The issue of the flight attendant call button is a sensitive one in the USA.
While absolutely taken for granted and even encouraged in much of the world, it remains vexing in the USA (unless you are flying in JetBlue Mint). I think vexing is the perfect word, for the problem is you just don’t know whether to use it. Will a FA get angry? Ignore it? Is it only for emergencies or also available to order a beverage?
Annette Long is an excellent FA for United Airlines. She was asked about this in an interview for Business Insider:
Is it considered rude or helpful for a passenger to use the call light?
“Well, we don’t like when you use it after we’ve just walked through the aisle. This happens all the time. We’ve just walked through three times picking up trash, and I’m barely back to the galley, and I hear ‘ding dong.’ And I go up there and you just want to hand me your trash.
“Absolutely use it when you need it. But if the seat-belt sign is off, you should get up and walk back to the galley anyway for circulation purposes.
“If you’re diabetic and you have an emergency situation, you need to ring it — two or three times even. Let us know. We’ll be right there. And sometimes when people are stuck in the window seat, and the two people next to them are sleeping, and all they want is a glass of water, it’s not problem.
“But if I had just come through to pick up trash and you call me to pick up trash, you can call, but it doesn’t make us happy.”
And I think her answer, without making any judgements for or against her sentiment, precisely captures the atmosphere in the USA: use it if you have too, but please don’t.
The “doesn’t make us happy” line simply represents a fundamentally different model of customer service than much of the world. It’s like a warning.
CONCLUSION
If you’re an infrequent flyer on U.S. carriers the unwritten rule is this: the call button light is for emergencies only. Understanding why is a deeper and more difficult issue, perhaps futile to even ponder.
Do you use the flight attendant call button on flights within the USA?
Haha, great post. I absolutely never, ever use the call button. As an AA exec plat, I travel in fear of being labeled a problem passenger, getting my flight diverted or forfeiting my miles. I think that’s exactly how Doug Parker wants the relationship to work too!
The “I travel in fear” is like saying “I will take it all and keep my mouth shut”. Recently I was an American Airlines employee (on a jump seat towards the back of the plane) was called to take a Business Class seat. I was first in the Upgrade List (Im a paying customer, the AA employee was not). So, later during the flight, a cynical FA passed by me and said(in a loud tone) “Are you sad because you didnt get Business Class?”(while laughing)…No fear with this one! Complaint submitted and I dont care if I am labeled “problem traveler”
You, Sir, are a very wise Exec. Pl. traveler. We appreciate your business!
Since when are the passengers supposed to make the FA’s happy?
Flight attendants are not servers. It’s not their job. Their job is to make sure you get from point A to point B safely. They are highly trained professionals in fire fighting, first aid and emergency situations. Getting a passenger a drink and being customer oriented is an added bonus. There are sequences they must follow and safety checks etc. So when they come through to pick up your garbage, have your garbage ready because between those times, they are performing other duties that might not be related to customer service
You are so right
On a recent 3 hour flight, my seat mate waited until the FA walked down the aisle and immediately rang for a cup of water to take meds. The FA asked that she push her bag under the seat and she began arguing and got really angry when he asked her to place it in the overhead. I wanted to smack her. The FA was polite but firm. Act like a grown up please.
Anna your wrong.
Yes your first job and the legal reason your there is safety. It’s what most of your training is focused on certainly.
But your in a service industry in a customer service job. Getting drinks and food isn’t an added bonus it’s an integral part of what you are being paid for. I spend enough of my life on airplanes to know that there are many times FA’s are collecting trash before customers have had a chance to finish with their drinks etc. not to mention moving so fast that they don’t have time to get all their stuff collected before you blow by.
Finally we both know that in cruise between service intervals your sitting in the galleys chatting reading etc, There is nothing wrong with that per say but if your going to be upset by a paying customer hitting their call button because they would like something then your frankly in the wrong job.
Being a flight attendant isn’t easy by any means and like gate agents you get stuck on the front lines when things go wrong you have no influence over. But it is a service job and the poor reviews most US airlines get stem from the fact that far too many employees at US carriers fail to understand that essential fact.
