26 April 2008

Observing brand-new flight attendants

I flew to Indianapolis today, through Chicago, on Sarah's airline. And the flight into Chicago was staffed by new flight attendants with less than a month of experience - though that wasn't revealed until after landing.

It was indeed a troublesome flight. The safety video showcased the features of the Airbus A319, even though I was flying on a Boeing 757. The video stopped halfway, then started again - but this time, it was the Airbus A320, three times. Only on the fifth try did the flight attendants play the correct Boeing 757 track. Once on the way, the audio programming got bungled up, and the entertainment system had to be shut down several times before it worked properly. The purser's announcements were not loud enough, and practically unintelligible, while the cockpit announcements came in crystal clear.

I need to figure out what kinds of inflight mistakes Sarah will make, as a new hire in 1999. Today's flight could offer some clues, though back in 1999, the safety video was a VHS tape, not a DVD. Time to brainstorm more...

For now, I am tired, so I need to rest a bit to prepare for tomorrow's activities in Chicago.

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