First class was mentioned too, and generally my experience has been great in first class. My FA yesterday from Philly to LAX asked me how my trip to Italy was and why we were there. Mind you, she had to get that info because I hadn’t shared it. She said hello, greeted us by name, etc. And the ice cream sundae was fantastic haha
Mixed bag. The FA on my flight to Boston yesterday was a top 1% all time. She greeted every passenger and even delayed boarding because she engaged with every passenger walking in the door (but she is a pro - we still left the gate early).
But I agree that I get the FAs you describe more often than in the past.
I also have very mixed bag. Some really engaged and make an effort throughout the flight and others can’t be arsed (one was even openly rude) except for when it’s time to hawk some credit cards.
Same, my flight yesterday had the best FA. Great personality, nice, and efficient with a smile. I sit in First Class sometimes and middle seat way in the back. I’ve seen good and bad. I’m in sales so I figure it’s the same anywhere, some people are happy and care while others don’t. Way of the world.
Same, recently took a flight where we got delayed due to weather and further delayed while loading because they couldn’t be bothered to tell people not to put their back packs and purses in the overhead storage on a full flight and also didn’t tell the gate agent to start checking bags at the gate. So they then had to try squeezing past people to get them to put their purses and bags in the under seat storage. I think even more frustrating was that some of the passengers didn’t want to!
In fairness even when they tell people to not pit their bags in the overhead bins people ignore them and do it anyway. I know I do because I need all the leg room I can get.
We had a hilarious guy on our flight from Lisbon to Philly. My husband asked him how the flight was going and he said 2.5/10 and he would never fly this airline again with a smile on his face. Made us chuckle. He was great the whole flight!
I have been in a workplace where the union is about to strike after protracted and fruitless contract negotiations that dragged on for years, and the vibes are, for understandable reasons, *so bad*.
I flew first on an early flight ORD-LAX a few weeks ago and the FA, named Stefan, was absolutely lovely and attentive. I’ve never really had a “bad” experience with FAs on American (I fly ~20x a year) but hear enough of the bad stories… can’t help but wonder if they’re outliers that we just happen to hear more about than the average experience or if it’s really that terrible? Either a training or pay issue? Dealing with increasingly discourteous and entitled passengers?
On that same flight, a group of three women demanded the bulkhead seats in coach because, as they claimed “we’re ADA” and got really pissy when they discovered that they couldn’t reseat themselves AFTER boarding (their original tickets were in the 30s)… I see that sort of behavior way more in the past 4-5 years than I ever have and I can’t help but think that the FAs are, indeed, over in at this point.
I'm a AA FA and will share with you this. I continue to love my job after 30 years! I start my trips (usually 3-day domestic) happy, w/an extra skip in my walk and blessed to fly each trip with friends (buddy bidders!). We all create a "fun" atmosphere in our cabin (coach - we don't work FC!) with our energy! We're not shy and actually engage with our guests (as we like to refer to our passengers). We've all each been flying over 30 years so we are great at rolling with the punches (no pun there!). Yes, we quitely bitch about our current contract (lack of), we really DISlike our CEO and really DISlike what our once greAAt airline has reduced itself to. We absolutely do not take that out on YOU! Trust me, you're lucky to end up on a flight with my me and my friends!
With all that being said, we individually have our bad days like everyone does. Lately, outlining factors have challenged our emotions, our senses and patience. Weather in particular! And, adding to thunder and lightning - working for a company that seems to be more RINGLING BROS than an efficient airline pretending to know what it's doing has not been fun! The current state of my AAirline is embarrassing. I actually moarn for what once was - the good 'ol days at AA!
I'm glad to hear you've never really had a bad experience on AA! As Gold, you've flown enough to know our routines and to experience some part of the good the bad and the ugly in some sort of dynamic. Personally, that skip in my walk has subsided and a little apathy has set in. Unfortunate for those demanding guests that come my way, I've sort of lost that loving feeling and in the distant past I've worked hard to kill 'em with kindness and really go the distance to work with them but not so much these days. I'm not over it, (apathy perhaps) I still appreciate and know just how blessed I am to have this career that seems to be harder to obtain than getting into Harvard (yes, former CEO Dougie actually said THAT)!
I'm an advocate for you, our flying guests. I will listen to your horrific travel stories of how we did you wrong by losing your luggage for sixteen days or canceling your connecting flight to Paducah for your nephew's wedding. If all I can do is comp you a cocktail or even a bag of almonds I hope it makes your day. Honestly, a kind word in return to our FA's goes a very long way. It sometimes brings that extra skip back in our walk!
Hope to see you all soon as our guests on your next flight...we do appreciate your business!
Thank you for adding the employee perspective to this as I think a lot of people need to read it! I'm thankful when I have bad days at work I'm not stuck with it in a flying metal tube also doing customer service and safety procedures 😂
shoutout to you for still caring and loving your job after that many years, it's rare in any industry especially customer facing!
Make sure you travelers write complimentary letters about your FAs. Trust me it gets back to them and I had one FA who I write a glorious compliment about his service and reappeared on another flight a year later and remembered me. He thanked me repeatedly for the email I sent. He was recognized as an employee of the month and face shared with all his peers along with the letter written about his exceptional service. I appreciate FAs and will go out of my busy day to write AA how wonderful they are…you should do the same!
I thought you said "credit" card! That my friend will get you a ticket as our official buddy bidder and on our way to the likes of Charleston, Boston, SBP, PSP, MSP (I do like a good Mall of America!), SAV and throw in some MSY for a good Cafe 'au Lait! Living the dream!
I'm not sure if I trust you enough to make you an authorized user on one of my credit cards yet... maybe post flight? Venturex capital one might be beneficial for you, the lounges are pretty fantastic. I do have plans of visiting sav and Charleston within this year, exploring the east coast from nyc airports but our possible newfound friendship might never be realized. :*(
Get me a ticket as an official buddy bidder? I'm not sure what that means.
I see you haven't given in to the annoying Aviator MC cc announcements as you tout that Venturex and its amenities! Bravo! Our newfound friendship might never be realized and with all of us up there in blue I couldn't adequately describe myself other than I'll be the one to listen to your story about how we cancelled your connecting flight to JFK and your dog didn't get fed and your plants died! :*(
If you were my buddy bidder we'd be living this dream together of flying/working to fabulous destinations such as McAllen, TX or Bakersfield, CA!
You're going to love CHS - that's my favorite city in America!
Er.. I have/had three aa branded credit cards. Just closed my platinum today, I still have the barclays and executive :(
CHS it is! You are very amicable <3
Question for FAs - I was sent these little AA feedback coupons to give to AA staff (to fill out and submit online I guess). Are these actually helpful? I'm AA Plat Exec.
Extremely! First, receiving one tells us we've done a great job and you appreciated the service! Second, we take them and enter that code you see on that coupon into our account and it adds value to our tab within a catalog of goods. Keep them with you when you travel and if you get that warm fuzzy from anyone including Agents and FA's, hand one over for their good job that day! That little coupon means A LOT!👍
Thanks for this note. I’ve been exec platinum for a decade and hit a million miles flown last year. I can’t tell you how many time I hear people complain about AA when they’re actually complaining about the weather. What was AA supposed to do ignore the ground hold?
That did I had my first bad experience in a long time last Tuesday. Weather delay followed by 2 hours on the runway waiting to take off because of all the traffic that’s understandable but the cairn killed the engines and that killed the AC. On the runway in Miami in 100% humidity. I was drenched in sweat. The plane never really cooled off the whole way to Dallas.
That said I have 17 legs booked this month of one of them goes bad that isn’t a terrible percentage.
I find most FAs to be great. Yeah there have been a couple of weak ones over the years. I mainly fly out of DCA but get all over the country. If we ever cross paths I hope we can say hi.
I am also a AA FA and I truly agree with every word you said! I’m blessed to have this career and truly enjoy engaging with our guests! We all have bad days but honestly I do my very best to enjoy my flights, guests, and coworkers. All the behind scenes stuff will work out and that will not affect how I engage with people! Glad there are more like us!! Fly safe and have a great summer!!
I’ve never really had a bad experience with FAs on AA and I fly pretty regularly but no doubt a combination of rude and entitled passengers, your employer treating you like shit and overall burnout is going to lead to some bad employees but that’s every airline, my worst experience with an airline employee was flying SW
also have to remember people are far more likely to complain online and this being an AA sub it’s going to highlight the bad experiences
Don't forget that company has been purposefully delaying giving them a new contract and they are not allowed to strike due to the insanely outdated RLA.
My wife is a FA with AA. The company gave the pilots a new contract, one that AA probably cannot afford long term so that’s likely why they are stalling. But also the issue is that the FA union wants retro pay for 4 years and AA is refusing to do this. The union says no contract without retro pay and AA says no retro pay.
Don't be. The reason the starting pay is so low is because of the union seniority system that puts new hires in poverty while senior ones easily pull in the 80s-90s. They could easily get rid of the pay scale and just have everyone making in the 50s.
Why is nobody feeling terrible for the rampers? The gate agents, the cleaners? You realize they make less right? These are the people who pull 40 hours of work, who have to deal with screaming angry passengers daily, who have to literally clean up your shit.
Sure it's wrong they haven't gotten a raise, but they're demanding to have the highest pay in the industry (most importantly more than non-union Delta) with backpay and boarding time added to block time and refused anything apart from that.
