beaum

So I'm somewhere over the midwest in a 321. I'm watching the FC flight attendant who is watching his/her personal DVD player with his/her headphones on. He/She is sitting in the galley area with the DVD player up on the ledge where they prepare the food.

cwe84

And??? Has this F/A somehow not paid enough attention to you? Since its a 321 I assume its a rather long flight? Is someones safety at risk? Details we need details! Just throwing out there that a F/A is watching a DVD to pass the time is no different than one reading the paper...

coachrowsey

Agreed with cwe84.

slomrtwo

Were you actually "expecting" an attentive FA doing their job on US? I find them to be a bonus when they show up. It's not like you're flying a Euro or Asian carrier

beaum

There is a big difference. Reading doesn't require headphones. As far as service, it wasn't great. On a 10 point scale I'd put it at a 3.5.

CPRich

And reading doesn't require power. But a DVD doesn't generate garbage. A DVD doesn't rub off on your hands making them black. And a DVD holds a lot more information than a newspaper or book. One is metal and plastic, one is probably paper. You're right, there's a big difference between the two.

But it still doesn't answer the question... And???

PHL

I'm surprised an FA would be allowed to wear personal headphones while on duty. Wouldn't that potentially prevent them from hearing any calls from other crew, the cockpit, passenger emergencies, etc.?

AZ Travels the World

It doesn't seem much of a stretch to discern that the 'and' is a question of both safety and appropriateness.

The FA is in the galley, out of view of the cabin, with headphones on watching a movie.

The level of distraction and isolation is substantially higher than if the FA were reading -- still able to hear whatever might be happening in the cabin. Say a scuffle of some type breaks out -- it would very likely not be until someone hit the call button that the sound rose above what was playing through the headphones.

I saw this recently on a US transcon flight, with a long-time FA doing the same thing. It struck me as odd and I was surprised that it was allowed.

I don't think it's a huge deal, but since the FAs are there "primarily for our safety," isolating themselves with headphones and a movie seems a little inconsistent with that purpose.

Mr. Vker

Are FA's "on" all of the time? No "downtime" or breaks on the transcons?

BoeingBoy

On duty - yes. The required passenger service does have down time but they're still on duty.

Jim

futurectdoc

If I watched a DVD while at work I would have been sacked no questions asked. People like that FA are a disgrace. Want to watch movies, then do it on your own time.

BoeingBoy

To clarify that a little, it applies to transcons since that's what was asked. TA flights do have off duty time to comply with crew rest/duty time limits.

Jim

GaryZ

OMG, you're joking, right?

Sparrow_Hawk

Why Oh Why does this happen only on US in my experience?

You either get a F/A who was sent from heaven by God himself or you end up with one from a place warmer and further south

I have NEVER in my worklife run up on a more Jeykl/Hyde workforce in my life.

Grunion

I think there are 2 issues at play here (1) service level standards and (2) safety. On the service level standard - this is problematic. When "on-duty" you should be "on-duty". When you look at the FA's on foreign carriers (the alleged "higher" standard") I don't even ever recall seeing them reading a magazine (on OZ, AC, BA, LH, etc.) - perhaps they do, but if they do they apparently do it discretely and clearly out of sight of passengers. Watching a DVD with headphones on ?? I chuckle at this visual - an OZ of LH flight attendant would I suspect be canned on the spot if they did this. As Jim points out above - if you are on a TATL flight and are on a "break" then your time is your own and read a magazine or watch a DVD to your hearts content.....otherwise focus on the service and your duty obligations.

I think the safety issue is much more serious - as AZ Travels the World points out, having headphones on could seriously inhibit an FA's ability to do their job. Would it be permissable for them to sit in the jump seat and listen to their iPod ?? No - how would they hear the call button, the ring from the cockpit, a passanger in distress, etc.

If I witnessed this sort of thing I would take a moment to write an e-mail to the VP of inflight. Poor service.....regrettable. Safety issue....unacceptable.

Grunion