They're human. Although trained to remain calm in emergency (I've fought more than one inflight fire), they still have emotions. Just as I have in other jobs, I've worked with flight attendants who were dealing with dying family members, cheating lovers, and abusive spouses.
They're sick. Although it's not a law, it's a rule of thumb that if you call in sick more than three times in six months, you'll be fired. Combine that culture with a planeload of germs and sick coworkers who should have stayed home, and you've got a vulnerable constituency.
They're tired. Despite workdays of 14 to 18 hours, their minimum layover time is only eight hours. A layover means touchdown to takeoff, so they're "resting" while briefing, while helping you board the aircraft, while finding room for your luggage in the overhead bin. Unlike other hourly employees, air crew are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which limits workdays to eight hours and workweeks to 40.
They're not getting paid. Flight attendants (and pilots) are only paid when the plane is pushed back from the gate. All of that boarding and deplaning and waiting on delays -- unpaid. I've had numerous delays of five, six, even seven hours, many of them onboard completely full aircraft. I've even served planeloads of meals on the ground before eventually canceling, which meant I was sent home without pay.
They have probably fantasized about jumping from the plane at 37,000 feet. I have. I can clearly remember pressing my face against the window at my door, looking out over a vast expanse of Nevada desert and longing for a parachute. I was on five hours sleep, had wasted the morning on a delay, the entertainment system that normally pacifies angry passengers was out, and a man screamed at me because I still hadn't brought his meal. The reason? Because I was on my knees in the aisle scooping up his son's vomit!
They love their passengers. Believe it or not, even now, most passengers are nice people and most flight attendants enjoy taking care of them. Of course I'm proud of fighting fires and assisting in medical emergencies, but my most fulfilling moments were while helping people get through trying days. I will never forget being invited to Thanksgiving dinner by several families, even after they nearly missed the holiday due to a severely delayed flight that required two aircraft swaps for mechanical problems. Passengers don't have to invite flight attendants home, but saying thank you will make their day. And for God's sake, don't hit one in the head and call him a mother fucker.
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But in the Guard and Reserves, many are trying for airline jobs.
It's a hard life, rewarding, but damaging.
A flight attendant is a Federal law enforcement officer.
An emergency medical technician.
And of course, a waiter who don't get tips.
And there is a $10,000 fine for interfering with an aircrewmember.
Please be polite to those people who didn't cause your delay!
Passengers are almost always good people. When they're not good people, something has usually gone wrong and they're at wit's end. The secret is to quickly assess and diffuse what might be going on--to determine if there's something you can do to help or if they're "on their own." Some people are just horrible, they were horrible before they showed up and they will go on being horrible long after they leave your aircraft. Them I like to torment a little bit. It's so easy. Push a few buttons and watch 'em burn. And get out of the way quick!
For me the hardest part of my job is the airline itself. Airlines are not nice people. Service and staff and cabin cleanliness have been stripped to zero and evidently we're supposed to take up the slack. I'll keep trying for the passengers' sake; or maybe it's just so I can get through the day with a minimum of disruption.
BTW blowing a slide is pretty selfish and indulgent. A baggage handler just walking out from under the plane could have had a snapped neck before s/he knew what hit 'em.
Although I quit, I admire those who have the stamina to keep at it. I fear most of them are hanging on and hoping things will go back to the "good old days" before 9/11, or even just a couple of years ago since every year seems to spell more hours, less rest, and less pay.
Flight crew are not covered by OSHA or the Fair Labor Standards Act but simply by the FAA. When the FAA made their work rules, 14 hour days with eight hour "rests" were intended as the extreme outside limits. They expected airlines to be reined in by collective bargaining agreements, but bankruptcies and false promises from management have destroyed flight attendant contracts. It's time for the FAA to change their limits or for the Fair Labor Act to apply to flight crew.
Frankly, that's what unions are for. Do you belong to a union? If so, they're not doing their job.
American Airlines CEO Robert Crandall used to brag about how quickly he could replace the entire flight attendant force if he wanted to.
Except he didn't say it that nicely (4-letter word for female and it isn't "Aunt")
i was a 'stewardess' before i was a F/A : ) but i was paid well..no doubt
it is true that there are actual blocks of time we didn't get paid for working those 'times'..no matter how much one gets paid you would think you'd still get paid for working..
so regarding pay, it's quite fair for them to do so because of the fact if a job offers so much an hour to work, one should be able to be paid for each hour worked..still i felt lucky i got terrific benefits from working and interacting with travelers and plenty of days off to afford and explore the world and it's different cultures...
Many jobs have formal benefits like insurance, PTO, savings plans, or in today's economy, none of the above. Informal benefits are like travel, scheduling, and work environment.
Stuff like no experience required, no education required etc. are characteristics of people who work in those jobs, not benefits. Granted F/A's have some much cooler work environments than most of the rest of us, but its not paradise.
Pro's who work with the public in less than favorable environments know that their jobs are associated with certain types and amounts of conflict, and usually have some skills to mitigate the damage.
The object lesson in this situation is less about the flight attendant than it is about the sense of entitlement many people seem to have that allows them to cork off at people in service positions just because they can.
like any job, it's a job and most aren't perfect...but all in all it's wrth it..
that's why the people who work at airlines stay there, for centuries if they could : )