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Puhleeze. Plenty of customer service related jobs go along fine without model looking staff. Just give it up already.
I don't think that model looks are required. But general attractiveness, positive attitude, being welcoming should also be a qualification for the customer service jobs. Especially the one where people are possibly loooking at the employees for hours. It is sad that US airlines are either unable or chose not to enforce these qualifications. This results in flight attendants on US flight being largely unwelcoming, unattractive and providing a horrible flying experience. Most do not even enforce minimum fitness standards. Whenever I fly internationally, I make an effort not to choose US airline.
I don't think that model looks are required. But general attractiveness, positive attitude, being welcoming should also be a qualification for the customer service jobs. Especially the one where people are possibly looking at the employees for hours. It is sad that US airlines are either unable or chose not to enforce these qualifications. This results in flight attendants on US flight being largely unwelcoming, unattractive and providing a horrible flying experience. Most do not even enforce minimum fitness standards. Whenever I fly internationally, I make an effort not to choose US airline.
Here is my gripe about United Airlines when I have flown out of O'Hare. If you fly on a United Express Flight under a code share, You generally get a flight attendant who is genuinely friendly, helpful, and efficient.
OTOH, if you fly to one of the coasts on one of the larger jets, you get the more senior staff and there is generally at least one of the staff who is out and out unfriendly. I know that a lot of the long-term people got the shaft with the United Airlines bankruptcies, but don't take it on the paying customers.
Here is my gripe about United Airlines when I have flown out of O'Hare. If you fly on a United Express Flight under a code share, You generally get a flight attendant who is genuinely friendly, helpful, and efficient.
OTOH, if you fly to one of the coasts on one of the larger jets, you get the more senior staff and there is generally at least one of the staff who is out and out unfriendly. I know that a lot of the long-term people got the shaft with the United Airlines bankruptcies, but don't take it on the paying customers.
ExpressJet dba United Express is an entirely different company and its flight attendants are ExpressJet employees, not UnitedContinental employees. And while their flight attendants tend to leave after a few years in search of a mainline job with better pay & benefits, it seems like ExpressJet has better labor relations than UnitedContinental does, where the problems go beyond the bankruptcy concessions and extend to a massively dysfunctional system post-merger where the former United and former Continental FAs each have their own unions, union contracts, and you can't even have a exUnited and exContinental FA work the same flight; it's all either United or Continental FAs per plane.
Finally merging the unions and having a single contract for each union group (FAs, mechanics, etc.) is seen as something that the new United CEO really needs to prioritize because it really does cause a number of problems that impact the hard and soft customer service experience.
ExpressJet has better labor relations than UnitedContinental does, where the problems go beyond the bankruptcy concessions and extend to a massively dysfunctional system post-merger where the former United and former Continental FAs each have their own unions, union contracts, and you can't even have a exUnited and exContinental FA work the same flight; it's all either United or Continental FAs per plane.
But that is also not much different than the Allegheny-Piedmont merger, the Northwest Orient - Republic merger, the AA-TWA merger and most others.
United Airlines did not have good service prior to its latest merger and I suspect that I will be long gone before it ever does.
Puhleeze. Plenty of customer service related jobs go along fine without model looking staff. Just give it up already.
You don't understand human nature, selling to the public and the advantage of being pleasant and attractive.
So ask yourself this; Would you rather have someone who looks like Michael Moore or someone who looks like Taylor Swift for your flight attendant? 99% of travelers would choose Taylor Swift.
I don't think that model looks are required. But general attractiveness, positive attitude, being welcoming should also be a qualification for the customer service jobs. .
Exactly. And this preference is probably expressed subconsciously. Like it or not, human nature prefers attractive people.
I don't think that model looks are required. But general attractiveness, positive attitude, being welcoming should also be a qualification for the customer service jobs. Especially the one where people are possibly loooking at the employees for hours. It is sad that US airlines are either unable or chose not to enforce these qualifications. This results in flight attendants on US flight being largely unwelcoming, unattractive and providing a horrible flying experience. Most do not even enforce minimum fitness standards. Whenever I fly internationally, I make an effort not to choose US airline.
As I've said before in my previous post, it's all about Supply vs Demand.
I'll give you an example: a flight attendant salary in the US is about 37K average. That's just a little above minimum wage in expensive cities in the US. So let's see, you want an attractive woman who looks like Taylor Swift (per Roadking's response) who will treat you like a king, all for 37K? You're lucky the whole flying experience hasn't turned into a DMV nightmare.
The pay is slightly more at Singapore Airlines and the other top tier international carriers, sometimes double. So for a woman in an Asian or Middle Eastern country, where good paying jobs for women are not as robust, that's a darn good deal. That and coupled with shi**y local labor laws allow the carriers to dictate what kind of hoops these applicants need to jump through, no matter how discriminatory, before being selected for the role. Once the selected flight attendant passes her 'prime age', she will be 'retired' and another young thing comes along to replace her.
Customers can demand whatever they want till they turn blue, but if the pay doesn't support the demand, you'll get whatever your money can afford. Simple as that.
PS: I'm done with this discussion. Apology to the OP for sidetracking this thread too far off.
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