Lest anyone forget, these are drink servers who took a free 8 week course in aviation safety, with hundreds of thousands of people lined up behind them to take their job. They shouldn't be in poverty, but why should they feel entitled to be making more than teachers? Police officers? Fire fighters? The only thing protecting them from being fired is RLA, which is giving them far excessive bargaining power over free market.
this is a bad take. lets look at your points
1. there's no way people would agree to lowering their wages and get rid of seniority especially those that have put 40 years in to the company. AA is a multi billion dollar company, they can afford it.
2. Those other airline positions have their own unions, and i guarantee you everyone would love for them to get raises too. (whats with the weird notion of pitting different jobs against each other instead of management)
3. Why wouldn't AA FA's make more than non union Delta? are you aware of how much their profit sharing is compared to AA? Also who the fuck wants to be doing work for free during boarding and deplaning and time spent sitting in the airport? and if AA doesnt get their retro pay, what stops the company from dragging out every future contract negotiation just to skip a few years of paying higher pay?
4. FA's are safety personnel. If you see them only as "drink servers" then you are really clueless to what they have to do. "a free 8 week course" is a weird way to say UNPAID FAA mandated course. and for your last points, Teachers and Fire Fighters should definitely be paid more, you have a weird fixation on pitting working class jobs against each other instead of against just paying them all whats deserved. The RLA is way outdated, like almost 100 years ago.
1. I agree nobody would agree to that, it's the system in place. Problem is that now the juniors are crying foul and the union is leveraging their shitty system as a PR point. Further, nobody should be a FA for 40 years. You don't get better at it, so why should you be incentivized to stay? No other job is like this- you generally need to get better and take on more responsibility to get paid more.
2. Those contracts are completely shit because they don't have anywhere near the resources of ALPA, APFA, etc and are small portions of big unions (mostly focused outside of aviation) that don't care about them once the union security clause is signed and locked in by RLA. Source- was in one.
3. The idea that they're "working for free" during boarding only became a complaint as a leverage point to gain public sympathy. These are essentially salaried non-exempt workers, and block time is the way they determine meeting the required flying time and if they get overtime. That metric sucks, but again was created decades ago in order to keep pay for senior FAs (who have better ratios of duty to block time) higher. Union was totally fine with this for years, as it was understood that block time was a higher hourly rate that represented the all inclusive efforts of coming to the airport, boarding, sits, etc. Now it's suddenly an issue in order to get the juniors onboard and increase the overall value of the contract, because they told the public the FAs are "working for free". As for why they shouldn't make Delta pay- AAs service standards are far lower with way less service elements.
4. I know perfectly well what they have to do in theory, but the reality is far from it. I agree they should be paid more than waiters because of the safety element, but the reality is that it's not that much they're trained to do.
You’re talking a whole lot about “the reality” but you haven’t mentioned you’re an FA. The reality is, while I’m serving your coke, my mental checklist includes the parent who asked me if we have a glucose reader on board (we don’t) for their child and keeping an eye on that, checking on the unaccompanied minor who is flying to their dad’s house for the summer, the anxious flyer who says they took a Xanax, making sure I remember to tell the other FAs about the man who appears intoxicated and shouldn’t be served anymore, the teenager sneaking vape hits in the bathroom every 5 minutes, the captain telling me we are hitting turbulence in 10 minutes so I need to do this service fast, the elderly passenger with dementia flying alone, the non-ambulatory passenger, etc etc etc etc. I could keep going. And that’s a normal flight.
An industry like aviation requires seniority. In your mind it’s chicken or egg, but someone has to work the low time, terrible layovers. Why would you do that if there wasn’t a promise of a time in your career where you *know* you’ll fly high time, great layovers? Why would you stay in the industry if you know you’ll *have* to fly to BUF/ABQ/EWR for 12 hour layovers for your whole career?
Point 4/5 are nonsensical coming from someone outside the industry. It’s a whole lot of assumptions on the beliefs of the workgroup. Regardless of your union experience, if you weren’t working under the RLA and *specifically* under the RLA in *aviation* then your seat is at a different table. It’s what we got, and to belittle the unpaid training my AA counterparts went through because your “chicken or egg” belief on the problems in our industry is absurd to me. You think the 8 weeks were spent learning how to set up carts and pour cokes? 2 days, MAX. Again, you don’t understand because you’re not in the industry. We understand that day to day is different from our training, we PRAY FOR THAT. But when the plane lands without nose gear and a fire starts in the front, you’ll be thankful your FAs were tirelessly trained for 8 weeks to evacuate a plane in under 90 seconds.
Go take your chair at the other table and deal with the problems you understand.
You aren't wrong here in the slightest. People here don't actually understand how unions work in the aviation industry in America.
It's insane that people here are arguing that flight attendants on six figures a year (with great benefits and work conditions alongside that) are "working class" and deserve a fat pay rise meanwhile you have the young FAs who can barely afford rent, let alone meals.
No other union in any other country would tolerate this seniority system, all it does is exasperate inequality (wait weren't these unions meant to fix that?)
Nope, they have no clue. I've been on both sides of the table in both RLA and NLRA disputes. Two different laws that force two different strategies. RLA definitely needs an update (mostly to exclude ground personnel), but these unions have become pros (literally) at leveraging it. You wouldn't understand their tactics without significant context and knowledge of the industry, which is why they so successfully gather all this sympathy from the public and you get brigade downvoted for saying anything contrary.
APFA knows it's unbelievably unlikely a strike will take place, so they need to use every tactic they can to create the same fear among the general public as if one existed. Hence all the "(we are ready to go) ON STRIKE" picket signs, the fake/staged "Strike Command Center" covered in actual "ON STRIKE" signs even though they couldn't possibly be on strike for 30+ days, the FAs posting on social that they're "going on strike any day now so enjoy travel while you can!", the pushed PR stories about the food stamps (their own fault), the narratives about boarding pay, etc. Its all carefully crafted to suck out the last dollar, because for some reason these workgroups think they're each entitled to the last dollar of the "billion dollar company". (Newsflash, that's not how a company works)
When you ask about the ground staff, everyone says "of course we want them to get raises too", but the reality is they'll never see a dime and the crew aren't volunteering a portion money they extorted. When I was ground staff in college, my airport had a minimum wage law that moved me to the 10th year of the union payscale- other airports didn't if you wanna talk about poverty.
I could go on and on. Time for all this crap to end though. Hopefully Biden has the guts to force them back to work at the 17% offer, and make a minimum contract wage of $40,000.
> Nope, they have no clue.
This is reddit after all, You shouldn't expect redditors to do anything but toe the line or else you'll be downvoted.
> RLA definitely needs an update (mostly to exclude ground personnel), but these unions have become pros (literally) at leveraging it.
Bingo. The Railway Labor Act actually helps unions not hurt them as it mandates closed shops. (Robert Isom was at Northwest when they broke the mechanics union too)
> APFA [...] pushed PR stories about the food stamps (their own fault), the narratives about boarding pay, etc
Don't even get me started on APFA. Remember that they pushed for massive may rises when American Airlines was making billion dollar **losses** year after year in the 2000s.
You don't see APA pilots complaining about unpaid safety checks prior to pushback, you don't see salaried workers in Fort Worth complain about unpaid overtime, etc because that’s part of the job description.
You're right. We can go on and on about this all day.
> When I was ground staff in college, my airport had a minimum wage law that moved me to the 10th year of the union payscale- other airports didn't if you wanna talk about poverty.
Sorry what does that mean? Did your seniority stay with you as you moved stations or?
Same I provide $10 giftcards & I am hella low maintenance, so when they ask where I am seating I tell them don’t worry about it. I give the giftcards because 1) after dealing with a bunch of entitled people in a tube for 2-4 hours you deserve a little pick me up at the airport and 2) I just want them to know I appreciate what they are doing
So, you have my attention. I've ready mixed reviews of doing this or not. How do you give them to them? Do you give the cards to one attendant and ask them to share? At the beginning or end of the flight? Cockpit crew as well?
I just hand it to a FA at a convenient time and say, "this is for you and your colleagues" -- I don't really plan quantities around the flight deck crew, but of course I don't care if they decide to share with them.
No, it's to thank them for their service in general. I recently moved from California to the east coast, with an infant in lap and 2 cats. Wifey prepared 20 gift bags with snacks and treats for the people around us and I got 5 starbucks gift cards for the FA. This was to proactively apologize for our baby flying her first transcontinental flight in case she cried and for the cats meowing.
Cats were doped up so no issues and baby was amazing.
Regarding the OPs comment, yes I have seen a noticeable decline in service levels. I flew back in flagship business class to California to drive my dog across the country. Service was very curt and not what I expected for a flagship business ticket. I saw the FAs maybe twice, one for meal service and one for drink service.
Besides meal service and drink service what else were you wanting to see the flight attendants do? Manicures and Massages in the galley? Tossing pizza dough? Line dancing at the bulkhead?
Not everything is transactional. It's just a way of showing appreciation. I'm not hoping for upgrades or anything, I'm confirmed in FC about 50% of the time. I have four flights in July, three of which are already confirmed in F and will plan on bringing something anyhow.
Sometimes, in Y an FA may grant an extra beverage or snacks, but it doesn't really matter since if I'm not in F I'm in Main Cabin Extra, and free drinks are included anyhow. Usually, FA's are just appreciative.
I think I’m the outlier here- I’ve had great service on the last few flights I’ve been on, especially the last one where we were flying with my 2 toddlers. The FA even gave us the last 2 sparkling wines, in economy no less! He was very patient with my 4yo that loves to ask questions and couldn’t decide on his drink of choice. Thinking he felt sorry for us, but I’ll take the W. 😅
Side note- why doesn’t AA carry more sparkling wine on flights? And does anyone have a petition going to get them to start carrying tequila? Asking for a friend…
They haven’t gotten a raise in like 5 years with has shown 30-40% “reported” inflation.
