We’ve already reached the 8th day of our “10 passengers we love to hate” lineup. You’ve been able to read about passengers who misbehave around the baggage carousel, people who don’t know how an escalator works, and folks who annoy others with their Bluetooth headset.
This entry in our lineup is about passengers who think the attendant call button is a butler call bell. For some reason, almost every flight has one of these jackasses on board.
10 minutes into the flight, you’ll hear the first ding. Now, I’m not against using the call button for an emergency, or if you are in dire need of a drink to help take some medication, but the call button is not there to assist you in making a drink order before the attendant starts the drink service. It is also not there if you want to know how long it is till the plane lands.
Also, on many flights, there are always people who can’t see the difference between white and orange buttons, and keep pressing the call button thinking it’ll turn their little light on – unless you are severely color blind there is no valid reason to hit the wrong button.
So, unless you are unable to walk, just get out of your seat and walk up to the galley for whatever it is you need. It’ll help stretch your legs (and prevent DVT at the same time). Bottom line – the flight attendant is not your butler, and they have another 100 passengers to deal with.
Imagine your grandmother (or mother) being grabbed by the arm and moved down a plane aisle by a flight attendant. Is the flight attendant being gentle and understanding? Respectful? Particularly since your grandmother is from another culture and has been in route for 30-hours. In the case of Talat Taharia, a woman from Pakistan, the Jet Blue flight attendant forcibly moved her from the exit aisle and made her sit next to someone she doesn’t know. Taharia, however is looking at a planeload of fines. Here’s why.
According to the flight attendant, she had Taharia move from the exit row 15 times and Taharia “yanked her down the aisle.” Taharia is countering with that’s impossible. After all, look at her.
From this article’s description, it seems that Taharia wasn’t just in the exit row seat, but stretched out in the exit row floor trying to catch some shut eye. Poor thing, she’d been traveling for 30 hours, after all. She was pooped and saw some space. Maybe she’s not that big, a bitty person actually, not even her big toe would get in the way of the drink cart, and figured what’s the harm?
Also, according to the flight attendant, When the flight attendant asked her to move, it was Taharia who became crabby and grabby. She actually assaulted the flight attendant. The flight attendant said she could have been arrested even.
Who is right? Who pushed and who pulled? How many times did Taharia lay her head on the plane’s floor looking for some peace and quiet? The FAA has just thrown a book of fines, to the tune of $6,000, at Taharia.
Here’s what I envision happening. A misunderstanding where both people were not patient enough. To Taharia, the exit seat was open, and so was the floor, therefore up for grabs. One can sleep wherever there’s a space on trains. Why not planes? I’m also wondering how well she understands English, particularly when rattled. Also, considering that she just left family in Pakistan, and it’s not the most stable place on the planet, her emotions may have already been on edge.
The flight attendant, doing her job, saw safety first, and may not have known a darned thing about elderly women originally from Pakistan which may have heightened the problem. Only people who can handle the job of being in an exit row in case there’s a disaster are supposed to sit in one of those seats. The elderly woman was showing she couldn’t take directions all that well. Still, why not take the time out to help the woman find a solution to wanting to get some sleep? Supposedly the flight from Pakistan to the U.S. wasn’t full. Offer a suggestion about laying down across seats if there is an empty row, and whatever you do, don’t put an older woman next to a person she doesn’t know.
Here’s a truth about human behavior, when pushed negatively, people respond–negatively. From what I read, these two needed a mediator. That day back in November was not good for either one of them. [komonews.com]
Recently on Twitter.com Times Travel asked me who I thought the worst type of passenger was. I wrote, “a business class passenger who does not get an upgrade and ends up in coach.”
But not all business class passengers who end up in coach are bad. In fact, business class passengers are actually my favorite passengers. They know the drill. They know exactly what to expect. So there’s no “on my last flight…” or “what do you mean there aren’t any magazines or pillows?”
The truth is the worst type of passenger is the kind of passenger who thinks he/she travels often, but in reality he/she only travels a few times a year, which isn’t really all that often, not compared to frequent fliers today. Yet they have no problem letting me know just how often they fly (which isn’t all that often) when they’re doing something they shouldn’t be doing, something a frequent flier knows not to do, like use a cell phone after the flight attendant has made the announcement that it’s time to turn off and stow all electronic devices.
The following scenario actually took place on board one of my flights… We’re on the tarmac in Chicago and the flight attendant is walking down the aisle while the safety video is on and she sees a passenger on his cell phone talking and says, “Sir, you need to turn your cell phone off!”
