Flight Attendants

Pappy----When I first started flying, all of the F/A's had to be dressed alike. By the mid 80's, that all changed as the F/A's were not kept together as a team. (At least that's the way it was at United.) When they (the F/A's) landed, some may have boarded a flight for San Diego, others may have went to Denver and maybe some were done for the day. And, BTW, not to sound or come across as being sexist, but I liked it better when only the females were the F/A's. There is definitely a difference between men and women as a F/A. The ladies, (with only a very few exceptions), were more congenial, not confrontational, more organized, seldom complained, (that's the truth) and generally smiled as the passengers boarded the aircraft. I like people that have a good disposition and smile.

As for the way pilots dress, all of us were and to the best of my knowledge still are dressed alike today. After all, what could be different? A white shirt, navy slacks, tie and coat with black socks and shoes. Pretty conventional, I would say.
 
Thanks for an interesting article. A friend who was ten years my senior was a flight attendant through the 1960s. She constantly stressed about her age (not sure what the top age permitted by her airline was, but it certainly wasn't over 35), the required "weigh-ins" because a few extra pounds meant waving bye-bye to the job, and knew if her marriage was discovered she'd be terminated. Pregnancy was not an option. She dealt with plenty of passengers (and pilots) with roving hands. The good old days weren't so good for all FAs.

I fly a few times a year and have watched air travel comfort decline considerably since my first NY to LA experience in 1970. At that time I flew student standby and the cost ranged from $85 - $100 one way, luggage and food included. Using standard inflation rates, that flight should cost roughly $400 today.

My next cross country trip is already booked. $126 each way via Alaska Air. One carry-on bag plus one personal item, bring your own lunch, and suffer cramped conditions. At least Alaska lets me bring a carry-on and choose my seat. United is now charging $25 PP the "upgrade" of a carry-on or choosing one's seat, meaning that people traveling together have to pay $25 extra PP to sit together.

Most business/first class tickets for that route run $800-$1000 one way. I'd pay more for better comfort, but not that much more!!!

On another note, while I truly feel for FAs, isn't this fully emblematic of the US economy. A race to the bottom. Elegant experiences are a thing of the past. Too time consuming and too expensive. Instead we shop at cheap, crappy stores like Walmart, Amazon and Target. We have huge closets stuffed with cheap, crappy clothing and extraordinary numbers of cheap, crappy shoes. Houses sport cheap, crappy IKEA type furniture. Most people eat cheap, crappy food and dine out on cheap, crappy fast food. Why wouldn't we expect and suffer along with cheap, crappy flight experiences?

p.s. My favorite airline is Southwest, hands down. It's a similarly cheap, crappy experience but at least they acknowledge it with a sense of humor without pretending it's upscale.
 
What? Were flight attendants not allowed to marry?
Thats crazy. Oh thank heavens times have changed.
Iā€™m so glad I was born in the year I was.
My father always wanted me to become a flight attendant
He had real ambitious plans for me :laugh:
 
Keesha said:
What? Were flight attendants not allowed to marry?
Thats crazy. Oh thank heavens times have changed.
Iā€™m so glad I was born in the year I was.
My father always wanted me to become a flight attendant
He had real ambitious plans for me :laugh:
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I think the airlines wanted to perpetuate the fantasies of the predominantly male business travelers.
 
StarSong said:
I think the airlines wanted to perpetuate the fantasies of the predominantly male business travelers.
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I do remember the days when F/A's could not be married and also had to be female, even though this was before my time as an employee for Air Wisconsin, where I first started in the business. After several lawsuits and passing of years, the whole landscape changed with regard to F/A's. Men filed sex discrimination lawsuits because they wanted to become a F/A. Female F/A's file lawsuits due to sex discrimination, so they could be married. Then, weight and child birth lawsuits were filed. Finally, by the early 80's, everything was settled. What we see today on the airlines is the result of the many lawsuits filed and settled by the many different F/A's.

I absolutely prefer female F/A's. They are just better at doing the job as required and is necessary. Most male F/A's that I would come across usually had something to complain about and never seemed to be happy.

Southwest has a great business model in the working. They only fly Boeing 737's and they restrict themselves to domestic flights, plus just a few flights to Puerto Rico, Cuba and the islands in the near Atlantic. They also do not charge for checked baggage and the passenger can cancel or change their flight for no charge, Any unused fare(s) are saved and is available to be used for up to one year from the purchase date of the ticket of the cancelled flight. I occasionally do fly SW because they operate a non stop service from BWI to TPA.

