An American Airlines passenger claims a flight attendant on a recent domestic flight fell asleep for a “good 2-3 minutes” during a critical phase of flight as the plane was taxiing to the runway and then during takeoff.
Taking to the popular frequent flyer forum website Flyer Talk, the passenger recounted their experience of suddenly noticing that the flight attendant was “passed out” in their jumpseat.
The flight attendant had just performed the safety demonstration and was strapped into their jumpseat in readiness for departure when the passenger noticed that the crew member’s eyes were shut and their head was “bobbing around”.
“They were asleep for a good 2-3 minutes, with their head bobbing around and their eyes shut,” the frequent flyer explained. “They woke up when the pilot rang their call button and then immediately fell back asleep until we took off. I took two photos, although I have no intention of sharing them publicly, since I don’t want to shame the individual FA.”
Although the passenger isn’t willing to share the photos of the flight attendant, they did write to American Airlines to explain what had happened during the flight. In reply, the passenger says they received a boilerplate AI-written customer service response which didn’t address the complaint.
Now, the passenger is wondering how to follow up their complaints, explaining: “This is tricky. I don’t want or need compensation, and I don’t want to get the flight attendant fired. I do want AA to acknowledge that the behavior is unacceptable and that their service levels aren’t up to what they’re supposed to be.”
If American Airlines does indeed decide to investigate precisely what occurred on that flight, then it is likely to take a very dim view of the flight attendant’s alleged behavior.
Takeoff is a critical phase of flight and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires flight attendants to be fully alert aware of the their surroundings so as to be able to respond in the event of an emergency.
Last week, it emerged that another Dallas Fort Worth-based flight attendant had been fired when a colleague caught her shutting her eyes while sitting in a spare flight in the middle of the seat.
Although the ex-flight attendant says she wasn’t sleeping, the best efforts of the flight attendant union failed to stop the airline from terminating her.
As the frequent flyer on Flyer Talk acknowledges, flight attendants have an “extremely hard job” and its can be a physically exhausting profession.
In 2022, the FAA attempted to address concerns of flight attendant fatigue by implementing a law that guarantees flight attendants a minimum 10-hour rest period between duty days.
Until the law changes, flight attendants would normally only get nine hours of rest between duty days, but in certain circumstances, this rest period could be reduced to just eight hours. Union leaders warned safety was being jeopardized because flight attendants were flying fatigued.
The rulemaking applies to flight attendants who are scheduled to work a 14-hour duty day or less, which typically covers most domestic flights.
The law was initially approved in 2018 but under the Trump-era administration, the rulemaking kept on getting delayed. The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) which had campaigned for 28 years to increase rest periods for crew members hailed the new law as a major safety win for the industry.
Although the law goes some way to address flight attendant fatigue, the minimum rest rules aren’t as generous as many European countries and US-based flight attendants are typically allowed to fly a lot more hours each month that their peers across the Atlantic.
Matt’s take
Unfortunately, flight attendants falling asleep on their jumpseat isn’t unheard of, especially at the end of a busy overnight long-haul duty. Generally speaking, though, daytime duty days should be a lot easier to manage, and falling asleep in full view of customers is a major concern.
In this case, the flight attendant could well find themselves in a lot of hot water if the airline finds out their identity.
So you dont want to shame them wit ha picture, but you write a whole post on it.
Why does this concern you so much? You’re clearly in attention-seeking mode stating that you took pictures that you “don’t intend to share.” You are correct that this is a critical phase of flight – for the pilots. The flight attendants are mandated to be seated and buckled in the jump seat. If there is a serious incident, the pilots will ring the FA’s to prepare for whatever the incident is. If they crash, that flight attendant being asleep or awake is of no consequence. If you truly were a flight attendant as it says in the bio – you just never know who’s fudging credentials these days – then you know there is absolutely nothing wrong with a quick power nap during taxi and takeoff. There is nobody being robbed of customer service or in danger because of that.
Mind your own business. These flight crews are run ragged and deal with idiots like you. So they bobbed their head for a few minutes. Did anyone die on that flight? Shame on you!
Well, flight attendants don’t get paid till the flight is in the air anyways. And they don’t get paid that much, therefore many are working crazy hours to survive. Have some compassion and empathy. You were fine. The plane was fine. And she was alert because she answered the pilot.
Not true. FA’s are paid when the plane pushes back, not just “air time.”
Are we sure they didn’t pass out?
The appropriate thing to do is to make a report to the FAA. Their website has a portal for such things
So you want to get someone fired huh?
The person (reporting) this is an AH. .”2-3 MINUTES” ?! In a Jump Seat! (So apparently, everything was OK when they sat down….) but Gawd Forbid they closed their eyes for a minute. ….also, if the Plane Is Moving, your head will be ‘nodding’ regardless. I’m not sure about the rest of the human race, but I frequently close my eyes….and SHOCK , I’m not actually asleep.
Holy Fkn Sh$t ! Those few minutes from loading to the tarmac must have been Terrifying! 😒
And I guess there are also No warning sounds or signals that would ‘go off’ if there were any kind of danger ( including those little buttons that calls an attendant 😱)
This article is a GD joke.
