continental airlines

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by ShirleyD
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Lynne and Bob
As ex crew, (many years ago now I must add when young & slim),
passengers were very polite too.........,

I have friends still flying who all agree passengers now on many occasions are rude & inconsiderate.
My husband is still in the airline industry, it never ceases to amaze him the rudness of passengers today & it has worsened over the last few years.

He has been sworn at, threatened as have his staff, police have to be called on a regular basis & this is at LHR. Usually as a result of a missed flight, its always someone elses fault never the passengers,
or excess baggage costs coupled with excessive amounts of alchohol.


Lynne

[/quote]

I agree Lynne, people are certainly more demanding and ruder now, though there is no excuse for rudeness on either side. Being REALLY nice to a rude passenger only makes them look ruder and normally gets many complimentary comments from other passengers [msnwink]


[/quote]

I totally agree Shirley, this always worked for me and it often defused this situation[msnwink]

I get really cross when crew are rude whatever the reason, I find the best way is to treat everyone how I would want to be treated and you really can't go wrong[msnsmile2]

[Mo Green]

Having flown with several different airlines across the Atlantic regularly for 25 years, I have found that the older flight attendants are often more helpful than younger ‘just out of training school’. I have also noticed that passengers seem to be getting ruder to the staff and more inconsiderate to fellow passengers. Call me old-fashioned but I am a firm believer in treating people, no matter what their job, as one would want to be treated oneself. I am not at all surprised that some staff get snappy when passengers are often rude and belligerent.

Our last flight via Continental, from Newark to Florida, was delayed for several hours due to storms. With several tired bored children on the flight I was not looking forward to the onward journey but one of the ‘elderly’ flight attendants went out of his way to entertain them with conjuring tricks through most of the flight.

Mo

[ellie]

Welcome back, Anorak, from your wonderful cruise onboard Norwegian Gem. Bet you enjoyed the Garden Villa - it must be wonderful - can't wait to see the pictures! Is it worth the £30,000 per week you said you paid?

Must have been a bit of a shock flying easijet after such a luxurious experience - why on earth did you not fly First Class, after such a fabulous cruise in the top suite on the ship? But at least they managed to stick the important bit back on the plane so you could fly home, even though it was cattle class!

[Clare R]

In reply to Maureen's quite correct views on the change in attitude from passengers to airline staff I am sure this is largely due to the 'commonplace act of flying'. Not so very many years ago to fly, especially across the Atlantic or perhaps to Australia was considered to be for the well-off or at least a once-in-a-lifetime treat.

Now the cost of fares are in day-to-day terms so low I can fly from Bristol to Tampa via Newark for the same cost as flying to Italy or Spain - it is no longer 'a treat' but just a way of getting from A to B.

[Katys Grandad]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Clare R
In reply to Maureen's quite correct views on the change in attitude from passengers to airline staff I am sure this is largely due to the 'commonplace act of flying'. Not so very many years ago to fly, especially across the Atlantic or perhaps to Australia was considered to be for the well-off or at least a once-in-a-lifetime treat.

Now the cost of fares are in day-to-day terms so low I can fly from Bristol to Tampa via Newark for the same cost as flying to Italy or Spain - it is no longer 'a treat' but just a way of getting from A to B.
[/quote]

Not sure I understand your point there. I couldn't agree that you should only expect good service when you pay high fares.

I've noticed that post 9/11 a lot of flight attendants like the idea of their word being 'law'. I always cringe when the pre-flight safety video reminds you that "failing to follow the instructions of a member of the crew is a Federal offence"

[Clare R]

My point is that not so long ago someone might go on a long flight perhaps once a year but probably once every few years. Now that it is within most people's pockets to be able to fly several times a year then the 'mystic' flying has gone and along with it the respect towards the airline crews.

[Robert5988]

[quoteIt's not just the crew, Robert (although it's a bit puzzling why US airline crews are older and grumpier than most others), ][/quote]

The discussion seems to have moved away from the OP’s comments about a US airline and those of Tonish in the quote above.

The USA frequent flyer forums are forever running threads complaining about the poor attitude, service and unprofessional behaviour provided by US airlines' cabin staff and comparing it unfavourably with those of some other countries – particularly the Far East; although BA is praised quite a lot.

I fly a lot on US airlines – some 30+ flights each year – and I see lots of instances of unnecessarily curt responses to polite requests from passengers or brusque ‘commands’ in an unfriendly tone. In the many instances with other passengers I have observed it is very much not a case of the cabin staff retaliating to rudeness, it is unsolicited boorish behaviour from Flight attendants.

Like other posters on this forum I am of course the very model of a good passenger[msnwink]

Without entering into an ageism debate, we all have our opinions if people become more irritable as they get older. It is again the consensus of opinion(from the USA Frequent Flyer forums) that the older FAs are the worst offenders.

[ellie]

Well, having flown many times with Virgin, who only seem to employ young, curvaceous blondes, I can assure you that they can be equally rude and curt. We have often listened to them speaking abruptly to passengers and have cringed.

Boorishness and bad manners are not just seen in the more mature FA. It can happen anywhere on any flight.

We also fly frequently with a variety of American airlines and have normally found them to be reasonably polite and helpful, though there are always exceptions.

[domster]

I think a crew can make a good flight and bad one. We have experienced some very good ones with charter companies and poor ones with Virgin and BA. I would not book with these companies because of 1 bad flight as the next one you go on might be the best. One of the worst was when we paid PE on Virgin and I had a hole in the seat foam (which was in the wrong place and for 10 hours it gave me a right sore b..). They did ask me if I wanted to move, but it would have meant leaving Mel on her own and me moving. I decided to take the punishment (like most good husbands would!). However the return flight was great.

Like Ellie says it is a means to an end and if it gets you to Florida then I am all for it.

[Tonish]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:domster Posted - 23 Oct 2007 : 17:03:31
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I think a crew can make a good flight and bad one. We have experienced some very good ones with charter companies and poor ones with Virgin and BA. I would not book with these companies because of 1 bad flight as the next one you go on might be the best. One of the worst was when we paid PE on Virgin and I had a hole in the seat foam (which was in the wrong place and for 10 hours it gave me a right sore b..). They did ask me if I wanted to move, but it would have meant leaving Mel on her own and me moving. I decided to take the punishment (like most good husbands would!). However the return flight was great.

Like Ellie says it is a means to an end and if it gets you to Florida then I am all for it. [/quote]

You're right, of course Domster. I had a major ding-dong row with Virgin and ran a personal boycot of them for 12 years.

It clearly worked, because they were a lot nicer to me when I decided to give them another go, and they were so grateful to see me back they didn't even mention our earlier disagreement! Tactfully, I decided not to bring it up myself, in case they were embarrassed about it or anything.

It's good when a plan comes off...