Of course management plays a role too. There was a time when service on US carriers was world class and that it has deteriorated has a lot to do with management policies and how they hire, train, and retain people in this role.
Really, the ONLY reason FAs exist is because the FAA requires it. If that ever changed we would instantly be replaced by vending machines. Our purpose is safety the rest is a happy side effect that we are happy to provide! I’m sorry, but it is frankly insulting to call this a “service industry”. We are safety professionals who also provide a service.
No, it isn’t a side effect, and no, you are not safety professionals who also provide a service. Your job is to provide both, as both are equal parts of your job. Stop perpetrating this myth of yours in order to avoid providing service when you don’t feel like it.
Oh honey. You’re there to serve us, nothing more, nothing less.
Do your damn job.
“No, it isn’t a side effect, and no, you are not safety professionals who also provide a service. Your job is to provide both, as both are equal parts of your job. Stop perpetrating this myth of yours in order to avoid providing service when you don’t feel like it.”
You make sure people stay seated with their belts fastened.
That takes care of most of the safety issues.
You are not trained in anything else actually relevant. I don’t know what they are putting in your head during traning.
Former ARFF and paramedic.
@121Pilot —> This is how *I* view the role of an FA. It’s a combination of what both you and Anna have said. First and foremost, an FA’s responsibility is the safety of the plane and its passengers.
Being an “air hostess” is a part of the job, true, but they are NOT waiters and waitresses, there at your every beck-and-call. Yes, they serve food and drinks as part of their responsibilities; yes, it *is* a part of their job, but it also pales next to their primary role.
Now I can’t remember the last time I used the call button. Perhaps that’s because, if/when I want a second glass of water (or something else), it’s because I get up and go to the galley. Certainly I’d use it in an emergency, or if I’m lucky enough to be flying in F or J and need my lie-flat seat made up into a bed, but otherwise…
This is why I loved VX’s RED system so much. Sure Virgin America’s planes had call buttons, but I just used the menu ordering system to get that second drink, or a snack, or whatever — and the FA’s knew exactly what I wanted (no need to make a trip to my seat to find out what I wanted, back to the galley to get it, and back once more to my seat), and they never seemed to be bothered by that system — at least none of the FA’s I knew did.
I’m a designated first aider and fire fighter at my work place, does that mean that I do not need to perform my normal duties other than first aiding and fire fighting? So if that’s the case my is my employer hiring me for?
FYI I work onboard an Oil Rig which is a significantly more dangerous place than an aircraft.
Yes, Anna we understand. Flight attendants need to have their own time to chit chat with each other and catch up on reading People magazine.
Sorry Anna. FA’s are in a service industry and should expect and respond appropriately to call lights. As a nurse of 24+ years, there are many things we do outside of safely taking a patient from point A (admission) to point B (discharge). If the FAA didn’t want FA’s to answer a call light then they wouldn’t be on the planes or they would be disabled. Now if someone is abusing it or letting their kid play with it, that’s another story. If FA’s have a problem with answering the call light then they’re in the wrong occupation.
“Flight attendants are not servers. It’s not their job. Their job is to make sure you get from point A to point B safely. They are highly trained professionals in fire fighting, first aid ”
Former vet and ARFF firefighting.
Flight attendants are not well versed in either fire fighting nor first aid.
Guess you drank the kool aid at flight attendant training.
Thanks for the laugh though.
Call buttons are exactly like car horns in So. California. Never, ever use except in case of dire emergency – if used under other circumstances the receiving party gets all pissed off and hell breaks loose.
Since when california is a standard for the whole aviation industry? Everywhere else in the world FA are server. They work in service industry. Only self entitled delusioned murican think otherwise.
In the US and some other European countries, serving others is considered a humiliating or degrading task and that is why so many people resent serving others even though that is their job. In the US in particular, the mentality of being #1 or that “I am Special” leads to an attitude that others should serve me and not the other way around.
