Bad day at the office!
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If in fact he recently nursed his father till his death, and is at this time tending to his very sick mother then why is he not being paid to stay home and do just that? Oh, silly me, its our brave new world, where its only the bottom line that counts, not the wellfare of long time employees, in an industry in which profit is the only consideration. {See many threads on this forum from P2F to EK to get this} Further to this, why was the pax not prosecuted for standing when the belt sign was on? Where is the Captain in this?Where is the company?why are they not nailing the pax for endangering the other SLF on the aircraft? Im so glad Im retired if this is the new working enviroment.
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Skid Buggy has made the most valid point whilst we are slapping this crew member on the back for his actions thank god there was nobody in the immidiate vacinity of that chute when it was deployed.
Originally Posted by Lotpax
I trust that due process will be followed and that (barring any emergent defences) this gentleman will be terminated. This behavior is unacceptable.
From the story, he apparently already quit, so termination would be redundant. (I enjoyed that pun … )
Originally Posted by scarbagjack
As much as it appeals to the free spirit in most of us … it really was a stupid and un-professional stunt to pull. The poor guy needs some help, not applauded as if he was Ben Stiller in some movie.
Bingo. Life imitates art.
Originally Posted by saskatoon9999
The guy appears to be an attention seeking toss-pot, nothing more. I would say that this guy perhaps had a slight pysological issue and was more highly strung than most. I' betting he is one of the pre-madonna types we see in the industry and HAS to always be the centre of attention!
Pre-Madonna or prima donna? Madonna is also a bit of a drama queen … as such, I liked your pun!
Eitherway, his colleagues in the cabin and those on other aircraft all around the world will continue to cope far better with annoying passengers than he obviously did. How is it every other crewmember around the globe can contain their frustrations? What a tosser! What's the betting he now does the round of talk shows?
I wonder if the judge will simply stare this man in the face and state the following:
"Mister, it's not all about you."
Cool as a moosp
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As a pilot with an international airline I am surprised that more incidents like this do not occur.
The stress level that you guys in the cabin have to deal with, sometimes when exhausted after 16 hours of duty, and the rudeness of some passengers defies belief. Add to that the personal stress that you bring to work but try to repress, and I can only add to the previous comments of 'respect'.
I smiled when I heard it on the news. There but for the grace of God go I. I think many of us have got near the point when we would like to go out in a blaze of glory, tell someone to stuff it and walk off the job.
Perhaps his HR and medical departments might listen more closely to the next person to come in and say "I need some days off for some stuff at home." This is not an office we work in, it requires sharp people to do sharp things when it all goes wrong.
I wish him every success in his new ventures.
The stress level that you guys in the cabin have to deal with, sometimes when exhausted after 16 hours of duty, and the rudeness of some passengers defies belief. Add to that the personal stress that you bring to work but try to repress, and I can only add to the previous comments of 'respect'.
I smiled when I heard it on the news. There but for the grace of God go I. I think many of us have got near the point when we would like to go out in a blaze of glory, tell someone to stuff it and walk off the job.
Perhaps his HR and medical departments might listen more closely to the next person to come in and say "I need some days off for some stuff at home." This is not an office we work in, it requires sharp people to do sharp things when it all goes wrong.
I wish him every success in his new ventures.
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clunckdriver I totally agree.
Once, landing at Munich in an RJ100 as we came off the runway the guy sitting next to me popped open his seatbelt with a leisurely sigh. After asking him if he knew that, if we stopped suddenly, he would probably knock out the guy in front and break his own neck, his only answer was "Ja, but how often does that happen?!"
It's one of the few things that makes me angry when I think about it, years later. There's no excuse for putting others at risk. I just wish I'd known a better way to get him to see that.
Once, landing at Munich in an RJ100 as we came off the runway the guy sitting next to me popped open his seatbelt with a leisurely sigh. After asking him if he knew that, if we stopped suddenly, he would probably knock out the guy in front and break his own neck, his only answer was "Ja, but how often does that happen?!"
It's one of the few things that makes me angry when I think about it, years later. There's no excuse for putting others at risk. I just wish I'd known a better way to get him to see that.
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Hope the rude, selfish pax concerned gets the book thrown at her, rather than get away with it. It just takes one pax to stand up, and if the crew don't deal with it straight away, several more will follow suit. Any word from this flight's captain?
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Frustration often comes also from knowing that, no matter what the passenger does and no matter the abuse they throw at you, the company will try to keep them happy and seldom does anything substantial about it.
The passengers don't pay our wages, I'm getting sick of hearing that. The COMPANY pays our wages, and it's the responsibility of the directors of that company to have a clear strategy to make those passengers want to fly with us, as well as our responsibility to keep them happy. My company is obliged to pay my wages every month, regardless of how many passengers "who pay our wages" have we managed to take.
