Before I get into this post, let me state that I have a lot of respect for flight attendants. A majority of them do a great job, and they work long and hard hours, dealing with a lot of complicated passengers, and often they’re not well paid. So I don’t want to in any way diminish what they do to keep the industry running.
That being said, in this post I’d like to talk more broadly about the normalization of really rude flight attendant behavior, brought to mind by an email I received from a reader. Admittedly a small minority of flight attendants act this way, and I imagine most hardworking flight attendants are as horrified by this behavior as I am.
In this post:
Absurdly rude American flight attendant “greets” passengers
Reader Josh recently flew American from New York (JFK) to London (LHR) with his parents, on a Boeing 777-300ER. While he shared a variety of anecdotes about the flight, one thing stood out to me, in particular:
The greeter at the L2 door could not have been more rude. When we boarded the aircraft, all three of us were together and we told the crew member that. My dad, who is older, was the last of the three of us to board. The crew member asked for his boarding pass (standard practice, I get it) and my dad mentioned he was with my mom and I.
The crew member then said “I didn’t ask who you were with and I don’t care. Boarding pass is what I asked.” My dad, frazzled, then had to get the boarding pass on his phone. The crew member then let out a long sigh and went “can you speed this up?”
I understand that boarding is a tedious process and everyone has bad days; however the flight was nearly empty and the boarding group after us had yet to even be called to board, so there was not anyone behind him. After my dad managed to get the boarding pass up, the crew member simply pointed in the direction my dad was to go.
Now, that was only the start of the issues on that flight, but I’d like to focus on that…
It’s a shame that this kind of behavior is tolerated
The level of rudeness exhibited by this “greeter” flight attendant is just reprehensible. Admittedly I understand what his intention was, which was to board efficiently and figure out which aisle everyone should go down (otherwise there’s not generally a requirement to show boarding passes on American flights). However, to greet any customer this way, let alone an elderly customer who isn’t intentionally trying to slow things down, is just awful.
What’s so unfortunate about this is that the flight attendant who greets you at the door really sets the tone for the flight. Sometimes you’ll have an absolute gem at the door, who is smiling, warmly greets each passenger, engages in small talk, compliments passengers, etc. What a lovely ambassador those people are for the brand.
Meanwhile in situations like this, you get exactly the opposite. How can you feel anything but unwelcome when one of the first company representatives you interact with acts that way?
What I find so interesting about this is that if you walked into any other business and were treated this way, you’d walk right out. No one wants to do business with a company where they feel actively unwelcome, unless there’s simply no other choice. I’m sure that same flight attendant would be miffed if he walked into a restaurant and were “greeted” that way by the host.
Yet in the airline industry, there’s a much higher tolerance for behavior that would in any other context be considered unacceptable. And I even feel bad for the people who have to work with flight attendants like this, because I’m sure they’re just as horrified.
Why is there such a tolerance for this kind of behavior?
- At US airlines, flight attendants don’t have a direct superior onboard, and it’s not like there are security cameras, so there’s not much accountability on the aircraft
- Flight attendants have the unique role of being in both the business of safety and service, and that means there’s more tolerance for poor behavior, in the name of safety
- Passengers aren’t generally going to confront flight attendants who act rudely (that’s not going to end well), so in some ways, that just emboldens that kind of behavior
- Due to a combination of these factors, plus the heavy unionization of these workforces, it can be hard for management to hold employees accountable, even if there are reports of rudeness or poor service
I really think some airlines underestimate the extent to which these kinds of interactions can leave a customer with a negative impression. The most fundamental thing American needs to change is its service culture, because incidents like this just shouldn’t happen. Then again, you’ll find some bad apples at all US airlines.
Bottom line
Service at US airlines is consistently inconsistent. What amazes me is how poor the service can be at times, though. An OMAAT reader shared an experience whereby the “greeter” flight attendant on a recent transatlantic American flight would’ve struggled to be ruder to an elderly passenger. Not only is it not a nice way to treat another human, but it’s amazing that anyone thinks this is acceptable in what’s fundamentally a service interaction.
