An American Airlines flight attendant took to the PA system on a flight to Charlotte and ranted about passengers. His conduct was 100% justified and I am happy he decided to speak up and shame the hapless passengers who refused to behave onboard.
Flight Attendant Sounds Off
The incident occurred onboard American Airlines Flight 2511 from Los Angeles (LAX) to Charlotte (CLT) on June 7th. While the flight took off on time, poor weather delayed the arrival into Charlotte. No one was excited about the delay, but a pair of passengers used the delay as cue to remove their masks and refuse to follow crewmember instructions.
At one point, a flight attendant took to the PA system to admonish the unruly passengers.
All we’ve done is be flight attendants the entire flight. We really did experience the delay just like you. We have not eaten also. We’ve been delayed here too. We’ve catered to you the entire flight and we do it because we love this job.
But the fact that we get insulted and mistreated by passengers over things that we cannot control. It is disgusting. We’re just going to go to Charlotte because we do not want to escalate this, but shame on the passengers who have made this flight a living hell for the flight attendants.
@brentunderwood Flight attendants on @officialamericanairways are done with your b.s.! From our flight 6/7 LAX-NC. #americanairlines #facemask #dumbcustomers
Passenger Reaction
Passengers responded to the message by a smattering of applause. Note at the time the plan remained to continue to Charlotte. But the weather did not improve and the flight eventually had to divert to Raleigh Durham (RDU).
On the ground in Raleigh, the situation took a turn for the worse. The same passengers apparently rebelled further, again refusing to keep their masks on and then hurling vulgar insults at the flight attendants, including calling one flight attendant a “fat gorilla.”
Amazingly, it appears the rebellious passengers were allowed to remain onboard and the flight ultimately continued to Charlotte, arriving at 9:41 pm, over four hours late.
Delays Put Flight Attendants In The Firing Line
Flight attendants have a tough job acting as mask enforcers, but throw in a delay and things can really get messy. Even with frequent communication (which inevitably helps to mitigate passenger frustration during delays), some passengers will not accept the fact that weather leads to flight delays. #clueless
Taking to the PA to vent frustration may seem immature or misplaced, but it an understandable human reaction to what occurred. In fact, I’d argue it a reasonable and justified under the circumstances; a plea for calm and a plea for other passengers to rally around and help enforce order.
Think about it: flight attendants are outnumbered by about 50 to 1. Yes, they hold the authority (in consultation with the captain) to remove unruly passengers, but if a rebellion occurs they can only do so much. On nearly every occasion of passenger malfeasance, it is not just flight attendants but other passengers which step in to assist when a passenger refuses to comply with crew member instructions.
It doesn’t help when in-flight services are limited to a canned beverage and cookie on a 4+ hour flight. Nor does it help when legroom is tight, there are not screens at each seat, and flight are again full.
But these lack of onboard services cannot excuse the poor behavior. There is simply no excuse for it. And condemning the passenger in front of the plane was a shrewd move to prepare other passengers to step in if the unruly passengers did not clam down.
The Life Of A Flight Attendant Is Different Than Advertised
When the Chris Bohjalian novel was adapted for an HBO Max series earlier this year, The Flight Attendant, former Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco advertised a glamorized view of flight attendants working. Jet setting around the world, and [spoiler alert] becoming romantically involved with a handsome business class passenger (Michiel Huisman) before [spoiler alert, again] finding a dead body – may have misled the public and potential future crews of the realities of the role.
Flight attendant training is substantial and difficult. As flight attendants note on every flight in the United States, they are primarily there for your safety (as is much of their training) rather than customer service. The reality of surly customers mad about weather delays is not something an executive producer wants to address, but is far more likely than being swept off your feet by a wealthy, attractive customer, in Bangkok.
CONCLUSION
I applaud the flight attendant for pushing back and shaming the passenger. These are difficult days to fly and while I detest flight attendants who use COVID-19 as an excuse to hide in the galley and avoid being attentive or go on unjustified power trips, I also recognize what an incredibly difficult job flight attendants have right now. No human being should have to endure the abuse of simpletons who attack the messenger (concerning mask rules).
If you are frustrated by weather delays, direct you prayers upward. If you are frustrated by mask requirements, that’s the Biden Administration, not American Airlines or the flight attendants on your flight.
These are difficult times, but the bad behavior must stop. Since ejections and fines do not seem to be working, maybe shaming passengers over the PA system will…
(H/T: View From The Wing)
BS Alarm. They don’t do it because they love the job as the flight attendant put it. They do it because they are paid to just like everyone else. They should learn to eat before the flight just like billions of people eat before work. Flight attendants say they are there mostly for passenger safety to excuse poor performance. They are servers. Flight attendants have authority over safety but many make false claims about something being a safety issue when it is not.
