The way it still should be.

MQAAord said:
How would young attractive F/As boost sales? Do you really think people would travel more (buy more tickets) knowing there's young attractive F/As onboard? I think people are going to travel because they need to get from point A to point B, not because of the youth or attractiveness of the F/As.



So the same could be said for someone who may not be as attractive. Just because they're not as attractive, doesn't mean they can't be qualified either, or don't know how to do their job. Everyone goes through the same training. :)
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Well I think it could boost sales for an airline to have a young rejuvenated cabin crew in the sense that more people would choose this particular airline to fly on over other airlines. Not necassarily that people will buy tickets just to look at the cabin crew.

If you have crew A and crew B both are exactly the same, but crew A is nicer to look at, the majority will pick to fly with crew A. That is just the way it is. Maybe not to everyone, but to the majority. :)

But what I originally meant is that these small little changes, like the ones posted by Toonces are ones that can rejuvenate airline flying.
 
Not in line with the direction this thread is going, bust just wanted to say I thought the AA commercial in this thread was pretty cool.
 
Toonces said:
Ok then. I think this thread has drifted off topic a little too far. I think we were originally talking about airline travels former greatness in the U.S, and how we could recapture that. I think in order to be perceived as spectacular, one must look and be the part.
1.Airplanes must be clean.
2.Baggage must get from point A to B in one piece and on time.
3.There should be adequate staff at ticket counters and gates to provide quality customer service.
4. Food should be served on all flights, time permitting.
5. Flight crews must look and be professional.
6. Cabin crews must provide excellent customer service. They are the face of the company. If it was your company, what face would you want it to look like?

This is my vision for returning the class and glory days to airline travel. Since pilots are a dime a dozen, why not have handsome pilots versus dumpy looking ones? Why not pay young attractive and qualified FA's the money they need and deserve to attract and keep them?

You don't have to like my ideas, but I stand behind them 100%. If you had your choice of flying an airline I was running or any other U.S airline today, which would you choose.
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Numbers 1, 5, and 6.....absolutely. Maybe if fares are raised airplanes will stay cleaner longer because the people flying on them will treat them with a tad more respect and not like its their double wide.

Numbers 2 and 3....Two sayings come to mind. "Good help is hard to find" and "You get what you pay for." The payscales at the carrier I work for are second from the bottom of the industry, not even in the ball park of industry standard. New hires will come aboard working the ramp, counter, gates etc, work for a few months and realize that they can get a job making more $$$ with far less pressure and stress. Starting pay I guess is around 9 bucks an hour. A 767 holds 30 something in the front and 226 in the back. When one craps out it will be maybe 3 or 4 of us rebooking the whole thing at the gate. Thats alot of real pleasant:sarcasm: people to deal with. Many people feel its not worth it for what the pay is and they walk. Same goes for below wing people. Ive heard horror stories about some of the newbies that have been hired with regards to work ethic.

Number 4.....Yeah thanks, people balk at a five or ten dollar surcharge for FUEL!!!!! People buy plane tickets like they buy gas for their cars, if its two cents cheaper across the street.......they gonna pump across the street. People want food on planes but they dont want to pay for it, which essentially means there will be no food on planes for quite a while.

I do agree this is a great vision/dream for bringing back the glorydays of commercial aviation, however those glory days only exist in our memories and on youtube because they are gone....and they are not going to come back.
 
The first flight I was ever on was 1995 on Aer Lingus 747 from SNN-BOS. No security lines, young courteous flight attendants, people treated pilots like gods, I got to go up to the cockpit and talk to the pilots, food wasn't that bad, alcohol was free and it was regular sized cans (even though I was too young to drink) the planes always had a few seats empty so you had a good chance off being able to lie down comfortable over a few seats, everybody clapped when you landed.

Then Ryanair took off and Aer Lingus was forced to change. Now its the completely opposite of what is above.

I'm not sure how old this commercial is but maybe early 90's. They are all Airbus now.

[yt]p_i3iX6ozvI[/yt]
 
Does anyone remember the food that was served on flights? You guys aren't missing much. I really miss those stale turkey croissants. Or rubbery pancakes. Again, first class was a different story.

I remember non-reving on SWA in the mid 80s, my family and I would crack open our brown bag lunch on a long flight and everyone around us would start to stare. Now SWA gives bigger meals than most Legacies on trans-cons. :D
 
stoki said:
If you have crew A and crew B both are exactly the same, but crew A is nicer to look at, the majority will pick to fly with crew A. That is just the way it is. Maybe not to everyone, but to the majority. :)
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No, that's not "the way it is" :laff: Like I said earlier, the majority of people (;) ) buy their tickets with their pocketbooks. If they're researching fares, and one airline is cheaper than the other, people are going to buy the cheaper ticket! To slightly lesser degree, people buy based on convenience, such as departure/arrival airport, non-stops, and time of day.

