Not a pleasant flight
I'm deliberately not mentioning the airline involved in what I'm about to describe but I would be interested to know what other people employed as cabin crew think of the following.
Last night my wife and I travelled on a short flight which took off two hours late.
When we finally boarded the aircraft the boarding music was being played at an ear shattering volume.
One member of the cabin crew in particular was obviously p...ed off. I know this because the heels of her shoes were virtually going through the cabin floor as she stamped up and down the aisle.
The force with which she closed the overhead lockers was unbelievable. The bang above our heads actually made us duck. I know they have to be tightly closed but I've travelled on this type of aircraft many times and this was just ridiculous.
The young lady in question performed the safety demonstration in the middle of the cabin just in front of our seats.
When she finished the bit about fastening and unfastening the seat belt she literally threw it on to an empty seat beside her startling the passenger sitting at the window.
She looked as if she had smiled her face would have cracked.
Incidently despite all her banging one of the overhead lockers flew open as the pilot swung on to the runway.
For some reason he started the take off acceleration before making the turn which meant the aircraft's speed was increasing as we turned right and this was enough to make the locker open.
By the way I'm not suggesting the pilot was in any way in the wrong to start accelerating before turning on to the runway. I know nothing about flying an aircraft and I have perfect faith in those at the front.
Shortly after we left the ground the pilot gave the little ding which indicates the cabin crew can leave their seats.
We were immediately told there would be no cabin service as there had been a change of aircraft.
The young lady at the front then made here way to the back to join her colleague slamming the overhead locker closed as she went.
Then the man sitting across the aisle from us got up to go to the lavatory.
It was immediately apparent he was drunk - and I mean drunk.
When he came back he had to hold on to the seats for support and could not find his seat. I had to point it out to him.
This earned me two pats on the back and a thumbs up sign. He tried to focus on me but appeared to be having difficulty.
About this stage the cabin filled with the smell of fish and chips so I assume the no refreshment announcement did not apply to the cabin crew.
The drunk man was fiddling with his mobile phone during the flight. I heard it bleeping and saw it lit up.
After the 10 minutes to landing announcement one of the cabin crew members had to help him fasten his seatbelt.
She did tell him to turn off the phone but I don't know whether he did or not. I think I still heard it bleeping.
He then sat slumped forward in his seat falling asleep at times.
We landed and my wife and I were among the last to leave. He was still sitting asleep.
Should he have been allowed to board? Shouldn't we have been less aware of bad temper on the part of the cabin crew? Was this really an ideal in flight experience?
I'd be interested to hear your opinions.