“The stewardess union fought for smaller carry-on bags and limiting the number of carry-ons. They thought it was taking people too long to deplane and a general nuisance. “
I didn’t know that and wouldn’t have thought so to see how things have changed since the airlines started charging for baggage.
These days I see folks carrying on two large roller bags, a back pack and a shopping bag full of stuff - and not a word from the flight/gate attendants.
I see folks with duffel bags big enough to contain bodies and they spend five full minutes trying to jam them into the overhead... nobody stops them...
Its like the crew doesn’t even care to enforce carry on regulations anymore. Even when it delays take off time.
But they freak out about other crap...
In a way, I kinda hope I get caught up in something like this doctor did, because I don’t yell. My argument style is this: I’m Mr. Spock. And the angrier I get, the more like Mr. Spock I become. My motto is that if I show emotion, I’ve lost.
Also the broken record technique.
They ask me to leave, and I politely tell them I paid for my seat - the one I’m sitting in. I will vacate the seat when I reach my destination to which I paid your company to deliver me.They say, “but you need to leave the plane because...”, and I give them eye contact, smile, and say, I paid for my seat - the one I’m sitting in. I will vacate the seat when I reach my destination to which I paid your company to deliver me.
They accuse me of being uncooperative, I repeat the exact same words. If it gets physical, I apply what was learned in the early 70’s riots. I go Cadaver on them. I do not fight. I go completely limp. They had better be careful because If they damage me, it’s on them. And I weigh 250 lbs.
It’s explained in Roadhouse. Be nice. No matter what, be nice.
But don’t cooperate with their trampling over your - dare I say it - HUMAN rights.
I think (I think) that is where being a flight attendant for life has ruined air travel aboard American flagged carriers. In a word, unions. There are some jobs that are just more suitable as a thing one does before getting into a real career or marriage. In days gone by being a stewardess seemed like something women did before they got married, then quit. Let's face it, this is not the kind of job that is conducive to good work/life balance to say the least and I have to think, the older one gets, the more difficult the job becomes. So rather than move on, because the pay is so good, flight attendants hang on while their ability to tolerate the inconveniences and physical demands of the job erodes. Once one flies a foreign flagged airline, they become aware of what I'm saying here.