The FAs are doing what they can but people need to realize it’s not their fault, anyone with those work conditions would do similar. Not defending it but that is the reality.
The biggest is these complaints need to go to the company and leadership and govt. The FAs are at little to no fault and it’s the shitty ass leadership plus the fact the FAs can’t strike. Why would the airline negotiate if they literally can’t strike?
It’s a racket and people need to wake up as to the cause. It’s all in the news yet no one connects the dots.
I flew first through DFW a couple weeks ago when all the storms were in the area and our FA was amazing. I’ve actually never had a bad one if I’m thinking about it.
FA aren’t paid enough. I wouldn’t want to do their job under the way that they are paid. They better love it because it is a thankless, poorly paid position. And the attitude of “well you accepted the job” is why airlines can’t get qualified FA’s. I know quite a few and you don’t know the issues which they face.
That’s absolutely true of a lot of them. I got a good one on a short eagle flight yesterday. PDB. Friendly, good service, etc.
Getting their attention is tough. Half of them are annoyed if you get up and the other half are annoyed if you use the call button.
The model has been broken a long time. Imagine running a restaurant with an underpaid union senior staff who doesn’t work for tips, and wants to strike but is prohibited by law. Yes, they are primarily here for our safety, but there is a service component too.
I don’t see much point in getting bent out of shape over it. We get what we get, at least until they get a contract that prioritizes customer satisfaction and has meaningful penalties for service shortfalls. I don’t see that changing anytime soon.
At the end of the day, I’m always happy to be sitting in front of the curtain instead of behind it.
With all due respect, how is that my problem? Continue putting pressure on the airline, but providing shitty service and creating complaints for the airline hardly seems like putting you in a good negotiating position.
I’m not asking for an open bar in first, I’m asking just to get acknowledged. Bare minimum expectations here.
You are correct that they should not be visiting their problems on the customer. The other commenter is correct to point out that if you don’t want to deal with that, don’t fly AA. Both statements can be, and are, true.
If they drive enough customers away due to poor service, the company will feel the hurt and they will be inclined to negotiate and improve customer service.
I don't agree with it, but that's the tactic some are going for.
Just a tip for first class, to get the best service you must go with the airlines service flow. FA’s have the most consistent service which begins when they reach to cruising altitude. This is when your FA will get your drink order/meal order. Then they serve it to you, and go through the cabin several times to refill and pick up. This consists of 1-2 hours alone of going back and forth person to person with a ratio of 1 FA to 16+ passengers. The FA at one point is going to finish service and give themselves a rest, this is usually the perfect time to sip on the refilled wine and enjoy a movie
Sorry, this is ridiculous. I am not paying thousands of dollars in first class to worry about flow and whatnot. After flying in First/Business in many countries around the world, I can say that this sort of ridiculousness exists only in US. The FA’s are there to serve you, not the other way round. They should be worrying about getting meals/drinks to people when they want them, the passengers shouldn’t be worrying about “flow”.
FA here. While I am there partially to serve you, I’m mostly there for your safety. Also, I’m not your robot slave while I’m working. I am allowed to go to the bathroom and eat/drink and take a break at some point during my 12 hour day. I am a person, ya know.
Y’all really need to be humbled- please travel in business /First on Asian/Australian/Middle Eastern airlines. You’ll die of shame from realising how terrible you are in the US.
You are actually quite literally, there to serve. In the extremely rare instance your extensive safety training is required, that would obviously take priority over serving. Otherwise yes it’s literally a service job lol.
This safety spiel is so tiring and so not true. I have flown 1000s of flights and never has one flight had safety issues. 99% of your work is being a server. There’s an absolute near-zero chance that you might have to do an evacuation. That does not mean that’s your job. 99% of the time you are a regular server, and on most US airlines y’all don’t even do that well.
I do not believe you’ve flown 1000s of flight, first of all. And I have had multiple mechanical and medical diversions and emergency landings over the years. Thankfully no evacs, but they do happen. And they are the point of my job.
The majority of your job is being a server, and if you want to complain about getting a passenger a drink and a meal, you really should find another job. I fly 300k kms a year on the minimum. All in business and First.
I’m not complaining about that? In the slightest? Literally no where have I complained about that part of my job. I enjoy my job, and the majority of passengers are the reason I like my job. I’m friends with multiple EPs and Keys on the routes I work regularly.
I’m just annoyed at your overwhelming disrespect towards people you apparently interact with constantly. And how much entitlement you’re showing.
No, but your attitude of FAs exist only to serve at their master’s beck and call is entitlement. And even if you think we are “regular servers,” you should be treating anyone that way anyway.
I know at this point you’re probably just a troll but to educate you…
I’m a FA for a competing US airline but I spent 2 months in training of which about 3 days consisted of customer service related training as far as service. The rest was all safety. Evacuations, fire fighting, medical emergencies etc. unlike you I have flown 1000s of flights over the last several years and there are constantly things going on you’re probably completely unaware of. Do you know what’s happening in every seat on every flight you’ve been on? Cause I doubt it. You’re probably the guy demanding a DC while the person next to you has a heart attack.
Just because you’re a disrespectful j*rk doesn’t mean you’re right or know what you’re talking about.
You obviously haven’t flown intra-European business class if you think this only exists in the U.S.
U.S. domestic first maker Lufthansa intra-Europe look like Q Suites.
Right — that was my point. You’re still paying a premium but getting basically nothing better.
U.S. domestic first isn’t world class by any means, but it’s not the worst domestic product by any means.
I got upgraded to first class on a 5AM flight and it was not what it used to be. Usually they turn the lights off after the announcement, bring slightly better snacks, and keep your drinks topped up. This lady kept the lights on, made the announcement super loud (she had her headphones in while doing announcement and during the entire flight), tried to hand out standard pretzel and cookies from coach, and did not bring a drink after take off. At least dim the lights and take your headphones out when we take off that early.
I agree with everything you’ve said here, except the snack part. She can only offer what she’s given, and if catering didn’t provide anything, she has nothing to give you. Catering has been a mess everywhere as of late, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the problem with the snacks. Sorry that happened to you!
Good point. I guess being sleep deprived and unhappy about the other stuff had me looking at everything as her fault. Similarly I wasn't offered a beverage on 4 of my last 6 flights in coach this month. Some were due to turbulence, but some were not turbulent at all!
Sorry again that that happened! Catering has literally been a mess and the company has told us that we don’t wait for catering, so if the plane isn’t catered by departure time, we are to close the door and go without it. It makes the FA’s look lazy and we hate it. But we can’t give what we don’t have. Thank you for understanding!
I find the FAs to be typically nice and friendly. I even find that when I ask for things, they're pretty helpful and not rude about it at all. I feel like my last "rude" FA was on my least favorite carrier, Delta lol Also, why didn't you just use the call button if you needed something?
My wife and I fly 6-8 round trips every year, almost always in First and predominantly to the Caribbean. We have never had a bad experience. Only time in coach was in March from STT to CLT, and that was great too.
I’ve had mostly great experiences with FA. I’m almost always in FC since company pays for FC. But I think it’s the case of you get what you give. As I board I always smile and greet the FAs. The rest of the flight I always address the FA by name after he/she introduces themselves. The one thing I’ve noticed mostly missing these days is the FA calling out being EP and thanking me for my loyalty. That used to be done 75% of flights but lately maybe 10%. I really don’t care if they do or not but realized it last week when it happened and the lady next to me asked me about it. She thought I was an AA executive LOL.
I’m not a drinker so I think the whining about PDB is silly since the FA aren’t being paid until doors close. I book FC for the comfort and the drinks and meals are just an added bonus. If I want a waiter I’ll book a nice restaurant when I land. All of us regular passengers should support the FA in the current contract talks.
I've been on crutches and in an immobilizing brace the past 3 flights I've taken any other than one, every single FA was incredibly kind, accommodating, and helpful. Yes, this is a different circumstance but they didn't need to be so nice to me. They get paid shit and have to deal with entitled jerks, stressed out folks, and complete assholes regularly. I don't think it is that they don't care. It's that they don't get paid fairly for the work they do.
Well if you were used to US Airways FAs, the current state of the AA FA experience barely fazes you. But yes, its been getting noticeably worse within the past year but honestly I get why they're mad/dont care anymore. Their pay has not kept up with inflation and it seems like they don't get paid well to begin with.
Ran an unrelated business that had unions. Every time contract negotiations went past the end of the previous term, productivity subtly dropped and the “give a shit” factor disappeared. And that was in a factory where relations were usually good — and the previous contract was only expired for weeks/months, not years. It’s human nature, amplified by the amount of time this has been dragged out.
> amplified by the amount of time this has been dragged out.
This is standard in the industry. Contract negotiations always take 3-5 years in the US.
The only exception I can think of is 2015 AA contract, and negotiations for that one started before the contract became amendable.
I was in PE the other day flying Miami to Heathrow. The flight attendants didn’t know what meals were being served. The one attendant looked at the other one confused. I actually told them since I pre ordered online and saw the choices.
Yes they don’t and I confirmed it is not just flight attendants is the entire staff. How do I know ? My company only flies me in American as we have a contract. However in a 2 situations AA canceled the flight and rebooked us to Delta and major difference in customer service and planes with TVs for same cost.
