Beverage Service On Short Flights?

[Twicebaked]

I have never seen PIT-PHL not have a bev service done.


Come on guys, get real. Lets not make assumptions as if they are facts.

Pitbull,
I hate to say it but it is fact. Being a Philly commuter I regularly fly the Pit/Phl flights. Honestly, you never know what you are going to get.
I am not trying to ruffle your feathers, but....
I would never post something knowingly that wasn't true.

 

[Light Years]

I was on a PHL-PIT a couple months ago, no serve... didnt speak with the crew so not sure wht the situation was.
I'm on that flight alot and it's usually full bev or 9-hole tray, probably just depnding on the crew and a/c. I seem to remember it being a full bev regardless of a/c type?

 

[ClueByFour]

In my experience, something "small" (319/733-4) sees a "Coke/Diet/Sprite" in the back. A lightly loaded 752 or 321 same. A full house on a 320/321/757 usually gets nada. Bear in mind that my experience is well over 2 years out of date, since I have not flown coach PIT-PHL in quite some time. If the flight actually underflys the block PIT-PHL (eg, gets out of PHL before the UM in row 12 is old enough to vote), I can understand no beverage on a flight of this duration. To my thinking, anything an hour or over (let's take PIT-ORD) should really have something.

I once witnessed the tray service CLT-GSP on a 733 with 50 people in the back on a 42 minute flight. Counting pre-flight, I killed 3 G&T (with lime ) upfront. One of few flights on US where I had F to myself. Coolest 42 minute flight ever. As far as express goes, last Christmas I was on an MDT-PHL flight (blocked at 40 minutes). ALG DH-8. Snowing like hell the whole way. The FA did the full soda and pretzel service. Were it me, I'd have had my tush in that jumpseat for the duration, given the bumps. Guy was a trooper.

Those of us who fly US know that it's not the crew's lack of effort.

 

[Trin03]

What is the inflight service policy on red eyes? Say for instance from Las to a Hub? Especially in First class? Would a snack be offered?

 

[Twicebaked]

In my experience, something "small" (319/733-4) sees a "Coke/Diet/Sprite" in the back. A lightly loaded 752 or 321 same. A full house on a 320/321/757 usually gets nada.

Sorry guys...this is not policy.

For once size does not matter...lol

Seriously, it makes NO difference if you are on a 737 or 757. The service is the same. I will agree with Pitbull that we are too understaffed to do a full standard beverage service on a full 757, but the policy is to do it. If you run out of time, you run out of time. That will make a bigger impact to fight Pitbulls case than to just not do it. In an attempt to be consistent we must follow policy. Do we have to agree with it? Of course not. Do we? Of course not.

As for the red-eye flights, do you mean to the West coast or from. I believe services are a bit different.

In either case, I will find out.

 

[firstamendment]

Sorry guys...this is not policy.

For once size does not matter...lol

Seriously, it makes NO difference if you are on a 737 or 757. The service is the same. I will agree with Pitbull that we are too understaffed to do a full standard beverage service on a full 757, but the policy is to do it. If you run out of time, you run out of time. That will make a bigger impact to fight Pitbulls case than to just not do it. In an attempt to be consistent we must follow policy. Do we have to agree with it? Of course not. Do we? Of course not.

As for the red-eye flights, do you mean to the West coast or from. I believe services are a bit different.

In either case, I will find out.

Twicebaked

I must disagree with you. There is NO reason on a 30 minute full flight on a 757 or 321 to serve 160 people. I don't care what airline it is. It is a sad day when a human being can't sit their butt down for 30 minutes without something in their hands to drink. Why oh why is that damn cup of soda SOOO important. How silly...service my butt...it's 30 minutes!!!

You stated that a crew shoud at least try to serve? BS..tell that to the needy passenger who didn't get that slurp of soda, I've seen it...bumping alone with some princess pissed of because she won't get the staple of wonderful service..the slurp of coke.

Am I the only one who sees how stupid all this is? Talk about a waste of money. We've cut all free food service domestically and you guys are worried about a little 30 minute flight? GET A LIFE!!! :down: :down:

 

[phllax]

Service on red-eye flights consists of full beverage service in coach. FC gets a snack. Occasionally you will get a crew that does a coffee/water/juice service rior to landing, but I haven't seen that in a while.

 

[mrman]

WN has 3 F/A's all for a 1 class cabin. One of our F/A is dedicated to 1st class so that leaves 2 for main cabin. The comparison is not valid. When we used to get the Shuttle aircraft thrown in at random we all commented to how fast we got the FULL service done.

