On First Class Passengers versus Economy:Though it may seem so, I don't think that first class passengers get more respect than those in economy. They've paid for a different class of service and that's what they should expect. They’re normally business people that travel often -- often more than flight attendants -- and have miles to upgrade to another class of service. The bottom line is there are fewer seats in first class and they cost
a lot more to occupy. Perception is not always accurate, or so I've found. In addition to the profession of a first class passenger, they’re often professional travelers, if you get my drift. They fly and then they have to go to work again. Often they go out once a week, sometimes twice per month, but they’re frequent travelers most often.
But passengers change when they walk through that airplane door and almost unconsciously default to defense and survival mechanisms. This is another difference between economy and first class passengers, and I think throws back to respect. First classers fly often and have more empathy for the crew's position because they just see and experience it more often. So they actually may respect us more, which makes it appear that they are receiving more respect.
On Airplane Food:
As far as airplane food goes, it's a mixed bag. If you’re curious about the lack of airplane food these days, it's all due to dollars and cents -- it's about competition. They’re basically frozen dinners anyway… and who knows how long they've been frozen? When I first started I was appalled at how much waste there was. Nothing was recycled, and if we’re caught "recycling" anything we can be disciplined. The environmental impact was astronomical. We would often throw away 60 meals from a narrow-body flight! The reasons for this could vary, but let’s just say that hungry countries could have been fed every day with what airlines were throwing away.
But that’s just the food. There's aluminum from pop cans, plastic and more plastic and Styrofoam... it's endless and mind boggling. I could go on and on about this one. It hurts my heart every day. The bottom line is we're doing ourselves a favor by taking responsibility for either buying or bringing our own food on a plane, at least in the long run.
On What We Don't Know Behind the Scenes:
I think it's all pretty much in print these days -- it's just corporate America at its best and worst. Our CEO made more in one year than the airline reported as profit, and the blue collar people set the public tone day to day. Working as crew on a flight is not glamorous and it's not easy. It’s physically, mentally and emotionally very demanding. We’ve had 1/3 of our pay taken away and must work another 20 to 30 percent to try and make up the difference, but it can't be done. That part has been a bitter pill for rank and file employees to swallow.
As far as a party scene goes, I'd say it happens, but we’re randomly tested for both drugs and alcohol. Whether it's random random or not, you never know until the airplane door opens at your destination if your number is up, and then you have to follow them to a room and do your thing. They can also take you from your briefing prior to a flight and test you then. So, while people do party when there is time, that's a part of our history that lives on but is not necessarily true today. Our layovers are mostly short and don't allow time to drink and meet FAA minimum times for consumption. With all of the publicity of incidents with pilots being busted for intoxication going through security, I think people are much more professional that the people might assume. There is little mercy if you are caught stealing, drinking or doing anything illegal. And if the FAA gets involved, it will follow you forever.
On What Passengers Should Do To Make a Flight Attendant's Life Easier:
One wish for passengers to fulfill.....in 25 words or less? Get informed. Research and ask questions before you travel. Expect the unexpected. Do not expect food, clean blankets, clean headsets or bottled water. If it's there, we're glad to share it. But if it's not there... oh, this is a good one. I heard a flight attendant once say, "Miss, this is a 757 – not a 7-11" after a passenger asked for soy milk or something ridiculous. Basically, just get some understanding about what travel entails and try to go easy on us. We're working as hard as we can.