I do wish there were more accountability for situations like this. For that matter, I feel bad for flight attendants who care, who have to work with colleagues like this, because I can’t imagine that makes for a great work environment.
What do you make of these kinds of flight attendant service issues?
If you do confront an FA at a US airline, they often threaten to have you arrested, blacklisted. Etc. Its pretty sick.
heavy unionization of these workforces = and there’s the root cause of the problem. Unions are the reason why all the FA Karens and Donnas can treat us like garbage.
And this is one of the main reasons I refuse to fly DL: their FAs are rude, surly, and hostile to anyone who isn't a Diamond. And yet they're still nicer than Delta Customer Service.
You are an admitted homosexual who has engaged in sex in a public restroom. You’ve admitted these facts right here on this website.
And what's wrong with any of that? At least I don't use an adjective as my handle.
The answer is simple: because they can get away with it.
Lots of people can get away with a lot of things. There exists something called decency, though.
This sort of behavior on repeat is why I stopped flying AA & UA (was XP & 1K respectively) and switched to Virgin (Gold) & Delta (lowly Gold). Not worth being constantly belittled and talked down to.
thanks for sharing your tier status which nobody asked for lol
Sorry, but the level of entitlement from commemters here every day is indicative of the problem: "I paid McDonald's prices, but I expect to he treated like I'm at The Ritz".
I regularly pay $500 or more on one to two hour short flights with limited service. How would you feel if you bought a new TV and t it took 20 minutes to power on ? or wouldn't display half the channels? You would not feel like that was a very good value. Same with crappy airline service. ("Sorry, we are gonna be two hours late because the plane was over fueled" or "we can't depart because we cant locate the fourth flight attendant?" )
You feel that extremely basic human decency, like the lowest possible bar, is The Ritz?
Shame on you
I paid McDonald's price for ryanair or even cheaper for vueling for domestic Spanish flights but the flight attendants are always friendly...
I'd be happy to get McDonald's-level service when I fly.
It's American airline what do you expect im just glad I'm based in a region where i get to choose to fly with one of the world's top 10 cabin crew.
Hmm? Was this 1997 because the boarding responsibility is now in the hands of gate personell
I think it's interesting that you mention the host at a restaurant. Restaurant staff are also in the safety business to a large extent: they are trained in the safe handling of food, and when someone chokes or has a severe allergic reaction, they are often the first and only ones on the scene with the proper training. The host is also responsible for maintaining the physical security of the property, breaking up fights at...
I think it's interesting that you mention the host at a restaurant. Restaurant staff are also in the safety business to a large extent: they are trained in the safe handling of food, and when someone chokes or has a severe allergic reaction, they are often the first and only ones on the scene with the proper training. The host is also responsible for maintaining the physical security of the property, breaking up fights at bars, keeping out potentially dangerous (drunk, etc) folks, etc. So yes, first and foremost, safety is the top priority in their jobs. But you don't hear them use any of this to rationalize away the fact that they are in a job where providing top-quality service is also a top priority. That largely only happens with air travel employees, mostly with flight attendants, but also check-in staff, gate agents, lounge attendants, and security.
Stopped reading at New York. It’s a bad combination of having to keep your guard up in anticipation of the next overly aggressive passenger encounter and the FA being New York based as well.
While this is bad service I wouldn’t be surprised that a New York based crew member is burned out.
Jet lag is a different story. Crew should be resting at their hotel and prepare to work the return flight....
Stopped reading at New York. It’s a bad combination of having to keep your guard up in anticipation of the next overly aggressive passenger encounter and the FA being New York based as well.
While this is bad service I wouldn’t be surprised that a New York based crew member is burned out.
Jet lag is a different story. Crew should be resting at their hotel and prepare to work the return flight. Not doing tik tok at 1AM ; a layover is not a vacation.
Why do New Yorkers have to be so aggressive, always rushing , and rude ?
New Yorkers are NOT aggressive, rushing, and rude. Only some are. You will find such people all over America. NY has a uniquely high density of people which means you're more likely to be exposed to such people than you would in other parts of the country where such people are less visible because people in general are less visible.