People are not going to buy their ticket based on the looks of the crew! You're assuming everyone places the same importance on looks that you do, instead of understanding your demographic is not the ONLY group purchasing tickets. ;) How old are you, out of curiosity?
 
Hey, Amber, I just saw this thread and see you've been fighting this battle on your own! I have just one itsy-bitsy question guys---who decides what an attractive FA is? :confused: What's hot to one man ISN'T hot to another. Hellllooo! Do you guys really think ALL men like 19 year old skinny girls? I'm old enough to remember when airlines only hired young, single, "attractive" women. You know what? My experience was that the male passengers got great attention and the females didn't. Just my opinion and experience, though.
I know some of you boys are pissed since you have to suffer through old bag FA's these days, but maybe there's a reason the airlines are hiring them in record numbers. Could it be they are more reliable than the young party girls? Hmmm, just a thought. (Not ragging on the young women of the industry---some of my better classmates in FA school were the younger women).
Sorry, but the immaturity shown on this thread is pretty pathetic. :rolleyes:
 
MQAAord said:
Like I said earlier, people buy their tickets with their pocketbooks. If they're researching fares, and one airline is cheaper than the other, people are going to buy the cheaper ticket! People are NOT going to buy their ticket based on the looks of the crew! You're assuming everyone would do the same thing you do, instead of understanding your demographic is not the ONLY group purchasing tickets. ;)
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:yeahthat:
Its sad but I think the glory days of the airlines are over. Unless people don't care about money they are going to go with the cheapest & fastest option. Especially when people can go online and compare prices in a few minutes. As much as people say they are never going to fly a certain airline again, they go home forget about it and end up booking them again if they are the cheapest.
 
WildCougar said:
Hey, Amber, I just saw this thread and see you've been fighting this battle on your own! I have just one itsy-bitsy question guys---who decides what an attractive FA is? :confused: What's hot to one man ISN'T hot to another. Hellllooo! Do you guys really think ALL men like 19 year old skinny girls? I'm old enough to remember when airlines only hired young, single, "attractive" women. You know what? My experience was that the male passengers got great attention and the females didn't. Just my opinion and experience, though.
I know some of you boys are pissed since you have to suffer through old bag FA's these days, but maybe there's a reason the airlines are hiring them in record numbers. Could it be they are more reliable than the young party girls? Hmmm, just a thought. (Not ragging on the young women of the industry---some of my better classmates in FA school were the younger women).
Sorry, but the immaturity shown on this thread is pretty pathetic. :rolleyes:
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Thank you!

I'm actually hoping SkyCougar will chime in too, as being a travel agent she would have first-hand experience to relate about how people choose their ticket purchasing.
 
stoki said:
Just because they are attractive, does not mean they cannot be qualified, or don't know how to do their job. Everyone goes through the same training.
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Like I said, it's an airplane, not a strip club.

Do your job and do it well and you can give Medusa a run for her money and I won't give a crap.

I don't understand the obsession with eye candy. You ain't gonna be tagging it anyway, so what the hell is the point? You want eye candy on the plane so you can go toss off in the lav?

Cause that's the only way you're going to be getting sex on the plane.

Besides, how will you know that the women working the flight are going to be your type? They might be attractive but not your type and then what was the point?

Ah, well, then you won't have to run to the lav to fill your hand.
 
tonyw said:
Like I said, it's an airplane, not a strip club.

Do your job and do it well and you can give Medusa a run for her money and I won't give a crap.

I don't understand the obsession with eye candy. You ain't gonna be tagging it anyway, so what the hell is the point? You want eye candy on the plane so you can go toss off in the lav?

Cause that's the only way you're going to be getting sex on the plane.

Besides, how will you know that the women working the flight are going to be your type? They might be attractive but not your type and then what was the point?

Ah, well, then you won't have to run to the lav to fill your hand.
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Gee, Tony, why don't you tell us what you REALLY think? No need to sugarcoat it, ya know! ;) :D
 
I am stereotyping, but in my personal experience thus far, many of the best flight attendants are male. This isn't always the case, of course. Most of the male flight attendants I've flown with wear their uniform properly; their shirts are pressed, they've had the uniform tailored, and they don't wear all kinds of unapproved uniform items. Not only do they take their appearance seriously, they also provide excellent customer service and our customers leave happy.

I've also found that many of the young, attractive girls who are 21 years old or younger do not provide the level of service our customers expect. Certainly not to the same level of their male co-workers. Like I said, I am stereotyping, but this is my personal experience.

I've also found that many of the flight attendants over 30 provide better customer service than those who are younger than this. I think it is a maturity thing.

