One of my frequent-flier friends says that if they have a choice (i.e., if they have seniority), flight attendants will work somewhere other than the first-class section of the plane, many passengers there being surly and unpleasant. Any truth to this?
Having flown about … what is it, 300 times now? I can answer what I have observed.
First class seems like if should be an easier job. You have far less seats to handle, and the clientel are typically absorbed with using their cell phones, laptops (like me), or else chatting really loud and obnoxiously in their salesman-talk “look at me, I’m in first class, no way am I a loser!” mode. My experience is that the attendents are typically nicer to you in first and business class than in coach, but not by a whole lot. Maybe the stress of having to be more pleasant is what would make some people avoid it. I seem to have met an awful lot of decidedly unhappy flight attendants over the last few years.
OK, if you want the Straight Dope I should direct you here:
The people at Flyertalk are the top frequent flyers in the world. The elite of the elite. Most of them always fly first class, for business mostly. You could ask them, they would for sure give and educated response. If you do, ask basenji, she’s an FA(flight attendant)
Here’s my opinion;
I say no truth to it, I’ll tell you why. People that pay more, expect more. Especially some of the people there at Flyertalk. They are the top frequent flyers in the world. In alot of cases they devote all their money to one airline, like American or United, and they expect a little something in return.
The people that fly first class aren’t just thinking about getting from point A to point B, like coach passengers. They want service with a smile, they want their pre-flight glass of wine, they want their coat hung up, they want to board first and not deal with lines, and they want to get off first and not deal with lines. All of the little extras that FC passengers receive mean more work for the FA. More to think about.
Coach is a cake walk. The kids are cuter, you aren’t always putting out an appetizer plate, or having to refill wine glasses. They can hang out in the back and chill. And they do, trust me.
I usually fly first. I know the game and since I fly alot, it is just as efficient, costwise, for me to fly first. I have never seen people be rude or snobby, mostly really mellow and down to earth, I fly red-eye alot. Sometimes the whole 1st cabin feels like a big party. I have seen people talk the ears off of FA’s, because the two people come in contact more. Honestly, I am going to call a bluff on the FA and say it is because there are more responsibilities.
I have a metaphor that isn’t exactly related but reflects the same attitude among commercial flight crews:
On the headset if you put it to channel 9, you might hear the exchanges between the cockpit, the tower and other aircraft, provided that the pilot has allowed it to be on. One time a FA saw a man with the headset to a tape recorder. He told her, “You never know when you might need it.” Turns out he was a paranoid lawyer.
Well the story went around, and so did the paranoia. Now, if you get on a plane and channel 9 is on it’s because it’s a younger pilot, who doesn’t give a fuck. It’s the old guys that don’t want to feel like some asshole is looking over his shoulder the whole flight. A couple weeks ago I happened to be wearing a United shirt(free gift) and asked the pilot to turn on 9. He freaked, he thought I was either a lawyer or a personnel evaluator. He said “No way Jose.” The other reason some pilots don’t want it on is because they might have an incident he wouldn’t want passengers to know about.
My grammar sounds like ca - ca. 
:eek: I hope you’re kidding here.
Wishbone, 'I usually fly first. I know the game and since I fly alot, it is just as efficient, costwise, for me to fly first. ’
How does flying first all the time work out as being just as efficient, cost wise, as the cheaper coach flights? Are there a few tips you wanna share with us here?
I mean during the time you are sitting at the gate, when they start serving you your “first drinks” in the US. The rest of the time they are on the airphones.
How do you come to this conclusion? Yeah, I fly an awful lot too. But how is $1000 versus $500 to go from anywhere to anywhere else just as efficient?
From conversations with my friend who works at USAirways, most flight attendants prefer first-class but some prefer coach. It depends on the person and who they prefer to work and also on what types of experiences they’ve had. First-class is generally less work, though occasionally you’ll have annoying passengers.
The only difference here between first-class and coach passengers is the pre-flight beverage. Coach passengers also want their coat hung up and service with a smile. As for boarding and deplaning, first-class passengers do get to go first, so that’s actually easier.
A “cake walk”? You’ve got to be kidding. And exactly how are the kids in coach cuter than the kids in first-class? On a typical domestic U.S. flight, you have two flight attendants serving 80-120 passengers (versus 1 FA to 12 in first-class). You have to work that long, narrow aisle with the cart, getting drinks, snacks, pillows, blankets for all those people. If you have a meal, you have to get those ready as well. I’d definitely say more work, but it is a different type of work than you get in first-class, and some people may enjoy it.
JeffB, typically there aren’t kids in first class. The youngest I’ve ever seen was 11.
Anthracite and Moonshine. I fly a small commuter flight with a major carrier on a weekly basis. That means I accumulate miles like crazy. That plane doesn’t have a first class. When I fly longer trips I either buy a coach ticket and use my miles to upgrade to first, or I buy a first class ticket, and recieve triple the miles I would have recieved flying coach. That’s the way most major carriers work. And depending on where I used my miles for an upgrade, I could really be saving myself a heap.
Last year my family and I went to Spain. We bought coach tickets and upgraded to business class for the trans-atlantic leg to Gatwick. That is one instance where I will not pay for fly first. It costs $12,000 too much, plus international business class is better that domestic first anyday. For the flight to Spain we did the same thing; coach ticket, but upgraded to first. All in all we, for a family of four, spent arount $9,000. Had we bought all of out tickets at full fare, we would have spent $36,000.
But like I said before, if you want to know the straight dope, go to http://www.flyertalk.com and browse around. You’ll soon be addicted to miles like the rest of them, and me. 
I’ve only traveled first class a few times and never on my own dime, but I’ve seen kids in first class. Babies in fact. Some parents with the financial wherewithal will spring to have their children in first class, where it seems to be a lot easier to take care of them.
However, a cying baby is usually frowned upon in first class I discovered.