New Yorkers and upstate New York are completely different.
I'm not talking about upstate New York, which sucks (not because of the people, but because of the geography and economic desolation)
I generally find AA's JFK based crews to be some of the better ones they have. I understand your comment was more about taking a shot at New York than anything related to AA, but I rarely face problems with JFK based crews.
There should be security cameras onboard.
Also, FA's should be wearing body cameras.
"Attention passengers, unfortunately flight AA216 to Miami is delayed because the "security" camera above the galley isn't working. We are hoping to get a maintenance person to look at it and hope to get you on your way soon."
Why did he have to get out his boarding pass when everyone knows that each person has too be accounted for? It doesn't matter if he is with someone, they have accountability.
dad, frazzled, then had to get the boarding pass on his phone.
The greeter isn't the gate agent. Everybody is accounted for when the BP is scanned and DOCS OK'd at the barcode reader at gate prior to entering the aircraft. The greeter's job is to get you to your seat, mostly by telling you (on a widebody) which side of the aircraft your seat is on.
More to the point, stop making excuses for rudeness, because there aren't any.
Not at all surprised that this happened on an AA flight. I’m almost surprised these days to get a good service from AA. But I live in the DFW Area, so I don’t have much of a choice.
FAA should change the laws around filming FAs. A couple of videos each day showing off this rude behaviour - across all airlines - and maybe the airlines would take notice.
I dunno, man, everybody already knows this rudeness is around. The laws that need to change are around union labor. INSTANT TERMINATION FOR CAUSE, no severance and no qualification for unemployment benefits, is the only approach.
Boarding an AA flight from EZE-JFK late at night in 2023, my mother entered behind me and greeted the FA in Spanish (in Argentina, how dare she!). The FA raised her voice and said, ''You're going to America, speak English!" I'm OW Emerald and wrote to AA. Never got a response.
Half of NYC residents were born outside the country - meaning they don't speak English as a first language. Does that FA ever order DoorDash or Uber Eats in NYC? One in 500 couriers speak English at all.
Sure Jan - seguro Jan. many crew also speak Spanish. BS
I was on a domestic AA flight within the past week, A320 family aircraft, and noticed a strange rhythmic vibration begin during cruise. When the FA doing drink service came around, I asked if she felt that too. Instead of validating my concern and saying something like - sure, this is typical for this plane, but I’ll let the pilots know when I get a chance - she instead proceeded to question me.
-...
I was on a domestic AA flight within the past week, A320 family aircraft, and noticed a strange rhythmic vibration begin during cruise. When the FA doing drink service came around, I asked if she felt that too. Instead of validating my concern and saying something like - sure, this is typical for this plane, but I’ll let the pilots know when I get a chance - she instead proceeded to question me.
- Are you a pilot?
- Actually I am.
- Are you a pilot for American?
I’m not (just a private pilot), but I’m sure if I had said yes, her next question would have been whether I’m qualified on this type, and then if I was, whether I’m the one sitting at the controls.
Her point was to win a ridiculous argument rather than be there “primarily for my safety”, as I’ve been told countless times.
Was she pre-menstrual? Bitches like her don’t deserve the perks of feminism.
"Was she pre-menstrual? Bitches like her don’t deserve the perks of feminism."
Be best, Arps.
I'm not disagreeing with most of the comments. However I'll add a little perspective. Since this is a transatlantic flight this flight attendant must have years of seniority. I wonder if any of the commentators would feel having flown thousands of flight involving tens of thousands of hours boarding process dealing with passengers, without being paid for any of that time.
Perhaps attitude would be better if the attendants were't being forced for work without...
I'm not disagreeing with most of the comments. However I'll add a little perspective. Since this is a transatlantic flight this flight attendant must have years of seniority. I wonder if any of the commentators would feel having flown thousands of flight involving tens of thousands of hours boarding process dealing with passengers, without being paid for any of that time.
