Flight Attendants Work Hard

[700UW]

Flight attendants work hard


When's the last time you dealt with a drunk who threatened you and your crew, or with a scared child traveling alone with no one to talk to but you?

Have you had to face hundreds of folks and explain a four-hour delay, especially on little sleep and a 14-hour duty day?

Do you fight fires at 35,000 feet or administer oxygen? Have you seen co-workers perish in a crash, and yet put your wings on again?

Are you gone for most of the month, away from your family and friends? Or have you sat on reserve for 15-plus years, never knowing if you'll fly or when?

Has your vacation and sick time that took you years to acquire been slashed to the core? Have you been tossed in a severe storm or dealt with a fearful flier?

Do you look over your shoulder while at work in case of impending attack? Does your training include self-defense? Did you fly anxious soldiers to Iraq?

Have you helped an elderly passenger in pain, or ever worked a flight understaffed? Or watched as our gates are given away to "regional jet" aircraft?

Have you seen poor decisions devour your company, and then seen VIPs rewarded for failure? Ever heard of "Metro Jet?"

Do you stay in hotels that are dirty and loud with security that's below "poor?" Been rerouted to fly additional legs and paid not one penny more?

We continually hold this airline together. Doing our jobs plus, flight attendants pick up the ball the others have dropped. Please stop demeaning us!

 

[wench]

Bob, get serious already...

That is NO COMPARISON>>>>

You are talking Apples and Oranges or this case SOUR GRAPES :down:

 

[javaboy]

Absolutely NO ARGUMENT HERE>>>>>

i thought the poster of MY MOM IS A FLIGHT ATTENDANT NOT A PUNCHING BAG near one of the gates in the CLT terminal years back was especially poinant

1. you are in the most direct and longest contact with all UAIR customers.
2. you can make a good trip bad or a bad trip good (for both fellow crew and customers alike)
3. comfort a child or put an adult acting like one in place.
4. listen with a sympathetic ear about the worlds problems caused by 9/11 from customers or neighbors alike just waiting for them to realize who they are talking too.
5. not remind those that have memorials for 9/11 folks (god bless em all) but forget that more airline crew died that day than police officers.

but you know what.... certain kinds of people are in aviation, more specifically airlines. So you and your co workers are special, even if nobody outwardly recognizes it!

KEEP EM FLYING!!!

 

[jbragg476]

BOB-

You need to check yourself!! I have been both a Customer Service Rep.. as well as a Flight Attendant.

Both jobs are equally demanding! Each one has their perks... IE nights home with family every night and overtime or Travel. (CSR/FA) But until you've worked both jobs you have no room to talk. True the CSR's take most of the brunt. But as a F/A... you don't know what could happen @ 30,000 nor do you have security on line 1 to back you up! Whether you are a CSR or a F/A, you choose the profession and you deal with what is dealt with you day to day. But you are the one who makes that choice.. and YOU sir, have no room to talk. BOTH are equally important and professional careers. So save it.. hoss.

 

[USAirBoyA330]

PineyBob:
Uhhhhg.....I stopped paying attention to your posts LONG ago but you continue to just insult and annoy. Plus you seem to have no clue about what Flight Attendant really do....get a clue.

 

[ktflyhome]

F/A's are Customer Service ALSO!!!! On the ground as well as in the air.

I just knew SOMEONE would jump on the band wagon to tear the article down and through jabs at the F/A's. Just didn't know which Poster would be first.

Kind of surprised it's Piney, considering RoachFEST 04 is just around the corner.
But.....then again......NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!! :down:

 

[Dea Certe]

Oh PineyBob!

When those things that "almost never happen" happen, it can be a real disaster. Flight attendants always keep those situations in mind, every day, every flight. We cannot walk out the door at 35,000 feet. We can't call the cops or fire department. We have to deal with them, appropriately, on the spot.

No one is saying other people don't work hard at their chosen professions. I seriously doubt many people have jobs that are "play" and not "work." Some jobs are more stressful than others. Some people have more control over their work environments. In the airline business, it is what it is. The only thing we can control is our attitude about it.

Dea

 

[Light Years]

This is why F/a's average over $40,000 instead of $20,000 in annual income.

Where is that figure from? Maybe thats an average for the remainder (still working at mainline) US F/As, most of whom's careers can be measured in decades. It certainly is not representative of the industry in general. $40K isnt much, but for a F/A at ANY type of airline its certainly not something they'd see in their first few years, particularly these days. At most LCCs, commuters and particularly Express carriers the only way they'd see 40K a year was if they were picking pockets, slinging dope, and turning tricks on thier trips. :unsure:

 

[Light Years]

Well I also saw an article on here claiming that most F/As make around $16,000 a year. I guess it depends on the source and what thay are trying to sell to the reader. Sadly, the lower figures are a reality unless you are senior and working for a major, who seem to be joining everyone else in the dregs. Our once noble profession has been reduced to the level of a hotel housekeeper. Ooops, scratch that, they make more than Express F/As. :down:

 

[hobbes]

Pardon me for intruding, as this is not a forum I usually post in, but I think I understand the root of what PineyBob is trying to say.

