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Canada moves towards allowing fewer attendants on flights
The federal government wants to let Canada’s airlines fly with fewer flight attendants, a move that one union says is a threat to passenger safety. Transport Canada this week granted WestJet an exemption to the existing rules, allowing the airline to operate with one flight attendant for every 50 passengers, instead of one cabin staff for every 40 passengers. And the department quietly signalled this week it intends to change the rules so Canadian carriers can fly with fewer flight attendants… (www.thestar.com) Ещё...
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Why not zero flight attendants, but have one cop on every plane to look after law and order - and oh yes, force Stephen Harper to fly Economy every where he goes.
And Joseph, I should add to that - a great many people are truly appalled by the flight experience. Especially those of us old enough to remember how it "used to be".
How stupid are they doing a thing like that obviously, cutting staff should not be on flights. Are they going to go with one pilot next?
I am surprised it took this long to change the rules. The 1 in 50 rule has been the international standard for eons. Some people say it is a safety issue. I respectfully disagree. When Air France ran their A-330 off the end of the runway in Toronto, all the passengers were evacuated with no loss of life. Air France operates with 1 in 50 FAs. As far as service goes, with the replacement of hot meals with cookies and pretzels, the 1 in 40 rule makes no economic sense. JMHO
Yes Joseph, you're right - if we're caught-up in the race to the bottom for service quality. What is the staff/passenger ratio on Singapore or Cathay Pacific for international long-hauls? If they're operating at 1:50, well you may have a valid point.
Hey Mark I just checked and the only 2 countries that operate with 1 in 40 are Canada and New Zealand. All the others use the standard 1:50. Having said that, these are minimum staffing requirements and companies can stall higher if needed. I am just saying that the golden age of flight is gone and most people don't think flying is that special anymore. Have you seen how casual most people dress?
Joeseph, when I fly I wear the same nondescript stuff I wear when moping around the house because I know on long overnight flights it will get even more crumpled, but what I wear has nothing to do with the service standards I expect once I'm in that aircraft. As I said, we can either just sit back and enjoy the race to the bottom, or make our voices known to this industry that we want good standards of service. Of course we can't talk through both sides of our mouths at the same time, so if we want the standards we need to be willing to pay, and there is the rub.
And Joseph, I should add to that - a great many people are truly appalled by the flight experience. Especially those of us old enough to remember how it "used to be". (reposted - it was in the wrong place.)
Mark I could not agree with you more. "If we want the standards, we need to be willing to pay". The problem is that people do not want to pay. They want the lowest fare, a safe flight and to be on time. As far as the race to the bottom goes, I am not sure how much further down we can go. I meant no disrespect on how people dress. It just indicates to me that they do not expect the experience to be special. Maybe I am too old school but why do people have to wear their PJ's everywhere they go?
Well, I guess I'm an odd-man-out mixture. No-one would ever guess from how I dress on an aircraft what kind of service I would like to have. Because as I say - there was a time when.....would you believe it in the 1960s on Swissair in Economy class they did actually ask whether you wanted the steak rare, medium or well-done. So yes, standards have deteriorated some....to peanuts and pretzels you pay for separately. The only further down it could go is no peanuts or pretzels even for pay. As for the PJ's, on some airlines today if you fly Business they even give them to you on-board, so no need to turn-up at the airport dressed -or shall we say - undressed - like that! :-)
OK Joseph - fine - if no one cares, why not drop the ratio to 1:50. I would just like to hope more people would care and we could see incremental improvement in service standards from the low base to which they have sunk over the years. But if the vast majority don't care, so be it.
OK Joseph - fine - if no one cares, why not drop the ratio to 1:50. I would just like to hope more people would care and we could see incremental improvement in service standards from the low base to which they have sunk over the years. But if the vast majority don't care, so be it.