Perhaps attitude would be better if the attendants were't being forced for work without compensation. With that business model, those greeters at Walmart would always be working for nothing.
It does not matter what specific time they are or are not paid for. What matters is annually, in total, is their compensation fair?
Attitude is a reflection of one's character and not about how much one is paid
Nobody is forced to work. FAs can find another job.
No one is forcing that flight attendant to stay on the job.
If you want to be paid when the doors are open, go to Delta.
Ok. I will surely be flamed for that but it is what I think, and for a long time. 1) FA did a really good job at overating how hard and difficult it is. Every job has easy and hard parts. Their is alike. Everyone in contact with customers has to deal with difficult ones. 2) The problem arose 20 years ago or so when they where enpowered to transform any "service" issue (right or...
Ok. I will surely be flamed for that but it is what I think, and for a long time. 1) FA did a really good job at overating how hard and difficult it is. Every job has easy and hard parts. Their is alike. Everyone in contact with customers has to deal with difficult ones. 2) The problem arose 20 years ago or so when they where enpowered to transform any "service" issue (right or wrong) into a "safety and security threat". Now there are abusing if this power. As simple as that.
Investment banking analysts have entered the chat.
@Ben, you have a post talking about this about once every couple of months which is totally fine since it is your blog :)
Every time, you start the post explaining how you understand it is a hard job, they don't get paid well, they deal with rude passengers, etc. which to me is something I really can't understand. Most of these FA's are senior so they decided to stay on their job despite...
@Ben, you have a post talking about this about once every couple of months which is totally fine since it is your blog :)
Every time, you start the post explaining how you understand it is a hard job, they don't get paid well, they deal with rude passengers, etc. which to me is something I really can't understand. Most of these FA's are senior so they decided to stay on their job despite all of those "issues". If they are unhappy about their working conditions, they should get a different job. No excuse for bad behavior or not being professional. They like the perks that come with the job but not the job itself. Go do something else for the love of God!. Please stop making up excuses for them. Unhappy: quit. If you decide to stay, try to do the best you can. Don't make your life and the life of others miserable. You are in the service industry. Provide good service. Love your blog :)
I could not agree more. Not happy with your job, not happy with your pay, move on! FAs are entitled, they like the perks but keep complaining about everything else and use their "power" to treat customers badly. Nobody is forcing them to work as FAs. It is their choice.
Ben is doing a pro forma recognition of the vast majority of flight attendants that don't have these issues. He's not making excuses.
But I understand your sentiment. If I'm a victim of bad service I don't want to hear about how most service providers are good actually, I drew the short end of the stick. I want that bad service provider off the payroll.
As an FA, we are equally horrified when we see this behavior. We all have a list of people we avoid flying with because it ruins our day just as much as it ruins pax day. We wish there was more we could do.
What a lame excuse AA FA! I am SURE there IS more you could do!
And what would that be?
Reason number 999 why i am against unions.
Did you know that the flight attendants at EVA Air and China Airlines, two world class airlines in Taiwan are all unionised? Unlike their American counterparts, they’ve actually staged industrial actions, thanks to Taiwan’s stronger labour laws that protect workers.
Unions and customer service are not incompatible, as long as the contract is negotiated properly to allow management to document poor customer service and dismiss or otherwise penalize employees because of it - and to incentivize good customer service.
The problem here is equally likely to be that management doesn't care or doesn't have sufficient oversight, not that AA FAs are unionized.
I’ve been in a union in Europe for many years. Never had a strike. They help with pay increases way above what the company offered, increased annual leave, pension, private healthcare if required, working on weekends and public holidays, redundancy multiple times the government minimum.
Americans, or rather republicans, despise the idea of employment rights and universal healthcare
Fun fact: could be that they were flying to Hatethrow and are already dreading that airport and city. I mean, if I were headed to a destination that I would try to avoid, I would be in that mood too. Try other routes and see if that behavior changes. Just stop going to Hatethrow.
London is the greatest city in the world.