Whether what the flight attendant said is appropriate or inappropriate is something others can judge. If the only issue is two passengers not wearing a mask, it really depends on if other passengers immediately next to have a problem with it. If they don’t, their is no safety issue and flight attendants can sit down and do nothing like they are used to doing,
@Jackson Day in and day out you continue to demonstrate what a completely miserable human being you are. Dickens would have loved creating your character. Oh wait, he did.
What utter nonsense Mr. Waterson. Indeed true that FAs are working folks just like the rest of us, but it does take a special personality type to want to work at 30,000 feet and be on the front line of a customer-oriented business. Regardless of the motivation there is NEVER an excuse to treat another human being poorly, disrespectfully or to violate lawful instructions. I fly a lot and wear my mask. Do I enjoy it? No, but it is just a small piece of cloth over your mouth and nose for a few hours, so what? It is the law, period. It is also common sense when you don’t know who might be misrepresenting themselves without a mask and actually be COVID positive, have the flu or a cold. No one HAS to fly, we all chose to fly; so man-up and stop abusing the employees who serve the passengers and whom we are all too ready to depend on if something goes wrong.
Awww….what are they going to do on September 13th? Back to smiling and providing excellent customer service?…..I think not. As the customer service face of the company…..no, they don’t get to go on onboard rants. If you can’t handle the job and the minimal responsibilities that come with it these days, then you should be removed.
I love that US carriers go the extra mile to point out that flight attendants are primarily there for your safety. They make it sound like flight attendants signed on so they can be heroes during a catastrophe or something. It’s a genius marketing move to re-frame the customer’s mind to accept subpar customer service.
I heard that doctors get their pay cut by Medicare but patients are not sympathetic. If true, then the FA’s should be prepared for the day that the passengers do not applaud but boo then a riot.
I heard that small businesses are subject to increasing credit card fees. All those reward cards cost the small merchant higher fees such that ALL the cash back or points is paid for by the small merchant. The credit card companies don’t mind giving away other peoples’ money. The customers with those credit cards are not sympathetic. They just want their cash back even if it is extortion by the credit card companies towards the small merchant.
Jackson Waterson, you truly are a miserable person and one who knows nothing about the airline industry or it’s employees and what they endure. Eat before the flight? Most days are 12-15 hours with no time to get food, running from flight to flight. You sir, need a class on how humans should treat each other. I would like to know what you would do on a flight if you needed medical attention (could you use the defibrillator on yourself) what you would do in a decompression or perhaps how you would evacuate yourself from a burning plane? Good luck on that one since you probably aren’t sure about the operation of your seatbelt. Pathetic!!!!
A bit extreme, perhaps, but still a valid move by the FA considering the people who should have been booted off the flight.
@Stuart +1
Well written piece Matthew. It’s hard in today’s climate to take a non-binary stance on an issue, especially in public, and appreciate the complexities involved.
I’ll admit I didn’t view the video and am not sure how I would feel in the moment had I been on that flight, but you’re absolutely right that frustrations over weather delays shouldn’t excuse passenger behavior. With a few notable exceptions, I generally find my flights with US crews to be good (if they are) despite the FA’s rather than because of them (not polished, professional, or committed to service all too frequently). Still, they are working professionals in a public forum and deserve to be treated with the same respect that we passengers often lament we don’t receive.
To demand something from others, we must first demand it of ourselves.
Sometimes I wish somebody would start a new airline and hire all the fantastic FA’s I and others have had the pleasure and privilege to fly with.
@Stuart – he’s a white nationalist…they are out of power now and heading underground like cockroaches. Of course they are miserable.
“We’ve catered to you the entire flight”. I almost fell out of my chair. AA’s FAs has never catered to anyone or anything, besides their cell phone and jump seat on all my AA flights. No one deserves to be mistreated and it sounds like a bad situation – but AA FAs have always put themselves first, IMO.
Yes, let’s keep masks forever!!! A stupid Government that tells people that vaccine works but maintains masks on airports and planes. Why would anyone trust anything these clowns tell you? Make stupid masks optional and those still afraid of the virus even after having plenty access to vaccines can wear their masks but let vaccinated people move on with their lives.
FAs:
Your union pushes for more masks and less service, cynically using every oppprrunity (and bogus “safety” tailoring points) to advance tyr unions economic agenda.
