The debate over whether to use the flight attendant call light (or button) is not new, but when a passenger presses it, can flight attendants just ignore it, especially if they frequently remind us they are primarily present for our safety?
Can A Flight Attendant Ever Simply Ignore The Call Light?
We’ve written about this issue before:
- Emirates Warns Flight Attendants: Don’t Ignore Call Button!
- U.S. Flight Attendants Really Hate The Call Button
Whether or not you are encouraged to use the flight attendant call button depends upon which airline you fly. Some, like Gulf carriers or Asian carriers, encourage its use and invite you to press it for whatever service-related need may arise during the flight.
On the other end of the spectrum are US carriers, in which flight attendants may go so far as to explicitly warn that the call button should be used for emergencies only (JetBlue is a notable exception, in which Mint passengers are encouraged to use the button liberally). But what should happen when the button is pressed?
Taylor Garland, the Communications Director of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, has said:
“Flight Attendants are generally trained to treat the call button as a potential emergency and will respond accordingly. It’s not a vodka tonic button.”
But if that is the case, why is that button often ignored? View From The Wing shared the following tweet, which is concerning:
@AmericanAir video from my MIA-SFO flight last night (AA2280). My call light on for at least 20 min with the attendants (especially Sydney) watching, and not even acknowledging it. Not on video is them just walking past and laughing. Disgusting pic.twitter.com/c1FFvxtZZ9
— vasliner (@vasliner1) August 30, 2023
This is not a one-off incident.
If flight attendants are present for our safety, how do they know when an emergency is occurring and when someone just wants another beverage unless the call light is acknowledged?
New Technology May Solve “Problem”
I recently flew SAS where you could order whatever food or drink you wanted from your seatback monitor. We’ve seen other airlines introduce this as well. If screen-based ordering (even on mobile phones via in-flight intranet) became more widespread, I could see a situation in which the flight attendant call button could be reserved exclusively for emergencies.
But that sort of solution is years away and in the meantime, no matter how flight attendants feel about the call button is immaterial to this bottom line: the light cannot be ignored.
CONCLUSION
The context for this inquiry is the tweet above: is it ever okay for a flight attendant to ignore the call light? My answer is no, even if the passenger is annoying or has overused the button. The “boy who cried wolf” syndrome may be a real thing, but the light should not be ignored. Ever.
The entire argument is quite laughable. U.S. flight attendants will literally angle anything possible to assure they don’t move their disheveled selves any more than they have to. The reality being that rarely do people press it on overseas carriers. Why? Because those FA’s are proactive and not usually hiding. There is little need for passengers to have needs. The only reason this is even an issue in the US is that FAs avoid anything and anyone as to service, thus leading people to naturally need to press the button. 1+1=2.
I have no problem with the button. Until now my request have been fulfilled and not ignored. It might help to say all my flight in the last 30 years were mostly in Business or First. I have literally a handful of flights in Y which I can remember. And sadly I have to admit that American flight attendants hate it when you use it. I was once scolded for using it and talked to me in a very condescending way..needless to say it was in Y. Never had such encounter in Business let alone in First.
Funny that Spirit encourages use of the call button if you want a service item after the main service is done, and its usually met quickly with enthusiasm.
I was on a Frontier flight last month on about 1hr15min duration flight. I’ve taken this exact flight a dozen times or so in the past year. The flight attendant said that the flight was too short to do a service so please ring your call button if you want to purchase anything. Immediately probably 50 call bells went off on the full A321 before she got visibly angry and pushed some sort of master reset button and made a pissy announcement for people to stop pressing the button and they’ll just come down the aisle instead (I was in row 2 so could see/hear her). Ridiculous.
I can almost a quarter way understand when the call light is ignored for simple service requests, or someone is being obnoxious with it, but when I’ve seen it pushed (even for a service-related request) and the crew doesn’t even look into the cabin (I know they can see on a forward panel – like on the Airbus it’s on the front of the row 1 overhead bins on several airlines – which call bell went off) then how do they know it’s safety related or not. On a United Express flight (Mesa, gotta give credit where due) a few weeks ago, the flight attendant pulled out the drink cart in the galley, turned the light off, and sat on the floor behind it watching a movie with earphones on her iPad while multiple call bells went off (she did the snack basket in First, then didn’t serve beverages and disappeared). That’s inexcusable because she couldn’t even see what was happening.
I guess the word “attendant” should be dropped from the job description?
I hit the button once, by accident, on Etihad. The FA was there in twenty seconds to my embarrassment. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen it ignored on US metal- even in emergency situations.
Simple solution: Rename the button to “Emergency Call” button.
I had the opposite happen to me on Singapore once. I was in J, it was dark and I hadn’t seen an FA for a bit (which is kind of rare on Sing). I didn’t mind much so I got up to stretch my legs anyway and ask for something. Turns out they were having a galley rally behind the curtain and changing shifts (EWR-SIN). An FA politely, but very firmly informed me (while escorting me back to my seat) that if I needed anything at all to use the call button. I apologized and said it was ingrained in me from birth because I was American. 🙂 Not sure he got my joke.
I have had the same sort of experience on my only Etihad flight ever (AUH-DEL in C, well over ten years ago), where I was reprimanded in the nicest possible way for getting up from my seat to ask for some sparkling water or whatever.
My experience flying Singapore from SFO to SIN was completely different to yours. After they dimmed the lights and everyone was going to sleep, they had a snack basket in the rear galley and they encouraged me to come by anytime I wanted something. And occasionally I would walk back and stand near the galley to stretch my legs on the long flight. The flight crew was very nice and never bothered me.
As a 40+ year international F/A the answer is NO. No it’s not okay for the F/As to ignore the call light.
I had an opportunity to throw that “we are primarily here for your safety “ quote back in their face once on a flight to Kathmandu. A kid was using the empty seats as her playground with the FA’s hidden behind the curtains. I went up and let them have it with that quote. It was quite an interesting flight. I posted about it on my blog last month.
It should be labeled to ‘too lazy to answer this.’
If you actually want to get the FA’s attention, you have to pretend that you are interested in a credit card application.
“It’s not a vodka tonic button.”
Um, sorry, but providing that sort of service is also part of an FA’s job.
So many of you are absolutely exhausting. I fly more than most of you and every once in awhile have a bad trip or encounter a surly employee or grouchy passenger. I wear a smilie on my face at all times so maybe that helps.
Maybe you should put one on your face now.
I have one on now Fathiss. Home from a colonoscopy, good news and glad to be done for another 10 years!
Glorified waiters at it again.
My wife was on a United mainline flight sitting in first not long ago. About an hour or so into the flight, my wife needed water in order to take some medication. No F/As were in sight to flag down, so, my wife pressed the call button to request water. Two minutes pass, five minutes pass. My wife then resets the call button and presses it again… five minutes pass, no sign of any flight attendant. She then went up to the front galley where she found two F/As sitting, chatting, and looking at their phones. Pathetic.
*yawn* must be a slow news day. Another post to hate on flight attendants.