I'd much prefer to walk through the terminal with a professional looking 30-year old male flight attendant who makes an honest effort to make our customers happy than a 19-year old "hottie" who does one cabin service then spends the rest of the three-hour flight with her nose in US Weekly. I could care less how old you are, what sex you are, what color you are, or any of that. Makes NO difference to me. What matters is that you look professional, act professional, and make an honest effort to keep our customers happy. Those are the things that make my life as a Captain much, much easier.
 
:yeahthat::yeahthat::yeahthat:

Thank you, Matt. You've restored my faith in men! ;)
Seriously, I agree with 100% of everything you said. It's nice to know that some people appreciate professionalism over a big set of boobs on a disinterested self-absorbed girl. Oh, and reading a magazine while working? How about sleeping in the jumpseat for the entire flight and missing 2 announcements, barely waking up when the wheels hit the runway? How about chewing gum like a cow and having a piss-poor attitude? How about wearing non-approved items for your uniform and being out of regs as far as nails AND hair. I could go on and on, but it'll just piss me off more. :D
 
Life Lesson: About 9 years ago, when I was working for Express 1 in Indy, I took a day off and caught flight down to Orlando. It was cold, rainy and miserable in Indy, and warm and sunny in Orlando. I remember stepping off the plane and thinking "I wish I could live here." But almost immediately I realized that if I lived there, then the thrill of stepping outside into this kind of weather would be lost. And I realized that what makes anything special in life is its scarcity. If you have it all the time, it loses its appeal.

Such is the case with air travel. What made it special was the fact that not anybody could do it. You had to have few bucks in your pocket. People who had a few bucks in their pockets were, more often than not, intelligent, educated, aflluent people, who dressed and acted the part.

Deregulation brought competition to the airlines, and air travel to the masses. But here's the rub: It also created tens of thousands of pilot and flight attendant jobs that otherwise would not have been existed. From the early 80's onward, airlines grew at an incredible rate. American and United doubled or trippled its fleet size. Southwest grew from 40 or 50 planes to 400+. The rest of the airlines (including the regionals) experienced similar growth.

Bottom Line: Were we still in the glory days, most of you would not have jobs.
 
FlyChicaga said:
I am stereotyping, but in my personal experience thus far, many of the best flight attendants are male. This isn't always the case, of course. Most of the male flight attendants I've flown with wear their uniform properly; their shirts are pressed, they've had the uniform tailored, and they don't wear all kinds of unapproved uniform items. Not only do they take their appearance seriously, they also provide excellent customer service and our customers leave happy.

I've also found that many of the young, attractive girls who are 21 years old or younger do not provide the level of service our customers expect. Certainly not to the same level of their male co-workers. Like I said, I am stereotyping, but this is my personal experience.

I've also found that many of the flight attendants over 30 provide better customer service than those who are younger than this. I think it is a maturity thing.

I'd much prefer to walk through the terminal with a professional looking 30-year old male flight attendant who makes an honest effort to make our customers happy than a 19-year old "hottie" who does one cabin service then spends the rest of the three-hour flight with her nose in US Weekly. I could care less how old you are, what sex you are, what color you are, or any of that. Makes NO difference to me. What matters is that you look professional, act professional, and make an honest effort to keep our customers happy. Those are the things that make my life as a Captain much, much easier.
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:yeahthat:

Make that two Matt's who have the same opinion/ experience of our cabin crews!
 
MQAAord said:
Thank you!

I'm actually hoping SkyCougar will chime in too, as being a travel agent she would have first-hand experience to relate about how people choose their ticket purchasing.
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Dang, I just discovered this thread too, and unfortunately I have to jump in the shower and get to the office, so I'll have to come back to it and finish reading.....but until then, Amber, here ya go! :rawk:
 
Personally, I prefer older, more experienced F/As. Of course, I prefer older, more experienced WOMEN for just about anything.
 
I'm way off topic now because I never got in on this when I should have--

but I just flew back into DC on a regional and then mainline flight and I just wanted to rant (very quickly) about how discouraged I was by the behavior of the passengers.

The girl next to me lashed out at the FA when politely asked her to remove her headphones three times .

The guy in front of me looked like he had just woken up and rolled in something my dog would find interesting.

The woman across from me snarled at the FA who asked her to put on her seatbelt because we were expecting turbulence on our descent. The woman rolled over and covered her lap up with her jacket and didn't put on her seatbelt. It was ridiculous.


The man behind me cursed at me when I stopped to let two flight crews go through security before us. (A total of 12 people). I turned right around and calmly explained (like I was talking to a two year old) that: "sir... if they don't get out to the airplane to unlock the door...you won't be able to get on. You do understand that, don't you?".


Maybe I'm offbase and maybe I'm naive, but I'm not sure why people like to behave like this. Maybe it's because people don't like taking directions or are just generally angrier these days but I definitely know that the FAs and pilots were all professional and competent and damned patient with everyone. Women, men, old, and young. All hard-working and good people.

It was like riding a greyhound bus and it made me feel a little discouraged about the path I'm headed down...
 
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