I believe flight attendants picked their careers–and Flight ttendants are still part of the SERVICE industry right? Service industry careers are based on SERVICES being provided to customers. Unfortunately in some industries providing certain services can be viewed as demeaning or even downright disgusting. Do nurses get to complain about helping people wipe after using the bedpan? I think not. It is their JOB! Wake up people. If you do not want to provide certain services that the company you work for provides, mabye you shouldn’t be their making to dollar for the limited educational background you may have.
I don’t know… I guess I can kind of understand the sentiment. But at the same time, I don’t like dealing with P & L, creating labor schedules, dealing with customer calls, or any number of other things that are part of my job. But since that is my job I suppose it doesn’t really matter whether I like it or not. same thing goes with the call button. That’s not to say that a person can’t use common sense, and maybe not press the call button just to hand someone some trash when they could easily just hold on to it until the flight attendant comes around again. But short of that, I guess I don’t really care if they like it or not, If I’m thirsty and I don’t see beverage service coming towards me at that moment, I’m going to press the button ask for something.
I rarely use the call button – most flights in and out of DFW are short enough that it’s really not necessary. By the time I need something, it’s almost time to land anyway. That being said, your post reflects the sad state of the “we’re here primarily for your safety” culture currently afflicting domestic carriers. In fairness, though, I should note that the worst call button issues I’ve encountered haven’t been on a domestic carrier, but the allegedly 5-star Lufthansa. Every time I’ve flown them longhaul Y, they don’t even bother asking you why you pushed the call button – they just walk by and turn it off!
You are right about the attitude of Lufthansa flight attendants. On a trip to Frankfort the flight attendant spilled a full glass of water in my lap. My suit was light grey of a fabric that let the water soak front and back of my skirt and there was no way for it to dry before we landed. I gasped and probably had a look of horror on my face thinking of the impression I would make on the people meeting me. The flight attendant said ” What’s the problem, its only water!”. Lufthansa was chosen because of their reputation but I never flew them again.
The FA’s comment about ‘happy’ hits the mark about the attitude of U.S. carriers. It almost is bizarre to the point of thinking that you’re flying on a Soviet-era Stalinist airline. Pathetic doesn’t come close. Never had a problem on Asian carriers when I hit the call button – which I rarely do. In the states I never do, too risky, might be labeled a threat by a 22-year-old high-school grad quasi-goobermint employee FA and banned from the privilege of flying their socialist paradise airline. The young FAs quickly pick up the sour puss attitudes of the older battle axe FAs who long ago saw only a herd of cattle sitting in the cabin. America went down the tubes big time starting in the 80s. America’s golden era of aviation decorum, FA service was from the 40s to the 70s IMHO – both FAs and passengers though played their parts in making it a good experience. That’s long gone and will never ever come back. Why? People, not just FAs, have changed, society has changed for the worse and it shows up in the workers’ attitudes.
Amen!
Just so you know, All Flight attendants have a 4 year college degree. Not a 22 year old high school grad brat as you refer to them.
The training they have gone through is more intense than any passenger will ever know.
They are all held to high standards everyday. They maybe having a tough day at times. They may have been screamed at and called belittling names just before your flight.
Yes, this happens more than you know.
Next flight, I think all should stop thinking about their pompous self’s
and think that your FA may be having a rough 16+ hr day. Cut them some slack.
That doesn’t excuse them abusing their power, which happens more often than people think. You are there to yes, get your customers from point A to point B while also serving them. FAs are there to please the passengers, not the other way around.
Don’t like it? Find another job.
Work for one of the big 3. NO. COLLEGE DEGREE required!! False! Lie!
No required but most hired do have at least 4 years, if not more. At my legacy airline we have many that are physicians, dentists, counselors, teachers, and even a judge! Yes, he flies and then puts on his robe and is a judge in Birmingham, Alabama!!! I have several friends that are recruiters and they won’t even look at your application unless you have a college degree.
Yeah, well, touch luck! You chose to do this job, then do it with a smile. Dont act like youre doing a customer a favour by providing service.
Is this just because most American FA’s hate their job and don’t like serving people?
Imagine when you go to work having to serve customers?
Do what you’re paid for? In France they strike for that reason but I guess in the USA they’re just annoyed to serve the customers who pay for them to have a job.