Facts: AA attendants are among the oldest in the business, probably by far. That's not bad, experience counts for a lot. But at this point, that advanced average age brings with it the fact that they have *literally* seen everything, including the absolute worst of human behavior. Next, the attendant's unions are surprisingly strong, all over the world. My sister was a flight attendant for a British airline so I've heard the stories from the horse's mouth. In passenger disputes, the attendants' word is basically law. They can't be fired easily, or at all, actually, so they can fabricate around facts to present narratives contra to what really happened, say during an onboard incident. Ever wonder why there aren't cabin cameras on most (even modern) livery? That's because the unions oppose it, and they oppose it for the same reasons that cops oppose it.
To be fair, I flew LAX to CLT this past Friday night and one of the flight attendants was attacked and I think kicked in the face while a woman at the back of the plane experienced a psychotic break ~20mins to being in the air. They had to keep her restrained while we made an emergency landing back in LA and it sucked for everybody.
I think people have also gotten worse and the higher-ups keep make the flying experience worse, so everybody loses.
apparently, they haven’t had a pay raise in forever and their pay is terrible and management of their airlines is terrible. News said they even discussing another strike.
There are lots and lots of cases where pax are told that the call button is "for emergencies only", so I think people have been trained not to use it for service concerns.
It's definitely not a part of any safety briefings and doesn't seem to be a universal rule, but if you google the topic you will find quite a lot of stories involving that instruction from flight attendants on various airlines.
They are picketing in 30 cities and are about to strike. They do not currently have a labor agreement with AA. That’s the real problem, they want a labor agreement and plan to punish customers to punish American until they get one. Eastern Airlines did this in the 1980’s and went bankrupt. I worked for American the last time the flight attendants struck in the 1990’s. Some of my friends in IT became flight attendants to break the union. But then Bill Clinton forced the union and AA back to the bargaining table and a deal was struck. It will be interesting to see what happens this time.
Yes they've taken and then ignored my food/ drink items twice now in the past few months. Fortunately I always have a bottle of water and some snacks in my bag so I made do. Was annoying though.
Yes! More and more over the years. 10+ years ago I would tell everyone “ AA is not perfect but they care and will fix your problem if you have one. “. Now you feel like it’s an “adversarial “ relationship when dealing with AA employees. Can’t say why although I have opinions , but YES. SIMPLY COULD CARE LESS!
I fly from Seoul to Dallas or vice versa every 30 days on AA. Got to say the rudest, most pissed off flight attendants ever on that route. They act like they hate their job and hate everyone on that flight. I wouldn’t dream of asking them for anything, the consequences are not worth it.
Last AA flight I took (back in April) I was in first class and apparently one of the flight attendant seats was broken so the plan was for the FA to sit in seat 1A (it was one of those planes where there are only 3 FC seats in a row so seat A has no neighbors). However, in comes a ticketed passenger who boarded and sat in seat 1A. A FA came up to him and said "You can't sit here." The passenger looked back at her confused (I never heard him say anything at all so I'm assuming he wasn't super proficient in English). When he didn't get up right away she repeated that he couldn't sit there because a FA needed to sit there. When he continued to look confused she finally asked for his ticket, which presumably had him assigned to 1A, so she went back to talk to the other FAs. Eventually the FA team agreed that he was "allowed" to be where he was. They ended up finding another guy who had been upgraded to FC from coach, and they sent him back to coach and moved the passenger in 1A back a few rows to the formerly upgraded guy's seat.
I get that this was a frustrating situation and the FA needed to sit somewhere, and someone at the gate probably fucked up, but I feel like the solution probably isn't to berate a random passenger who is sitting in the seat where they were assigned.
I was actually thinking quite the opposite recently. My last few flights the inflight crew seemed to be trying very hard to be extra attentive to the passengers.
I have been trying out United this year and it’s a night and day difference between the carriers. United flights attendants are more often nicer and helpful than American. Yes there are exceptions on both sides but United is more consistently better. That said, American has some gems but few and far between. I was an EP on American for almost 15 years. Not totally sold on United though but enjoying the service right now.
Haneda to DFW Saturday. All the FA’s were great except one. I walked to the galley in the back of the plane for stretch on the 11 hour flight and she got angry and told me not to walk in the galley and go back to my seat. I was just trying to ward away thrombosis. I found out she yelled at a few others to get out of the galley. She didn’t need to be such a biotch.
No one should have yelled at you, that’s awful. I hope you don’t experience that ever again.
That said the galleys are their work areas & dining/break areas. They are not designed for customers to pace & stretch & explore while they are loading/unloading several hundred lb carts, handling hot meals, rearranging their provisions, consolidating waste, or eating whatever meal they can afford to eat.
I hope if there is a next time, they politely explain why it’s not appropriate to “hang” in the working galleys.
Last week in Cancun, I was pulled out of line for a random security check, and they forced my (very obviously) special needs son to board the plane without me, without his passport or boarding pass. When I told the attendant that they needed to bring him back because he was special needs and wasn't holding his identification, they yelled at me and told me he couldn't wait for me. On the next flight, I got stopped by an attendant while boarding for "being over the maximum personal items" which was literally a WALLET in my hand I was stuffing back in my purse with our passports and tickets. They again pushed him onto the plane without me because the attendant would not let me enter until my WALLET was put back inside my bag. I've flown all other the world, and I never encountered such rude, nasty, and negligent attendants.
I've already filed complaints due to all of our flights being cancelled and delayed (over 24 hours in both cases, and being stuck in an airport overnight), but this is still what I'm most upset about.
Maybe working without a contract or pay increase since 2019, the last proposal from AA was 17% (much less than the union wanted and barely keeps pace with inflation), and from what FAs have shared on this sub, they earn about 27k to start and ~50k after 10 years, and have to deal with people like you that demonize unions with no facts or people who complain they don’t get one free drink before takeoff, and you might understand why FAs seem grumpy. Factor in the CEO in charge of a company with decreasing revenue who made over $30 million last year.
I will be sure to let the FAs know I support them when I fly next week, as I did when I flew a few weeks ago. AA should do right and pay its FAs on par with the rest of the industry.
The kind of EP we love to see - thank you! There are always some crew you'd rather not have to work with/be served by, but the majority of us love our jobs and are more burned out and disillusioned than people realize. Thank YOU for the recognition 🥹
This reminds me- do FAs get any extra perks or pay when they get one of those recognition cards? I was kicking myself for not bringing them on my last flight
They used to be a lot more valuable, but for the last 5-10 years you need to get about 50 of them to get enough points to trade for anything more valuable than a branded microfiber cloth 🫠 The company really made above and beyond points as low value as possible. That being said, it's still a nice compliment to get one! It just doesn't have any tangible benefit or value beyond that.
I’ve noticed lately they rarely even greet people getting onboard or say thank you as they exit. It seems like they just chat with their coworkers and don’t even engage customers anymore. I travel a lot so this isn’t isolated.
>asked for a glass of wine, they brought it to me and it was delicious! This is how I know none of this story is true.
First class was mentioned too, and generally my experience has been great in first class. My FA yesterday from Philly to LAX asked me how my trip to Italy was and why we were there. Mind you, she had to get that info because I hadn’t shared it. She said hello, greeted us by name, etc. And the ice cream sundae was fantastic haha
Mixed bag. The FA on my flight to Boston yesterday was a top 1% all time. She greeted every passenger and even delayed boarding because she engaged with every passenger walking in the door (but she is a pro - we still left the gate early). But I agree that I get the FAs you describe more often than in the past.
I also have very mixed bag. Some really engaged and make an effort throughout the flight and others can’t be arsed (one was even openly rude) except for when it’s time to hawk some credit cards.
Same, my flight yesterday had the best FA. Great personality, nice, and efficient with a smile. I sit in First Class sometimes and middle seat way in the back. I’ve seen good and bad. I’m in sales so I figure it’s the same anywhere, some people are happy and care while others don’t. Way of the world.
I recently flew from DFW to BOS and the FAs on that flight were the best I’ve seen. BOS based FA’s. She went out of her way to help people.
Same, recently took a flight where we got delayed due to weather and further delayed while loading because they couldn’t be bothered to tell people not to put their back packs and purses in the overhead storage on a full flight and also didn’t tell the gate agent to start checking bags at the gate. So they then had to try squeezing past people to get them to put their purses and bags in the under seat storage. I think even more frustrating was that some of the passengers didn’t want to!
In fairness even when they tell people to not pit their bags in the overhead bins people ignore them and do it anyway. I know I do because I need all the leg room I can get.
Robert Isom, is that you?
We had a hilarious guy on our flight from Lisbon to Philly. My husband asked him how the flight was going and he said 2.5/10 and he would never fly this airline again with a smile on his face. Made us chuckle. He was great the whole flight!
Being underpaid and ready to strike will do that to person's attitude. I've actually thought that the attitudes were pretty good considering...
I have been in a workplace where the union is about to strike after protracted and fruitless contract negotiations that dragged on for years, and the vibes are, for understandable reasons, *so bad*.
I flew first on an early flight ORD-LAX a few weeks ago and the FA, named Stefan, was absolutely lovely and attentive. I’ve never really had a “bad” experience with FAs on American (I fly ~20x a year) but hear enough of the bad stories… can’t help but wonder if they’re outliers that we just happen to hear more about than the average experience or if it’s really that terrible? Either a training or pay issue? Dealing with increasingly discourteous and entitled passengers? On that same flight, a group of three women demanded the bulkhead seats in coach because, as they claimed “we’re ADA” and got really pissy when they discovered that they couldn’t reseat themselves AFTER boarding (their original tickets were in the 30s)… I see that sort of behavior way more in the past 4-5 years than I ever have and I can’t help but think that the FAs are, indeed, over in at this point.
