I am going to respond to this one, but keep in mind I have not been an FA for four years. Perhaps the regs have changed since I left, but I do not remember there being a 14-hour duty day limitation with the FAA. Someone correct me on that if I am wrong.
When I was at AWA, we had "contractual" limitations of 14 hours. If the duty day went over that, we had the right to refuse the trip. At 16 hours, we were not legal to work at all.
I remember specifically one trip about five years ago. We were due to depart JFK. Our flight had been cancelled and the other a/c was late inbound due to a storm - the a/c that would have deadheaded us home. The a/c inbound landed at EWR because the storm was too bad at the time, and we took a van ride over to that airport to get the a/c.
The crew that brought the aircraft into EWR (instead of JFK) had pilots that timed out. We flew the a/c from EWR to JFK. Then, the other crew picked up the flight to work it, while my crew deadheaded on the a/c.
We got to LAS, and the company told us that we could not deadhead home to PHX because we would go over 16 hours. They said they would have to get us a hotel room in LAS. At this point, it was about 3 a.m. and I had to get home to my son because his dad had to work the next day. So, I told them to put me up in the hotel and I non-revved home from LAS to PHX. It was really stupid, because they paid for a hotel room that I did not use, and duty time.
Have I ever been intimidated into flying a flight? Yes. Right before I left the airline, I hit my head in the cockpit while doing the potty swap with the pilots. I had stood up quickly to get the door for the Captain. (this was right after 9/11, and there were no reinforced doors) I was very dazed, and when we got to MCO, I called scheduling right away and told them I hit my head. I could not even talk to them - my speech was slurred and I could not think straight.
They told me that I would HAVE to work the flight back to PHX the next morning, as they could not put a reserve on the flight. I said, (on tape recording) "So, you are telling me that even if I am not able to work the flight, I have to work it?" Their response? "Yes."
The next morning I got out of bed and fell down to the floor. I called scheduling and told them what happened. Oh man, were they mad! I told them that I had called the night before, and was told they had no one to work the flight because of contractual obligations.
So, I ended up in the ER. They had to delay the flight six hours to DH a crew member in on SWA to MCO. Turns out I had a concussion and a traumatic brain injury. I still have a dent in my head from the incident. It took six months to get my faculties back, plus tons of physical therapy. I had also jammed my vertebrae in my neck when I hit my head, and I could not turn my head right or left for weeks.
I ended up spending four days in FLL as the doctors would not let me fly. I then spent months out of work.
So, what should the company have done? Sent me to the ER right away. But they were so worried about their plane not getting back to base, that they did not have common sense that something was really wrong. I had never had a concussion, so I just thought I had a bad headache.
So, yes, it does happen.