Typical sense of entitlement of US citizen. We’re americans, therefore we’re better than the rest of the world! We saved europe and the world in WW II! We bring democracy and freedom of speech! We liberated nations!
….
We are here for your safety….
Really? What kind of safety person bring meals and drinks and collect trash? You all are servant! You are paid for your service! Same as your soldiers paid to shoot someone else! (Murican soldier fight wars allover the world except murucan soil).
Oh I forgot…. only moron still uses imperial measurement…..
James,
Do you mind telling me where your from so I know what country has clearly produced people who are perfect in every way?
Since your mentioning WWII you mind telling me what Europe would look like if the US had sat ought the conflict in Europe?
Ups… hit a nerve there am I? Hahaha…. as this blog suggest, do please travel and see the world outside. Who knows, maybe you’ll learn something new. Like using metric, celcius, or the fact that football played with feet…
Not really. You are just another piece of eurotrash.
Clearly you are obsessed with the USA. I don’t blame you.
I like that my mere existence causes you butthurt.
So the short answer seems to be: if you’re fearful of slipping into a diabetic coma, you may use the call button but only if your neighbours are sleeping; even then, expect to have to push it several times before getting attention.
I have witnessed a flier hit the call button because she felt faint and no one came. It was only after she started shrieking right before she fainted did the FAs respond. That’s not how that scenario should’ve evolved. They managed to lie that woman down, administer oxygen, revive her and give her water. She was able to deplane at her destination but said she was terrified by the way she felt and the fact that no one responded right away.
US F/A are a bunch of lazy whinny ugly a** (inside out). Along with their taxi cab drivers in the cockpit their pay should be lowered to below Housekeeping & Yellow Cab.
@ Anna
Don’t give us that safety crap as it is just a lame excuse for sitting in the galley thumbing your phone. Once I am seated with the belt on there is absolutely nothing else you have to do on my safety. From there on what we pay you for is to provide us a decent customer service. No need to go over the top but a friendly smile and some degree of responsiveness goes a long way.
Maybe get yourself on a flight with a non-US airline and practice your observation skills; you might learn a thing or two on what your job is.
I was very upset that people who have been sexually assaulted by masturbating seatmates might have felt that they couldn’t press the call button because they didn’t want to bother someone.
Hahaha, it‘s fun to see the level of ignorance in some comments regarding the FAs education standards and their role for security. Yes, they are there to make sure certain standard procedures are taken care of – but by no means do they need or have 4 years of college, in most cases it‘s a 6 week training after high school. At least in Europe and I doubt there is much difference in the requirements as the safety standards are the same all around the world… now it may be that 4 years of random college in the US lead to a comparable level of education …
Wow, you sound like you’d be a pleasure to have on board. What a rude person you are calling people “battle axes” The flying public has changed and there is no respect. I always treat my passengers with respect until they start acting up. I’ve broken up fights and dealt with drunk, abusive passengers all while keeping a lookout on every single flight for terrorist activity. The world has changed since 9/11 & I wish everyone would just treat each other with a little kindness.
I fly about 100,000 miles a year.
I only use the call button when the FA’s march up the aisle picking up trash from the aft section forward, and I don’t hear or see them coming until they have passed me. In those cases, you had better believe I’m going to ring the call button for my trash. Picking up trash should not be viewed as a race to the forward galley.
On one flight, I was near the back, and a man collapsed in the aisle next to my seat. At that moment, the FA’s were preparing the beverage service cart and their view of the floor was obstructed. I rang the button repeatedly eight or nine times and waved frantically. They looked at me briefly but continued to ignore me. Finally I screamed at the top of my lungs, “Get the hell back here now!!” and one of them finally came back. Luckily there was a doctor in a row nearby and he came forward. The passenger survived, But it was a scary situation. Someone standing up, repeatedly ringing the button, is not looking for a glass of water and should not be ignored under any conditions.
