chambermaids or waiters were treating customers like how cabin crew treat customers - i'd be out of business in a flash. I think that a lot of the airliners are now waking up to that reality.

All I say is
 

NWA - never again.

I have a good friend who was a purser on an asian airline. Part of it is the whole male fantasy thing (which I enjoy too!)

But basically both sides can collaborate in this... because it suits both parties. The illusion only breaks down if either side crosses a line.

She has been seriously stalked. One Japanese guy would regularly take international flights just to try and see her working. When successful he would get a taxi to follow the cabin crew bus where he would try and check-in at the same hotel. He would then book the same flight back - guessing or "knowing" the rosta.

There have been attempted rapes - including by flight crew and "VIP" passengers (eg on diplomatic trips). As a job, its a mixed bag.

On the other hand, some of her female colleagues define got a "kick" out of mingling with rich and powerful men - some had this is an objective of taking the job. They'd do it for a couple of years until married off.

But most of her friends are part of a closs knit group. The do their jobs professionally and with a friendly smile. They actually enjoy doing a good service and appreciate genuine gratitude for a job well done. On every flight there are always some guys that "fancy" themselves. She always has a bundle of namecards to throw away as they pass through security - all left by guys who wanted just something more than inflight service.

I fly UA primarily, so for the occasional flight I take on another carrier...I don't think it's enough to judge.

I can say, however, I've had the best crew of my life on UA, and I've had the worst crew of my life on UA.

It's a very common joke in the industry, and not necessarily derogatory. Another PPlace has a forum dedicated to "Passengers and SLF", and many of us SLF refer to ourselves as such.

I think if you fly enough you run into rude ones and good ones on any airlines, exception being SQ. It is amazing what a difference pleasant FAs can make in the whole plane - people relax. And considering what we all have to go through to even get on board, I think it is the FAs job to try to help us relax. By the way, get rid of the loud music!!

Worst ever - CO iah to lgw in business, thoroughly miserable start to finish, funnily enough the NWA crew from HNL to LAX were superb on the same holiday despite the opinions of some others

I agree that flight crews have to put up with.....on an every workday basis...more rude and outrageous behavior than just about anyone else.

Speaking just from personal experiences, I find that most flight crews do their jobs in a very competent and professional manner with varying degrees of politeness and civility. The most polite tend to be on WN and other discounters. Where I'm most apt to encounter a rude crew is on one of the legacies....especially on a transatlantic or other long haul.

If this sounds like I'm a cheerleader for the discounters and about to bash the legacy carriers, that's not the case at all. I have a theory, however.

On the legacies' long haul runs, you tend to get the more senior FAs. These people are certainly and rightfully the most jaded. After many years of being mistreated by their managment and their pax, they're just plain fed up. They hate their companies, if not also their jobs, and they hate their customers....at least the rude and boorish behavior they have to put up with.

If I'm correct about this, it would explain how many of them....but certainly not all...go about their work. The precision and efficiency of a master sergeant....as well as with all the warmth and charm.

Worst individual crew? In each case ORD-LHR. I'll respectfully decline to name the airline, (but only three fly the route). Seperate flights, same airline.

Tossup between the FA who was making a point of not providing change for drink orders, or the crew that waited 5-10 minutes (no stretch) to respond to a lady passed out on the cabin floor in front of the lav. They were finishing meal service and ignoring frantic attempts from pax (including myself) to alert them to the problem. When they did finally respond, they didn't seem to know what to do, other than get blankets and pillows. (The lady turned out to be fine, btw. We all thought she was drunk, but she hadn't been imbibing at all. It was a medication issue).

French-based UA crews :)
On my last flight, the FA made some derogatory comments about my wife to another FA after my wife asked a question about the food. She didn't realize that I speak fluent French. I was dealing with an emergency at the time so, I didn't have the energy to pursue the matter.

And as far as I'm concerned it's a very common joke, and not necessarily derogatory, to refer to FAs as loadmasters when they treat me as little more than cargo.

I must lead a VERY charmed life!
 

How come I rarely, if ever, see any of that? What type of rude behavior do you witness?