It looks like a long hot summer for the airline industry -- particularly for flight attendants, the workers who most frequently interact with passengers.
A now well-known incident on April 9 -- when a recalcitrant passenger was dragged off a United (UAL) airplane by Chicago Aviation Authority security officers -- has drawn widespread attention to airline customer service shortcomings. It didn't involve flight attendants.
But an April 21st incident, where an American (AAL) flight attendant responded badly after he was menaced by a large male passenger, vividly portrays the stress flight attendants can face.
In the video, the large male passenger concluded -- apparently falsely -- that the flight attendant struck a woman or her children. In the video, he declares "Hey bud, you do that to me and I'll knock you flat."
He leaves his seat to menace the flight attendant, who responds by telling him to stay out of it and then taunts him, saying, "Hit me, bring it on." However, no one hit anyone.
"Without a doubt, in recent weeks, we've seen threats against flight attendants, but in fact it's been a growing trend over the last year or more," said Bob Ross, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents 26,000 American flight attendants.
"It seems like the respect flight crew members get on flights is deteriorating at a rapid pace," Ross said in an interview.
On Thursday, Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, which represents about 50,000 flight attendants at 20 airlines, will appear before the Senate Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety and Security for another hearing on airline customer service.
In a recent message to flight attendants, Nelson said various videos have created challenges for flight attendants.
"The mob mentality response to the video clips, with little correct information about the incidents, has put flight attendants in the crosshairs," Nelson wrote. "We have been focused on trying to do a national de-escalation to keep travelers from coming to the plane with bias against crewmembers."
On Tuesday, at a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing, Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., suggested changes may be needed in federal regulations regarding how many flight attendants are required on an aircraft.
