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What Flight Attendants Do and What They Think of You

wired.com — An inside-look on the life of a flight attendant. “What you seen on the planes, serving drinks and doing a briefing, that’s the perception of what we do."

Who dugg this? Made popular Oct 6, 2009

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  • FallingDonkey, on 10/06/2009, -3/+48Is it me, or does anyone else not give a *****? As long as I don't end up on a tropical island with Ben Linus, I'm straight. They could be performing circumcisions for all I care.
  • Codik, on 10/06/2009, -0/+28Did I miss something, or did this article constitute of a couple of anecdotes and fail to tell me what flight attendants do and what they think of me?
  • astorygirl, on 10/05/2009, -4/+29I'm always amazed by how rude people are to flight attendants.
  • doctechnical, on 10/06/2009, -1/+25About the third time an FA wakes you up to ask if you want a pillow, "polite" is off the radar.
  • Ziriux, on 10/05/2009, -1/+22Anyone remember the black guy that use to rap instructions.
  • davesaunders, on 10/06/2009, -0/+20I flew over 268,000 miles with United in a single year and in that span I saw some of the most arrogant displays from passengers I could ever imagine. From downright rudeness and trashy behavior to one woman actually calling a flight attendant an "ignorant c*nt"
  • Entroper, on 10/06/2009, -0/+18I'm always amazed by how rude people are to other people.
  • inactive, on 10/06/2009, -1/+16I'm sick and tired of these mother-*****'n snakes on this mother-*****'n plane!!!

    Sit down sir, and put your seat back and tray table in it's locked upright position. Thank you.
  • ripple123, on 10/06/2009, -13/+28What Flight Attendants Do and How Little I Care. lucky bastards get to fly all over the world for their job. we dont care how tough they think their job is. they may well be prepared for all contingencies, but their responsiblities the vast majority of the time are serving us drinks and showing us where the exits are. thats some hard yakka.
  • firesphotons, on 10/06/2009, -2/+16People shouldn't be rude to anyone competently carrying out their job duties, however, if you make someone sit on a runway several hours, bolt upright, no moving air, you should expect people to be pissed off.
  • Rogor, on 10/06/2009, -1/+15The middle guy's head looks badly photoshopped on.
  • EtherGnat, on 10/06/2009, -1/+14***** you.
  • Zippo, on 10/06/2009, -0/+11No one should be surprised by unhappy passengers these days... we're all ***** treated like terrorists by default until we get on the damn plane.
  • leitey, on 10/06/2009, -0/+10Anyone else notice that all the people in the picture are into men?
  • r0b1, on 10/06/2009, -1/+10On an international flight on a US airline, I watched two people debate over a seat - one had taken the others, and the one that took the seat asked if the other could switch. However, the person who switched originally had a middle seat, so as you could imagine the other person wasn't going to deal with a middle seat for 13+ hours.

    And while all this was going on, the flight attendant just watched, and couldn't be bothered to intervene in the argument. At first she said "well ya'll gonna have to work that out yourselves" and when it was clear that that wasn't going to happen, she finally got involved and it eventually got figured out. Like she was pissed that there was a problem and she actually had to do her JOB. Of course this was economy, but the point is that a profession as a flight attendant has become another job, for many people, where they collect a paycheck and don't really give a ***** about the customer.

    Whatever happened to the sexy stewardesses back in the 70's? Well ok, maybe they got old, but it's the attitude that I miss.
  • timschuit, on 10/06/2009, -5/+14Oh mah gawd. Having a job requires more work than what it might appear to on the surface! This article has truly opened my eyes to the wondWHO THE ***** CARES.
  • Codik, on 10/06/2009, -1/+8Because you don't make other people's day miserable if you can avoid it. I'm glad most people are not like you.
  • CarolJude, on 10/06/2009, -0/+7Wow, that was some hard-hitting journalism. It says 'Wired,' but are we sure this wasn't supposed to be in Parade this Sunday?
  • Coffeedemon, on 10/06/2009, -1/+8I doubt they are talking about you sweeping the ***** floor. Just don't be a baby and litter the floor with your refuse because you think you are entitled to make someone else's day a little worse to compensate for your own.
  • marmotjmarmot, on 10/06/2009, -1/+7You must be the one of the people who leave your kids loaded diaper on the changing table EVEN THOUGH THERE IS A TRASH CAN RIGHT BESIDE IT. Pick up after yourself, it's called being an adult.
  • Spoomeister, on 10/06/2009, -0/+6The airlines could save a lot of money by replacing all the stewards and stewardesses with one pissed-off nightclub bouncer at the back and a retired schoolteacher in the front. Halfway through the flight, if you've been good, the schoolteacher pegs you in the head with snack packs and juice boxes. If you've been bad, the bouncer stuffs you in the overhead compartment.
  • Coffeedemon, on 10/06/2009, -3/+9Lot of ***** posting here as usual. Save your bile for someone who deserves it. I've flown a lot and see that the attendants all have to sit around in the same cramped/warm/noisy plane as I do plus they have to do their job. Occasionally one will be annoying occasionally but that isn't the norm (no matter how much personal experience/indignity/entitlement complexes seems to inflate the frequency of finding poor service). Some of these responses are like yelling at the ticket seller because the theatre you went to raised their price.
  • b1177, on 10/06/2009, -0/+5Whats wrong with going to the bathroom without shoes on?
  • Thistlejack, on 10/06/2009, -0/+5Anyone who works with thousands of people per year is going to have stories to tell. Nurses and doctors get yelled at all the time . People who work retail have customers shout at them daily. And people in customer support probably get yelled at hourly.
  • inactive, on 10/06/2009, -2/+6In the 70's there wouldn't be a seating problem, but you're right, they are basically waitresses on a bus in the sky. You'd get better treatment at a diner in the middle of Nowhere, Nevada.
  • Mican, on 10/06/2009, -1/+5its gross as *****?
  • dontreplytome, on 10/06/2009, -3/+7True, but that's the flight attendant's fault ... how again?
  • denizen42, on 10/06/2009, -0/+4I've noticed this widespread thing as well.
    But a whole culture of immediate and depraved gratifications, seeking and feeding reptile impulses all day, does that: it gives average people a short fuse.
  • joshua5, on 10/06/2009, -0/+3What's up with the picture of all dudes? Most of the flight attendants I've known have been women. Sometimes theres a gay dude but not that many. This picture is not representationally accurate.
  • onederboy, on 10/06/2009, -0/+3If that happened to me more than once, I'd make a sign and wear it around my neck saying "No thanks, I don't need a pillow."