There are people not cut out for the job of flight attendant but they hang on because their skill levels wouldn't get them a job that pays any higher. Some of these people could probably be weeded out with a good interview process. This also goes to younger flight attendants that do the minimum and are very slow.
Not interviews - but performance reviews.
But how and by who? Flight attendants work with endless numbers of other employees. Their supervisors aren't on the job with them. The pilots are up front flying the plane.
AA does surveys but individually they are pretty useless, particularly for coach flight attendants. How many remember whether the flight attendant smiles at them?
At the end of the day it's about hiring the right person.
Have you ever noticed the new employees are generally great? it takes 6 months or so before they are infected with unionitis.
But how and by who? Flight attendants work with endless numbers of other employees. Their supervisors aren't on the job with them. The pilots are up front flying the plane.
AA does surveys but individually they are pretty useless, particularly for coach flight attendants. How many remember whether the flight attendant smiles at them?
At the end of the day it's about hiring the right person.
My only quibble is that this reads like someone who has never endured the horror of service on SAS. Not just American FAs!
I recently achieved silver status on Qatar. From the moment of check in I was welcomed. The purser came to speak to welcome me after the doors had closed and served my meal first although they did not have to. And this was not a one off. A few flights since, and it was the same. I looked around and wondered how many other customers with status were on board?
I've worked in the middle management of several airlines and I still work for a major global carrier.
If this took place as described, in any of the airlines I've worked for, this would have been a case for an immediate dismissal. There would not even be a debate about it.
Customers should come forward with a complaint in such a case, and any witnessing cabin crew member on the same flight should actually back...
I've worked in the middle management of several airlines and I still work for a major global carrier.
If this took place as described, in any of the airlines I've worked for, this would have been a case for an immediate dismissal. There would not even be a debate about it.
Customers should come forward with a complaint in such a case, and any witnessing cabin crew member on the same flight should actually back it up if they remember or cared about what their job stands for.
Instant dismissal, at least in Europe, is prohibited unless the company have followed a grievance procedure and there are also warnings of previous instances on record The only exception may be if the staff are on their probationary period, or have perhaps physically attacked a customer unless it was to protect themselves or colleagues, or in reaction to be attacked themselves.
Well, we all know ow that FAs are only there for our safety. :) Nothing else. BTW, I have noticed more and more on international flights from US carriers, the greeter wants to see the boarding pass. I have over 5MM miles of flying so I know where I am sited when boarding a plane but in the last year or so me saying where I was sitting was not enough and I had to show my boarding pass before I was let in. Weird!
Interesting. I have noticed the exact opposite. I just boarded a Lufthansa flight without any documentation as I simply stood in front of a camera at the gate.
Read my post again. I said US carriers. Lufthansa is not a US carrier. And yes, you board using your face BUT the issue is at the airplane door, not at the boarding. More and more the greeter wants to see the boarding pass instead of taking your word that you know where you are going.
Flight Attendants are overwhelmingly pleasant and professional.
We just remember the bad experiences more than the good.
That is the way people are.
How many here have written in to an airline about someone’s good performance?
I don't disagree, but there's a degree of failure, such as the one being discussed here, that just isn't tolerable. In any profession, if you intentionally act counter to the interest of the business or blatantly harm its reputation, you're gone.
Regarding the latter part, personally I do commend outstanding service and I do share that with the respective company. I believe many others do so, too.
FA's can definitely be rude but now imagine the lowest tier of passengers and how insane/rude/clueless they can be and you'll understand how some FA's can get jaded quickly
No excuse for rudeness.
Full stop.
I’ve been a flight attendant for over 30 years. In my opinion there is no excuse for this behavior. You never know if you have a first time flyer somebody grieving or somebody celebrating. Starting out with negativity is not the way to go starting out on a positive. Note will leave passengers with a good experience..
If I boarded a flight and was not in a hurry to get to my destination, I'd simply disembark and tell the gate agent that I'm not comfortable trusting my safety to such a contemptuous, hostile flight attendant and that I'd take the next available flight, assuming something was available the same day in the whatever CoS I was travelling.
