F/A Policy on sitting in F/A seat

[LCC_#1]

Geez, of all the things this company has to worry about....

Well, there's a good and a bad way to handle any situation. I worked MIA-LAS the other night and there were 30 people. We simply said, the boarding is over and if you would like to move, we have plenty of seats. We just asked to leave open the last row for the crew since we are so light and it is such a long flight to sit on a cardboard box. Chuckles abounded. I would never make that kind of announcement on a flight 60% full...maybe not even 50% full, but in this case i most definitely will.

There are ALL kinds of policies and procedures written. It reminds me of the Bible. People pick and choose what they want to follow. I can't be for certain if it is an outright P&P on the East. I do have better things to do in my life, But I will make an observation. It seems that we are more relaxed on the East Coast where things things are concerned because we've have been around longer. Not to pick a fight, but I can remember being F/A Go By EVERY Rule early in my career. Now I try to choose my battles carefully and some things to me are just stupid to fight over and aren't worth the raising of an eyebrow. This debate tops the list.

I don't think there is any SAFETY related reason to choose this battle to fight over and as far as how it looks? That's a weak fight? Even the passengers are aware that the j/s is uncomfortable. This will all change as I can promise you that 90% of f/as on the East sit in a pax seat. Hey, maybe thats how the West will preserve their senority. Doug and Sherri will start putting ghost riders on the East flights and firing most of the East f/a's.

In this business, that scenerio wouldn't surprise me in the least. :unsure:

 

[N965VJ]

<SNIP> It seems that we are more relaxed on the East Coast where things things are concerned because with have been around longer.

Have you noticed all the subtle (and not so subtle) hints about how things are going to change for the easties?

I bet they’re going to put someone on east metal to “helpâ€￾ with procedures for a while, such as when we first started flying the bus in PIT.

It was amusing to have a 21 year old tell me I had set up my stupid cart “wrongâ€￾. Not everyone is as laid back as I am, though.

 

[SKY HIGH]

Don't you think it's odd that up to August 9, 2006, no one freaked out if another passenger took a swig of water from a home-bought bottle? Suddenly it's a dangerous thing to do. Clearly the laws of physics have not changed; it is the attitude of the populace, egged on by Bush and his cronies, that has changed this once-proud nation into a bunch of fear-ridden idiots.
The sky is falling! Aaaahhhh!

SKY High states: The British authorities discovered the "Liquid threat". Remember, they have decades of experience dealing with terrorism. And swiftly acted on it. FEAR gives you a sense of heightened awareness and that's needed when WE have to be 100% right with regard to aviation security. The terrorist only have to be right, once.

 

[2clippedwings]

I responded earlier that "occupying" a passenger seat is not PSA policy for its flight attendants. BUT.... the CRJ 200 has weight and balance issues affecting passenger load in the front. During IOE and line checks, seat 1C is occupied by the trainer. On PSA flights 1C is blocked until it is confirmed that no training activity is taking place on that flight.
A passenger purchases passage on a flight and not a specific seat number. Several situations require the relocating of passengers to a different seat.

Obviously FAA minimums do not allow for a hot breakfast to be served from PIT to PHL, but there is no excuse for skipping the entire service (not even water) on a relatively short flight, such as the one that started this thread.

I'm aware that management defines the service, so I'm not blaming the individual flight attendants for not doing a beverage service when the flight doesn't call for one. My complaint is when you people are rude to customers and overreact to innocuous household items (like a bottle of water).

It's clear that some people love to use their power and divert the flight while others are able to distinguish between a common household object and something suspicious. Otherwise, every single flight would be diverted. Only a moron would think that a ban on all liquids/gels/pastes/gel-like materials/potential liquids (like ice)/etc. is 100% effective. Even something as relatively simple as a gun on the X-ray image is missed by a sickening margin (25% is what I read).

You are trying to kill the messenger. Flight attendants are not the mandaters of service standards. If a flight is less than 45 minutes, the service is request only. That means a passenger asks the flight attendant for something to drink if they want it. The flight attendant is required to do a walk through every 10 minutes. You figure it out. If you want something to drink, ring the call button.
TSA and management determine what a threat is and how to handle it. So someone is overzealous. It happens but the flight attendant did not make the rule.
I'm still looking for the glamour everytime I bag up trash and order/replace my own catering and clean my own airplane on a 14 hour day with 30 minute turns. The flights are mostly full. I can count on ONE HAND how many times I have sat in a passenger seat for a couple of minutes over the last few years. Every company has people that use more ingenuity to avoid work than the effort it takes to do a good job.
Most do the best they can with the tools they are given.

 

[Niladelphia]

You guys out west aren't allowed to sit in a pax seat during flight? That's absurd! On the east side, the agents will block the last row if the flight isn't heavy so the FAs have a place to sit after the service is over. Especially helpfull on longer flights. Those jumpseats are way too uncomfortable and the galleys on the airbus are freezing. Sometimes if the flight is really light pax will try to move to the last row to sleep and I will move them. I always tell them these are for crew. Because the flights are so heavy, getting the last row is rare. But when we can get these seats, I have no problem blocking this row. Like transatlantic, crew seats should also be made available trans-con. Not much difference if you ask me.

East F/As should never block domestic seats. That means East F/As are not allowed either. You may sit there if it is free, but you are not allowed to refuse a pax during open seating or if the pax is ticketed for that seat. Oh yeah, don't try to threaten the pax with the FAA card either. Trust me it will back fire on you. :angry:

 

[FlyUs]

East F/As should never block domestic seats. That means East F/As are not allowed either. You may sit there if it is free, but you are not allowed to refuse a pax during open seating or if the pax is ticketed for that seat. Oh yeah, don't try to threaten the pax with the FAA card either. Trust me it will back fire on you. :angry:

The FAA card? What's that all about, lol? If no pax are assigned a seat in the last row of a flight, I will sit there when the service is over. No excuses have to be made.

 

[Niladelphia]

The FAA card? What's that all about, lol? If no pax are assigned a seat in the last row of a flight, I will sit there when the service is over. No excuses have to be made.

The point is F/As should not block seats. This has nothing to do with the seat being empty, but everything to do with telling a pax they cannot sit b/c the F/A wants to use it.

 

[JAXPax]

When I used to fly American Eagle ATR-72s JAX-MIA to connect about once a month for a few years, they ALWAYS blocked the last row seat pair. I even have one of the seat block signs (because I was assigned in that row on a full flight with the row to myself and they told me to take an empty window seat about 10 rows up, so I hid the sign and feigned ignorace... probably not right on reflection).

The ATR-72 has two F/As... one sits in a jumpseat that pulls across the aisle in front of row 1, the other sits in the rear galley by the main entry door (which is in the back). They block the last row seat pair to sit during the flight. I'd always see them telling passengers "You can't sit there." The last row was a good seat location as it's a turboprop and quieter in the back, plus there is a large closet on one side of the plane in the back, so the last 2-3 rows only exist on the port side.

 

[Travelpro72]

Sometimes you get a passenger who wants to move to the last row when there are other vacant rows throughout the airplane. While I don't like telling a passenger no, I do ask if they would please relocate to a different row. It is never a problem at all. Also you should not make announcements about open seating during boarding or after boarding is completed. Especially on pretty light flights. Sometimes passengers are where they are due to weight and balance true? I have had to move passengers from the back to fwd of row 14 etc... It's also in how you talk to people too. We have some pretty militant folks over here at east. Don't let everyone fool ya into thinking were ALL laid back over here. Ohhh to the contrary.

 

[N965VJ]

If you guys really want to block a seat, put a decoy “fullâ€￾ barf bag on the cushion.