NY Times: Flying the Unfriendly Skies

So was safety compromised by having the "ringer" on the flight. Three days of training is enough to be a FA now adays??? :sarcasm:
 
Really good article, if I might say so. Certainly brings some truth into the light about what goes on behind the scenes.
 
I think they had a full crew and then just put him on there as an extra.

Oh yeah. This individual riding-along would have been an extra.

A few days crash-course would be enough time for a one-on-one session to learn procedures & evac commands & medical training enough to get by for a couple flights. Certainly this individual didn't do enough to qualify as a full-fledged F/A, and I'm sure AA's FAA CSI was involved with the "program" that she was put through.

Also there hasn't been a new-hire class of F/As to go through the school house since 2001. So this person would not have just joined up with a class, because there aren't any!

I think it's a great article, and I think it was an eye-opening experience for the lady! I hope she tells every one she knows about her experience.
 
I could never understand wanting to be a flight attendant, but after reading this, I really don't understand why anyone would do it.
 
I could never understand wanting to be a flight attendant, but after reading this, I really don't understand why anyone would do it.

My Mom was an FA "back in the day".

It used to be fun. Airline travel in general was fun.

On the 727, they had a crew of six. Three in the cockpit, three in the cabin. Instant party wherever you went. They'd do all sorts of things to pass the time. Life was lighthearted and fun, and travelers were usually more courteous and well behaved than present day.

Just about every airline job used to be alot more fun.
 
I know I probably will be flamed for this but, all that is required to be qualified as a FA (bare minimums) is to be trained on how to open/close and arm/disarm the doors. My first airline qualified all pilots as FAs so when we did Conair charters all we had to do was carry two flight crews. We would do month long deployments and rotate crews throughout the week. Two to fly and two in the back to satisfy FA requirements. We really didn't want our female FAs in the back with eighty max security inmates.
 
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