The comparison is not valid?! This is why you are in trouble. Look at it from the customers point of view. On a 30 minute WN flight HOU-CRP the FA will serve every one a choice of beverage, (note booze is free if you are a FF in coach) and come back and ask if they want another. You need to stop looking from the FA view and start looking from the customer point of view to stay competative. You guys keep saying how can we beat WN. Well little things like this are important. This is not high level marketing. If you price yourself higher than your competition and your service is less (coach product) then you have the makings of a disaster.

 

[USAirBoyA330]

MrMan:

How many F/A's does WN have for the entire aircraft? Right...3! How many classes of service does WN have? That's right... 1 (ONE). Now, how many classes of service does USAirways have? We have 1st class and Coach. How many F/A's do we staff on most USAirways flights?......3 (THREE)
Policy and Procedures at USAirways has the lead F/A dedicated to 1st class. It is a superior product and is treaded as such, so a F/A is dedicated to the 1st class cabin. Now, short of putting another F/A on the aircraft for service, how would you like the other 2 F/As to service 120 people in 30 minutes by themselves? Keep in mind the carts are not permitted out during climb out or landing so shave 10-15 minutes off that 30 minutes you threw out. They give us the staffing and we will be happy to do the service. We are humans...not robots. So yes the comparison to WN IS NOT VALID because they have 3 F/A for a 1 class cabin. We don't have that luxury.

 

[PSA1979]

mrman says"This is why you are in trouble. Look at it from the customers point of view. "

I say, we can't look at it from a customers point of view as we are there for your safety and we don't make the service guidelines. (we f/a's that is) We do our best on short flights, but sometimes it is just impossible. You as the customer should look at it from our point of view. Our safety should come first and getting up while the airplane is climbing and sitting down just before landing just so you can have a cup of coke is insane!!!!! This may be your only flight today, but it could be only one of 5 or 6 for me.

 

[JS]

Twicebaked

I must disagree with you. There is NO reason on a 30 minute full flight on a 757 or 321 to serve 160 people. I don't care what airline it is. It is a sad day when a human being can't sit their butt down for 30 minutes without something in their hands to drink. Why oh why is that damn cup of soda SOOO important. How silly...service my butt...it's 30 minutes!!!

You stated that a crew shoud at least try to serve? BS..tell that to the needy passenger who didn't get that slurp of soda, I've seen it...bumping alone with some princess pissed of because she won't get the staple of wonderful service..the slurp of coke.

Am I the only one who sees how stupid all this is? Talk about a waste of money. We've cut all free food service domestically and you guys are worried about a little 30 minute flight? GET A LIFE!!! :down: :down:

The point is that the flight attendants have to be there per FAA regulations. The flight attendants may as well make themselves useful, since they're on the plane and getting paid for it.

Cutting meals saved money not so much because of the catering bills, but the additional flight attendant staffing needed to serve those meals. Flight attendant staffing is now at FAA minimums, so cutting out beverages is not going to save any labor.

If the FAA didn't require any flight attendants, I can guarantee you that US (and probably most of the other airlines) would eliminate beverage service on all but the longest flights in order to save money -- that is, NO flight attendants at all!

I bet any flight attendant would prefer to hustle to serve a beverage on a 30 minute flight than to sit at home, earning nothing, for the same block time.

Since flight attendant requirements aren't going away anytime soon, a more realistic way for US to cut costs by ending a beverage service is to pay the flight attendants only for the time they spend on the plane during take-off and landing.

In between (15 minutes on a short flight, two hours on longer flights), you are merely on-duty, collecting a meager rate of pay for reading a book, waiting for landing. I bet flight attendants wouldn't go for that one, either.

 

[PSA1979]

Well if that were the new pay rates, then when you have a heart attack on my flight, instead of getting out the AED and calling MED Link, or doing CPR, I can finish my book because I am not on duty, just getting meager pay for a nothing job. We as flight attendants most of the time do the service as written by the company. Without all of you being on each one of those flights in question and actually knowing what has gone on, let's not play the blame game.

One day I passed out surveys per company instructions. When I picked up the surveys, before I turned them in, I read them. I was absolutely appalled at what had been written. Some of the questions were; Were you greeted at the door? The answer for about 1/2 was no. I in fact was the A f/a and I said hello to each and every passenger as they boarded. Another question was "was the beverage service timely? Again about half said it took an hour to get something to drink, the flight was only an hour in duration, a few said we didn't come out at all. Lies, Lies, Lies. We all knew we were passing out surveys, so we were even nicer and even kinder and even quicker than normal. What is the use? We get blamed for everyones bad day anyway!

 

[Twicebaked]

I must disagree with you. There is NO reason on a 30 minute full flight on a 757 or 321 to serve 160 people. I don't care what airline it is. It is a sad day when a human being can't sit their butt down for 30 minutes without something in their hands to drink. Why oh why is that damn cup of soda SOOO important. How silly...service my butt...it's 30 minutes!!!