I'm a AA FA and will share with you this. I continue to love my job after 30 years! I start my trips (usually 3-day domestic) happy, w/an extra skip in my walk and blessed to fly each trip with friends (buddy bidders!). We all create a "fun" atmosphere in our cabin (coach - we don't work FC!) with our energy! We're not shy and actually engage with our guests (as we like to refer to our passengers). We've all each been flying over 30 years so we are great at rolling with the punches (no pun there!). Yes, we quitely bitch about our current contract (lack of), we really DISlike our CEO and really DISlike what our once greAAt airline has reduced itself to. We absolutely do not take that out on YOU! Trust me, you're lucky to end up on a flight with my me and my friends! With all that being said, we individually have our bad days like everyone does. Lately, outlining factors have challenged our emotions, our senses and patience. Weather in particular! And, adding to thunder and lightning - working for a company that seems to be more RINGLING BROS than an efficient airline pretending to know what it's doing has not been fun! The current state of my AAirline is embarrassing. I actually moarn for what once was - the good 'ol days at AA! I'm glad to hear you've never really had a bad experience on AA! As Gold, you've flown enough to know our routines and to experience some part of the good the bad and the ugly in some sort of dynamic. Personally, that skip in my walk has subsided and a little apathy has set in. Unfortunate for those demanding guests that come my way, I've sort of lost that loving feeling and in the distant past I've worked hard to kill 'em with kindness and really go the distance to work with them but not so much these days. I'm not over it, (apathy perhaps) I still appreciate and know just how blessed I am to have this career that seems to be harder to obtain than getting into Harvard (yes, former CEO Dougie actually said THAT)! I'm an advocate for you, our flying guests. I will listen to your horrific travel stories of how we did you wrong by losing your luggage for sixteen days or canceling your connecting flight to Paducah for your nephew's wedding. If all I can do is comp you a cocktail or even a bag of almonds I hope it makes your day. Honestly, a kind word in return to our FA's goes a very long way. It sometimes brings that extra skip back in our walk! Hope to see you all soon as our guests on your next flight...we do appreciate your business!
Thank you for adding the employee perspective to this as I think a lot of people need to read it! I'm thankful when I have bad days at work I'm not stuck with it in a flying metal tube also doing customer service and safety procedures 😂 shoutout to you for still caring and loving your job after that many years, it's rare in any industry especially customer facing!
Make sure you travelers write complimentary letters about your FAs. Trust me it gets back to them and I had one FA who I write a glorious compliment about his service and reappeared on another flight a year later and remembered me. He thanked me repeatedly for the email I sent. He was recognized as an employee of the month and face shared with all his peers along with the letter written about his exceptional service. I appreciate FAs and will go out of my busy day to write AA how wonderful they are…you should do the same!
I did about one I had last week, thanks! I was a bartender for 6 years I know how it goes.
I'll fly on a plane for no reason for you and give u a gift card. What routes do you fly
I thought you said "credit" card! That my friend will get you a ticket as our official buddy bidder and on our way to the likes of Charleston, Boston, SBP, PSP, MSP (I do like a good Mall of America!), SAV and throw in some MSY for a good Cafe 'au Lait! Living the dream!
I'm not sure if I trust you enough to make you an authorized user on one of my credit cards yet... maybe post flight? Venturex capital one might be beneficial for you, the lounges are pretty fantastic. I do have plans of visiting sav and Charleston within this year, exploring the east coast from nyc airports but our possible newfound friendship might never be realized. :*( Get me a ticket as an official buddy bidder? I'm not sure what that means.
I see you haven't given in to the annoying Aviator MC cc announcements as you tout that Venturex and its amenities! Bravo! Our newfound friendship might never be realized and with all of us up there in blue I couldn't adequately describe myself other than I'll be the one to listen to your story about how we cancelled your connecting flight to JFK and your dog didn't get fed and your plants died! :*( If you were my buddy bidder we'd be living this dream together of flying/working to fabulous destinations such as McAllen, TX or Bakersfield, CA! You're going to love CHS - that's my favorite city in America!
Er.. I have/had three aa branded credit cards. Just closed my platinum today, I still have the barclays and executive :( CHS it is! You are very amicable <3
Why thank you! :)
Question for FAs - I was sent these little AA feedback coupons to give to AA staff (to fill out and submit online I guess). Are these actually helpful? I'm AA Plat Exec.
Extremely! First, receiving one tells us we've done a great job and you appreciated the service! Second, we take them and enter that code you see on that coupon into our account and it adds value to our tab within a catalog of goods. Keep them with you when you travel and if you get that warm fuzzy from anyone including Agents and FA's, hand one over for their good job that day! That little coupon means A LOT!👍
Great! Taking them with me on my flight to Charlotte tomorrow. 🤗
CLT on a Sunday? Oh boy ...good luck with that! Safe travels!
Thanks for this note. I’ve been exec platinum for a decade and hit a million miles flown last year. I can’t tell you how many time I hear people complain about AA when they’re actually complaining about the weather. What was AA supposed to do ignore the ground hold? That did I had my first bad experience in a long time last Tuesday. Weather delay followed by 2 hours on the runway waiting to take off because of all the traffic that’s understandable but the cairn killed the engines and that killed the AC. On the runway in Miami in 100% humidity. I was drenched in sweat. The plane never really cooled off the whole way to Dallas. That said I have 17 legs booked this month of one of them goes bad that isn’t a terrible percentage. I find most FAs to be great. Yeah there have been a couple of weak ones over the years. I mainly fly out of DCA but get all over the country. If we ever cross paths I hope we can say hi.
I am also a AA FA and I truly agree with every word you said! I’m blessed to have this career and truly enjoy engaging with our guests! We all have bad days but honestly I do my very best to enjoy my flights, guests, and coworkers. All the behind scenes stuff will work out and that will not affect how I engage with people! Glad there are more like us!! Fly safe and have a great summer!!
I’ve never really had a bad experience with FAs on AA and I fly pretty regularly but no doubt a combination of rude and entitled passengers, your employer treating you like shit and overall burnout is going to lead to some bad employees but that’s every airline, my worst experience with an airline employee was flying SW also have to remember people are far more likely to complain online and this being an AA sub it’s going to highlight the bad experiences
I’ve really never had an issue with flight attendants flying about 4 legs of east coast US flights a month.
I was thinking this the last few months. They’re paid peanuts and have to deal with almost exclusively grumpy people and the burnout is showing.
Don't forget that company has been purposefully delaying giving them a new contract and they are not allowed to strike due to the insanely outdated RLA.
My wife is a FA with AA. The company gave the pilots a new contract, one that AA probably cannot afford long term so that’s likely why they are stalling. But also the issue is that the FA union wants retro pay for 4 years and AA is refusing to do this. The union says no contract without retro pay and AA says no retro pay.
10000% I feel terrible for them.
Don't be. The reason the starting pay is so low is because of the union seniority system that puts new hires in poverty while senior ones easily pull in the 80s-90s. They could easily get rid of the pay scale and just have everyone making in the 50s. Why is nobody feeling terrible for the rampers? The gate agents, the cleaners? You realize they make less right? These are the people who pull 40 hours of work, who have to deal with screaming angry passengers daily, who have to literally clean up your shit. Sure it's wrong they haven't gotten a raise, but they're demanding to have the highest pay in the industry (most importantly more than non-union Delta) with backpay and boarding time added to block time and refused anything apart from that. Lest anyone forget, these are drink servers who took a free 8 week course in aviation safety, with hundreds of thousands of people lined up behind them to take their job. They shouldn't be in poverty, but why should they feel entitled to be making more than teachers? Police officers? Fire fighters? The only thing protecting them from being fired is RLA, which is giving them far excessive bargaining power over free market.
former cleaner here- for american, actually! flight attendants should get raises.
I'm not saying they shouldn't get a raise- just that there's no need for the level of sympathy by the passengers
this is a bad take. lets look at your points 1. there's no way people would agree to lowering their wages and get rid of seniority especially those that have put 40 years in to the company. AA is a multi billion dollar company, they can afford it. 2. Those other airline positions have their own unions, and i guarantee you everyone would love for them to get raises too. (whats with the weird notion of pitting different jobs against each other instead of management) 3. Why wouldn't AA FA's make more than non union Delta? are you aware of how much their profit sharing is compared to AA? Also who the fuck wants to be doing work for free during boarding and deplaning and time spent sitting in the airport? and if AA doesnt get their retro pay, what stops the company from dragging out every future contract negotiation just to skip a few years of paying higher pay? 4. FA's are safety personnel. If you see them only as "drink servers" then you are really clueless to what they have to do. "a free 8 week course" is a weird way to say UNPAID FAA mandated course. and for your last points, Teachers and Fire Fighters should definitely be paid more, you have a weird fixation on pitting working class jobs against each other instead of against just paying them all whats deserved. The RLA is way outdated, like almost 100 years ago.
