The light turned on!

B767

B767

Well-Known Member
So there I was talking to an FA. I asked her, " How come every airline, when I walk into the cabin (before pax board mind you) offers me (a lowly fueler) a soda, except your airline?" Now I'm not materialistic and respectfully decline said soda 90% of the time. That doesn't change the fact that the offer was still there. And when the offer is there it makes me, at least, feel like the flight crew does not view themselves as above anyone else. She went on to say, "Because we can be fired if we're caught." Fired?! Over a soda?! A 60 cent piece of aluminum...and you can be fired? Conversation went on and continued into willingly "working for less than you're worth." Now I don't make much as a fueler. A whopping $10.25 an hour. I then went on to say, in not so many words, that I cannot change how much I'm paid. That does not stop me from "talking bad" about my employer though, unlike her. Does not have anything bad to say about the airline (non union FA btw ;) )There's no one to fight for me. I'm non union. Other employees might agree for higher wages but wouldn't fight management because management would find "reasonable cause for termination."

Like I said, the light turned on! Unions can be useful.

/End rant
 
People have been fired for eating the left over food on the planes before, it's nothing new. It's sad that they would fire someone over something so simple.
 
Hate to play management's advocate, but if every FA gives every fueler one can of soda at every layover... yeah, you see where that's going. We're talking about companies that take one bean out of every salad to save fuel over the course of a year.
 
I got one, i got one!

Someone recently got fired for using the tissues they were loading onto the aircraft!
 
Did you know that in 1987 american airlines got rid of one olive in the salads in first class and saved $40,000. That just shows how that one soda can, could potentially cost someone their whole job(or maybe even two people).
 
It is sad but some airlines have come to that. When I was at a regional carrier I was warned about taking a bottle of water off the plane. Give me a freaking break.

Thankfully, i don't have that kind of BS oversight rules. If you ever work one of my flight the cooler is open to ya. I can't tell you how many times I have given water to the loaders, contract mx, fuelers etc. Especially when it is hot or they are busting there butts to get the job done.

Remember, if a company has a union they earned it. It is so simple and mgmt today just doesn't see. If you are reasonable and treat your employees right you won't have the headache of union and happy employees. Happy employees are less expensive in the long run that po'd ones.

Just drop the pressure during fueling and make it take longer...There are many games that can be played
 
Jacob Wall said:
american airlines got rid of one olive in the salads in first class and saved $40,000.
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Now that was an expensive olive!

Sorry. Just reminded me of an old Groucho Marx show when he had Donald Douglas on the show. Young (at the time) Donald Douglas said that there was a Douglas airplane taking off or landing somewhere in the world every 30 seconds. Groucho replied, aren't the passengers on that plane getting upset.
 
Bandit_Driver said:
It is sad but some airlines have come to that. When I was at a regional carrier I was warned about taking a bottle of water off the plane. Give me a freaking break.
Click to expand...


Yeah I've heard that also myself. But if I cannot get a bottle of water from the FA, then the flight will be delayed due to dehydration.
 
I was always just trying to save United fuel when I took a liter of water on the overnights, that way on the return trip we didn't have to burn the fuel to carry it.
 
The rampers in JFK always would crack me up. When all the pax got off they would act like we were the relief flight going into Haiti dropping off supplies. A group of them huddling at the steps asking for drinks and peanuts. My company told me not to give out food/drinks to rampers so I didn't. We were union but it was a joke. Would be nice for all flight crew members to join ALPA but I don't think the pilots want us. If we struck it doesn't matter because the FO's would just cross train as FA's to scab our job for us. Or the company would INOP 18 of the seats and turn it into a Hondo again (don't know if that is actual legal, to lazy to look it up).


If anyone can't tell that was sarcasm on the last two statements.
 
Bandit_Driver said:
It is sad but some airlines have come to that. When I was at a regional carrier I was warned about taking a bottle of water off the plane. Give me a freaking break.
Click to expand...

For all of the grief that I give Horizon's management about some things, the bottle of water issue was never there. We had a case of 1.5 ltr bottles of water in the front cargo hold that were for the crew. I would take one on overnights, put my propel water stuff in it and then freeze it overnight, made for a good thing on summer days.

We did have some people get some "talkin to's" over taking wine/beer off the airplane though...but, having premium PacNW microbrews and wines...can't say I blame them for trying. (For the record...I never took any...
 
PFGiardino said:
Hate to play management's advocate, but if every FA gives every fueler one can of soda at every layover... yeah, you see where that's going. We're talking about companies that take one bean out of every salad to save fuel over the course of a year.
Click to expand...
I know it may seem like picking-nits, but with airlines struggling to stay operational I can see where they want to cut out any excess expense...and as far as being fired, it may seem over the top but technically the FA would be stealing from the company. Even if it is only .60. If I stole from my employer i would probably get fired to.
 
