Grade-A b**tch FA's at AA

[Kalifornia]

The real problem is the flight attendant position was never meant to be a full time career, just a temporary job like being a waiter. Unfortunately the politically correct types demanded an end to weight/age/fitness/etc. requirements and so forth, and now I wish all those soft boiled legal brains the bad service they deserve on which ever particular flight they happen to embark.

 

[se1776]

Just flew AA a few days ago, MD-80, DFW to MMMX. Superb, grade-A, b**tches as FA's on that flight.

WTF is wrong with your FA program. The pax are the reason the company is afloat, and the FA is the primary face of the company.

Don't jumpseat on them again then. That will fix that problem.

Not only you're getting a free ride and you still complaning?

Shame on you!!!

 

[StopNTSing]

Don't jumpseat on them again then. That will fix that problem.

Not only you're getting a free ride and you still complaning?

Shame on you!!!

I'll let him confirm it, but I'm pretty sure whenever sat's airlining to somewhere, he's on a ticket.

 

[say again]

Don't jumpseat on them again then. That will fix that problem.

Not only you're getting a free ride and you still complaning?

Shame on you!!!

Reread what he wrote.

 

[C-150ETOPS]

Easy tiger...Let's do the math if you really want to. .........

B727FA,

Try reading my post again. Try to understand the concept of total cockpit and total FA costs. Notice also that my problem is with certain members of that group who provide documented crappy service, yet have been paid near the top of the industry for over a decade.

Note that I also stated pure fact regarding skills and qualifications and that I have total respect for Merry Maids and many other entry level jobs, jobs that many FA's routinely show complete contempt for as they interact with them at airports and layovers. I have respect for jobs like those since my work history includes cleaning up ejected bodily fluids and material from every orifice on the human body in temps from -15F to +100F. This was from a period when I wasn't qualified to be a Merry Maid.

 

[Raoul Duke]

AA's FA's are number one or a close number 2 in being the best compensated for that job in the USA. If I'm wrong, then they are within single digit percentage points of the best contract and we know company differences make that difference nothing.

An AA 767 International flight generally goes out with nearly $500/hour in direct hourly FA costs. that's just salary. The cockpit gets paid about $430/hour in salary. That gives usually gets us 16 out of 18 in customer service rankings.

It's a job that can be done with a GED and a weeks worth of training. They are basically qualified to be a "Merry Maid" outside of AA. 20-30% of their group sheetcan the working enviroment for their co-workers and the passengers. The rest our great, and still get blamed for what AA gives them to work with regarding service.

I've got to hand it too them. They are the most financially successful group of any employee who started at AA on day one. I know of more FA's or former FA's that live in $ Million + waterfront homes than I do B777 Captains. the most succesful one so far just got a $100 Million divorce payout. (Greg Norman's Ex, former AA FA. ) I bet she's has more cash from her AA experience than any AA executive going back to Crandall.

Just dem facts'

why do they need GEDs? That seems like overkill for a job that involves opening cans of soda. . .

 

[Raoul Duke]

The real problem is the flight attendant position was never meant to be a full time career, just a temporary job like being a waiter. Unfortunately the politically correct types demanded an end to weight/age/fitness/etc. requirements and so forth, and now I wish all those soft boiled legal brains the bad service they deserve on which ever particular flight they happen to embark.

This is exactly right. FA payscales should be the reverse of what they are now. They should start at the top and go down. By year 3 they would quit and move on to something better. Passengers would be happy, attitude in the cabin would be better and the 300lb hags that can't fit down the isle would be a thing of the past.

 

[SMcC]

Don't jumpseat on them again then. That will fix that problem.

Not only you're getting a free ride and you still complaning?

Shame on you!!!

...another ditto

 

[say again]

...another ditto

He wasnt jumpseating. It's not a hard thing to comprehend what one writes here.

 

[Flopgut]

Just flew AA a few days ago, MD-80, DFW to MMMX. Superb, grade-A, b**tches as FA's on that flight.

WTF is wrong with your FA program. The pax are the reason the company is afloat, and the FA is the primary face of the company.

