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Flight Attendants

Cable-TV-Guy
Adventurer C

I recently flew Southwest IAD-DEN-LAS and LAS-SJC-DEN-IAD after a six-year absence from the surly skies.  (I usually drive cross-country to avoid the hassles...)  And, I saw something on the DEN-IAD segment of the trip that made me think of some of the unstrung heroes/heroines of flying.

 

Flight Attendants...

 

First why are they there?  Their primary purpose -even at Southwest-isn't to be smiling, cheerful, serve you drinks and snacks, etc.  It's to save your life and the lives of your fellow passengers "in the unlikely event something goes not according to plan".

 

On the referenced flight segmment, the Captain had to use the forward lav.  As required, one FA stood in the front aisle to block the lav/galley area.  One large male passenger who appeared drunk started walking forward.  This FA gestured for him to rurn around and use the aft lav.  He kept coming.  Between the change in her facial expression and of her gestures, it was obvious that she was prepared to go MMA on him, if needed!  Finally, at about row three, he got the message, turned around, and staggered towards the rear of the plane.  That FA made it clear that she was ready and able to defend the flight deck, if needed.

 

Later, as we were approaching IAD, as that FA was doing "last call" (so to speak) for trash, I complimented and thanked her for what she did.  She had to stop and think about it for a second.  She acted like it was "all in a day's work"!  If that's the case, more's the pity.  She smiled and thanked me.

 

So, the next time you fly, thank the flight attendants for being there.  Sure, on Southwest they may wear Halloween costumes, smile, joke, and laugh a lot.  But, when the chips are down, count on them to be the professionals which they are.

 

As for the FA I mentioned?  I called SW Customer Service to notify them.  A a now-retired safety professional, I was gratified to know that the next generation is "keeping the faith".       

2 REPLIES 2

Re: Flight Attendants

NicoleAshley
Employee
Employee
Solution

Love this story! It's true that Crew Members are constantly working to keep Passengers safe, even though it's largely unnoticed. Thank you so much for calling in so we could pass along the kudos she deserves. 

Nicole
Community Manager

Re: Flight Attendants

Cable-TV-Guy
Adventurer C

Perhaps I should explain that not all of my flying has been as a commercial passenger.  I have a logbook with my hours in, shall we say, Row 0 Seat A in a C-152.  It was something I enjoyed doing until I was rear-ended by a drunk driver while driving home from work one afternoon.  The injuries cost me my Medical...  Had my then 6-week-old daughter been with me that day, her injuries would've been fatal. 

 

I hope that FA does get the recognition she deserves.  All I could provide was her description, as well as the flight info.   The cabin was too dark for me to discreetly read her name tag.

 

I also hope that SW recognizes that FA's are crewmembers as critical to safety as the men and women at the "front of the bus".