Well some interesting answers so far!
I believe that this individual is of a particular sort of pax, the type who can never be pleased, constantly finds issues with everything and believes it is perfectly accepable to impose their idea of an ideal on others and I do wonder how he can equate his writing with and the pictures posted in the original "article" with the claim of the paper which published it to be a "
A Journal of Southern Culture and Politics".
Both the standard of writing and pictures he has chosen to illustrate with strike me as somewhat uncultured and inappropriate.
However, I would also have to say that the points made by Olster, Mari, Glamgirl and UKSqueeze about individual standards of crew (ground, cabin and flight deck) can be supported.
This comes across in all aspects of this industry from the cockpit to the catering and all in between.
There are at all levels certain types who let the side down even though as a pax I have encountered more attentative and professional crew (both on the ground from checking in and to the experience while airborne) than un-professional.
We have all had to work with such individuals, those who are blatantly rude or dismissive, those who have simply lost interest in the job and regard it as a chore, etc, etc. Of course this applies to all areas of work and life and we see it in shops, banks, transport, schools, the services, etc.
The sad thing about these people is that they cause all in the industry to be tarred with the same brush.
I would also argue however that certain airlines in the industry have a lot to answer for. We only have to look at the decimation of terms and conditions in once first class airlines such as British Airways and Aer lingus (the famous cooked breakfast on the Dublin - London route
now sadly gone
) and the lowest common denominator pax, the cattle truck mentality of Ryanair senior management to see that the glamour of their past has gone.
For me this is a shame beyond words because I have no doubt that the vast majority of those who apply to be cabin crew want to do it for the percieved glamour, travel and fun that it once was.
This can be applied equally to the flight deck where even the initial excitement wears off, the days become routine and the next big challange is getting the command, progressing to bigger types, perhaps going long haul and then one day looking out of the cockpit at the Cessna or the commuter flight and wishing that you could be back there again. That is almost a verbatim quote from a friend of mine who is retiring early and who only now wants to fly a single engine light aeroplane.
The reality for many cabin crew is having to put up the kind of individual who wrote the above and who has no respect for the individuals he feels is his right to oogle and box into a stereotype, with the stag and hen party flights of chavs (who of course can be found in all cabins and from all social backgrounds
as can be witnessed by reading the celebrities thread) to be dealt with, being expected to sell bags of vodka and plastic sandwiches, to have to clean the aircraft after landing for ridiculously short turnarounds on both long and short haul (many are to tired to go shopping regardless of age!) and the constant degredation of what was once seen as a fabulous career and lifestyle into something which is treated by certain management with distain.
There is also the unfortunate situation as well where many have to continue to fly or have had to come back to flying to support themselves because the pension plan has not worked out or their circumstances have deteriorated. I have every sympathy for them and I hope I never end up having to do the same.
There are of course the airlines which go out of their way to try and promote the glamour and fun side of travel and being cabin crew, such as Singapore and Emirates. Of course not everyone can work for them or necessarily wants to but the contrast between the their model and the european airlines is significant and it would appear that the crew from these airlines enjoy their jobs more. I am happy to be corrected on this
But back to original point. As Glamgirl points out, who cares. Do the job well and to the best of your ability and don't satisfy the purile nonsence of these sort of people