The plight of the modern day flight attendant

19Aug/060

The plight of the modern day flight attendant

If there is one job that has suffered the most in the last fifteen years it's flight attendants. Once the fresh, friendly faces of the sky, they have become indentured servants in an industry that is suffering.

As a human resource, the flight attendants position is important for the safety of the flight. They are usually the first ones to notice and deal with problems during the flight in the cabin. They posses many skills in terms of safety, which makes them very important.

They are usually the only face of the airline that most people interact with during the flight. Companies used to take great pride in the flight attendants corps they employed. Flashy uniforms, boasts of great customer service and friendly banter were once the foundation of companies. In today's world the flight attendant is no more than a glorified security guard.

Jeri Conway said:

Who could I give dinner and a drink?’ Now I think, ‘Who can help me and who will give me trouble?’

Airline companies have drastically cutback on the services they offer and the number of flight attendants . This hasn't been a positive development and leads to the ever lowering of attitudes about the airline industry.

It's a shame.

Northwest is going through bankruptcy now and is playing a game of brinkmanship with their flight attendants union. Northwest wants lower pay, but the flight attendants are saying they have gone as low as they can. Unreal. Instead of realizing the importance of their customer facing employees, Northwest wants to play chicken with them.