If we go down that road, everyone in society pays everyone's wages.
The problem is that the companies are increasingly trying to attract passengers by reassuring them that they can do what they please, that they have no responsibilities, and that we are supposed to be their servants. And no, we are not servants. If you have missed the flight because you were expecting someone to personally go and tell you to move while you are sipping your whisky in the lounge, without even bothering looking at the flight information screens, don´t expect from me to keep smiling while you engage in a tirade of utter abuse. Respect goes both ways, and we are not talking about grumpy FAs not smiling when they serve the food, we are talking about passengers who insult, threaten and even assault employees because they try to make them follow safety rules or immigration and security procedures, or for not getting an upgrade, for that matter. THAT is a real problem in airports and aircraft around the world, and if this gentleman has managed to bring that to the attention of the media, and that makes our employers to take more responsibility for their employees dignity and wellbeing, then I applaud him, becuase I wouldn't have had what it takes to do that.
The kind of abuse we suffer every day from passengers doesn´t happen enywhere else, supermarkets, train stations, etc. It´s only at the airport, and that is a direct consequence of the companies' policy of pretending to provide a privileged service to their loyal customers.
The passengers don't pay our wages, I'm getting sick of hearing that. The COMPANY pays our wages, and it's the responsibility of the directors of that company to have a clear strategy to make those passengers want to fly with us, as well as our responsibility to keep them happy. My company is obliged to pay my wages every month, regardless of how many passengers "who pay our wages" have we managed to take.
If we go down that road, everyone in society pays everyone's wages.
The problem is that the companies are increasingly trying to attract passengers by reassuring them that they can do what they please, that they have no responsibilities, and that we are supposed to be their servants. And no, we are not servants. If you have missed the flight because you were expecting someone to personally go and tell you to move while you are sipping your whisky in the lounge, without even bothering looking at the flight information screens, don´t expect from me to keep smiling while you engage in a tirade of utter abuse. Respect goes both ways, and we are not talking about grumpy FAs not smiling when they serve the food, we are talking about passengers who insult, threaten and even assault employees because they try to make them follow safety rules or immigration and security procedures, or for not getting an upgrade, for that matter. THAT is a real problem in airports and aircraft around the world, and if this gentleman has managed to bring that to the attention of the media, and that makes our employers to take more responsibility for their employees dignity and wellbeing, then I applaud him, becuase I wouldn't have had what it takes to do that.
The kind of abuse we suffer every day from passengers doesn´t happen enywhere else, supermarkets, train stations, etc. It´s only at the airport, and that is a direct consequence of the companies' policy of pretending to provide a privileged service to their loyal customers.
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The kind of abuse we suffer every day from passengers doesn´t happen enywhere else, supermarkets, train stations, etc. It´s only at the airport, and that is a direct consequence of the companies' policy of pretending to provide a privileged service to their loyal customers.
Furthermore, I believe that it is a two way street.
Standards in society have fallen and it manifests itself everywhere.
I have seen very rude passengers, ground staff and crew in the past 5-10 years, behaving in a way that rarely happened 20 years ago.
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Originally Posted by Midland Alpha 9
Skid Buggy has made the most valid point whilst we are slapping this crew member on the back for his actions thank god there was nobody in the immidiate vacinity of that chute when it was deployed.
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Onboard I was just about to post the same view 
As experienced CC myself I don't condone the use of emergency equiptment for anything else than the purpose it as designed for. That said I think Mr Slater, having deployed the slide, should have perhaps used it to perhaps evacuate the offending pax as well...she did after all want to deplane quickly
Vid1977 makes some really valid points re a company's approach to dealing with unruly and abusive pax. I have no idea how Jetblue operate but can certainly comment on what is going on at my own.
At present we have a flight to a certain balearic island on which the cabin crew are abused verbally and physically on a regular basis just for asking passengers to observe very basic safety regs and behave in a civilised manner. There have also been cases of female crew being groped inappropriatly and sexual innuendo's and assumptions are made towards our young male crews.
The only support we get in dealing with this is from our flight crew on the day who will call the police and file ASR's on a monotonously regular basis. This is always after we have had to put up with this behaviour during flight. They cannot help us then as they are behind a locked door. We just have to deal with these "valued customers" until then.
The pace of response to dealing with this issue from our Cabin Crew Manager is glacial at best. In fact in the interests of company profit we operate on minimum crew on a flight in which the enviroment has been deemed unsafe at times. He does not seem to want to adress any of these issues so now our union have taken this up
Maybe Mr Slater had just had to deal with one too many abusive pax without the support of his managers and snapped. Whilst his reaction was OTT this is understandable IMHO.
