American Airlines’ Grim Warning To Flight Attendants

@donato - If the FA was sitting buckled into the jumpseat while you and your wife were using the lav, it sounds like there was probably a little light over your seat that was illuminated, requiring you to sit in your seat with your seat belt buckled. It's not a suggestion. You and your wife are adults... you can plan your lav visits and hold it if you need to. Perhaps the reason you received a frosty response from the hard working DAL FA is that she was tired of every time the chime dings and the seat belt light goes on, passengers like you take it as a signal to take that one last trip to the lav. Not to mention the fact that instead of talking to her like a human being there to help insure your safety, you chose to give her a dirty look to show your entitled displeasure. Imagine what a smile and a conversation could have accomplished? @TommyEsposito - Did it ever occur to you that dealing with clowns like you might be the reason FAs get jaded on occasion? As for "a video pretty much explains everything..." honestly, when was the last time you looked up from your phone to pay attention? And good luck getting the video to open the door in a dark, smoke-filled cabin. Think the FAs will panic like you? Think again. Don't believe me? Why don't you check out what FAs do in initial and recurrent training? Where's your empirical evidence that FAs don't contribute to the safety of the aircraft? An example of an FA not engaging during an emergency? Rather than seeing them as servants to wait on you hand and foot, try talking to them and finding out how they are your partner along with the entire flight crew to get you to your destination safely. I have seen so many of your kind in my 20+ years of weekly business travel. Fortunately, I can choose to ignore idiots like you. Unfortunately, you subject the cabin crew to your behavior and attitude every time you fly. As for me, I've made too many friends with wings on their chests who are now in peril. I cannot suffer fools like @donato and @TommyEsposito any longer. Are there FAs who have been on the job a long time? Yes. Are there problems with that? In certain circumstances. Is this the same as in many professions? Absolutely. Do they still deserve human decency? Without question. Here's an idea... next time you board an incredibly complex machine designed to move you quickly and safely, regardless if you turn left or right on boarding, smile and say hello to your flight crew. Talk to them as professionals and people, because that's what they are. Even if that means pausing for a moment as you roll your armoire-on-wheels down the aisle. I have flown on most domestic lines, and quite a few international carriers as well. My wife and I have worked in the industry over the years in various capacities. There is good and bad in the industry, as in all industries. Let's not make it worse by failing to realize the humanity of this extraordinary situation. DALforLife!

I really don't care what happens to American Airlines. My last flight with them was in 2009 after a flight attendant was just downright rude to me. I've heard it over and over that flight attendants tell passengers that they are on board an airplane for our safety. That is true but you are also there to be kind and respectful to passengers and to provide the utmost comfort to passengers and to provide exceptional service that reflect favorably on the company's goals and Mission. Being rude to passengers is not the way American Airlines intended it. Flight attendants come a penny a dozen. Surely, American Airlines can find better. After they trash all the bad ones during this situation, maybe they can be more selected in their process of hiring. Either way, I will not ever flight American Airlines again. Fly Southwest or JetBlue all the time. Outside the United States, Fly Lufthansa, Air France, or KLM.

I’ve been a EP for several years now and it is troubling to know there will be more bitterness and inconsistency from AA’s senior FA’s for the foreseeable future. The problem for AA is they have an aging workgroup who still believes they are entitled to something from the airline while they are doing the absolute bare minimum; especially in this current environment. The junior FA’s are easy to notice, they attentive, energetic, and friendly! It is sad they’ll be pushed out, they made my flying just a little more enjoyable, even nowadays. The senior Susan’s and Kevin’s talk badly about the company in front of us (we are listening Susan, my noise cancelling headphones are just on my ears) and bad mouth those junior to them. I can only imagine what kind of toxic environment is festering elsewhere within their ranks. But, I’m glad the airline is going to work them like a crab boat Captain does his greenhorns on the Bering Sea if they stay on. I hope they like that weak coffee in the galley because they’re going to need it.

When is the last time anyone saw a 70+ year old EMT or Lifeguard? I’m an AAdvantage member who flies weekly - still do. I don’t feel safe anymore watching great aunt Mabel who can’t stand up, sit down, close bins, close the door, and has no clue how to use that device she’s issued. What happens to passengers when the physically able flight attendants disappear? Passengers have to save all four flight attendants and ourselves in an accident? American and the FAA need to start retiring old flight attendants for public safety. Keeping physically feeble individuals in this job isn’t cute. It’s dangerous.

It is a failure on the part of AA leadership to create a culture that is customer-centric. AA needs to reinvent itself by starting with new corporate values; values that are shared by every employee in the company, especially F/As who are representing the company on the frontline. Then, it’s about every employee instilling those values that are reflected behaviorally in their interactions with everyone they come in contact with. Even when passengers can be difficult, it is incumbent on every F/A to use the best conflict resolution skills in real-time to resolve issues - always with a smile. The behavior of flight attendants, with direct or indirect contact with passengers, is what will drive the company’s strategies, goals and performance (customer satisfaction levels with good feedback) that will contribute to passengers’ favorable feedback. But, instead, company management, I would assume, is too “transactional, putting numbers before people. This is what I believe contributes to the extent that so many AA F/As receive such negative feedback. They probably need to be treated better (more respected by management) so that they feel more connected to the company’s values and vision. Instead, and sadly, because there are so many good AA F/As, the company will end up (for some of the very same reasons as Pan Am and TWA), continue in a downward spiral with a crash. It’s not too late, and if AA can encourage all of those “Senior mamas” to move on, the younger F/As can be part of creating a new culture at AA that puts passengers first. Advice to some entitled AA F/As: lose the attitude. You are in those cabins to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers in the unlikely event of an emergency. You are also in those cabins to provide the best level of In-flight service to passengers. When that is not happening, your junior teammates are hating on you and your attitude (thoughts, feelings and observed behaviors) begin to be modeled by others. When these poor non-customer-centric attitudes are projected on to the negative attitudes of passengers, YOU are creating your own, and the company’s, downfall. I hope that there is some level of intervention on the part of AA leadership to wake up, smell the coffee, and get this company turned around - quickly. COVID-19 is an opportunity to re-create the company and it begins with YOU, creating a a positive culture (with the values, beliefs and behaviors) that drive strategy, goals and performance results to become one of the World’s leading airlines. So stop putting numbers before people, and being so ego-centered, and realize that by focusing on culture, you can make your job a lot easier and Wall-Street analysts will begin to value the company more too. All employees win then! DO IT!