A first class passenger was not happy on a recent AA flight when a flight attendant chose to hang out in the galley on her mobile phone instead of serve passengers. Is it time for American Airlines to ban flight attendants from using mobile phones while on duty?
Familiar Claim: First Class Passengers Ignored While Flight Attendant Glued to Mobile Phones
I reported that United Airlines has recently reminded flight attendants that personal mobile phones are not permitted while on duty. Perhaps it is time for American Airlines to send a similar reminder? At least one passenger thinks so…
Can’t get no service in first class. She to busy on her phone whole flight! @AmericanAir pic.twitter.com/gqQtHyYUzX
— Todd Sutton (@tdoggsutton) February 6, 2024
We live in a world in which we all seem to be tethered to our mobile phones. I just love this Banksy painting:
It’s not for the best…I am convinced of that. But it is a picture of our life today…and I see this everywhere I go in the world.
But in a customer-facing job, indignation over a lack of boarding pay or a lack of raise does not and cannot justify hiding from customers or failing to be attentive, particularly in first class.
For the record, I am not making the charge that all or even most American Airlines flight attendants are guilty of ignoring first class passengers. In fact, I just flew American Airlines last week and enjoyed very attentive service on a 777-200 from Los Angeles to Charlotte.
I do not fly American Airlines nearly enough to make any blanket charges for or against flight attendants.
But I do hear anecdotes like this often and while a lack of leadership at the top may be the overarching problem, I do not think AA would be implementing a “beatings will continue until morale improves” approach by banning mobile phones.
The idea of “what are flight attendants supposed to do?” is easy: serve passengers and be prepared for an emergency.
Of course there is downtime and I know that you or I tend to reach for our phones during downtime, so why not flight attendants? Well, because it just does not look professional and becuase it becomes quite distracting and addicting. As long as flight attendants are being paid for their time, I do not see why AA cannot ban cell phones as a condition of employment.
CONCLUSION
To be clear, I’m not making any blanket claims here about what flight attendants at AA do. But as American Airlines examines the addictive nature of mobile phones and how that can adversely impact service, perhaps a ban is not so unreasonable?
image: @tdoggsutton / X // Hat Tip: View From The Wing
My understanding the rule at AA is personnel cell phones cannot be used on a aircraft when passengers are on board. Maybe this is difficult to enforce or the FA could be using company issued devices.
Yet there’s a record amount of FC seats being sold. Purchased mostly by elites too. Hilarious that so many are paying for something that used to be free AND with less service now. Guess what? The US airlines have won. Game over for status chasers.
Game over indeed, but why are people buying these seats? Because they are no longer 6-8x as much…just 2x as much.
I doubt very much the f/a is using their company-issued device, as no one uses it with headphones attached. We really don’t know which device is it.. we all are going by what this passenger wrote based on their recent experience.
I do agree 200%, there’s no reason for a f/a to have their headphones out of their bags to begin with.. even if you’re listening to an audio clip on your company-issued device; you won’t be able to hear any pax call chimes or handset chiming by the jumpseat. Besides, no company-related news is THAT important, that one needs to listed to it immediately while in flight.
To be honest I think it’s just part of how some people are. If they weren’t glued to their cell phones then they’d be using something else to avoid doing work (book, magazine, etc).
@Aaron … a book or a magazine allows the reader to think , unlike mobile-phones which are brain-dead playtoys .
Um, nope. You can still read on your phone, which many people do.
Mobile-phone addicts are handcuffed to a weak brain , and will usually result in moronic decisions . If I was a businessman ( which I am not ) , I would forbid any mobile phones on company premises .
The pedo flight attendants at AA would be furious. How else could they do photos in the loo?
Yes. And maybe the non-abusers might notice something is wrong before a child is exploited.
Top tier cringe posting
Steve, I’m not trying to be a jerk, I’m genuinely curious what you find to be cringe in this article. Do you not see an issue with flight attendants ignoring passengers in favor of using their phones?
Have you checked out this complainers X page. It is loaded with complaints to every place he stays or goes. Redtuarants, hotels and airlines. Seems to me he is own of those that’s complains to get freebies and miles. Who cares if she is on her phone. Maybe she has a sick child or parent. As long as she delivered her service and answers call buttons and does her walk throughs it should be a problem. For all we know she could be writing a report about him. He clearly is on his device and maybe writing her up because he was cut off. The truth is we don’t have all the info. But he took it to the next level by posting this picture and if you read his other posts it seems to be what he does.
Record number of AA first class seats sold for cash despite service continuing to decline. You all paying to sit up front are fools.
Matt yesterday you made the point that the pilot isn’t stealing my upgrade. It’s just a contractual condition of employment. It works both ways. I don’t want to hear about flight attendants not paid during boarding. It’s a condition of employment negotiated by their own union. If they don’t like it, they can quit and go work at Delta. Do your job or quit and there were be plenty of others who will line up to do it
I agree. Agree 100%. I think unions are an existential threat to junior FAs and overall do not offer their members a better life than if they dumped the union.
You’re wrong. We voted for our Union. We have a constitutional right to organize and it doesn’t matter if you don’t like it because it’s not going away until we say so [which we won’t]
Dissolve our Union so that Robert can rip us off more than he already is? Incredibly foolish.
If you think AA flight attendants are ‘on the job’ and committed to customer service, you probably think Joey B on Pennsylvania Avenue is an engaged and competent leader.
And yet somehow the alternative is even worse!
This FA should be commended for the online research done during flight to stay up to the minute on VIP service standards. Reading Gawker, TMZ,Paris Match,Hello,OK and X17 the FA can provide unique personalized services to the most valuable pax.
Never understand these type of passengers, just push the attendant call button if you need something.
That’s the trouble with AA.
One exception is when male FAs run the show. Different atmosphere.
Yes, I said it!! Politically incorrect of me!!
Maybe males are goal oriented, mind set of hit your targets, do it as a team, achieve success.
Counter point, I flew AA ORD-DCA a couple of days ago, my FA offered up PDBs and came around at least 4 times to ask if anyone needed anything. Some of the most attentive service I’ve seen recently.
And shocker, for some, she was an older woman.
The only device FA’s should use in flight is the unit that looks like a cell phone, but actually is a credit card reader for on-board purchases
Wrong… we use company-issued devices to look up pax seat numbers, connecting info, whether they have a specials meal, wheelchairs, medical devices, catering issues, completing medical emergency forms, and many other items you are unaware of.
I’ve helped many pax with their flight connections on my company-issued device. And no, I don’t work for AA.
Ban books. Ban magazines. Ban crossword puzzles. Ban word jumbos. Ban talking to each other unless it is work related.
Just sit and stare at me for hours between services, waiting, anticipating what my need may be, making me feel uncomfortable. Yeah. Ban it all. That would be great……NOT!
The passenger is most likely a liar.
I am a FA with this airline and the majority of us loathe working first class for various reasons.
One of the things I dislike is that I do an amazing job of service. I serve the meals, dessert, snacks, drinks, collect trash… At a certain point, I feel as if I am TF DONE!!!
I’m not your babysitter.
I’m not your servant.
Some of you people just expect us to baby you the entire flight. Needy and helpless and it’s annoying. I’m sure she already completed her service, you liar.
Again… We are not your servants. We are not your babysitters. You already stuffed your face and had 3 Diet Cokes and 6 Woodford Reserves, male Karen so go suck an egg.
Maybe you are in the wrong profession. You seem miserable.