Jacob Wall said:
Did you know that in 1987 american airlines got rid of one olive in the salads in first class and saved $40,000. That just shows how that one soda can, could potentially cost someone their whole job(or maybe even two people).
Click to expand...

I'm not trying to say "offer rampers and fuelers, etc soda and snacks when you land dammit!!!!!1!!!!111"

I was more shocked that they could be fired if caught! Soda, water, snacks, etc. Shows how expendable the crew is to management.
 
flyingmaniac said:
Yeah I've heard that also myself. But if I cannot get a bottle of water from the FA, then the flight will be delayed due to dehydration.
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I think he was talking about taking a bottle of water off the plane, not having it in the cockpit to drink while working the flight. Technicality, but there is a difference.

At AMR we were staunchly warned against removing ANYTHING from the airplane. ANYTHING. We were told in no uncertain terms that taking anything off the the plane, water, pop, blankets, food, wine bottles (even ones that had been opened in the course of the flight and the contents would be thrown away anyway), would/could be grounds for termination. We could drink the water on the plane, we could eat the unused meals on the plane, but we were not allowed to take anything off the plane.

Now, did that mean no one ever took a bottle of water to the overnight? Nah, some did it anyway, but it was made very clear to us what could happen if we were caught.
 
MQAAord said:
Now, did that mean no one ever took a bottle of water to the overnight? Nah, some did it anyway, but it was made very clear to us what could happen if we were caught.
Click to expand...


The FAs on the African overnights used to take all kinds of things off the plane on the African overnights. That is until Delta terminated a bunch of them while they were still in Africa and they had to buy tickets to get back to the USA.
 
Jacob Wall said:
Did you know that in 1987 american airlines got rid of one olive in the salads in first class and saved $40,000. That just shows how that one soda can, could potentially cost someone their whole job(or maybe even two people).
Click to expand...

Well....since the can of soda weighs 48 times that of an olive, and adjusted for inflation, the savings generated by the lost soda is $75,000

The supervisor should be fired and the FA made VP. :insane:

Referencing AAL: The study that concluded that omitting the olive saved $40K......probably cost them $150K.
 
B767 said:
So there I was talking to an FA. I asked her, " How come every airline, when I walk into the cabin (before pax board mind you) offers me (a lowly fueler) a soda, except your airline?" Now I'm not materialistic and respectfully decline said soda 90% of the time. That doesn't change the fact that the offer was still there. And when the offer is there it makes me, at least, feel like the flight crew does not view themselves as above anyone else. She went on to say, "Because we can be fired if we're caught." Fired?! Over a soda?! A 60 cent piece of aluminum...and you can be fired? Conversation went on and continued into willingly "working for less than you're worth." Now I don't make much as a fueler. A whopping $10.25 an hour. I then went on to say, in not so many words, that I cannot change how much I'm paid. That does not stop me from "talking bad" about my employer though, unlike her. Does not have anything bad to say about the airline (non union FA btw ;) )There's no one to fight for me. I'm non union. Other employees might agree for higher wages but wouldn't fight management because management would find "reasonable cause for termination."

Like I said, the light turned on! Unions can be useful.

/End rant
Click to expand...

Look at the bigger picture. It's much more than a 60 cent can of soda. Imagine a typical regional airline 6-leg day. If the FA offers a "60 cent can of soda" to the fueler at every stop along the way, that's $3.60 by the end of that day. $14.40 by the end of a 4 day trip; $720 by the end of a 50 trip year. Now imagine that the airline has about 350 flight attendants: thats $252000 a year! That's roughly equivalent to the salary of 10 Flight Attendants, 5 First Officers, or 3 Captains. Still think it's an over-reaction?

But besides all that...it's STEALING! It's not right regardless of how much (or little) you're paid.

It's basic behavior management. If you don't want your employees in engaging in a costly behavior, you apply a consequence that will discourage the behavior.
 
Wasn't that good 'ole whats-his-nuts that did that study AND replaced a security guard with a tape recording of a dog barking? Or am I thinking of 2 different people?
 
skydog2 said:
blah
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Too many numbers.

So what if when I get on the plane to talk to the pilots about their fuel and get a coke then? Is it still stealing? Pilots get a coke if they ask or get up and get one. I'm not taking it off the plane, I'll just down it in the galley or where ever. :)

Besides that, at the express carrier where this happened, I know for a FACT they throw out any open cans when they land, even if half a glass was poured. Also a waste of money ;)
 
I would still tell the FA to give you a Soda. Its a fricken can of Soda. If you're thirsty then take one. I don't drink soda but I always have a full bottle of water with me when Im going to a hotel. Also if they give the fueler a soda it will probably save $.60 in fuel over the duration of the flight due to the weight savings. Either way you are always welcome to a soda on any flight I am working.
 
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