They're losing the plot. Service-wise, I mean. Getting to one's destination on time? No problem. Ever.
But the fall in service standards is another story. The other day, I had a problem with my video screen. This is something that's not uncommon these days, depending on the route one is flying (read: the plane they allocate to that route). What's unusual though is the reaction of flight staff.
When I asked a crew member about the problem with the screen at my seat, he looked at it casually, shrugged, said "It's an old plane" and walked off.
When this happened on my previous flight, I wasn't even given that excuse. Or any excuse.
Interestingly, my statistically nonsensical gut feel is that the younger crew actually come across as more contrite than the older ones. And among the older crew, the women come across as more genuinely apologetic than the men.
My theory? From first-hand observation, it's pretty clear that the female crew do much more work on the plane than the men. Yet, I'm told, the men find it easier to get promoted than the women. That's because there are many more women than men working as flight crew. Also possibly because some women leave the crew when they get married, but that's just a guess. Could this result in a general sense of complacency among senior male flight crew?
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