Galley Gossip: IndiGo flight attendants forced to cut their hair – or wear a wig

by Heather Poole on

Meet the flight attendants from IndiGo Airlines. They’re young, chic, and might be wearing a wig. Well that is if they refuse to cut their hair. According to Anindita Ghose in the article A Curious Case of Stewardess Hair, the airline’s new uniform includes a grey tunic with an indigo corsage and a hat to be worn with a uniform bob. The new look was launched on August 15th.

IndiGo Airlines is a private domestic low cost carrier based in Gurgayon Haryana, India. It’s main base is Delhi’s Indira Gandhi’s International Airport. In 2008 the airline won the title “Best Domestic Low Cost Carrier.” I wonder if the airline is trying to reclaim that title by having their flight attendants sport what the airline reports is a more sophisticated and international look? According to the stylist for IndiGo airlines in an interesting article, long hair or hair buns do not go with IndiGo’s new image, a look the airline believes makes their flight attendants appear younger and smarter and, in my opinion, quite French and very vavavavoom! But in a vintage way.No doubt about it the IndiGo girls look great! But the new short do apparently has them preoccupied with their hair. Passengers have noticed them either constantly messing with the lock that curls midcheeck or adjusting the wig to keep it in place. All I can say is I’m glad the airline I work for doesn’t make us wear the exact same hairstyle, or worse, wear someone else’s hair! Imagine serving hot coffee and PLOP! There’s a wig in a lap and a flight attendant sprinting into the galley to hide. It’s only a matter of time, ya know. Let’s just hope no one gets burned in the process. As for the spill left behind, passengers can just mop it up with that sharp looking wig! But don’t ring the call light to ask the flight attendant to dispose of it as she’ll be passing through the aisle shortly with a pick-up cart – that is as soon as she figures out what to do with her hair! Priorities, people.

While it was initially mandatory for the flight attendants of IndiGo Airlines to wear the bob after the airline launched its new image, they now also have the option of wearing their own hair in a “French roll or tie bun.” This after they put on what was reported as “a brave front in the face of severe scrutiny by curious passengers” known to love long hair. Thankfully things have changed. If it were me, I’d go with the French twist. It’s just as sexy and a lot more practical.

Photo courtesy of LiveMint.com

Airlines powerless against the pregnant

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Fortunately, there aren’t many babies born on planes. Run the numbers on this one: it just doesn’t happen much. One would assume that rules around flying later in pregnancy have helped, but it turns out that these requirements really boil down to an honor system that leaves the carriers virtually powerless.

Of course, most pregnant women pay attention to the rules (or guidelines, in practicality), which is why there aren’t more kids named after flight attendants and pilots. The last four or five weeks of pregnancy are usually off-limits for the expecting. Some procedures are used to screen out passengers who probably shouldn’t be allowed to board, but they rarely stand up to the will of someone who doesn’t want to get caught.

According to the Associated Press:

[E]ven when gate attendants question how pregnant a passenger is, they usually have no choice but to let the woman fly if she says she has not reached the airline’s cutoff date and is showing no sign of physical distress, said Dr. Fanancy Anzalone, president-elect of the Aerospace Medical Association in Alexandria, Va.

“The rules now are based on honesty and (the idea) that a pregnant mom is going to protect her unborn,” Anzalone said.

The airlines can’t do much when they suspect a pregnant passenger shouldn’t board. They can bring in medical personnel to make the call and “determine whether she has the necessary medical documentation and is fit to fly,” Anzalone explained to the Associated Press. Once in the sky, the best that can happen is a bit of extra attention from the cabin crew and maybe a doctor or nurse among the passengers.

When it comes to looking for with-child passengers, there is an obvious risk of embarrassment … what happens when good intentions cause airline employees to question the obese non-pregnant? When it happens next, it’s my sincere hope that you’ll read about it here.

[photo by rumpleteaser via Flickr]

Galley Gossip: 5 reasons flight attendants don’t serve first class predeparture beverages

by Heather Poole on

You’ve boarded a flight and you’re feeling pretty relaxed sitting in that big comfy first class seat. Sucka, you think to yourself as a couple of passengers check you out on their way to coach. Glancing at your watch, you wonder where the heck the flight attendant is because you’re dying of thirst and shouldn’t she be offering drinks right about now!

Predepartures. That’s what flight attendants call the drinks that are served before takeoff to passengers seated in business and first class. If there’s time flight attendants will walk through the aisle and take individual orders, but time is the keyword here. With so many full flights staffed with minimum crew, there’s usually not enough time to check the emergency equipment, set up the galley, hang all the coats, get passengers situated AND serve predeparture beverages. This is why flight attendants might choose to do a one shot service and offer passengers Champagne (if we have it), orange juice, and water- or nothing at all. Because it’s more important to get flights out on time than it is to serve drinks before takeoff.

What most passengers don’t realize is that it’s against FAA regulations for an agent to shut an aircraft door until all the overhead bins have been closed. If the agent can’t close the aircraft door on time, the flight will be delayed. If the flight is delayed (even by a few minutes) someone will have to take the blame. This means someone will get written up. If an airline employee is written up too many times for causing a delayed departure they might very well lose their job. On time departures are a big deal in the airline industry. So that gin and tonic the passenger in 3A is crying about is not a concern if passenger 23D refuses to sit down and passenger 14E can’t get her suitcase inside an overhead bin and the flight attendant working in the back is calling up front to let someone know there are seven bags on their way up that need to be checked.

