I work for an airline and constantly hear friends and family make jokes and smart remarks about on-time performance.  I wish people really saw what happens on a day to day basis and appreciate all that it takes to get an aircraft out on time.  It’s not that easy when you have 150+ passengers (most are ‘all about me’ people...unfortunately that’s our society) and outside vendors to consider.  Example: Yesterday, (name withheld) our catering company had two trucks break down thus all meals and/or snax were late to the departing planes, this is not the airlines issue but the vendors, yet everyone whinned about it, as if it was.  As an airline, we did everything we could, even took catering off a later flight to accommodate, but sometimes to save the on time performance, that the consumer demands we have to leave without catering service.  So people whinned about this.  So basically we’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t.

Yet, today another situation came up.  A very cheap self-absorbed parent, who didn’t purchase a seat for their infant, placed the child (without protective car carrier) in the seat next to them, little did they know that the passenger with that seat was in the aft galley talking on his cell fon (very bad at dept. time...another self-absorbed passenger).  When the flight attendant took the final seat count she had one extra body without a seat.  So do you think the parent would speak up....NO.  Actually the flight attendants can not shut the door until they could verify the cell fon talkers seat and sure enough it had an infant in it!!!  Due to this, the flight took off 15 mins. late.  THIS HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE AIRLINE!!!!!  Yet do you, as passengers or friends and/or family ever think of this?  No instead you just whine about this airline or that airline.  Just once I’d like someone to say job well done Airline 1 or Airline 2, and shame on you passengers!!!!!

I hear where you’re coming from.  I’ve been the airline employee and the 100,000 miles a year passenger.  Let me give the passengers point of view.

As a passenger, we go by what the airline promises.  For example, the airline promises a snack, as a passenger we don’t care where the snack comes from.  We do expect it on time.  Customer Service has suffered through the years.  For example, if a passenger runs late and misses his/her flight to bad so sad. If the airline is late, passengers are suppose to understand that things happen. 

Also, think of it like this, if you bring your car in to get serviced, and the machanic promises you your car back in a day, you expect it back in a day.  I know that many people get frustrated at the machanic when he/she says that they’re waiting for a part and the car won’t be ready on time.

As a society, I agree we need to treat each other with respect and try to understand where ‘the other side’ is coming from.

I agree with most of what you said but I do have to make one little comment on the late passenger.....ususally an airline tries to put the passenger out on the next flight if avail. but not another carrier.  Airlines lose money if they give it was to another.  But I think of it like this.....why would we hold up 149 passengers if one is late.  Then once again the passengers would complain about the airline being late.

I hear you. 

One advantage that Southwest has over the other major airlines is that they under promise and therefore can over deliver.  For example, they don’t promise a snack, so therefore, the snack delivery can’t get messed up.  They don’t promise a movie, therefore, no movie can be ‘missing’.

Again, like I said, I’ve been on both sides and thus understand how the ‘other half’ feels.

Gigi, first let me say all of you brave souls working face to face with the public, you do a great job!  Late planes due to venders, but you forgot weather which the airlines cause or planes with a mechincal problem.  First off who would want to get on one of those?  Mechinacal problems, thank god the airlines found if before it was in the air!  But yet the pax will always complain.  As a phone agent, I hear the complaints all the time.  I had a man yelling at me telling me it was ridiculous that that we wouldn’t take off in a thunderstorm with lighting over the airport.  After all he was waiting to pick up his wife.  I asked him wouldn’t he rather wait for a safe arrival then take off in dangerous conditions? Silence.  We don’t deal with it in Phx much, but you can’t even fuel the plane during a lighting storm.  Come on people wake up!  It’s not like you want a delayed plane just so you can yelled at.

I think Continental is now offering something very simple:  A pillow, a blanket, and a snack for every seat. That used to be the standard for all airlines and now Continental is making it a selling point that sets them apart from the rest.

I personally would require all passengers to have a seat.  Infants should be placed in a car seat and in their own seat.  The practice of letting an adult hold a child on a lap is absurd!  The passengers that travel like this are not big revenue generators for the airlines either, so making them pay for an additional seat will not affect the bottom line if those passengers chose to not fly or take other transportation.

Aunt J!!!  Thank you.  I appreciate just what you said.  Just one person’s positive thoughts and remarks can do so much.  Again thank you.

By the way, I started my airline career in REZ....yikes.  I learned quite a few valuable lessons there.  And I too was amazed at the folks that call just to yell.  Obviously it’s easier on the phone, cause it’s impersonal and the screamer can’t relate to the person on the other end.  No face, no acknowledgement. 

I can also see the other side.  I travel a great deal (as a passenger) as well on other airlines and I’m still amazed at how rude and nasty passengers are to the employees.  It always makes me laugh cuz most of us have hardened off because of the abuse we get from passengers.  And we just think most of you are stupid and/or drunk and laugh about it later to our co-workers.  Honestly, the little flight attendant that you just yelled at could careless.  Write to the airline’s customer service dept. at least those folks get paid to listen or read the bs.

This lady called today to change her husbands flight.  When recapping the changes the lady asked if the flight number stayed the same.  THEY DON’T LISTEN!!!!  And what did she think that we kept the same flight number for her and would change everyone elses flight number.  Just one of those things we laugh about at lunch.  Do you ever think that when they hang up that they think of what they just said was stupid?

Hopefully if not there is ALOT of idiots in the world........and OMG they’re travelers.....

its crazy. Ive been reading this and thinking that how people (passengers) can act like what you’re saying. workers have a lot of patience. dont know that I could handle that they way they do. Although I feel most service sector working folks gotta have patience, but still...if I worked and saw cats doing stuff like that..ughh. right on ya’ll. As a passenger I guess I been blind to it and maybe ive been like that (hope not).

Thanks Duhh!!!  See that’s all it takes.  Step back and see it from another point of view.  Doesn’t matter if you’re a passenger or airline employee (or another industry) just take resposibility for your own actions, stop blaming someone else and be a little respectful of others.  Hey guys, maybe we started something here.

GiGi is hot over this subject!

Yeah, I guess I am.  I’ve been in this business for a life time and just can’t get over how rude our society is.  No matter what business you’re in, it’s shocking when you get a compliment but the norm when someone b=*&ches;.  I personally make an extra effort to thank people and step back and think before I react.  I’ve had to many years of jerks to deal with.

I learned quite a few valuable lessons there.  And I too was amazed.

Regards

Gallene

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dossier surendettement

To be honest...as a customer I never saw it that way. But like in any business you work in, you never see the other side. But then again the customer doesnt care. They pay and they want the things in place the way they want them. Cant fault them for that. But i understand your point.

I’ve been on both sides of the fence so I can appreciate both arguments. It’s a shame that a lot of passengers can’t understand the difficulties airlines face, but it’s also true that some airlines don’t do much to help their own case.