fastair

I asked the same questions a couple of days ago. No answer from the OP. Multiple flight attendants, passengers boarding while coats are being hung up, passengers are being greated, pre-dptr dinks are being served. OP didn't clarify how long he had waited for his coat, how long the flight attendant was serving drinks, what part of the baoding process this was.

One needs to provide a greater level of detail when posting 1 side of an incident to allow other to have as close to a neutral and complete knowledge of the incident. One sided stories are rarely neutral, so one can make up for that partially by providing every detail possible. Much discussion on this thread, very little actual 1st hand info to draw any conclusions from.

N1120A

You do know that the HKG flights are operated by HKG-based FAs, right? Have been for a long time.

^^

Its funny. I never, ever have poor experiences with PMUA FAs. PMCO, I've had quite a few. USAirways East, yeesh. But never with PMUA.

elitetraveler

I agree. Unfortunately the U.S. legacy carriers have a well earned reputation for a non-acceptable level of rudeness to customers.

As to multi-tasking bellboys vs. FAs, I've been neither so can't comment which is a more difficult job. I think bellboys get quite a bit of abuse when bags 'take too long to get up' to the room.

uwr

There was a bad typo in my post (now corrected). The curtains on UA have NOT been solid since 9/11 - you can see through them for safety reasons.

Non-American carriers sometimes have slightly different standards for a variety of safety issues.

kyc1964

Actually I don't know that HKG flights are operated by HKG-based FAs. Most of the FAs on my flights are Americans.

moondog

Lots of Americans live in Hong Kong, and some of them work for UA. (I didn't know that all HK flights were staffed by HK crews, but given the fact that all of my HK flights in recent memory have been, this makes sense).

kyc1964

Interesting. Unfortunately this "HK crew" is nothing when it comes to service compared to their CX counterparts who are the real "HK crew". I will try to talk to the FAs on my next flight later this month to see where they are based.

ech207

Hi, sorry I did not see these questions earlier. In fact, I left out some details intentionally because I think they actually distract from the key point - more on that later...

I boarded very early and actually waited for about 20 minutes before the flight attendant came around with drinks (another dissapointment in my mind, but Iess of an issue). Previously I had tried to get the attention of various crew members but they seemed busy and often rushed by. Thinking they must be really busy, I thought I would just wait until they came by - after all, they are supposed to greet customers, serve drinks, distribute menus, etc. right? As others have noted, of course I did not expect her to drop everything. Nor do I think my wording or tone implied anything like that. At worst, my tone may have been neutral but I tend to smile when I talk to strangers - something UA personnel could learn. As for the rest of the flight the service was neither exceptional nor poor. I would describe it as indifferent. Definitely not "spunky" like others have suggested. More like, when does my shift end!

As for the curtains, there were none between F and C on both flights. Pretty sure this was the case as when the lights were turned on in C it became pretty bright in F even though the lights were off! I will note that there was a transparent looking curtain between Y and C.

Back to the point earlier on whether the context matters. Yes, context is helpful at times. However, I view this particular instance as cut and dry: I asked in a reasonable tone for something. The response was with an attitude. Unless I am being outright rude, should I expect anything less than a polite response?

fastair

Thnx Ech for the added details....it clears up some possible "outs" that I might have given the FA.

mduell

100%?

I've had some longhaul HKG flights with obvious mostly Chinese cabin crews, but also some that appeared to be US based.

What about the LCC B738 flights? Are they also HKG based cabin crews?

DeltaFirst

I had the exact same experience a few weeks ago on the upper deck of a 747 during a flight from SYD to SFO. The lead flight attendant made a similar comment, similar situation, made me feel awkward for asking if they intended to collect coats. I ended up handing it to another flight attendant who at the time wasn't otherwise engaged. Something else about this FA that was annoying was when she would speak, she'd begin her conversation looking at me and then half way through she'd do a 180 while still speaking halfway through the sentence leaving me wondering what she just said.

Personally, I've had better experiences with FAs on UA during long haul flights when I sit in Y. CO was the same way, so this merger will blend airline cultures perfectly.

uwr

You should expect a polite response. Sorry to hear that you were treated impolitely.

Fair, enough!

rankourabu

Not even the purser greets you by name in UA F - on others, the captain comes and has chitchats with every F pax welcoming them to the flight

UA F - predeparture drinks are in a plastic cup - enough said

UA-NYC

Very much a YMMV situation - I have been addressed by name many times

ech207

Guess it is hard for senior citizens to remember people's names all the time