Nobody can completely understand anyone else's job...unless they do it. And the bottom line of it is, all of us have trying circumstances in our jobs. Nobody really understands our job as well as we would like them to. We could ALL probably sit down and write an editorial like that about our work. Every job has its good and bad points.

The problem is, most people think Flight Attendants are glorified waitresses (I am not in this group, please understand). And while they do spend a good deal of time in the air serving drinks, etc., there is a safety aspect to their job that the average Joe does not recognize.

But the issue I have with that editorial is that it does little to make anyone sympathize with a flight attendant. In fact, it makes me tend to roll my eyes a little, because the editoral comes across sounding whiney. That line about watching your co-workers perish in a crash and then putting back on your wings...blessedly, that's happened to an extremely select few flight attendants. Yet, this article tries to make it sound as though it were a common occurance. That and fighting fires. In an attempt to make a point, it overstates itself at times.

The author of that article would have gotten more sympathy and understanding from her readers had she not taken those extremely rare events and made them sound as though they were an everyday occurance. The whole tone of the article is off, IMHO. I worry that the average Joe would read that and say, "Well BOO FRIGGIN' HOO...give me a break." Because, without meaning to, the article comes across as saying, "Listen to how hard MY job is! Pity me!"

If this author had wanted to generate some understanding, I think she should have written, "A Day in the Life of a Flight Attendant." Almost like a diary. I think that would have generated a better understanding and respect from customers, without sounding like a plea for pity. If people knew what the average flight attendant goes through in the course of a trip, they would probably be shocked and amazed.

Please understand, I'm trying to look at this from the average Joe perspective. I myself have the utmost respect for flight attendants. My issue with this editorial is not the flight attendant's job itself, but rather the way in which the editorial was written. I think if you want to create a bridge of understanding with your audience, you have to speak on a level they will understand. And quite frankly, I think an editorial such as this one could do more harm than good.

Actually, now that I think about it...that would be cool. I wonder if a newspaper would be willing to accept a special editorial journal from a flight attendant? Just write about a trip from start to finish, three or four days. Leave out the emotional appeals, etc. and just write about what happens - the delays, sitting on reserve, bad hotels, rude customers, etc. I bet a lot of people would find it very interesting. I bet that in itself would generate a great response from the flying public. Just a thought.

 

[Light Years]

That line about watching your co-workers perish in a crash and then putting back on your wings...blessedly, that's happened to an extremely select few flight attendants. Yet, this article tries to make it sound as though it were a common occurance.

PSA 182 1978
PSA 1771 1987
USAir 5050 1989
USAir 1493 1991
USAir 1016 1994
USAir 427 1994

I think any US Airways employee who was with the company at these times would tell you that the losses are deep and lasting, and not something to be thrown around so lightly.

 

[BoeingBoy]

Light,

I'm hoping that hobbes was refering to the possibly bad wording - other than those accidents that happen to be caught on video or with survivors, not many of us crewmembers actually watch our co-workers perish.

Having said that, I agree that whether actually seen or merely known, it is always tucked away in the back of our brains that it could have been any of us. And despite being based in various parts of the country, pick 10 crewmembers at random, and I'd wager that at least 2 or 3 knew someone that perished in each of those crashes.

Jim

 

[RumorS]

I have to agree with Piney on this one. Any job SUCKS. Before you apply for a job you must understand the risks and the tasks that may be involved. If you find the risks of the job to be overwhelming then perhaps its not the postion for you. Please don't think of this as a bashing. All work groups have there risks and we just need to learn to deal with it and not whine about it!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[usair_begins_with_u]

OMG please quit with the poor me crap.. My job is harder.. LOL.. Next you will be telling us YOUR religion is better.. Want some Kool-aid??

Hmm I agree with Piney again... :huh:

 

[SKY HIGH]

I will not get serious!
Point was EVERYBODY thinks their job is tougher than anyone elses.

No, actually the POINT BEING..........FLIGHT ATTENDANTS have to continually DEFEND their profession from the likes and opinions of YOU, Mr Piney. I found the article to be representative of today's Flight Attendant JOB. Public OPINION ranges from skywaitress to suicide job. It's nice to see an article every once in a while that truly depicts the flight attendant job as it is. Hard working, yet addictive.
And, lastly, your remark about being trained for safety, yet rarely used.
That was ignorant!! 1 out of 4 flight attendants have had to handle a medical or safety issue in their careers.
And, YOU compare a burnt out light bulb to sitting on the runway with a FULL flight delayed for hours?.......LOL!