As experienced CC myself I don't condone the use of emergency equiptment for anything else than the purpose it as designed for. That said I think Mr Slater, having deployed the slide, should have perhaps used it to perhaps evacuate the offending pax as well...she did after all want to deplane quickly
Vid1977 makes some really valid points re a company's approach to dealing with unruly and abusive pax. I have no idea how Jetblue operate but can certainly comment on what is going on at my own.
At present we have a flight to a certain balearic island on which the cabin crew are abused verbally and physically on a regular basis just for asking passengers to observe very basic safety regs and behave in a civilised manner. There have also been cases of female crew being groped inappropriatly and sexual innuendo's and assumptions are made towards our young male crews.
The only support we get in dealing with this is from our flight crew on the day who will call the police and file ASR's on a monotonously regular basis. This is always after we have had to put up with this behaviour during flight. They cannot help us then as they are behind a locked door. We just have to deal with these "valued customers" until then.
The pace of response to dealing with this issue from our Cabin Crew Manager is glacial at best. In fact in the interests of company profit we operate on minimum crew on a flight in which the enviroment has been deemed unsafe at times. He does not seem to want to adress any of these issues so now our union have taken this up
Maybe Mr Slater had just had to deal with one too many abusive pax without the support of his managers and snapped. Whilst his reaction was OTT this is understandable IMHO.
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I think the posting on here from a serving Captain should be made standard procedure.
1. Leave the PA on so you hear the "Please remain seated and keep your seat belts fastened until the aicraft comes to a complete standstill"
2. Count to 5 slowly
3. BUMP THE BRAKES TWICE !!
1. Leave the PA on so you hear the "Please remain seated and keep your seat belts fastened until the aicraft comes to a complete standstill"
2. Count to 5 slowly
3. BUMP THE BRAKES TWICE !!
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I'm rather surprised, and a tad concerned, that many Cabin Crew and Flight Deck personnel are so admiring of this individual. As a passenger this individual would have had me fearful for my safety.
The Devil is in the details.
JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater's fuse was lit before plane left the gate
A few quotes of interest:
While I have sympathy for Cabin Crew when it comes to rude passengers this individual is hardly an appropriate icon.
As for the presumption that he blew the slide only after making sure it was safe to do so..his behavior hardly indicates an individual acting with concern for the safety of others.
The Devil is in the details.
JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater's fuse was lit before plane left the gate
A few quotes of interest:
Agitated, unkempt and bleeding from the head, Slater dramatically flung aside a life jacket and oxygen mask after giving a demonstration
For Laura Dominijanni, the trip got off to an odd start when she noticed spilled coffee in her second-row seat and asked Slater for help.
"He said, 'Not right now. Maybe when we're in the air, but I have to take care of myself, honey,'" Dominijanni recalled. "I could tell that there was something wrong with him."
"He said, 'Not right now. Maybe when we're in the air, but I have to take care of myself, honey,'" Dominijanni recalled. "I could tell that there was something wrong with him."
Briskin said Slater became irate and cursed at the passenger, whom he is believed to have feuded with in Pittsburgh.
"It really blew my mind," Briskin told The Journal. "It was so inappropriate."
"It really blew my mind," Briskin told The Journal. "It was so inappropriate."
As for the presumption that he blew the slide only after making sure it was safe to do so..his behavior hardly indicates an individual acting with concern for the safety of others.
Passenger: Flight Attendant Started Fray - WSJ.com
According to this link, "the rest of the story is" that this FA copped an attitude, as witnessed by at least one passenger other than the one from Pittsburgh who seemed to be up and about when she should not have been.
In light of additional information (of what quality, I know not) I considered commenting upon the knee jerk response in re passengers, rude and otherwise, by some of the posts in this thread.
But I won't bother. It is quite possible that this gent had been considering leaving his job for some time, and this particular day it all came to a head ... if the linked news report is close to accurate, the decision to quit occurred at some point in the air, with consideration of going out with a bang given adequte time to ferment within his mind.
So long, Mr Slater, best of luck in your future endeavors.
According to this link, "the rest of the story is" that this FA copped an attitude, as witnessed by at least one passenger other than the one from Pittsburgh who seemed to be up and about when she should not have been.
In light of additional information (of what quality, I know not) I considered commenting upon the knee jerk response in re passengers, rude and otherwise, by some of the posts in this thread.
But I won't bother. It is quite possible that this gent had been considering leaving his job for some time, and this particular day it all came to a head ... if the linked news report is close to accurate, the decision to quit occurred at some point in the air, with consideration of going out with a bang given adequte time to ferment within his mind.