You, together with the airlines, shook down our hapless government for immoral subsidies, to the tune of over $100B of taxpayer money.
Your kind revels in authority and lords it over families cramped in tiny seats.
We are paying your salary and pension.
You don’t like the job? Quit.
If the passengers used the words Matthew quoted that is disgusting. But otherwise, yeah, screw you and your kind.
Entirely inappropriate to use the PA system for this purpose. Problem passengers should be dealt with, no argument there. But to berate the entire plane load with this ‘poor us’ diatribe, most of whom were blameless, is beyond the pale ( and more than likely the aforementioned power trips we know so well).
There’s a reason FAs do not score highly on surveys of respected professions, ranking not much higher than lawyers and used car salesmen. We don’t trust their BS palaver about being there for safety not service and view them as lazy and entitled ( of course, some are great, many are good…)
Peer pressure can be a very effective tool in the de-escalation of a situation. If passenger safety is the true goal, why the offending passengers were not taken off the plane is a topic for discussion as well.
Sure, no one should be treated like that, but c’mon…I side with @A, regardless, AA FA’s are the industry’s worst. Lazy, entitled, authoritative, condescending…I could go on and on. This situation isn’t a “mask wearing” only situation. It is a compilation of events brewing from years of mistreatment and abuse towards passengers by AA FA over the course of many events. Remember that miserable little fucker who confronted the mom with the stroller and baby in arms, just because she couldn’t bring in the stroller to the overhead bins!??? huh!,, So where was COVID and mask wearing back then, what was the excuse then? long working hours?? Give me a break!,,
3-15-20 “airplanes are SO safe so keep flying” “Hepa”, etc. etc.
6-10-21 “Keep wearing your mask on planes because…”
The passengers are in the wrong, and frankly, if this story is true, I’m flabbergasted that the two offenders weren’t booted off the flight at RDU. That’s a failure on the part of AA, and the FAs have every right to be upset about that.
That being said, you’re wrong about one thing:
“If you are frustrated by mask requirements, that’s the Biden Administration, not American Airlines or the flight attendants on your flight.”
Except the FAs voted for union leadership that continually pushes more masks and less service, in the words of Billy, in the name of “safety”. Sara Nelson wants permanent mask mandates and a permanent ban on alcohol sales, after all. Does she represent the views of every FA, of course not, but the reality is, she was elected by her peers in a free and fair election. Passenger discontent is a fully predictable outcome of elected leadership pushing hygiene theater as a cover for service cuts. It’s not like you’re seeing a grassroots effort to push back on any of the theater, either.
@jackson waterson,
Just be quiet! Your ignorance and sheer stupidity are showing.
I’ll leave it at that.
I understand that much of the FA job is below the radar & hence is unappreciated by the public. This response by the FA reminds me of the Jet Blue FA who had enough abuse, activated the escape slide & left the plane via the emergency exit with a few minis in his hand upon landing. The blame rests solely on Corporate for never supporting their FA resulting egregious negligence & refusing to read their customers the riot act.
I don’t support bad behavior, but it is well-established that masks (unless they are N95 or equivalent) do absolutely nothing to stop the spread of covid. Nothing at all. Shame on the passengers exhibiting bad behavior. Shame on the mask-eraders who keep pushing this phony science that masks work.
It is a federal law to wear a mask on a flight, not the airline,,all of the abuse we have been seeing of airline employees over the past few months is an example of total disrespect we have for each other…where are decent manners, respect for others…Im tired of hearing stories of stupid passengers abusing hard working flight crews,,,you don’t need to fly to travel,,,take a bus or your car, and stop complaining……..
@UA–I agree with you on most points. Masks DO NOT work for the most part. I have heard so many say “I follow the science”. Okay. I will follow “science” if it is grounded in FACTS. So all I have said is show me the FACTS. NOT “opinions” that are mainly driven by one’s ideology. The only concession that i make for masks is that if an individual is sick with Covid and coughs all over you a mask MAY help. Maybe. In today’s business climate that happens only very rarely, if ever. “Social distancing” is the most insane thing ever perpetrated on an uneducated public. ONE Doctor that treated people with communicable diseases how far a person should stay away from a known carrier of the diseases he treated and he said that “about 6 feet should be okay”. From this ONE Doctors opinion millions have been led down the primrose path. Ridiculous. Democrat medical people just jumped all over his statement and adopted “social distancing” like it was some cure all.
