Deteriorating relations between flt crew and FA's is sad and a sign of the times.In the States,FA's have disproportionately powerful union representation which miffs the pilots and causes resentment.But hopefully we try to do the best we can to get along and get the job done.Additionally,our FA's are older and crankier(sexism/ageism I know but so true).
Its interesting how pilots and FA's interact differently according to their cultural/ethnic origins.In the EAST,the authority gradient is steep and a Singapore girl is not going to address the CAptain by anything other than "Captain".Its formal,polite,and massages the male ego but the downside is that it can create a barrier where the FA feels that she cannot communicate any concerns for fear of overstepping her position.She believes the Captain is always right and of course this is not always the case.
The informality that we get in the WEST creates a feeling of openness and transparency but it can also have a downside.FA's are not in command of the aircraft and there must be some sense of hierarchy and leadership when you operate a sophisticated piece of machinery across thousands of miles with people's lives at stake.The Purser is not actually in command of anything on board a commercial airliner.The FAR's are quite explicit about this.Only dual pilot incapacitation would leave the Purser in command and then only if there werent any dead-heading flt crew on board.
The ideal situation(call it CRM if you want) is when all crew members are open ,friendly and relaxed with each other whilst at the same time respecting the protocols that must exist for any crew to function effectively.
The second-best is the formal scenario where FA's always defer to the flt crew;far from ideal as it inhibits instinct and a willingness to speak up.But its better than scenario 3 which is by far the worst;the dreaded divide between flt crew and FA's brought on by managements open policy of "divide-and rule" and a feeling of mistrust and resentment between the 2 parties.I have seen this at work and its an awful atmosphere to work in.When a FA secretly hopes that the Captain of the flight makes a mistake so she can get a report in OR when a CAPTAIN dismisses or totally ignores the concerns of his crew;this is when you have a total breakdown of relations and its a sad sight to behold.
In my experience,only Southwest Airlines would qualify for scenario 1 for more than 95% of the time.Scenario 2 would account for most if not all of the Asian/Gulf carriers.And unfortunately,a lot of US/Euro airlines would fall into scenario 3 or only qualify for scenario 1 intermittently.Or am I being too pessimistic there?
The real question is where did we go wrong and how can we change things?