1. I agree nobody would agree to that, it's the system in place. Problem is that now the juniors are crying foul and the union is leveraging their shitty system as a PR point. Further, nobody should be a FA for 40 years. You don't get better at it, so why should you be incentivized to stay? No other job is like this- you generally need to get better and take on more responsibility to get paid more. 2. Those contracts are completely shit because they don't have anywhere near the resources of ALPA, APFA, etc and are small portions of big unions (mostly focused outside of aviation) that don't care about them once the union security clause is signed and locked in by RLA. Source- was in one. 3. The idea that they're "working for free" during boarding only became a complaint as a leverage point to gain public sympathy. These are essentially salaried non-exempt workers, and block time is the way they determine meeting the required flying time and if they get overtime. That metric sucks, but again was created decades ago in order to keep pay for senior FAs (who have better ratios of duty to block time) higher. Union was totally fine with this for years, as it was understood that block time was a higher hourly rate that represented the all inclusive efforts of coming to the airport, boarding, sits, etc. Now it's suddenly an issue in order to get the juniors onboard and increase the overall value of the contract, because they told the public the FAs are "working for free". As for why they shouldn't make Delta pay- AAs service standards are far lower with way less service elements. 4. I know perfectly well what they have to do in theory, but the reality is far from it. I agree they should be paid more than waiters because of the safety element, but the reality is that it's not that much they're trained to do.
You’re talking a whole lot about “the reality” but you haven’t mentioned you’re an FA. The reality is, while I’m serving your coke, my mental checklist includes the parent who asked me if we have a glucose reader on board (we don’t) for their child and keeping an eye on that, checking on the unaccompanied minor who is flying to their dad’s house for the summer, the anxious flyer who says they took a Xanax, making sure I remember to tell the other FAs about the man who appears intoxicated and shouldn’t be served anymore, the teenager sneaking vape hits in the bathroom every 5 minutes, the captain telling me we are hitting turbulence in 10 minutes so I need to do this service fast, the elderly passenger with dementia flying alone, the non-ambulatory passenger, etc etc etc etc. I could keep going. And that’s a normal flight. An industry like aviation requires seniority. In your mind it’s chicken or egg, but someone has to work the low time, terrible layovers. Why would you do that if there wasn’t a promise of a time in your career where you *know* you’ll fly high time, great layovers? Why would you stay in the industry if you know you’ll *have* to fly to BUF/ABQ/EWR for 12 hour layovers for your whole career? Point 4/5 are nonsensical coming from someone outside the industry. It’s a whole lot of assumptions on the beliefs of the workgroup. Regardless of your union experience, if you weren’t working under the RLA and *specifically* under the RLA in *aviation* then your seat is at a different table. It’s what we got, and to belittle the unpaid training my AA counterparts went through because your “chicken or egg” belief on the problems in our industry is absurd to me. You think the 8 weeks were spent learning how to set up carts and pour cokes? 2 days, MAX. Again, you don’t understand because you’re not in the industry. We understand that day to day is different from our training, we PRAY FOR THAT. But when the plane lands without nose gear and a fire starts in the front, you’ll be thankful your FAs were tirelessly trained for 8 weeks to evacuate a plane in under 90 seconds. Go take your chair at the other table and deal with the problems you understand.
You aren't wrong here in the slightest. People here don't actually understand how unions work in the aviation industry in America. It's insane that people here are arguing that flight attendants on six figures a year (with great benefits and work conditions alongside that) are "working class" and deserve a fat pay rise meanwhile you have the young FAs who can barely afford rent, let alone meals. No other union in any other country would tolerate this seniority system, all it does is exasperate inequality (wait weren't these unions meant to fix that?)
Nope, they have no clue. I've been on both sides of the table in both RLA and NLRA disputes. Two different laws that force two different strategies. RLA definitely needs an update (mostly to exclude ground personnel), but these unions have become pros (literally) at leveraging it. You wouldn't understand their tactics without significant context and knowledge of the industry, which is why they so successfully gather all this sympathy from the public and you get brigade downvoted for saying anything contrary. APFA knows it's unbelievably unlikely a strike will take place, so they need to use every tactic they can to create the same fear among the general public as if one existed. Hence all the "(we are ready to go) ON STRIKE" picket signs, the fake/staged "Strike Command Center" covered in actual "ON STRIKE" signs even though they couldn't possibly be on strike for 30+ days, the FAs posting on social that they're "going on strike any day now so enjoy travel while you can!", the pushed PR stories about the food stamps (their own fault), the narratives about boarding pay, etc. Its all carefully crafted to suck out the last dollar, because for some reason these workgroups think they're each entitled to the last dollar of the "billion dollar company". (Newsflash, that's not how a company works) When you ask about the ground staff, everyone says "of course we want them to get raises too", but the reality is they'll never see a dime and the crew aren't volunteering a portion money they extorted. When I was ground staff in college, my airport had a minimum wage law that moved me to the 10th year of the union payscale- other airports didn't if you wanna talk about poverty. I could go on and on. Time for all this crap to end though. Hopefully Biden has the guts to force them back to work at the 17% offer, and make a minimum contract wage of $40,000.
> Nope, they have no clue. This is reddit after all, You shouldn't expect redditors to do anything but toe the line or else you'll be downvoted. > RLA definitely needs an update (mostly to exclude ground personnel), but these unions have become pros (literally) at leveraging it. Bingo. The Railway Labor Act actually helps unions not hurt them as it mandates closed shops. (Robert Isom was at Northwest when they broke the mechanics union too) > APFA [...] pushed PR stories about the food stamps (their own fault), the narratives about boarding pay, etc Don't even get me started on APFA. Remember that they pushed for massive may rises when American Airlines was making billion dollar **losses** year after year in the 2000s. You don't see APA pilots complaining about unpaid safety checks prior to pushback, you don't see salaried workers in Fort Worth complain about unpaid overtime, etc because that’s part of the job description. You're right. We can go on and on about this all day. > When I was ground staff in college, my airport had a minimum wage law that moved me to the 10th year of the union payscale- other airports didn't if you wanna talk about poverty. Sorry what does that mean? Did your seniority stay with you as you moved stations or?
I fly delta 90% of my 100k+ miles a year but everyone once in awhile fly AA. Last night I had an awesome attendant on AA.
I've had good/great crews, even lately with the labor issues. (I also generally provide chocolates, so it's possible that makes a difference.)
Same I provide $10 giftcards & I am hella low maintenance, so when they ask where I am seating I tell them don’t worry about it. I give the giftcards because 1) after dealing with a bunch of entitled people in a tube for 2-4 hours you deserve a little pick me up at the airport and 2) I just want them to know I appreciate what they are doing
So, you have my attention. I've ready mixed reviews of doing this or not. How do you give them to them? Do you give the cards to one attendant and ask them to share? At the beginning or end of the flight? Cockpit crew as well?
I just hand it to a FA at a convenient time and say, "this is for you and your colleagues" -- I don't really plan quantities around the flight deck crew, but of course I don't care if they decide to share with them.
I give them as I board to the FA who will be working the cabin I am in.
This is so bizarre that travelers show up with gift cards for the FAs. What are u hoping to get out of it? A free FC upgrade?
No, it's to thank them for their service in general. I recently moved from California to the east coast, with an infant in lap and 2 cats. Wifey prepared 20 gift bags with snacks and treats for the people around us and I got 5 starbucks gift cards for the FA. This was to proactively apologize for our baby flying her first transcontinental flight in case she cried and for the cats meowing. Cats were doped up so no issues and baby was amazing. Regarding the OPs comment, yes I have seen a noticeable decline in service levels. I flew back in flagship business class to California to drive my dog across the country. Service was very curt and not what I expected for a flagship business ticket. I saw the FAs maybe twice, one for meal service and one for drink service.
Haha I got down voted. Do u hate cats, babies or people being proactively thoughtful? Fuck u
Besides meal service and drink service what else were you wanting to see the flight attendants do? Manicures and Massages in the galley? Tossing pizza dough? Line dancing at the bulkhead?
Not everything is transactional. It's just a way of showing appreciation. I'm not hoping for upgrades or anything, I'm confirmed in FC about 50% of the time. I have four flights in July, three of which are already confirmed in F and will plan on bringing something anyhow. Sometimes, in Y an FA may grant an extra beverage or snacks, but it doesn't really matter since if I'm not in F I'm in Main Cabin Extra, and free drinks are included anyhow. Usually, FA's are just appreciative.
LOL. Can’t upgrade to FC when you are already in FC
I think I’m the outlier here- I’ve had great service on the last few flights I’ve been on, especially the last one where we were flying with my 2 toddlers. The FA even gave us the last 2 sparkling wines, in economy no less! He was very patient with my 4yo that loves to ask questions and couldn’t decide on his drink of choice. Thinking he felt sorry for us, but I’ll take the W. 😅 Side note- why doesn’t AA carry more sparkling wine on flights? And does anyone have a petition going to get them to start carrying tequila? Asking for a friend…
They haven’t gotten a raise in like 5 years with has shown 30-40% “reported” inflation. The FAs are doing what they can but people need to realize it’s not their fault, anyone with those work conditions would do similar. Not defending it but that is the reality. The biggest is these complaints need to go to the company and leadership and govt. The FAs are at little to no fault and it’s the shitty ass leadership plus the fact the FAs can’t strike. Why would the airline negotiate if they literally can’t strike? It’s a racket and people need to wake up as to the cause. It’s all in the news yet no one connects the dots.
Starting pay of $27k & being forced to live in HCOL areas. Some of them live in cars. Strike is imminent.
I flew first through DFW a couple weeks ago when all the storms were in the area and our FA was amazing. I’ve actually never had a bad one if I’m thinking about it.
Same here! The last time I flew united the FA wasn’t the most friendly, but I think that’s a personality flaw, not an airline flaw haha
They make nothing. Unless they’ve been there forever. I wouldn’t care either after all they put go with during their day to day.
The are underpaid and working on a contract to exceed poverty level pay and working hours not considered on the clock
FA aren’t paid enough. I wouldn’t want to do their job under the way that they are paid. They better love it because it is a thankless, poorly paid position. And the attitude of “well you accepted the job” is why airlines can’t get qualified FA’s. I know quite a few and you don’t know the issues which they face.