The hostility shown to the elderly gentleman is not acceptable in any scenario, and that...
If I boarded a flight and was not in a hurry to get to my destination, I'd simply disembark and tell the gate agent that I'm not comfortable trusting my safety to such a contemptuous, hostile flight attendant and that I'd take the next available flight, assuming something was available the same day in the whatever CoS I was travelling.
The hostility shown to the elderly gentleman is not acceptable in any scenario, and that FA should be summarily fired - and yes, I know that will never happen.
It's too bad that AA's culture seems to nurture this kind of sh!t attitude.
Sounds reasonable but I'd be worried about being put on some black list.
I think much of the issue is that leadership at some airlines take a training/education approach to issues that are actually accountability issues and should be treated as such. You can’t train people to be nicer or follow the rules if they are simply choosing not to because they can and know they won’t be held accountable. I can’t tell you how many times rules are broken at my airline and we get a “just...
I think much of the issue is that leadership at some airlines take a training/education approach to issues that are actually accountability issues and should be treated as such. You can’t train people to be nicer or follow the rules if they are simply choosing not to because they can and know they won’t be held accountable. I can’t tell you how many times rules are broken at my airline and we get a “just a reminder” memo. Majority of staff don’t need a “reminder,” because they know the rules. They need actual accountability.
Can you imagine a Walmart greeter saying things like that to the folks who walk in the store?
I believe airlines are far too tolerant of rude cabin crew and poor service standards. I’ve noticed a significant deterioration in the attitude of Aer Lingus cabin crew since the recovery from the pandemic. I generally purchase cheap business class tickets but if I was paying thousands, I’d be absolutely disgusted.
I have witnessed so much shockingly rude or otherwise unprofessional behavior from flight attendants and other airline employees at this point that I don't bother getting irritated by it at this point. I just try to see the humor in the absurdity of customer service workers so brazenly trying to antagonize their customers and chuckle to myself.
I bet this interaction wouldn’t have occurred on a more premium US based carrier
I’ve experienced my fair share of rude, unfriendly and dismissive FAs on AA (my primary carrier domestically) . Sometimes it’s not even behavior exhibited toward me but fellow passengers. I have voted with my dollar and now when I take paid J trips quarterly for work overseas, I only use one world partner
Carriers, never AA metal. Typically I use JL, QR, CX or even BA, but not AA anymore after too many experiences...
I’ve experienced my fair share of rude, unfriendly and dismissive FAs on AA (my primary carrier domestically) . Sometimes it’s not even behavior exhibited toward me but fellow passengers. I have voted with my dollar and now when I take paid J trips quarterly for work overseas, I only use one world partner
Carriers, never AA metal. Typically I use JL, QR, CX or even BA, but not AA anymore after too many experiences of rude behavior by FAs. Im more than happy to direct my 40k a year J spend to others and direct my team travel the same way.
Well, JAL, ANA, EVA Air, and China Airlines all have unionised flight attendants and still manage to provide great service. So the real question is, why can’t some airlines get their employees to actually care about their jobs?
We need to normalize being loud about this issue until airlines stand up to their own employees. I don’t care what it costs, but the airline that tackles this head-on gets my loyalty.
Remember, “they are there for your safety”.
Best excuse to be terrible at your job and get away with it
Ask any experienced recent retiree, who is willing to be honest about the job they once did. “Safety” is in principle the reason airlines have cabin staff. Yes. However. In practice 99% of the work of a cabin attendant is customer service.
In my experience, you can always tell when a cabin attendant is unionized. And when they are not, like Delta crew, which is why I fly Delta whenever I can. The smiles...
Ask any experienced recent retiree, who is willing to be honest about the job they once did. “Safety” is in principle the reason airlines have cabin staff. Yes. However. In practice 99% of the work of a cabin attendant is customer service.
In my experience, you can always tell when a cabin attendant is unionized. And when they are not, like Delta crew, which is why I fly Delta whenever I can. The smiles you get from Delta cabin attendants are genuine, happy and infectious, which makes me always happy to fly with them and to invest in Delta.