So long, Mr Slater, best of luck in your future endeavors.
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Being an American living in London, I fly back home to the states several times per year to visit my family.
I've used all different air carriers and all different routes- I go for cheapest, but mostly Delta.
Anyway, I've seen and heard many, many derogatory remarks made to the cabin crew from passengers. I dont know how or even why they have to take that crap.
If it was waitress, they'd probably end up spitting, (or worse) in the food.
So, I understand that guys frustration. It probably built up over many trips and he just couldn't take it anymore. Just like a 'real bad day at the office' LOL.
I think he deserves an apology from the sob passenger and I was also thinking his union should be sticking up for him.
There is no way passengers should treat air crew in this manner....NOT acceptable- IMO.
I've used all different air carriers and all different routes- I go for cheapest, but mostly Delta.
Anyway, I've seen and heard many, many derogatory remarks made to the cabin crew from passengers. I dont know how or even why they have to take that crap.
If it was waitress, they'd probably end up spitting, (or worse) in the food.
So, I understand that guys frustration. It probably built up over many trips and he just couldn't take it anymore. Just like a 'real bad day at the office' LOL.
I think he deserves an apology from the sob passenger and I was also thinking his union should be sticking up for him.
There is no way passengers should treat air crew in this manner....NOT acceptable- IMO.
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The guy's a psycho and deserves to get locked up. I've seen far more "Passenger - F/A" altercations, started by the F/A.
Comments like this:
The passengers don't pay our wages, I'm getting sick of hearing that. The COMPANY pays our wages, and it's the responsibility of the directors of that company to have a clear strategy to make those passengers want to fly with us, as well as our responsibility to keep them happy. My company is obliged to pay my wages every month, regardless of how many passengers "who pay our wages" have we managed to take.
Passengers, are Customers of your Airline, not the inconvenience that plenty of F/A's think they are.
Comments like this:
The passengers don't pay our wages, I'm getting sick of hearing that. The COMPANY pays our wages, and it's the responsibility of the directors of that company to have a clear strategy to make those passengers want to fly with us, as well as our responsibility to keep them happy. My company is obliged to pay my wages every month, regardless of how many passengers "who pay our wages" have we managed to take.
Passengers, are Customers of your Airline, not the inconvenience that plenty of F/A's think they are.
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Excellent. The posts by Diplome and Lonewolf 50, just above, are beginning to make it plain that all the "facts" that everybody has been hyperventilating about are simply untrue. Those of us who got today's Wall Street Journal on our doorsteps at dawn already knew it.
Apologies in order from the "Ready, fire, aim" ranters? Of course. But will they? Of course not.
Apologies in order from the "Ready, fire, aim" ranters? Of course. But will they? Of course not.
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There is NO excuse for pulling the slide handle at a gate and endangering ground crew.
My hope is that this jerk will get the maxium punishment and hopelfully we will not see this again.
I don't undestand why the media would treat this guy as some kind of hero. We don't need heros like this guy.
My hope is that this jerk will get the maxium punishment and hopelfully we will not see this again.
I don't undestand why the media would treat this guy as some kind of hero. We don't need heros like this guy.
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Why are some nitwits still mindlessly blethering on about "endangering groundcrew"?
Have none of you unimaginative fools stopped to consider that this Professional crewmember might actuallyhave checked the viewfinder before firing the slide? Unless, of course, you have evidence to the contrary. Which of course you do, don't you???
No! Thought not.
IMHO this fella has done this industry a big, and I mean BIG favour in illustrating the imbecilic and undisciplined behaviour of some of our pax, and had the guts/suicidal impetus to make sure the rest of the world saw the reality of "life" as that most despised member of society, the airline cabin crew.
Whether his oh-so public breaking point is professionally defendible or not, I salute him as a man of guts, principle and sheer chutzpah!
Well done, fella! Even if you were wrong in the event, the message was right on target!
Bravo Zulu
Have none of you unimaginative fools stopped to consider that this Professional crewmember might actuallyhave checked the viewfinder before firing the slide? Unless, of course, you have evidence to the contrary. Which of course you do, don't you???
No! Thought not.
IMHO this fella has done this industry a big, and I mean BIG favour in illustrating the imbecilic and undisciplined behaviour of some of our pax, and had the guts/suicidal impetus to make sure the rest of the world saw the reality of "life" as that most despised member of society, the airline cabin crew.
Whether his oh-so public breaking point is professionally defendible or not, I salute him as a man of guts, principle and sheer chutzpah!
Well done, fella! Even if you were wrong in the event, the message was right on target!
Bravo Zulu