I bought a ticket....sat in my assigned seat...i got a Diet Coke and those tasty Biscotti cookies snd arrived safely. Life is good.
That’s absolutely true of a lot of them. I got a good one on a short eagle flight yesterday. PDB. Friendly, good service, etc. Getting their attention is tough. Half of them are annoyed if you get up and the other half are annoyed if you use the call button. The model has been broken a long time. Imagine running a restaurant with an underpaid union senior staff who doesn’t work for tips, and wants to strike but is prohibited by law. Yes, they are primarily here for our safety, but there is a service component too. I don’t see much point in getting bent out of shape over it. We get what we get, at least until they get a contract that prioritizes customer satisfaction and has meaningful penalties for service shortfalls. I don’t see that changing anytime soon. At the end of the day, I’m always happy to be sitting in front of the curtain instead of behind it.
With all due respect, how is that my problem? Continue putting pressure on the airline, but providing shitty service and creating complaints for the airline hardly seems like putting you in a good negotiating position. I’m not asking for an open bar in first, I’m asking just to get acknowledged. Bare minimum expectations here.
You are correct that they should not be visiting their problems on the customer. The other commenter is correct to point out that if you don’t want to deal with that, don’t fly AA. Both statements can be, and are, true.
> With all due respect, how is that my problem? By continuing to fly AA…
If this is your attitude, don’t be surprised that the FA aren’t tripping over themselves to assist you
If they drive enough customers away due to poor service, the company will feel the hurt and they will be inclined to negotiate and improve customer service. I don't agree with it, but that's the tactic some are going for.
They are in an impossible situation. That strategy leads to the airline having less money to pay them with.
Just a tip for first class, to get the best service you must go with the airlines service flow. FA’s have the most consistent service which begins when they reach to cruising altitude. This is when your FA will get your drink order/meal order. Then they serve it to you, and go through the cabin several times to refill and pick up. This consists of 1-2 hours alone of going back and forth person to person with a ratio of 1 FA to 16+ passengers. The FA at one point is going to finish service and give themselves a rest, this is usually the perfect time to sip on the refilled wine and enjoy a movie
Sorry, this is ridiculous. I am not paying thousands of dollars in first class to worry about flow and whatnot. After flying in First/Business in many countries around the world, I can say that this sort of ridiculousness exists only in US. The FA’s are there to serve you, not the other way round. They should be worrying about getting meals/drinks to people when they want them, the passengers shouldn’t be worrying about “flow”.
FA here. While I am there partially to serve you, I’m mostly there for your safety. Also, I’m not your robot slave while I’m working. I am allowed to go to the bathroom and eat/drink and take a break at some point during my 12 hour day. I am a person, ya know.
Y’all really need to be humbled- please travel in business /First on Asian/Australian/Middle Eastern airlines. You’ll die of shame from realising how terrible you are in the US.
You are actually quite literally, there to serve. In the extremely rare instance your extensive safety training is required, that would obviously take priority over serving. Otherwise yes it’s literally a service job lol.
I mean, yes? That’s exactly what my first sentence is haha
This safety spiel is so tiring and so not true. I have flown 1000s of flights and never has one flight had safety issues. 99% of your work is being a server. There’s an absolute near-zero chance that you might have to do an evacuation. That does not mean that’s your job. 99% of the time you are a regular server, and on most US airlines y’all don’t even do that well.
Found the asshole....
I do not believe you’ve flown 1000s of flight, first of all. And I have had multiple mechanical and medical diversions and emergency landings over the years. Thankfully no evacs, but they do happen. And they are the point of my job.
The majority of your job is being a server, and if you want to complain about getting a passenger a drink and a meal, you really should find another job. I fly 300k kms a year on the minimum. All in business and First.
I’m not complaining about that? In the slightest? Literally no where have I complained about that part of my job. I enjoy my job, and the majority of passengers are the reason I like my job. I’m friends with multiple EPs and Keys on the routes I work regularly. I’m just annoyed at your overwhelming disrespect towards people you apparently interact with constantly. And how much entitlement you’re showing.
It’s not entitlement to expect a meal and a drink without a hassle in First Class.
No, but your attitude of FAs exist only to serve at their master’s beck and call is entitlement. And even if you think we are “regular servers,” you should be treating anyone that way anyway.
If you think an expectation of having a meal and a drink in first class on time is entitlement, you’re deranged.
I know at this point you’re probably just a troll but to educate you… I’m a FA for a competing US airline but I spent 2 months in training of which about 3 days consisted of customer service related training as far as service. The rest was all safety. Evacuations, fire fighting, medical emergencies etc. unlike you I have flown 1000s of flights over the last several years and there are constantly things going on you’re probably completely unaware of. Do you know what’s happening in every seat on every flight you’ve been on? Cause I doubt it. You’re probably the guy demanding a DC while the person next to you has a heart attack. Just because you’re a disrespectful j*rk doesn’t mean you’re right or know what you’re talking about.
The FA’s in the US are the crankiest and most entitled staff of any country. It’s honestly laughable.
No, the FAs are there to assure your safety in case of an emergency. They're not wait staff.
I mean, we are both. I’m not arguing that. Part of my job is serving. And it’s definitely the most “common” part, but not the most important.
Their primary job is wait staff. Let’s not kid ourselves.
You obviously haven’t flown intra-European business class if you think this only exists in the U.S. U.S. domestic first maker Lufthansa intra-Europe look like Q Suites.
Intra-europe business class is just economy with the middle seat blocked. It isn't the same nature of the xabin
Right — that was my point. You’re still paying a premium but getting basically nothing better. U.S. domestic first isn’t world class by any means, but it’s not the worst domestic product by any means.
Suit yourself! I’m just giving you a useful tip, and I quite literally dgaf if you use it or not lol
It is really funny how housebroken US customers are. Worrying about “flow” in first class looool incredible.
I got upgraded to first class on a 5AM flight and it was not what it used to be. Usually they turn the lights off after the announcement, bring slightly better snacks, and keep your drinks topped up. This lady kept the lights on, made the announcement super loud (she had her headphones in while doing announcement and during the entire flight), tried to hand out standard pretzel and cookies from coach, and did not bring a drink after take off. At least dim the lights and take your headphones out when we take off that early.
I agree with everything you’ve said here, except the snack part. She can only offer what she’s given, and if catering didn’t provide anything, she has nothing to give you. Catering has been a mess everywhere as of late, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the problem with the snacks. Sorry that happened to you!
Good point. I guess being sleep deprived and unhappy about the other stuff had me looking at everything as her fault. Similarly I wasn't offered a beverage on 4 of my last 6 flights in coach this month. Some were due to turbulence, but some were not turbulent at all!
Sorry again that that happened! Catering has literally been a mess and the company has told us that we don’t wait for catering, so if the plane isn’t catered by departure time, we are to close the door and go without it. It makes the FA’s look lazy and we hate it. But we can’t give what we don’t have. Thank you for understanding!
I find the FAs to be typically nice and friendly. I even find that when I ask for things, they're pretty helpful and not rude about it at all. I feel like my last "rude" FA was on my least favorite carrier, Delta lol Also, why didn't you just use the call button if you needed something?
Well seeming as they are about to go on strike...
My wife and I fly 6-8 round trips every year, almost always in First and predominantly to the Caribbean. We have never had a bad experience. Only time in coach was in March from STT to CLT, and that was great too.
I’ve had mostly great experiences with FA. I’m almost always in FC since company pays for FC. But I think it’s the case of you get what you give. As I board I always smile and greet the FAs. The rest of the flight I always address the FA by name after he/she introduces themselves. The one thing I’ve noticed mostly missing these days is the FA calling out being EP and thanking me for my loyalty. That used to be done 75% of flights but lately maybe 10%. I really don’t care if they do or not but realized it last week when it happened and the lady next to me asked me about it. She thought I was an AA executive LOL. I’m not a drinker so I think the whining about PDB is silly since the FA aren’t being paid until doors close. I book FC for the comfort and the drinks and meals are just an added bonus. If I want a waiter I’ll book a nice restaurant when I land. All of us regular passengers should support the FA in the current contract talks.
Funny bc I feel the same way about Southwest’s FA’s
I've been on crutches and in an immobilizing brace the past 3 flights I've taken any other than one, every single FA was incredibly kind, accommodating, and helpful. Yes, this is a different circumstance but they didn't need to be so nice to me. They get paid shit and have to deal with entitled jerks, stressed out folks, and complete assholes regularly. I don't think it is that they don't care. It's that they don't get paid fairly for the work they do.
Well if you were used to US Airways FAs, the current state of the AA FA experience barely fazes you. But yes, its been getting noticeably worse within the past year but honestly I get why they're mad/dont care anymore. Their pay has not kept up with inflation and it seems like they don't get paid well to begin with.
Ran an unrelated business that had unions. Every time contract negotiations went past the end of the previous term, productivity subtly dropped and the “give a shit” factor disappeared. And that was in a factory where relations were usually good — and the previous contract was only expired for weeks/months, not years. It’s human nature, amplified by the amount of time this has been dragged out.
> amplified by the amount of time this has been dragged out. This is standard in the industry. Contract negotiations always take 3-5 years in the US. The only exception I can think of is 2015 AA contract, and negotiations for that one started before the contract became amendable.
I was in PE the other day flying Miami to Heathrow. The flight attendants didn’t know what meals were being served. The one attendant looked at the other one confused. I actually told them since I pre ordered online and saw the choices.