Here are a few other reasons flight attendants might not serve you a drink before takeoff….

1. DELAYED BOARDING: Boarding is even more chaotic when a flight is delayed. If passengers are blocking the aisles waiting to get to their seats, flight attendants aren’t going to jump over them in order to serve drinks.

2. NO CATERING: Everyone is seated and the flight attendants don’t look very busy. Why aren’t they serving drinks? If the catering truck hasn’t come to swap out the carts they have nothing to serve.

3. THE GALLEY ISN’T SET UP: The catering carts do not come on board ready to go. Flight attendants have to organize them first. If we don’t do this during boarding, the service during the flight will be delayed. Besides organizing the carts, we also have to break up several bags of ice, count the meals, load the ovens, and make sure we have everything we might need for the service in flight. The one time I didn’t do this we took off without dinner plates and I had to serve first class passengers their entrees on cookie plates.

4. MINIMUM CREW: Nowadays most narrowbody aircraft (one aisle) are staffed with minimum crew. This means if we’re not greeting passengers at the door, we’re busy setting up a galley. In the past we used to have extra flight attendants on board to lend a hand to passengers who might need it during boarding and help serve food and drinks in first class. Not the case anymore.

5. DRY FLIGHTS: Some countries do not allow flight attendants to unlock the liquor carts until after takeoff. There are even a few cities in the U.S. where it’s against the law to serve an adult beverage on Sunday before noon.

Photo courtesy of Kevin H

JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater’s head being examined to avoid jail

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Is anybody shocked that Steven Slater‘s head is being examined? While we all think know he’s nuts, this step is necessary for the criminal case that’s in the works. Remember: while the former JetBlue flight attendant was becoming a hero to airline employees across the country, he broke the law several times over, putting some of those very employees at risk of injury or death.

Attorneys on both sides of the Slater issue say they are working on a deal – and that Slater might be able to avoid jail time through alternative sentencing. Slater’s sudden realization that he needs his sanity checked out may be a sign that he’s coming to his senses:

[Image credit: AP]

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Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said Slater’s willingness to be evaluated shows he’s taking the charges more seriously than he had in the past. Slater had spoken out after the incident, as his public opinion swelled and hundreds of thousands of fans online cheered him for standing up to the inhospitable world of airline travel.

Daniel J. Horwitz, Slater’s attorney, seems to be bolstering the results of an evaluation that hasn’t even come yet by citing the pressures his client is experiencing, including a terminally ill mother, recently deceased father and HIV positive diagnosis for Slater. He has his fingers crossed, so to speak, that prosecutors will consider Slater’s “long-standing and well-regarded reputation in the industry,” but that might not be a good idea, given that the permanently former flight attendant (it seems) has had a few issues with honesty in the past.

If the alternative sentencing deal comes through, Slater could wind up spending only a few weeks in treatment. Then, he can move on to that reality show.

Are airline passengers getting ruder? Deal with it!

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Recent mayhem in the skies has obviously raised the question of whether passengers are getting ruder, and the consensus seems to be that we are. The average passenger may cite fuller planes, less room in overhead compartments and an endless array of fees as reasons for the lack of courtesy, not to mention an increasingly tough gauntlet from the curb to the gate. And, the cabin crew will probably lament the inability to work effectively with passengers who have increasingly absurd demands and hostile behavior.

What nobody seems to realize, however, is that this issue is not unique to the airlines.

Think about it: when times are tough for a company or sector, everyone becomes unhappy. Difficult market conditions leave employees stressed, as they worry about their jobs, don’t get raises and, as the cliché goes, have to “do more with less.” And, customers become increasingly demanding because every dollar they spend is more important, especially if you don’t know whether you’ll still have reliable income in the near future.
Does this sound like the airline industry? Of course. Passengers are looking at every expense carefully, whether they are traveling for leisure (personal expenditure) or business (where they have to answer to the finance department). They want more for less … and become frustrated by the fact that service and amenities are actually declining as ancillary fees are on the rise. This is the sort of situation that will make passengers ruder, and indeed, it has.

Meanwhile, there is no shortage of stories about flight attendant meltdowns. Some of the people involved, of course, were probably wacky before economic conditions worsened, but it’s safe to assume that the implications of the recession for the aviation business have contributed to the likelihood of the insane and the absurd breaking out among airline employees.

Now, let’s think about business in general, outside the airline business. The same rules apply. Customers and clients become more difficult, more demanding, when times are tough. Having conducted business following the bursting of two bubbles (dotcom and structured finance), I’ve seen – and experienced – just how challenging it can be to keep your cool. But, the smarter folks in just about any business find a way to do so. Why? Because they realize that without their clients, they’d have no cash coming in. So, there’s a lot of anger behind smiles, tongue-biting and carefully concealed strained patience.

What matters, though, is the commitment to service levels. Professionals realize that the rudeness of their customers or clients does not change their own obligations to deliver the necessary product or service. If they fall short, the revenue sources (rude or not) will dry up. And, it’s better to have rude people paying you than none at all.

In the airline sector or anywhere else, there is no tacit or explicit obligation for customers to be polite, except for common courtesy, which is convention more than obligation. So, are passengers getting ruder? Of course. Does it matter? Not at all.

[photo by hoyasmeg via Flickr]