How much was your ticket? It was first class, right? I mean, you wouldn't come on hear and gripe about service and crew demeanor and be riding in the back? That would be ridiculous....

First class seats on my airline are equal to whatever you've got going on your jet. The loudest gripers I hear are in the back. That wasn't you though, right?

 

[Dornier 335]

The F/A's at AA are angels when compared with their gate agents....

From a personal experience I must say this is true. There's a reason they are being nicknamed "Eva" ...

 

[satpak77]

1. It was paid ticket

2. I re-affirm that attitude towards paying customers is a poor way to represent the company

3. They were major b**tches

 

[Giggity]

Vote with your feet.

 

[CA1900]

Vote with your feet.

I do. Whenever possible, I'll trade in my AA tickets home and buy one on Alaska or Southwest.

 

[imacdog]

...another ditto

......coming from another person who can't read.

 

[B727FA]

The real problem is the flight attendant position was never meant to be a full time career, just a temporary job like being a waiter. Unfortunately the politically correct types demanded an end to weight/age/fitness/etc. requirements and so forth, and now I wish all those soft boiled legal brains the bad service they deserve on which ever particular flight they happen to embark.

Again...WHO CARES what the job "used" to be? Again, WHY do YOU care? Why do pilots INSIST on pointing that out all the freakin' time? What's your point? It doesn't matter what it USED to be...it's what it is NOW.

Sociologically speaking MOST early "careers" for women were intended to be "temporary" until they "found a man" and dropped out of the labor pool. Even women who were nurses, teachers, secretaries have transitioned their jobs into careers; so why not FA's, too? (There are some pretty heavy/old/out of shape/etc nurses, teachers, secretaries...and dare I say pilots!?!?!?) Move on...

It's not a problem that FA's are making a career out of it. The REAL problem is that people who have no reason to judge WHY a person CHOOSES to be an FA (for life) shoots off their uninformed traps.

Answer the question: WHY do you care that people make a career out of being an FA?

Next.

 

[B727FA]

Do the multiplication....

Irrelevant. $ for $ you get more work out of your FA staffing than you do your pilot staffing. Careful: I'm not quantifying value of the job; that's usually what pilots do to belittle FA's. The jobs are vastly different...I get that. I'm saying you get more workers for the money...there's a difference.

 

[B727FA]

It's a job that can be done with a GED and a weeks worth of training. They are basically qualified to be a "Merry Maid" outside of AA.

I've got to hand it too them.
Just dem facts'

Is your GED working for you?

I'll put my BA, MDiv and MA up against your education any day pal. It may only REQUIRE a HS degree but many carriers are requiring much more...and you know that. Don't be thick.

Why do I do this job with so much education? I WANT to. You shouldn't care.

 

[B727FA]

why do they need GEDs? That seems like overkill for a job that involves opening cans of soda. . .

Tell you what Raoul, when you drive one in I'll leave you get yourself out. And no, I won't open a can of soda to pour on the fire that's on your a$$.

 

[B727FA]

Notice also that my problem is with certain members of that group who provide documented crappy service, yet have been paid near the top of the industry for over a decade.

Agreed.

Note that I also stated pure fact regarding skills and qualifications and that I have total respect for Merry Maids and many other entry level jobs,

But apparently not career FA's. Qualifications aren't skills.

If you're making a point of the minimum qualifications, your point is true. But it is simply NOT true that MOST people who possess the minimum qualifications for a job have the skills to do the job.

Think of it this way: a pilot is required to have their tickets and a Class A --(and contrary to popular belief, a 4 year degree is NOT required to "be" a pilot...You don't even "need" a GED; I dare say lots of us got our private ticket before we graduated from HS.) They may possess the minimum qualifications; but they likely, with "just" that, don't have the skills required to be successful in their career. Same thing for FA's.

If we're going to take this to the level of QUALIFICATIONS/SKILLS then company REQUIREMENTS has to be worked into the mix, too.

Fair enough?

And again...WHY do pilots care so much about why FA's choose this as a career? SOMEONE, please answer the question.