Originally Posted by
rbienstock
Maybe, maybe not. Here's my F/A fright story: Two years ago, I was traveling in First Class with my Mom (my wife was on a separate flight with my kids and my Dad), who, was then 79. The F/A was male, and he was very prissy in his manner (no implications). Although we had bought out tickets together, due to that airline's policy of limiting the number of First Class advance bookings, we wound up with seats far apart in the cabin. When we got on the plane, as we were being directed to our seats, my mom indicated that we were traveling together and would like to sit together. Usually, when you ask this, you get a reply like "well the flight is pretty full, but you'll probably be able to work something out with the person sitting next to you." Instead, this guy said, "The flight is fully booked, and you must stay in your assigned seat." In any event, my mom (who, even at her age, flys a lot as she has homes in 3 states and one other country) talked to her seat-mate and he agreed to switch with me, so we switched. When the F/A comes through the cabin to get our dinner selection, we tell him of the switch, and he makes me go back to my original seat. The guy I swapped with is pissed because he has to go back to a seat in the center section instead of a window seat, but he goes. The F/A grins in triumph.
Then dinner comes and my mom's tray has a pepper shaker, but no salt shaker. So my mom asks the F/A for some salt, and he ignores her. A few minutes later, she asks again, and he says that there isn't any salt. My mom points out that every other passenger in First Class has salt, so why didn't she get any. He said that they never have enough salt shakers and some passengers have to do without. So my mom asks him if he can get her some salt from coach. The F/C doesn't reply and disapears for about 10 minutes. I'm seeing all this, and I go and give my mom my salt shaker. The F/A then resurfaces, sees that my mom now has salt and goes ballistic, screaming "Where'd you get that salt shaker? Give it to me!" My mom, at this point pretty ballistic herself, refuses. The F/A says "If you don't give me the salt shaker, I'll have the pilot land the plane and you'll be arrested." My mom says, fine, I'd like to speak to the pilot. The pilot comes back and says "you have to do what the F/A says" so my mom gives up the salt shaker. The pilot goes back into the cockpit and the F/A to the galley, and six other passengers give my mother their salt shakers. The F/A comes back out and sees the six other salt shakers on my mother's tray and his face turns the color of a tomato. This time he doesn't even bother to ask, and just scoops up the salt shakers and takes them away. A few minutes later, the pilot comes back and tells my mom that the F/A is an *****, but the law says that she has to do what he says, and he advises her to file a complaint with the airline. We suspect that the F/A had gone back to the pilot to rat on the other passengers who gave my mom some salt and the pilot told him to give it up. The F/A was frosty but polite for the rest of the flight.
I fly a lot, and the majority of F/As are friendly, helpful, and have a very dificult job having to deal with some very unruly passengers. But there is a small, but distinct minority of F/As who are rude, officious and unreasonable. The caricature of the obnoxious F/A by David Spade on SNL ("buh-bye") didn't come out of thin air. The fact that the crowd burst into applause when a passenger who was stopped from trying to rescue his 2 year-old child by a Continental gate attendant slammed the attendant to the floor head first and it took a jury only 3 hours to acquit him should indicate something about how the traveling public feels about some of these people.
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Actually, I am in military and that is contract carrier to west coast (san diego)....I was trying to "teach" them more than anything but they cant comprehend the number and complexity of these varying devices. As for the top question. Once you turn off the wireless function itself, the main power is for on and off. My guess is that on new 650, it will be a matter of press for on and off, verses press and hold for wireless on, similar to top button on 600 now.
