Galley Gossip: Flight attendant fights with a passenger, escapes down the emergency slide and then drives home

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I was a flight attendant for Northwest "back in the day". Customers were more polite, but so were crew members. I'm 47 now and have seen a huge shift in the industry since my days as a 20-something pushing the beverage cart. I left to raise my family - good choice. My husband and I are fortunate enough to travel as often as we like, and it's a RARE day when we encounter a flight attendant with a pleasant expression on his/her face - let alone any offer of courtesy or customer service. When we fly internationally we usually encounter top notch crews and the service reflects that - but moving coast to coast within the U.S. it's every man for himself. Imagine the customer who was probably met with delayed and overbooked flights (all too common), surly personnel from counter to gate to aircraft. Can't blame the airline for the body cavity check you receive at screening, but it certainly adds to the overall experience. You're finally on board where the airlines have cut every possible comfort and convenience but not the fares.....and THEN some f/a with an attitude (sorry, but a normal person doesn't flip out, grab beer, and pop the slide) starts DEMANDING an apology from you, the paying customer who has been treated like a nuisance from the beginning of the trip? I'm thinking that f/a may have had it coming. That said, there's never any excuse for a customer cursing or shoving a crew member - but maybe, just maybe, JetBlue's Steven Slater was getting back some of what he'd been sending out. I've experienced plenty of flight attendants who seem to forget that the people in the seats are paying their salaries. I can't say that I've truly walked in their shoes. When I flew things were much different, we had more to offer our customers and more options for making them happy. But I have found that no matter what the situation, courtesy and friendliness tend to diffuse it. And to the flight attendants who will scream that no one understands how difficult their jobs are, that they are unappreciated,etc.....get in line behind teachers, nurses, etc. If it's that bad, pop the chute and pursue another line of work. It ain't brain surgery.

8-10-2010 @ 9:50PM

Megan said...

I would love to know who you are flying where the flight attendants are sourly and rude every flight? Really? I am a flight attendant and while I have a bad day every once in a while- I can leave those feelings behind when passengers step on my plane. I always have a smile on my face and 9 times out of 10 it is genuine. I also work out of New York where we have delays, the flights are packed and sometimes overbooked. In my view, the good outweighs the bad and I am a happy Flight Attendant.

I've had people scream at me before and no, I have never thought about doing something as dramatic as Slater. Do I judge him? Not really. I don't know what he has gone through in his career so I have nothing to base my opinion on. I just know what when I leave, it will not be a scene anything like that.

Please don't bash all US Flight Attendants. There are a lot of us out there that work hard and love our jobs.

8-11-2010 @ 3:12PM

Heather Poole said...

Jeanette - *I* did not delete your first response. The only time posts are deleted are when they use inappropriate language, are hateful, link to porn sites, or are spam. But I do not know why your post was deleted.

8-11-2010 @ 4:30PM

Jeanette said...

Heather, that's hilarious. I can promise you that my response was not inappropriate, spam, linked to a porn site or any of the other offenses you listed. This conversation is pointless and your attitude affirms my initial opinion. Good luck with all that.

Bye
Buh-bye.
Bye now.
Byyyye.
Goodbye.
Buh-bye.
(Starting to sound familiar?)

8-11-2010 @ 4:38PM

Heather Poole said...

1. Your suspicions are false and I find it sad that you (of all people) would let a few flight attendants (The napkin nazi, a nonsmiler, and me) lead you to this conclusion. I'd say 90% of flight attendants are awesome. Yes, there are a few bad apples in the bunch, but that's just how it is with every job. It's easy to judge, and that's what's wrong with society today. I'm not just blaming passengers either. Flight attendants do the same.

2. I hope you don't think I was accusing you of those things (spam, language, etc) I was just saying that is what is typically deleted from the comments. I don't care if you agree with me or not and that wouldn't cause me to delete a post. Now I'm curious as to why your post was deleted. I'll check into it.

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