I didn't say I agreed with it! I didn't say it is important! I don't care what you think about it! I am stating a FACT that it is POLICY to do so.

I don't have to agree with it, YOU don't have to agree with it, NOBODY has to agree with it. IT IS POLICY.

If you are an employee write to Inflight and complain. If you are not, why do you even care.

 

[firstamendment]

Twicebaked

I must disagree with you. There is NO reason on a 30 minute full flight on a 757 or 321 to serve 160 people. I don't care what airline it is. It is a sad day when a human being can't sit their butt down for 30 minutes without something in their hands to drink. Why oh why is that damn cup of soda SOOO important. How silly...service my butt...it's 30 minutes!!!

You stated that a crew shoud at least try to serve? BS..tell that to the needy passenger who didn't get that slurp of soda, I've seen it...bumping alone with some princess pissed of because she won't get the staple of wonderful service..the slurp of coke.

Am I the only one who sees how stupid all this is? Talk about a waste of money. We've cut all free food service domestically and you guys are worried about a little 30 minute flight? GET A LIFE!!! :down: :down:

The point is that the flight attendants have to be there per FAA regulations. The flight attendants may as well make themselves useful, since they're on the plane and getting paid for it.

Cutting meals saved money not so much because of the catering bills, but the additional flight attendant staffing needed to serve those meals. Flight attendant staffing is now at FAA minimums, so cutting out beverages is not going to save any labor.

If the FAA didn't require any flight attendants, I can guarantee you that US (and probably most of the other airlines) would eliminate beverage service on all but the longest flights in order to save money -- that is, NO flight attendants at all!

I bet any flight attendant would prefer to hustle to serve a beverage on a 30 minute flight than to sit at home, earning nothing, for the same block time.

Since flight attendant requirements aren't going away anytime soon, a more realistic way for US to cut costs by ending a beverage service is to pay the flight attendants only for the time they spend on the plane during take-off and landing.

In between (15 minutes on a short flight, two hours on longer flights), you are merely on-duty, collecting a meager rate of pay for reading a book, waiting for landing. I bet flight attendants wouldn't go for that one, either.

JS

That is the stupidest post I have ever read.

DUHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

If the FAA didn't require f/a's, we definitely wouldn't be there. I've been say that for years. The airlines would just have vending machines in the galleys. F/A's are there for SAFETY reasons, NOT service.

If we are to go by your logic, let's pay fireman only for the time they are on a call...none of the time away from home or cooking their dinner, or sleeping.

Let's pay the policeman only for the time they actually arrest someone.

Js, if a f/a's safety is a risk,we do have the right to curb the service. Anyway, there is no such thing as a no service flight. Special request for needy people like you are taken on the shortest of flights.

And lastly, I like the idea of vending machines in the galleys. Let's see how you like walking around a bumpy flight for a slurp of coke. Oh, I forgot, it's only the customer's safety that matters.

You really need to do your homework, pal. :down:

 

[firstamendment]

I must disagree with you. There is NO reason on a 30 minute full flight on a 757 or 321 to serve 160 people. I don't care what airline it is. It is a sad day when a human being can't sit their butt down for 30 minutes without something in their hands to drink. Why oh why is that damn cup of soda SOOO important. How silly...service my butt...it's 30 minutes!!!

I didn't say I agreed with it! I didn't say it is important! I don't care what you think about it! I am stating a FACT that it is POLICY to do so.

I don't have to agree with it, YOU don't have to agree with it, NOBODY has to agree with it. IT IS POLICY.

If you are an employee write to Inflight and complain. If you are not, why do you even care.

Please don't give me the policy line. That is BS. Are you a f/a? If so, do you follow EVERY policy to the rule? Are you sitting on that jump seat strapped in during taxi out? Are you ALWAYS sitting in your brace postion? On a long flight, do you EVER read noncompany materials on the jumpseat? Do you move the back onboard wheel chair back to where it is suppose to be when someone has moved it for their bag, or do you just leave it where it is? Do you EVER give the entire can on a 4 hour flight? Do ever take a soda off the airplane? Have you ever taken water off the airplane? Do you give the fc passegers 2 minis instead of the one that is policy? Do you present the entire can to a fc passenger, which isn't policy. Do you tell passengers on the smaller aircraft they can't use the front bathroom? Do you offer pillows and blankets to customers, which is policy? Do you refer to each fc customer by their sir name as per policy? Do you put water in the fc seats, which is NOT policy? Do you skip the fc predeparture on a 321/757?

Policy, dear, policy. If you want to go by policy and you are a f/a, be careful cause one of us just might be on your flight and hold you to policy. I can be a great policy police for people like you, no matter the job.

Please don't give me the you're being petty. Policy is policy....period!! We know EVERYONE in EVERY job in the world goes STRICTLY by policy.