He tells whomever he’s talking to on the phone to hold on a minute, and then he covers the mouthpiece with his hand and asks the flight attendant, “what flight number is this?”
Shaking her head, the flight attendant says, “Sir, you can’t be on your phone right now! The safety video is on. You need to turn it off.” She points to the video monitor and it’s at that part where the guy in the suit reaches up and grabs the oxygen mask and places it over his nose and mouth, looking way too relaxed for a guy who has just placed an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth because he’s probably going through a decompression or something and should probably be hyperventilating along with the rest of us.
The man on the phone rolls his eyes and tells his friend to hold on again. Then he says to the flight attendant, “I JUST NEED TO KNOW THE FLIGHT NUMBER, MA’AM!”
My colleague tells him she doesn’t know the flight number, which could be true because half the time we really don’t know whether we’re coming or going due to the short layovers mixed with long work days spent hopping from one city to another. Not to mention the safety video is on and this guy should not be on the phone right now. At this point it doesn’t really matter what the flight number is.
“TURN IT OFF!” she demands, squinting her eyes, which makes her look a little crazy and has zero affect because he’s still on the phone and just looking at her as if it’s no big deal there’s a flight attendant screaming at him and looking all crazy-eyed.
Sighing, he tells his friend, “The flight attendant is not being very helpful. She’s putting a lot of stress on me.”
Of course this only makes her put even more stress on him. “TURN THE PHONE OFF NOW! I MEAN NOW! RIGHT NOW!” which not only makes him jump, but also works because he actually turns it off and puts it away.
When I shared the above story with a fellow coworker, he wrote…
This lack of compliance causes me concern for a couple of good reasons. First, it establishes that some passengers see flight attendant instructions as optional–and they’re mandatory. That mandatory aspect is for everyone’s safety in an emergency, and in order to be effective, that authority covers every instruction they give. Second, as a captain, I always weigh whether I want to take Mr. Optional-Instructions-Cell-Phone-Guy into the air and just hope when he’s given an instruction, he’ll comply. Why would I?
Cell phones on the airplane, some people want them, others don’t. Me, I fall into the don’t category. Why? Because it’s a me, me, me world we’re living in and people today don’t always have common courtesy for those seated around them.
Tell me what you think.
%Poll-30569%
Photo courtesy of Jung Hong (cell phone), Beigeinside (flight attendant)
The 23-year-old soon-to-be-former flight attendant is from Melbourne, but he’ll have a new home for a while. As soon as his Emirates Boeing 777 landed at Gatwick Airport, Carney was arrested. No explosives were discovered. One note was found in the lav, the other in the flight attendant’s luggage.
The note was “discovered” when Carney found wires in the lav. Though they weren’t connected to anything, the crew monitored this smallest of spaces. A passenger later found the note, which included: “We have the Taliban to thank for this.”
In pleading guilty to making a hoax threat (he denied endangering the safety of an aircraft), Carney said through his lawyer that he was stressed and tired. If Dubai to London wore him out, let’s see how he handles 18 months in the slammer.
Name:David Holmes (AKA The rapping flight attendant)
Hometown:Bay Area and Chicago…I claim them both.
Base:LAS
How long have you been rapping?Was in a group about 1000 years ago, hadn’t rapped after that until flight attendant training
The first time you rapped on a flight were your coworkers stunned? Yes, they thought I was the shy, quiet type.
Offers must be pouring in! Sign a deal yet?No, though there have been a few discussions
I bet! One thing I couldn’t help but notice was how supportive SWA has been towards you throughout all this. Of course SWA is known for it’s fun atmosphere, but were you surprised at all by how your company reacted? No, I felt very comfortable that this was a good reflection of the culture that SWA promotes.
You’re all the talk right now. Your mom must be thrilled! What does she have to say?Unfortunately, Mom passed away in 2006.
Oh no, I’m so sorry to hear that. You know she must be smiling down on you from heaven. How many years have you been a flight attendant? 8 months (August 2008)
That’s it! Wow, and look how much your life has changed in 8 short months – just last week you were on Leno! What did you do before you became a flight attendant?Was a ramp agent for 3 years, personal trainer before that.
Besides flying, what else do you do? Trying to start a non profit organization in honor of my late mother.