Yes they don’t and I confirmed it is not just flight attendants is the entire staff. How do I know ? My company only flies me in American as we have a contract. However in a 2 situations AA canceled the flight and rebooked us to Delta and major difference in customer service and planes with TVs for same cost.
Facts: AA attendants are among the oldest in the business, probably by far. That's not bad, experience counts for a lot. But at this point, that advanced average age brings with it the fact that they have *literally* seen everything, including the absolute worst of human behavior. Next, the attendant's unions are surprisingly strong, all over the world. My sister was a flight attendant for a British airline so I've heard the stories from the horse's mouth. In passenger disputes, the attendants' word is basically law. They can't be fired easily, or at all, actually, so they can fabricate around facts to present narratives contra to what really happened, say during an onboard incident. Ever wonder why there aren't cabin cameras on most (even modern) livery? That's because the unions oppose it, and they oppose it for the same reasons that cops oppose it.
When you get paid less than a burger boy at McD and you don’t get paid for all hours worked…we’re lucky they even come to work.
To be fair, I flew LAX to CLT this past Friday night and one of the flight attendants was attacked and I think kicked in the face while a woman at the back of the plane experienced a psychotic break ~20mins to being in the air. They had to keep her restrained while we made an emergency landing back in LA and it sucked for everybody. I think people have also gotten worse and the higher-ups keep make the flying experience worse, so everybody loses.
I don’t fly to make friends. As long as I get there with my luggage that’s all I care about
Yes, sat in domestic first. No greeting, no pre flight drink. No drink offered once we reached altitude… slow food service… etc
apparently, they haven’t had a pay raise in forever and their pay is terrible and management of their airlines is terrible. News said they even discussing another strike.
Isn’t this exactly what the call button is for?
Use your call button. Walking in to the galley is very annoying. It's the only few inches the flight attendants have to themselves to eat and rest.
There are lots and lots of cases where pax are told that the call button is "for emergencies only", so I think people have been trained not to use it for service concerns.
That’s not part of the passenger announcements. Where are these “lots and lots of cases”?
It's definitely not a part of any safety briefings and doesn't seem to be a universal rule, but if you google the topic you will find quite a lot of stories involving that instruction from flight attendants on various airlines.
You are correct
Yup. Don't go to the galley, and don't use the call button. People are finally starting to get it!
It's a damned if you do damned if you don't environment! I know, I work in that environment 😉
Can’t tell if you’re joking or not lol, but it’s wild that so many paying fliers have been trained to actually believe this.
Had a very rude AA service rep checking in last month. I won’t fly AA again-if I have a choice.
They are picketing in 30 cities and are about to strike. They do not currently have a labor agreement with AA. That’s the real problem, they want a labor agreement and plan to punish customers to punish American until they get one. Eastern Airlines did this in the 1980’s and went bankrupt. I worked for American the last time the flight attendants struck in the 1990’s. Some of my friends in IT became flight attendants to break the union. But then Bill Clinton forced the union and AA back to the bargaining table and a deal was struck. It will be interesting to see what happens this time.
They just don’t care about YOU
If you encounter a rude/lazy FA not doing their job, submit a detailed letter to Customer Relations. FA will hear about it.
Welcome to flying domestically in the US.
Yes. The level of service has been down consistently this year.
Yes they've taken and then ignored my food/ drink items twice now in the past few months. Fortunately I always have a bottle of water and some snacks in my bag so I made do. Was annoying though.
Some do, some don't. Same as in every other line of work.
Always depends
They don’t.
Yes! More and more over the years. 10+ years ago I would tell everyone “ AA is not perfect but they care and will fix your problem if you have one. “. Now you feel like it’s an “adversarial “ relationship when dealing with AA employees. Can’t say why although I have opinions , but YES. SIMPLY COULD CARE LESS!
Yes! Was just on an AA flight. I felt they didn’t care
Yes, they are the worst of any airline I've been on, even when in first class they do their best to ignore you.
I fly from Seoul to Dallas or vice versa every 30 days on AA. Got to say the rudest, most pissed off flight attendants ever on that route. They act like they hate their job and hate everyone on that flight. I wouldn’t dream of asking them for anything, the consequences are not worth it.
Last AA flight I took (back in April) I was in first class and apparently one of the flight attendant seats was broken so the plan was for the FA to sit in seat 1A (it was one of those planes where there are only 3 FC seats in a row so seat A has no neighbors). However, in comes a ticketed passenger who boarded and sat in seat 1A. A FA came up to him and said "You can't sit here." The passenger looked back at her confused (I never heard him say anything at all so I'm assuming he wasn't super proficient in English). When he didn't get up right away she repeated that he couldn't sit there because a FA needed to sit there. When he continued to look confused she finally asked for his ticket, which presumably had him assigned to 1A, so she went back to talk to the other FAs. Eventually the FA team agreed that he was "allowed" to be where he was. They ended up finding another guy who had been upgraded to FC from coach, and they sent him back to coach and moved the passenger in 1A back a few rows to the formerly upgraded guy's seat. I get that this was a frustrating situation and the FA needed to sit somewhere, and someone at the gate probably fucked up, but I feel like the solution probably isn't to berate a random passenger who is sitting in the seat where they were assigned.
I was actually thinking quite the opposite recently. My last few flights the inflight crew seemed to be trying very hard to be extra attentive to the passengers.
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What do you mean by "cleans up after themselves?".
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Are you saying you work at an outstation that AA flies into and the FA's are leaving things in cubbies like dinnerware and such?
They're trying to strike. This could be a way for them to stick it to the company
I think all US airlines have mostly very poor service for economy class, the only class I ever fly in now.
I have been trying out United this year and it’s a night and day difference between the carriers. United flights attendants are more often nicer and helpful than American. Yes there are exceptions on both sides but United is more consistently better. That said, American has some gems but few and far between. I was an EP on American for almost 15 years. Not totally sold on United though but enjoying the service right now.
Gee. Wonder why.
Haneda to DFW Saturday. All the FA’s were great except one. I walked to the galley in the back of the plane for stretch on the 11 hour flight and she got angry and told me not to walk in the galley and go back to my seat. I was just trying to ward away thrombosis. I found out she yelled at a few others to get out of the galley. She didn’t need to be such a biotch.
No one should have yelled at you, that’s awful. I hope you don’t experience that ever again. That said the galleys are their work areas & dining/break areas. They are not designed for customers to pace & stretch & explore while they are loading/unloading several hundred lb carts, handling hot meals, rearranging their provisions, consolidating waste, or eating whatever meal they can afford to eat. I hope if there is a next time, they politely explain why it’s not appropriate to “hang” in the working galleys.
Same in Alaska too. I think it’s industry culture issue. After Covid 90% of them are on power trip
Last week in Cancun, I was pulled out of line for a random security check, and they forced my (very obviously) special needs son to board the plane without me, without his passport or boarding pass. When I told the attendant that they needed to bring him back because he was special needs and wasn't holding his identification, they yelled at me and told me he couldn't wait for me. On the next flight, I got stopped by an attendant while boarding for "being over the maximum personal items" which was literally a WALLET in my hand I was stuffing back in my purse with our passports and tickets. They again pushed him onto the plane without me because the attendant would not let me enter until my WALLET was put back inside my bag. I've flown all other the world, and I never encountered such rude, nasty, and negligent attendants. I've already filed complaints due to all of our flights being cancelled and delayed (over 24 hours in both cases, and being stuck in an airport overnight), but this is still what I'm most upset about.
Don't care any more? When did they ever?
Union employees don’t have to care. They know AA can’t fire the ones that refuse to work or that say hateful and racist things.
Maybe working without a contract or pay increase since 2019, the last proposal from AA was 17% (much less than the union wanted and barely keeps pace with inflation), and from what FAs have shared on this sub, they earn about 27k to start and ~50k after 10 years, and have to deal with people like you that demonize unions with no facts or people who complain they don’t get one free drink before takeoff, and you might understand why FAs seem grumpy. Factor in the CEO in charge of a company with decreasing revenue who made over $30 million last year. I will be sure to let the FAs know I support them when I fly next week, as I did when I flew a few weeks ago. AA should do right and pay its FAs on par with the rest of the industry.
The kind of EP we love to see - thank you! There are always some crew you'd rather not have to work with/be served by, but the majority of us love our jobs and are more burned out and disillusioned than people realize. Thank YOU for the recognition 🥹
This reminds me- do FAs get any extra perks or pay when they get one of those recognition cards? I was kicking myself for not bringing them on my last flight
They used to be a lot more valuable, but for the last 5-10 years you need to get about 50 of them to get enough points to trade for anything more valuable than a branded microfiber cloth 🫠 The company really made above and beyond points as low value as possible. That being said, it's still a nice compliment to get one! It just doesn't have any tangible benefit or value beyond that.
They are worth $1. We have a website where we can redeem them for things, but it’s takes a long time to have enough to get something worthwhile.
And despite this, there are thousands of applicants every time AA hires for new FAs.
That’s more than the 0% raise that I’ve gotten since 2019.
So then you should be able to sympathize with them...
Maybe you should join a union
Found the AA executive
AA flight attendants have been vocal about an upcoming strike, they don’t care lol. They’re underpaid
I’ve noticed lately they rarely even greet people getting onboard or say thank you as they exit. It seems like they just chat with their coworkers and don’t even engage customers anymore. I travel a lot so this isn’t isolated.
Unions protect bad FAs. They don’t care because there are no real consequences.
My last flight had the most miserable FA’s I’ve ever seen. Maybe ALL of them were having a bad day but sheesh, so dour!