Flight Attendants and Pilots both should get off the PA!
On the next red eye flight notice how often the PA is used? On the next short flight notice if you can count more than 16 PA's on a single 30 minute flight?
"TURN OFF YOUR CELL PHONES" is said at least 10 times per flight.
And yet, despite those announcements, on every flight, there are several pax that don't think this applies to them.
"PUT ON YOUR SEAT BELT" is said more often than required or needed.
and messages to individual passengers should be said to individual passengers verse the entire aircraft. "The gentleman in seat 10F needs to turn off his cell phone." Tell the guy in 10F not the entire aircraft!
I think the whole "public shame" thing is part of the strategy here...if the ******************************bag in 10F still has not turned his cell phone off after the "10 times per flight" that he has been told to, do you really think an FA telling him personally is going to get him to? (actually, it SHOULD, but it often doesn't, as I have seen on countless commutes)
And pilots breaking sterile procedures to tell the passengers we are not yet at the gate or number two in line for takeoff are idiots.
First, the "not at the gate yet" PA is always made (on my a/c) after we have come to a STOP short of the gate, therefore non-sterile cockpit. And, again, if you ride in the back much you would know that the PA is apparently necessary since a big % of pax are apparently either non-English speakers, legally deaf, too busy on their cell phone to catch the part about remaining seated until the seat belt sign is turned off, OR are just complete and utter idiots.
SHUT UP on the PA! Next time you find yourself wanting to use the PA don't!