Tell me more about that. It’s called aid4mom (www.aid4mom.org). It’s purpose is to provide small amounts of financial aid to single mothers for things such as utilities, gas, groceries, and rent/mortgage assistance. My mother was the inspiration behind this. She worked as many as three jobs to make sure our needs were met, yet was always there for birthdays and school plays. I feel that everyone should feel like they had the world’s greatest Mom, and I would like to help someone else’s mother be amazing to her children the way mine was to me. I recently was granted 501(c)(3) status, which is huge, but have been at a standstill ever since. I cannot do this alone, and am a bit overwhelmed with decided the best way to proceed.
Wow, that’s an amazing thing to do. I’m really impressed. Have you contacted Oprah? If not, I will! So…any advice for flight attendants?A small amount of effort can really brighten someones day.
So true. How many hours have you flown this month? Scheduled for 153 trips.
I can’t even imagine flying 153 trips. That’s crazy. You must be exhausted! Last flight?Friday night flight from SFO to LAS. It was CRAZY! Friday night + full flight + Flight to Vegas + 2 hour delay (drinking time) = Crazy party flight.
Hotel away from home? I’m homeless right now, so all the hotels ARE home.
Homeless? WHAT? Details, please! I was renting a house that went into foreclosure. Moved out at end of March, but haven’t moved in anywhere. I have been flying a lot more, and getting hotel rooms when I’m off. All of my clothes are in my car, everything else was sold or given away. I have no idea what my next move is, not sure I want to commit to living in Vegas for another year.
That’s terrible. If there’s one thing about flight attendants I know, it’s that we’re survivors. Honestly, I think big things are about to happen to you, so maybe it’s a good thing you’re not too settled. That way you’ll be able to pick up and move quickly if need be. That said, I do hope things get better – soon! Best layover city? Pittsburgh and Seattle for activities, ABQ for the food.
Regular Route?No such thing.
Dream Trip? Any flight where a beautiful woman flirts with me.
Too funny! You’re so handsome I’m sure women flirt with you all the time. In fact, my mom keeps talking about how cute you are, and she’s not easy to impress. Nightmare Trip? A full, short flight. You are rushing from the time the doors close, and that’s the time where everyone has special requests!
What exactly is in your rollaboard? Extra uniforms, jeans, workout clothes, laptop, exercise bands in case the hotel gym sucks, and emergency tuna & oatmeal.
I’ve been meaning to learn how to use my exercise bands and you’ve just motivated me to do so. Not that there’s any time on those short layovers. Any packing tips/tricks?I can use some…do you have any?
Well…I always tell everyone to roll their clothes, even though I never do it myself because I don’t really carry that much. When I went to Italy for 10 days all I brought along with me was a tote bag and a rollaboard, so of course I rolled my clothes and I was surprised to see just how much I could get in my bag, so it does help. Also, pack light. Worst Airport?Kansas City – All the food is outside of security
I hate that. A flight attendant has to eat! Favorite Airport restaurant?Paradise Bakery in Denver/Phoenix. Best sandwiches EVER.
I’ll have to check that place out. Favorite in-flight announcement? The opening announcement. If I rap it, I love the looks on the passengers faces.
I’d love to see how they react, especially now that you’re so well known. Most annoying passenger question? “What’s that? (pointing out window)”. It’s funny to me because they think I carry a GPS on me or something.
Okay…so…I’m going to ask because I always ask…ever hook up with a pilot? No
Flight attendant?Once, but it wasn’t on a trip so I don’t really count it.
How about a passenger? Once the flight is over, they are no longer passengers, so…no.
Favorite vacation spot and why?I haven’t done too many vacations, but I vow to change that this year.
You better! Flight attendant pet peeve? Passengers who tap me to get my attention.
Now finish the following sentences:
I can’t fly without my…laptop.
On my last flight…I made the passengers feel better about the two hour delay by rapping.
Once a passenger….tried to kiss me in the galley. It was the only time I wished I wasn’t a flight attendant.
Once a pilot…bought me lunch, then accepted a high five as payment. Why doesn’t that work on the ground?
Once a flight attendant...took her shoes off in the shuttle van and put her feet in the seat right next to me. Ewww….
Why do passengers…think we don’t mean THEM when we say “turn your phones off”?
If I could be anywhere in the world, I’d …Go to Japan. I lived there for 6 months at the age of three, and barely remember anything!
Any advice for travelers?The bin sizes have not changed, so why do your bags keep getting fatter?
Next flight? I’m on reserve this month, so I won’t know until the day of.