Ken....If your Granddaughter is living near DFW, i understand her dilemma and also her problem. Anyone trying to get a job that lives near Dallas-Ft. Worth, LAX, SFO ATL, ORD and any other large, popular airport will have a problem getting a job. Does she understand that when she applies at a specific airport that the airport she is applying to will become her "home base?" So, if a particular airline needs 200 F/A's at DFW, it would be easy to assume that there may not be any jobs available there. It should be easy to understand that all airlines that have DFW as their home base would not be in need of any F/A's. Here is United's website for checking for all jobs within the airline. Also, she may have to be willing to move to secure a job as a F/A. Once in, she can wait until an opening exists where she wants to live and then bid on that job in that city.

https://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/company/career/default.aspx
 
I worked in Amsterdam for a number of years, and being a major European hub, you saw flight crews from many countries. Most striking were the "Trolly dollies" (flight attendants) from the far eastern countries, who would arrive wearing stunning costumes, which they would immediately discard and reappear wearing jeans, Tee-shirts and head into the nearest bar.

While there, I knew some former KLM cabin crew who told some great tales.. One concerned a rather obnoxious female passenger who demanded to know how long KLM had been employing "farm girls" ( an insult roughly the equivalent of a simpleton), to which the attendant replied, "Just as long as they've been carrying cows".
 
Capt Lightning said:
I worked in Amsterdam for a number of years, and being a major European hub, you saw flight crews from many countries. Most striking were the "Trolly dollies" (flight attendants) from the far eastern countries, who would arrive wearing stunning costumes, which they would immediately discard and reappear wearing jeans, Tee-shirts and head into the nearest bar.

While there, I knew some former KLM cabin crew who told some great tales.. One concerned a rather obnoxious female passenger who demanded to know how long KLM had been employing "farm girls" ( an insult roughly the equivalent of a simpleton), to which the attendant replied, "Just as long as they've been carrying cows".
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There is a separate set of rules for F/As and the pilots with regards to drinking alcohol. Of course, each airline has their own rules regarding drinking the night before a flight, but most are consistent with stating that Pilots are not permitted to consume alcohol or any medication that may lessen a person's attentiveness the night before a flight, or at least 12 hours prior. The FAA does do random testing and I have been the heir to such tests. If a pilot is discovered to have alcohol or a sedative type drug (like any sleeping medication) in his/her system 12 hours or less before a flight, they will find themselves being grounded. The FAA does not play games when such rules are violated.
 
Most of the pilots that I knew worked for Middle Eastern airlines, and generally, they liked to drink. I hope that they were adhering to the rules because some of them could consume quite a lot. The Americans and the Brits seemed a bit more restrained.

On the point of pilots' uniform. There is a British regional airline where you can always spot their flight crew because their uniforms never seem to fit properly. They look as if they've been hired from a costume shop.
 
I'm a nervous flyer. When boarding I try to get a quick peek at the pilots in hopes of seeing people who appear well-rested and happy. I always pray that they had a good night's sleep and aren't in the midst of dealing with a distressing personal matter.

p.s. I do the same thing with surgeons before a loved one gets an operation.
 
StarSong said:
I'm a nervous flyer. When boarding I try to get a quick peek at the pilots in hopes of seeing people who appear well-rested and happy. I always pray that they had a good night's sleep and aren't in the midst of dealing with a distressing personal matter.

p.s. I do the same thing with surgeons before a loved one gets an operation.
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I always thought a lot of passengers did the same. United would try to keep us under a 10-hour day, which I did not have a lot of those. Normally, I would fly to the coast and then make one short run. Usual days were about 8-9 hours of flight time. I definitely obeyed the FAA rules for rest and not taking any meds or alcohol at least 12 hours before my day would begin. Flying was never just a job to me, it was, as some say, my passion.
 
I donā€™t mean to keep this thread going, but I do like to comment on posts that refer to flying. I used to try to greet at least some of the passengers as they boarded the plane. I could only stand at the entrance for maybe 5 minutes before going back to the flight deck because there was normally work still to be done before takeoff.

While standing at the door, I would sometimes have passengers say to me, ā€œOh, good. We have a senior pilot today.ā€ Or, ā€œItā€™s good to see a pilot with at least a little gray hair.ā€ My favorite line was when two older ladies were boarding when the one lady said to the other, ā€œLook, Maude, doesnā€™t he look just like Matlock?ā€ I didnā€™t have that much gray or white hair, but her comment made my day.
 

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