He is my hero.
I say this because he did what lots of us would LOVE to do. Granted, he did go too far...and for that, he'll most likely lose his job. I don't think he should go to jail, though.
What about the female passenger who assaulted him? Why isn't anything being said about her? She deliberately injured a flight attendant! We've been told that is a federal offense! She should be held accountable, and she, too should be subject to the media attention being given to Steven.
Fortunately, passengers like that are a definite minority. If it was otherwise, I don't think I would have lasted in this job as long as I have (almost three years now!). Here's a sampling of what I've experienced:
1. Bags set on the ground and the passenger tells me it's too heavy for them to lift and put in the overhead. My response - "You bring it, you sling it. Maybe some nice gentleman would be happy to help you." Usually followed up with, "My company doesn't allow me to pick up passenger bags any longer. We've experienced to many OJI claims because the bags are too heavy and there is a weight limit of 35 pounds for carry-on bags. If you lift it, I'll be happy to assist you by guiding it into the overhead."
2. Seatbacks and tray tables down as we prepare for take-off and/or landing. Eyes roll when I ask for them to comply. My response, "In case of an emergency evacuation, your seatback and/or tray table will prevent those behind you and/or next to you from being able to get off the aircraft." Usually the passengers around the eye-roller will ensure that he keeps his seat forward and/or his tray table stowed.
3. Passengers needing to get up to go potty, but the seatbelt sign is still illuminated. I am not allowed to give permission. All I am allowed to say is "The seatbelt sign is still illuminated, and federal regulation requires that passengers remain in their seats until the captain turns off the fasten seatbelt sign." One guy just wouldn't let it go recently, so I told him, "Maybe you should have gone before you got on the plane." His wife hit him and said, "That's what I told him!" The guy seemed to take the harassment well, so I went on to say, "Maybe you should consider wearing Depends!" Again, the wife hits him and says, "That's what I told him!"
4. Passengers who come on board with more than the allowed number of carry-on bags (2). First of all, the gate personnel should not allow them to board the aircraft without checking bags to reach the allowed number. Then, when I tell them that the larger bag may be placed in the overhead, but all the other items must be placed under the seat in front of them, I inevitably hear, "Well, I can place this, this, and this on top of one another and take up the same amount of space as a roller bag!" My response, "That's not the point. You are allowed one bag up and one bag down." Followed, of course, by, "but I paid for this overhead space!" My favorite flights are those that the gate personnel check ALL the large bags - the boarding process is a breeze, no one fights over bin space, and everyone is happy! One of these days, I'm tempted to take the flight attendant duct tape and seal all the overhead bins.
5. Passengers who don't want to take care of their kids. There are those that don't bring enough food, drink and/or toys and expect us to have everything on board to entertain their child. We charge for our food, we do not usually have milk, and we have a very limited supply of crayons. When I was recently scolded by an irate mother at the end of the flight that, "back in the day flight attendants used to do whatever was necessary to help mothers of crying babies," I responded, "back in the day when I was a mother, I brought my own food/drink/toys to keep my child entertained." I could've added that I did not allow my child to tear up the in-flight magazines, the Safety Information Card and/or the Cabin Services Guide, and either throw the pieces on the floor or hide them in the seatback pocket. Also, I cleaned up any mess that my child made in my row before I left the aircraft...we've had to scrape stickers off of the seats/walls/traytables, vacuum smashed cookies, and disinfect seats that are used as changing tables. I wonder what these peoples' homes look like.
6. Speaking of trash, it's not just kids that are offenders. Gum-chewers love to put their chewed gum on the underside of their armrests, between the pages of the in-flight magazine, and on the back of the seat in front of them and then they press the Safety Information Card against it. It happens an average of once or twice PER FLIGHT that I've been on! I cannot count the number of times that we go up and down the aisles during each flight, either pushing the trashcart or carrying trashbags, and there's always one or two people who give us NOTHING. Then when we have to clean the plane to fly back out, we find their food wrappers, cups (still filled with liquid), AND their newspapers stuffed into the seatback pocket. Really?
7. How about showing some respect, and take the time to get dressed before you come on my plane? Guys...pull up your pants so that your whitey tidies (or Spongebob Squarepants boxers) aren't on my seats. Ladies, cover up the cleavage. Do I really need to see everything you've got? Keep your pajamas and slippers at home in your bedroom, and please please please be sure to shower! It's not pleasant when people with BO come onboard, and everyone around them has to hold their breath for a 2-hour flight.
These are only seven examples of things that I've personally experienced. I haven't mentioned the passengers that call us names (some are obscene), poke us with their fingers, hit us trying to get our attention, or yell for us. Fortunately, if it's a really bad situation we have the ability to get the passenger taken off the plane, but if we've already taken off, there's not much you can do.
And as for the other 98% of the flying public, they're happy to assist in writing witness statements to support our actions, to subdue unruly passengers by sitting on them while taping their hands and feet together, and sometimes they even cheer when a jerk passenger exits the aircraft! There's always someone coming up to us after an "incident," commending us on our handling of the situation and thanking us for removing the offending party or for "putting them in their place."
This is an addicting job. The great things that happen far outweigh the negative. But I can see how a little too much of the negative can cause a flight attendant to temporarily "lose it," especially when they've worked the job for 20 years. And, as for those who say that flight attendants shouldn't be "losing it," - then please come onto our aircraft as our guests, treat us with respect, and we will be happy to treat you the same. Keep in mind, we ARE only human.
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