    Problem solved.
  • shadowspawn, on 10/06/2009, -2/+5So many times they've given me more than one meal, or a handful of snacks. They are really cool people if you chat them up. You'd be surprised.
  • stainboy, on 10/06/2009, -1/+4yeah, just being *nice* to FAs--or pretty much anyone in the service industry--can get you a long way. while it's because that's the person i am, i frequently get great service from them. i've had FAs come and talk to me, waitresses buy me drinks/desserts and nurses tell me they didn't want to send me home...all because i made their day better by just being nice and not an insufferable dick.
  • Mican, on 10/06/2009, -1/+4"Whatever happened to the sexy stewardesses back in the 70's?"

    asian airlines still have em.
  • lucidgoo, on 10/06/2009, -0/+2I do not fly often but must admit that flight attendants probably have to put up with some seriously stupid ***** in the course of their days because they are the most visible person to vent their rage at. And let me say as someone who just flew cross country recently I understand why passengers are pissed off.
    I am in general a very laid back type of person, and can brush off most frustrations. I was nearly in a state of temporary insanity due to the amount of rage I was feeling while having to fly both to and from California. I will not list everything that went horribly wrong because that would fill this entire screen, but let me just say that both Delta and United treated every passenger like a chicken in a coop. I'm sure our luggage had a better journey, and it should for costing $25 to bring.
    I personally did not have any instances of mayhem, but I'm sure I had the look of "don't you dare ***** with me" written all over my face the entire trip. I understand that this is not the flight attendants fault so I truly feel for when they have to deal with *****, but I will say they should first point alot of blame at their bosses in the airlines. I think many fewer people would be disagreeable if they had even the slightest amount of comfort.
  • sleze, on 10/06/2009, -4/+6They are flying waitresses with massive amounts of safety training that 99% will never use.
  • inactive, on 10/07/2009, -0/+2Unlike many of you I remember what it was like to fly in the old days. It used to be pleasurable. No more. From the expensive parking and waiting on shuttles, to the mess at the terminal with the long lines, to paying to check my luggage, to taking my shoes off to get through security, to the very cramped seating, to stuffed overheads from people trying to carry on waaay to much luggage to avoid paying to check, to long flights with no meals, to unfriendly flight attendants, I fly only when absolutely necessary. What ever happened to "fly the friendly skies"?
  • monkeyboyhero, on 10/06/2009, -5/+7"Don’t try starting any fights with attendants, who go through extensive self-defense conditioning"

    Oh no, how scary!
  • charlietuna, on 10/06/2009, -0/+2"But cases like Pascal’s, where an employee signs on through their own initiative, tended to be more rare."

    So most flight attendants are drafted?
  • jackalsclaw, on 10/07/2009, -0/+2http://www.google.com/search?q=rapping+flight+atte ...

    It's the first hit!
  • treefrog001, on 10/06/2009, -0/+2Nothing, if you don't mind stepping in the occasional puddle of whiz. A lot of guys have poor aim in cramped airplane restrooms, especially if there's turbulence.
  • stompk291, on 10/08/2009, -0/+1and then you're lucky to get a damned bag of peanuts.
    where's my MEAL ?
  • stompk291, on 10/08/2009, -0/+1man, for the days when "stewardesses" had weight limits. used to be that "dating a stewardess" was like saying you were dating a model, or movie star. now, the thought makes me cringe.
  • marmotjmarmot, on 10/07/2009, -0/+1I like boats. And I understand that while there are some areas that are barely better than goat trails, overall the US has a good system.
  • Cilicious, on 10/10/2009, -0/+1Deregulation, and then on top of that, 9/11, snuffed out the Golden Age of flying.
  • stompk291, on 10/08/2009, -0/+1remember when people used to dress up to fly ? it used to be special. now it's like a special place in hell.
  • brucealmighty, on 10/06/2009, -0/+1The scary part is they can have you arrested on federal charges of interfering with a flight crew pretty much any time they want. Not a good idea to argue or challenge them if you can avoid it.
  • clumsytime, on 10/06/2009, -0/+1Hell yeah...I fly Cathay Pacific to/from Hong Kong all the time...boy was I disappointed when I had to fly on American when Cathay was full...
  • firesphotons, on 10/06/2009, -0/+1It's not at all the flight attendants fault, neither are many of the things we absorb during the course of the work day, I called marketing, carrying the lightning rod for the logo.
  • brucealmighty, on 10/06/2009, -0/+1"Whatever happened to the sexy stewardesses back in the 70's?"
    Unions. Seniority. Layoffs. The younger ones are all stuck on the regional puddle jumpers so by the time they're grandmas they will have enough seniority to be eligible for jobs on the big jets.
  • durgil, on 10/06/2009, -0/+1Yeah, but the Singapore Airline attendants are smokin' hot...
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