There’s Still No Substitute for a Good Attitude in the Air

Almost every attendant on my Delta flight between Dallas and Los Angeles carried a copy.

“Where has this guy been?” one asked, angrily waving her newspaper. “And what does he think we do?”

The “guy” they were referring to was USA Today founder Allen H. Neuharth. In the July 28 issue of his newspaper Neuharth wrote an essay entitled “Air Travel Priority: Return of ‘Sky Girls.’ ”

Here’s some of what he wrote:

“When I retired as chairman of Gannett on April 1 I took my first domestic commercial airline flight in 19 years . . . Most of the young, attractive, enthusiastic female flight attendants . . . have been replaced by aging women who are tired of their jobs or by flighty young men who have trouble balancing a cup of coffee or tea.”

Neuharth argued that passenger service in the air started when the first “sky girl” was hired in 1930, and that today’s flight attendants aren’t “peppy or happy.” He called for the return of pretty young women in the cabin. Even before the essay ran, the reaction was explosive.

“The paper called us and read us the Neuharth piece,” said Cindy Yeast, spokesperson for the Assn. of Flight Attendants. “We couldn’t believe it.

“If you thought the essay was bad, you should have seen the paragraph we begged them to delete, which they did remove.”

Here’s what that said:

“It’s discrimination,” Neuharth wrote, “to deny pretty young females a chance of glamorous entry level jobs in the air and to deny passengers the peppy playfulness of their company to ease cabin pressure.”

The AFA, which represents about 25,000 United, USAir, Piedmont and Alaska Airlines flight attendants, was not alone in its negative reaction to Neuharth’s column.

Angry letters to Neuharth began pouring in from various employees of United, Pan Am, American and other airlines. Add my name to the list. Here is my response in an open letter:

“Dear Mr. Neuharth: You couldn’t be more off-course if you tried. Having been abused as a passenger--and quite regularly--in the deregulated airline environment, I can certainly relate to your complaints about getting good service.

“But really, Al, your first commercial domestic flight in 19 years? You, the publisher of USA Today, which prides itself on its travel reporting? How could you be so out of touch?

“You’re right about one thing: The first air hostess was a registered nurse from Iowa who welcomed her first 11 passengers aboard a United Airlines flight at Oakland Airport on May 15, 1930.

“The hostess, Ellen Church, had originally written to the airline, suggesting that ‘suitably qualified’ young women like herself might be employed as cabin attendants. Church was hired and then given the assignment to select and train other ‘hostesses.’

“But you’re wrong about passenger service in the air. The first airline flight attendant was a steward named Jack Sanderson who flew for Daimler Airways on its London-to-Paris flight in April, 1922.

“Indeed, aspiring hostess applicants were required to be registered nurses under the age of 25, weigh not more than 115 pounds and not exceed 5 feet, 4 inches in height. But those requirements had more to do with the height and weight limitations of the small planes than with anything else.

“There’s a lot wrong with air travel today, but almost none of it can be traced to the age, weight or general appearance of flight attendants.

“First, some facts: It is true that the more popular flights are often flown by the flight attendants with the most seniority. It stands to reason that these flight attendants are also older. So what?

“Older flight attendants are not put on planes to support some specious argument that flying tends to prolong life. Besides, in an emergency, I’d rather have an experienced flight attendant handling the exit doors than someone taking their fourth flight. The same can be said of the cockpit crew.

“And then there’s the issue of weight and marriage. A few years back, a number of the airlines tried to terminate flight attendants who were overweight. The attendants sued the airlines and cited the 1964 Civil Rights Act--and won their jobs back.

“The courts ruled, among other things, that only in extreme cases, where a person’s weight might affect his or her ability to handle an emergency situation, should weight be a job requirement or a later employment issue. Airline flight attendants have an important job to do, and one of them is safety. It is not to run an airborne dating service.

“Let’s look at the situation from the flight attendant’s point of view. Today most flight attendants are working more hours and, on a real dollar basis, making less money than they were 10 years ago. So much for glamour. Flights are leaving the gate with heavier passenger loads, more unaccompanied minors and more passengers who simply don’t know proper airline etiquette.

“In fact, there is a whole new breed of unruly passengers. Either they are intoxicated, abusive or both. It is no surprise that a number of airlines keep handcuffs on board because some passengers have gotten out of control. And the reasons for this have little to do with the flight attendants.

“ ‘All too often,’ says the AFA’s Yeast, ‘we become the dumping grounds for the airline’s problems. Planes are more crowded, there are more passengers and, yes, service in general has suffered during the 10 years of deregulation.’

“Consider this: By the time most passengers come face to face with a flight attendant, chances are that passenger has been abused by any one of nine people or incidents--or, in some cases, by all of them:

“The taxi was stuck in traffic . . . There was a long line to check in baggage. . . . The skycap was indifferent. . . . There was a long line at the ticket counter. . . . The ticket agent was indifferent. . . . The airline either lost his reservation or can only give him row 59E, a middle seat in the smoking section. . . . The plane was delayed by air traffic control--on the ground. . . . The plane pushed back from the gate and the pilot discovered a small warning light was flashing in the cockpit. . . . The plane was delayed by air traffic control--in the air.

“It all really comes down to attitude in personal contact jobs. And let me tell you, neophyte commercial flyer Mr. Neuharth, that beauty and weight and age have absolutely nothing to do with service. I’ve had abysmal flights thanks to the indifference of beautiful but snooty young flight attendants, and splendid flights due to great attitudes and service by senior flight attendants.

“In fact, there are some flights I would choose precisely because of the age and experience of the attendants. For example, TWA Flight 760, the polar flight between Los Angeles and London, is staffed by senior flight attendants. The flight is a pleasure.

“The definition of good airline service can be precise. The delivery and execution of that service on individual flights is another matter. Unfortunately, it seems that you, Mr. Neuharth, are more in love with youth than experience, with style over substance and with looks over intelligence. I think you are just getting older, not wiser.”

Getting good service is all rather subjective, and for Neuharth to claim that the solution to good service would be to bring back 21-year-old stewardesses wearing miniskirts and come-hither looks is nothing less than an insult and an absurdity.