As a kid I flew by myself constantly because my parents were divorced and lived on opposite coasts. I developed a method of behaving on flights because I didn’t want to draw attention from non-flight staff adults. This meant holding on to my own trash and only asking for something when the Flight Attendants stopped by my aisle. I can think of twice that I put my light on for assistance as an unattended minor: once when the person next to me was weeping because of turbulence, and another time a couple years later when the young person sitting next to me was airsick and needed an emesis bag.
This method of being hypervigilent about being self-sufficient has stuck with me and I do this no matter the setting. (Hadn’t thought about that until reading this post!)
Why didn’t you just yell “We’ve got a medical emergency here”?
Well, I don’t remember ever using the call button at all. But the logic behind the whole discussion is the very reason I choose to fly Emirates whenever I need to go to the US from Dubai. Passengers are guests, not cargo; Airlines in the Gulf and in Asia are hospitality providers as well as transportation providers. Though EK is often more expensive departing from DXB but I know I will be taken care of as a paying guest, airline staff appreciate my choice of flying with them, and I get to enjoy the whole flying experience rather than merely being transported from A to B.
A UA Flight Attendant picking up trash three times… I call BS.
FAs are essentially unsupervised by management, protected by their unions, and indoctrinated by the laziest amongst them into this toxic culture that we as passengers ALL see. The universal announcement that “we are here primarily for your safety” should be banned by management. It’s an excuse for bad behavior amongst the FAs who are tired of doing their jobs.
Successful business cultures lead all employees to think that they are their to serve: serve their customers, serve their bosses, serve their subordinates, serve their peers. While it’s difficult to do this with the FA work group, it’s not impossible. US airlines just don’t bother to try anymore.
You should be able to use the button when you need service…but, it is clear from some coach FA’s attitudes that they dislike coach passengers using it so I try not to use it in coach unless it is urgent and they have not been by in awhile. Biz/First FA’s are usually more service oriented and many there consider the button helpful in providing good service. I do feel its use is more justified in Biz/First when their service is lacking and I have used it sparingly there. Some FA’s are just lazy but some passengers are inconsiderate in their use of the button which aggravates FA’s.
Most of the times when I have had to use it I am blocked in a seat by a meal tray that the FA’s have not cleared and I need to have them remove it so I can get up to use the restroom.
Clearly the FA’s are not there only for our safety or they would not be required to provide other services like meal and drink services or passing out headphones. If the call button were only for safety it would mentioned as such in the safety briefing and listed on the safety information card in the seat pocket. I wish airlines in this country provided better service. Until a better airline comes along we will just have to deal with the situation as best we can.
Flight attendants were once literally that. Attendants. As in, servants in the sky. With deregulation making flights affordable though it turned from a glamorous profession to a glorified safety nanny and drink dispenser.
Flight attendants see themselves as supervisors of, not attendants to, coach passengers. As a result, the notion that a coach passenger can summon a flight attendant at his whim is seen as a vulgar and irritating request.
Where the relationship of a flight attendant is preserved as an attendant, say with international first class carriers, the “call attendant” button is a normal part of the relationship.
I only fly international carriers (I don’t go to the US due to choice) and am almost always seated in the window seat in economy with two strangers next to me. I am large , my seat mates are usually pretty settled in even when not sleeping.
Rather than disturb them, forcing them up and into the narrow aisle not but twice, I do push the call button for anything that I consider non trivial. In my opinion food, trash, entertainment system, temperature are trivial and can wait (though not so easy to catch the eye of a flight attendant hurrying down the aisle), water is not (I am not diabetic, I have health issues which are usually but not always smaller than a diabetic would have).
SUSAN wrote:
“Just so you know, All Flight attendants have a 4 year college degree. Not a 22 year old high school grad brat as you refer to them.”
Big fat lie there.
“The training they have gone through is more intense than any passenger will ever know.”
PFfffttttt. I am a vet of both Iraq AND Afghanistan and have a second career as an ARFF/Medic. What in the hell are you talking about? You don’t have any “hard” training.
“Next flight, I think all should stop thinking about their pompous self’s
and think that your FA may be having a rough 16+ hr day. Cut them some slack.”
yeah because teachers, doctors, nurses, food services, construction and every other profession never has bad days or difficult people. Get a grip.