Can a 767 Flight Attendant enlighten me on this one:
The Overture guide and the uswairways.com web site both clearly state that the full selection of programming on the personal TVs will be available to First class passengers on North American/domestic legs.
Yet, when I have flown domestic trips on the 767 (i.e. PHL-LAX, LAX-PIT), the Flight Attendants only play the main movie. When asked about the additional programming for the personal TVs, I am told that those are only for international flights. When I point out the text in the Overture guide that reads: ''North American Westbound/Southbound'' or ''North American Eastbound/Northbound'', they are befuddled.
Cases in point:
10/4 US #11 PHL-LAX
Movie starts (About a Boy) for entire plane. I ask flight attendant about additional channels for personal TVs. He says he''s only supposed to play the one movie for everyone. I show him the Overture guide with the text and he eventually plays the selections for Program A. When they end, he does not cycle the tapes for program B selections, even though there is about 2 1/2 hours left on the flight.
10/7 US #48 LAX-PIT
Movie starts (Greek Wedding) for entire plane. I ask flight attendant about additional channels for personal TVs. He says he''s only supposed to play the one movie for everyone. There are no Overture guides in the seatback pockets this time. He says those are only for international flights. I explain that they also apply to domestic legs, too, but he''s adamant and holds firm that he''s been trained only to play the one movie. He goes on to explain that it is written in his 767 Operations Manual(or whatever it''s called) that they are to only run the one tape for the entire plane.
Is this a discrepancy where marketing tells the customer one thing, but in reality the employees are trained to do something else? Left hand not talking to the right? This has been a problem for at least 6 months, but probably longer. I know people have complained, so I don''t know why it''s a problem still after this long. These birds have been doing transcon routes for years, and the personal TVs have been in them since 1997''ish.
How much out of pocket does it really cost the company to run more than 1 movie? electricity?,fuel?The labor to turn a few switches on and off?The replacement of the movie if it wears out prematurely?I am befuddled as well.
Good question. I can tell you this about the 767 on Domestic. We have what... 11 of those airplanes? Most flight attendants rarely fly those because they are few and far between. These are the typical reasons that I run into for not being able to show all movies in 1st Class in the 767.
1. The tapes are sealed in the Transatlantic drawer.
2. The tapes for DOMESTIC (i.e....no Dutch or French subtitles) are missing.
3. The deck of 8 Hi-8 VCR's is growling/ hissing and generally not being cooperative.
4. It takes 30 minutes to setup properly and being domestic departure there are just not enough Flight Attendants to handle pre-departers...meal verification and boarding. (Since we only can get on the aircraft about 40 minutes prior to departure usually)
5. Most of the flight attendants are not familiar with the operation of the 767 system. (It's not like the A330 where you just turn it on and it's done)
Now, you are correct. The movies are ALL supposed to be played on the 767 1st class. I try to make an effort to do so however it is generally a total disaster trying to do so.
The 767 is generally not handled well by ALL department. It's mostly international and when I fly it, I have to watch catering VERY CLOSELY. They don't know the airplane either and forget everything or put everything in the wrong place.
Yes, there are instructions on how to set it up however, it's like reading Greek.
Sorry that this is occurring. I will email management to see if a memo can be sent out WITH better instructions to correct this problem.
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On 10/8/2002 4:32:23 PM PHL wrote:
Left hand not talking to the right?
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I doubt that this is the first passenger to notice US Airways corporate culture. This kind of attention (not) to detail is rampant all throughout the system. When the employees complain, they're simply labeled overpaid malcontents.
Please, if your a customer, don't be shy about writing a letter to our company and telling them about your experiences.
We, the front line employees, want you to have a safe and enjoyable trip!
When the 767 is on a domestic run, it is First class. Envoy is the service name given to that cabin on international legs.
Now, I did email Ben B. about this problem a few weeks ago. He had his manager of In-Flight Entertainment get back to me. The gentleman was very nice and called me (got my number from DM profile) to explain a lot of what has been said in this thread. I posted the gist of my conversation with him in flyertalk.com, so here's a link. His response is detailed in reply number 14:
there is no envoy on domestic flights even on 767, it is considerd first... the airline pays royalties on all movies shown each and everytime a movie is shown.. unless it has been changed back, since 9/11, every one sees the same movie in first and coach on 767 the magazine hasnt been changed, although it couldve changed since then.that been said, 9 outta 10 times theres only one movie boarded..
The magazine (Attache) has never detailed the personal TV selections on the 767 - it has only listed the main movies shown to everyone for domestic and international. This applies to all the planes except the A330, which has its own selection.
But the Overture guide and usairways.com websites have listed, for quite some time now, that the full selection of programming is available on the personal TVs on international AND domestic flights on the 767. My conversation with the manager of in-flight entertainment confirmed that it is an amenity that should be provided on the 767.
My understanding is that the in-seat video screens on the 767 domestic are part of the 767 product and all the movie choices are to be offered. As someone else mentioned, many of the F/A's rarely fly the 767 and don't know how to work the system. It's really not that hard, if someone shows you how. It's the directions printed on the side of door where the video equipment is that makes it seem complicated.
Also, dragging out the movie suitcase and sorting through the cassettes takes time. If you have a good D and G flight attendant, the A should have no problem finding the time to get it organized. Also, in my opinion, the location for the video equipment is in a bad spot. During the preflight, the pilots are in and out of the cockpit doing their jobs, so it's a real tango dance to get it set up before boarding. Plus catering needing supervision, plus getting the cabin ready for boarding....you can see it gets hectic. It's not impossible to get it done, I manage it fine, but then I fly the 767 often.
Our passengers really do enjoy having the choice. I wish in-flight services could make sure all the f/a's know this is now part of the program.
I regularly jumpseat on Flight 48 LAX-PIT on the 767; in fact I was onboard on 10/7 but since first was full I remained in the cockpit. When there is room in first and I get a seat thereI have found that about 65% of the time they show multiple programs. It seems to be up to the discredtion of the f/a's working the flight. Having flown the 767 I can back up the comments of an earlier poster who said most of our f/a's so seldom fly the plane that they really have little idea how to run the system. I agree it's being handled in a sloppy manner; not good enough for the prices being paid to sit up there.
Well, it would be nice if we had the G Flight Attendant anymore. The position has been more or less eliminated after 9/11. Just like we lost the F F/a on the 757. Once in a while when Venus is in retrograde, scheduling will put a G F/A on the 767.
No, on certain West Coast meal flights the F is covered as an EXTRA position on the 757. Same with the G on the 767. Before 9/11 it was standard. Now it must be booked to a certain number of passengers and we must have enough people on duty to cover it.