All work with the public involves a certain amount of harassment & BS. I would be willing to bet that the FA has spoken unkindly to a retail worker at some point, for things out of that worker’s control. Flight attendant needs to toughen up or get a different job. In my opinion, their behavior was no better than the people they were complaining about.
The captain is the ultimate authority on the aircraft. From the post, it sounds like the captain/ flight deck crew was missing in action. Once it was clear that certain pax were violating the mask rules (not a debate at this point because it’s a lawful requirement and not adhering to it has clear consequences), then pax(s) should have been kicked off, debate over. In the larger narrative of things travel, both the public and the airlines need to do better in the way we are communicating with each other. So many of these air rage issues accelerate from reasonable to the ridiculous. I just want to get from point A to B and the least interaction I have, the less likely is there to be a problem. I wear my seatbelt I don’t stand up until the light goes off. I don’t get hammered pre-flight or during flight…and right or wrong, it’s their “house” when I’m on a plane. Call me a sheep if you want. I don’t care. Get on the plane, accept that things might go wrong and be a grown up about it….model the behavior you want your kids to model and the world will get better.
Well stated Mark.
My bet would be that the disrespectful passengers were “woke” Cali entitled types who are unable to deal with inconvenience, or just your everyday pain in the ass jerks. No doubt hundreds of flyers were diverted and delayed due to CLT weather. 98 percent of them dealt with the inconvenience and rescheduling of plans and expense in a respectable manner.
The fact that they didnt put the disruptive persons off in RDU weakens the the case of the flight attendant’s claim of interference or failing to follow flight crew instructions, however this kind of behavior occurs with regularity on airlines and makes things worse for everyone involved.
Sort Matthew but I disagree 100%. Was the passenger(s) in the wrong? Sure. Should the FAs always act in a professional manner? Absolutely. You want treated with respect act like it. Not like trash. All of us get frustrated in our jobs but I sure as hell don’t act like that.
And I’m sorry I have yet to be on an AA flight post covid, barely pre covid honestly, where I could say wow o those FAs were working their butts of. If truth be told, they chose to get on the PA because they were too lazy to get out of their jump seat due to being too busy watching tiktok.
Despite the lie about loving to be an FA, their only attempt at avoiding a firing, it appears to me that they love flying with AA just about as much as I do…zero. AA brought this on themselves when they quit caring about passengers and focus only on cash flow. In fact, AA doesn’t care if you fly at all. Which does the CEO hear about first? Their sales web site being down 10 minutes or the flight to Paris being 10 hours late. The FA’s, good, bad or mostly indifferent just happen to be at the bottom of the hill where all the s flows.
Absolutely abhorrent that a flight attendant would ever make such a comment on the PA. I’ve been in this industry for almost 30 years and I absolutely cringe at things like this that I see happening with more and more frequency. If you are unable to manage your emotions and act in a professional manner onboard, please find a job where you don’t have to interact with customers.
I can only imagine how disgusted the AA leadership team must be after seeing this.
Flight attendants lobbied for Federal mask mandates on planes. Now that masks are no longer necessary but still required for vaccinated people, they are victims of their own shortsightedness. Of course it’s not ok to disrespect staff, but when that disrespect is the result of a pointless law that you created, you have to see the stupidity of this current situation.
I agree that the frustrating mask requirements are due to stupid Biden Administration requirements, but there is no federal law that requires American employees to act like mask Nazis. On recent American flights, gate agents and flight attendants harangued passengers about replacing masks after every bite and sip while eating and drinking. I do not believe there is a federal law that requires masks to be removed and replaced 50 to 100 times to eat a bag of chips and drink a bottle of water. Masks are for virtue signaling, not science.
Agree 100%.
The Randomized Clinical Trials (RCTs) for mask going back about 10 years all agree that the N95 mask is, at best, about 15% (15%, not a typo) effective. Lower rated mask including those blue disposables are next to worthless.
Masks are all about control and, as you said, virtue signaling. Constantly touching the mask (off, on, off, on) adds levels of bacteria at each touch.
It’s about the science. Follow the science.
1. Have many more sets of flex cuffs and muzzles ready for:
2. Any passenger above the age of 10 who causes a problem on the flight, including ignoring/refusing flight attendant instructions, should be cuffed to the seat and muzzled, Enlist assistance from other passengers as needed.
3. If you don’t want to follow the rules for a particular airline, don’t fly.
I would be fine with 75% or more less tourist on each flight.
Then maybe the seats would return to normal size, the leg room would return to normal size, adults would put on clothes that are not PJs or beach wear, and civility would return.
I know, that was yesterday, and yesterday’s gone.