Much like volunteer fire fighters. You could also have just one paid person to organize the "volunteers."

I think you need to consider all that flight attendants do that is 'behind the scenes" or you never (hopefully!) get to see, besides handing you packets of peanuts.

My guess is that the FAA requires an attendant per X number of passengers to enforce its quite sensible rules: no standing during takeoff and landings, wear your seat belt, shut your cell, radio, etc.

And in case of emergencies, they are well-trained in what to do. Part of what they do makes flying safer than your car ride to the airport. i know that it is cool to ignore their safety talk before take off, just as it is cooler to not wear your seat belt when driving. But that attitude is for teenagers. Yes, it costs airlines, and us, more, but I appreciate getting there alive. It costs more to have airbags in your car, that you may never use, but it is good to know they are there.

This is a pretty good idea, after all, airlines already have volunteers that agree to handle emergency situations when seated in an exit row. Why not extend this exact situation contractually? I agree.

i dont't think you understand all the work we (flight attendants do). I think you underestimate all the skills we have. We are not onboard waitress'. Does a waitress:

-know CPR-know how to evactuate a restaurant in 90 seconds-know how to exstinguish a fire in a metal tube (an aircraft) flying at 500 mph-know how to deal with terrorists?

Think of that next time you make stupid remarks. We go through 6 weeks of training and fly as much as 16 hours (or more) A DAY. We prepare the aircraft hours before passengers get onboard. Try flying 16 hours a day, try flying to London from the east coast and coming back the same day. Try waking up in the morning and not knowing what city you will go to sleep in. Try it and see if that changes your reamark. I have wanted to be a flight attendant since I was 2 years old, it is the best job IN THE WORLD, but thinking that a flight attendant fly's for free and serves drinks is wrong.

mat

QUALITY CONTROL!!! How will u feel up 41,000 ft. in a thin aluminum tube that the only people who has any idea of any safety aspects is there ONLY for the free flights and thinks this job is only about handing u drinks/food/pillow and blankets? So you think short training can do it huh? Can you cram the position of all safety equip.on every diff. aircraft; how u will command pax to evacuate; what to do if someone looks suspicious; handling a drunkie mid-flight? What about medical emergencies? How will u deal with a heart attack/stroke/diabetics? Their "textbooks" is as thick as ur phone book... so don't under-estimate their skills and expertises just because most of their time is doing the "service" aspect of their job. Speaking back to the AirFrance crashing incident a month ago in Toronto Pearson Airport, if weren't for the well-trained flight attendants who reacted professionally and evacuated everyone out while most passengers are in shock and trauma, it wouldn't come to an ending where there's no casualties.PS-perhaps u should interview for this job but do keep in mind that only the top 5-10% are chosen out of all the possible candidates.

The Replacements - Waitress in the Sky

She don't wear no pants and she don't wear no tieAlways on the ball, she's always on strikeStruttin' up the aisle, big deal, you get to flyYou ain't nothin' but a waitress in the skyYou ain't nothin' but a waitress in the sky

Paid my fare, don't wanna complainYou get to me, you're always outta champagneTreat me like a bum, don't wear no tie'cause you ain't nothin' but a waitress in the skyYou ain't nothin' but a waitress in the sky

And the sign says, "Thank you very much for not smoking"My own sign says, "I'm sorry, I'm smokin'"Don't treat me special, don't kiss my assTreat me like the way they treat 'em up in first class

Sanitation expert and a maintenance engineerGarbage man, a janitor and you my dearA real union flight attendant, my oh myYou ain't nothin' but a waitress in the skyYou ain't nothin' but a waitress in the skyYou ain't nothin' but a waitress in the sky

I don't think this would that great of an idea. How motivated is your flight attendant going to be to serve you if they can't be fired?

A job of a flight attendant is MUCH MUCH MORE than you think. It requires intense training about 2 months long, not just a "short training course". It is definately more than a volunteer job. Plus, I wouldn't feel safe on a plane if my "volunteers" were just flying so they could fly free. Flight attendants work on these flights because they love their job and they want to help people and a lot times it is a childhood dream.

Plus, there is a lot more to the job than sitting in the back to get free flights. Flight attendants spend about 50 hrs. a month preparing planes for flights and writing reports following completed flights.

If they do anything behind the scenes, I would like to know that. I have seen arriving a minute before the flight and leaving seconds after arrival. I also don't believe that there is a ratio. I have seen less in cabin/more in business and vice versa.

Here's why your idea won't work....pyschology.

Because of the extensive amount of emergency training (of the 6 to 8 weeks of intial training a flight attendant recieves 3/4 is on emergency procedures) given to flight attendants, in the event of an emergency, we've already been indoctorinated to go right to evactuation procedures, the "be ready" mentality is really what saves lives in the cabin.

Twice in my career as a flight attendant, I've been faced with an emergency, one takeoff crash, the other a possible crash due to gear failure. The take off crash had NO fatalities due to the quick action of the F/A crew in evacuating, had there been no flight attendant crew, pandemonium would have caused more deaths than the fire.

During the disabled gear landing, as important as it was to prepare the cabin, and the passengers for the possibility of a crash, the most important thing I can remember doing, was lending a calm and reassuring voice to some very scared people, one of which was myself.....but at the moment, my focus was on what I was trained to do, save lives.

If a Flight Attendant never served a cocktail, a soda or a bag of peanuts, and sat on their jumpseat for the entire flight, they would still have done their job....the job that the Federal Aviation Administration thinks is very necessary, a member of an emergency readiness team.

No passenger who has not been through the extensive, and not easy to pass training, would be ready for this type of committment, after all in their mind, they're only on board to get a free flight.

i think that it could work. As an engineer, it's done at my level where companies subcontract our talent out all of the time. Like flight attendants, we go thru rigorous training for our job.

The only downside that I can see is if someone has a complaint with an attendant. Do you blame the company or the attendant?

The other downside is that a flight attendant would need to own multiple uniforms of each carrier...that would be a pain (except on Southwest :-)

We need flight attendants to subdue beligerant passengers, to make sure the FAA guidelines are followed, and make sure passengers ingress and egress expeditiously.

We need flight attendants to subdue beligerant passengers, to make sure the FAA guidelines are followed, and make sure passengers ingress and egress expeditiously. Just think of the liable relationship that would happen if the paid passenger (ticket paid for) were to fail to miss some FAA required procedure and a passenger died (oxygen mask deploys and passenger did not recieve correct previous instructions). That person would personally be liable as well as the airline.