As a former flight attendant for two major us carriers, having caught sleeping or even giving an impression that a crew might be asleep is a non forgivable offence and gets one terminated instantly . This passenger should have pulled the flight attendant to the side and discretely told them what he had observed if they had no internal will to get that person fired . If the pax even mentions the flight number to aa, they will figure out in the hot minute just by looking at the flight manifest and that person will be fired no questions asked . So I don’t buy this whole “I don’t wanna get that fa fired or need compensation be” by this complainant . Obviously this passenger is a frequent flyer where he knows good enough the rules of operation to state that he is aware the crew will get fired . Most people aren’t aware of this rule. Also there is only one crew member on the jump seat that’s in plain view of the cabin passengers out of the total 2 who are sharing that jumpseat so the company will know exactly who it is . So next time if you are a passenger and don’t wanna really get a sleeping crew member fired then pull them to the side and talk to them . Also the automated response from aa is a process . Someone will eventually get to his complaint and follow up
Not let’s address the actual issue . Is it wrong for the crew to doze off YES ! Is it safety issue ? Absolutely ! But in our defence these airlines under pay us and over work us like mules ! American is the worst company to work for . On top of that crew fatigue is a real thing but if u call in fatigue airlines will hold that against you. At my last airlines we used to go into the bathroom and sit on the toilet seat cover and take cat naps got we were so tired . If we didn’t we were gonna fall asleep on jump seat and get caught and fired . So it’s an unsaid rule among all crew members we use to wake each other up if we catch someone asleep even for a min and tell them to go get coffee or a caffeine pill. Also as uncomfortable and rigid those damn jump seats look , they would make u fall asleep the moment u sit on them ! So if you are a pax and u catch a fa falling asleep grab them take them to a corner and let them know what u observed and don’t complain. But if ur gonna complaint please remember they are gonna guaranteed get fired no questions. Asked ! Being caught sleeping g is the ONLY UNFORGIVEABLE INSTANT TERMINATION OFFENSE AT ALL AIRLINES . No union can save ur job in that predicament. If you care about that crew talk to them in private and don’t say a thing to the company ! That doesn’t mean the crew was not wrong in sleeping but Remember we are over worked under payed and are treated like modern day slaves. Airlines get away with murder with mistreatment of crew and get away with it
As a frequent flyer myself, I would be extremely uncomfortable with “pulling a flight attendant aside” for the purpose of admonishing him or her because they were caught sleeping. I would think that doing something like that would not only get me into all kinds of trouble with the airline, but also get me an unwanted visit by law enforcement, or would it not be likely? My personal policy would be to just take advantage of the Fifth Amendment unless they were snoring like a Harley Davidson with loud pipes. I don’t snitch, I just mind my own unless (for example) an innocent person is in immediate danger.
No long ago I reed abouth fliedatendas don’t make enough money sam don’t have a place to sleep they don’t get pay when they are at the airport only when they flie.a bar tender and waiters make more money.
I’m not so sure the FA was actually asleep. I often close my eyes periodically to review the ESCAPE scenario in my JS and give my eyes a rest. My contacts get dry. Please give the FA the benefit of the doubt.
The FA could have been praying for a safe flight for all on board. That 2 to 3 minutes of a 10 to 20 minute taxi depending on what airport you are at. Thanks to all FA that work hard for all who fly.
I can share, as an FA for 30 years, there are times when it’s dang near impossible sometimes to stay awake on the JS. That 0445 first flight of the day means the crew was likely at the gate :45-:60 prior, so 0345. :15 from curb of airport to gate, 0330 :15 from hotel to airport so lobby pick up time of 0315. I could get ready in :30, but most want an hour to get ready. Let’s split the difference, :45 to get ready. 0230 wake up. This scenario would be legal based on an ~1700 end of prior duty day. I know few people who can sleep at 1830 to get 8 hours “rest” for the 0230 wake up. Now, just for fun, do the math based on an LAX crew working a long flight to BOS. A 3hr time change exacerbates the fatigue. So, while you’re comfy and snoozing in your seat, in a dark, warm cabin on a :30 minute taxi out I’m strapped in, putting toothpicks in my eyes to stay awake. Pinching myself to the point of bruising my arms. Doing whatever I can to “avoid the appearance of sleeping.” One of the FA super powers is functioning on minimal sleep, day after day. Were I to witness a crew member “appearing” to sleep, if I just “had to say something” I might, after service take them aside and say, “Hey, you’ve been great in your service and I appreciate what you do everyday. As we were taxing out it looked like some people could think you’d nodded off. I know hard this job is with the sleep/wake cycle. I’d like to (had them a $10 or giftcard) buy you a coffee and say, “Keep up the great work and I understand.” They will be SOOOOO appreciative that you came to them, understood why they might be that tired and recognized their humanity. We don’t get a lot of that these days.
My wife is an American Airlines Flight Attendant so I know how hard she works and how long her work days CAN be. There are days my wife starts her day at 4 AM and is still flying at 11 PM that same day only to have an early start the very next day. Some of these Flight Attendants are working 2 or even 3 legs in a day just to make a living wage. You don’t know if this person had trouble sleeping the night before due to bad accommodations, illness or a quick layover and turnaround. This may have been a 4th or 5th day straight for this person without a day off. It is easier to throw the rock and hide the hand by stating you have photos but will not share like you have an ounce of empathy or dignity for this airline employee. Shame on you for showing a lack of class with your holier than thow attitude. But not to worry, Im sure my cousin KARMA will be paying you a visit real soon.
I can guarantee that if you contacted the company, the company has been in contact with that flight attendant. The message you received was just a generic acknowledgement that your message was received. This flight attendant probably was penalized with points before being counseled or having an opportunity to share what was happening with them at that moment. I agree, takeoff and landing are the critical phases of flying, and as a flight attendant it is a pity passengers do not pay attention to safety demo or anything else. But yes, if we talking about AA. If you sent a letter, that flight attendant was reprimanded.
In case you weren’t already aware, you’re a Karen.