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“Do you ever get the Captain to keep the seat belt light on?”
FP:In a word, “guilty!” However, it is rare and this tactic is only used out of desperation. There are times when FAs are trying to get through their service and it’s near impossible because half the airplane is up or the service is over and the back galley has become a social gathering or yoga studio. FAs don’t mind if you stretch your legs, in fact I encourage it but that means by walking a bit, and then heading back to your seat. The seat belt sign being off, doesn’t mean you should be up without reason and that we won’t hit clear air turbulence. I don’t think most people understand that the Captain turns the seat belt sign off when he feels it is safe to move about, so that passengers can use the facilities and stretch (and by stretching we mean walking to the lav). The truth is, you should be in your seat most of the time, not because it inconveniences the crew but because it is a safer place to be.I have been in severe turbulence about five times (moderate is very bumpy)and each time it came without warning. Severe turbulence will lift a 250 pound bar cart off the ground and is when most people are injured. The most recent that I know of was a woman who was paralyzed on a Continental flight from Houston to McAllen, TX. I know of many FAs who were severely injured and out of work for many months one I saw first hand. I was working in the back and we hit clear air turbulence, flew in the air and the FA I was working with hit the back wall before being slammed to the ground. I helped her to the jump seat (luckily very close by) and she moaned all the way to the gate where she was taken off the plane in an aisle wheel chair. She was out of work for eight months.
I know another question going through every ones mind is, “what if I reeeeaaally have to go to the bathroom?”
Flight Attendants are informers, if you really have to go, you have to know that you are at your own risk and that the FA will still “inform” you on your way. That is what we are required by the FAA and our airline to say. So, when a FA informs you that the seat belt sign is on they’re not being rude, mean or stupid…we’re merely doing our job and it still doesn’t stop the law suits.
I know that it is not comfortable to sit in a coach airplane seat for very long. I would rather work a flight than be a passenger on a full flight but for your safety and the safety of those around you, keep your seat belt fastened when you are in your seat…even if the seat belt sign is off.
(post pic courtesy of Thegirlsmoma’s photo stream)
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Yes, I've been guilty of this (not very often). It's usually trying to buy a few extra minutes to get snacks out, etc. 😉
Yep, have also done ita few times. Sometimes, on certain types of aircraft and to certain destinations, there can be a bit of a party going on. And doing this helps clear the galley and enables the flight attendants to get their job done when asking politely hasn't.
I've also asked it to be turned on when it is bumpy in the back of the plane-sometimes the ride is very different in the rear of the airplane than the one they are having all the way in the front in the cockpit.
I too have hit severe turbulence a time or two (usually when we are trying avoid a tropical storm or a hurricane and are flying WAY around it).
Once going out of New Orleans, we hit a microburst (or very strong downdraft/windshear). We were around 24,000 feet and still climbing. Thankfully we only had crew on board and everyone for the most part was seated and strapped in. I was walking back up front from the aft galley after getting a bottle of water and all of a sudden my feet where off the floor. I quickly reached over and pulled myself down into an empty seat in the cabin. We lost almost a thousand feet and then it was over almost as quickly as it had started returning to smooth air.
Clear air turbulence can be scary especially since it doesn't show up on radar so they aren't kidding when pilots say they recommend you stay buckled in your seats as they do in theirs. You just never know when it's going to happen.
Yes I have! Most certainly after a movie when everyone is getting up! I know its not always right but have done it. agree with BethanyinFL it clears the galley and aisles when its almost impossible to move. I have been thrown down from turbulence before and its not fun. Again its always more bumpy in the back of the plane then if front.
I remember being very surprised recently when a pilot commented on my putting a seatbelt on when he invited me to sit & talk in the flight deck. I was only there a few minutes, but I thought, that has got to be a first! I sure don't want to be messing the switches on the ceiling panel if we hit turbulence!
I've had a few encounters with severe turbulence. Luckily I came through them ok, but I know of several FAs who never flew again.
Sadly the pax forget very quickly, even after recennt events in Oz showed that turbulence can be unexpected. In fact the very next day after all those people were injured on a Qantas flight, 90% of the passengers on my flight took their seatbelts off! Then they wonder how people can be injured!
I've had the s/b sign put on only a couple of times on purpose. Once was too many people getting in the way for no good reason & loitering in the aisle, second was to stop some potentially violent pax from getting in a fight. The few minutes of sitting calmed them down so that we didn't have to!
I have to say, because of service, I have called the Captain for "crowd control." I feel bad, because I always like to have people socializing, and with our LiveTV system, people don't get up like they used to.
I've been known, when people are lurking in my galley, to grab them and move them to one side or another while I'm trying to work, jokingly, so maybe they get the hint, and only use the seatbelt sign as a last resort.
I hate to admit it, but the only way Customers/Passengers are going to learn is by experience, so if they lose their footing because they chose to ignore my warnings or the sign, so be it.
Recently, I had somebody get up and it got REALLY bumpy, and I actually told them to "SIT DOWN," and they tried to sit in my jumpseat. I was like, "Excuse me, but that's MY seat, your seat is back there."
I have to admit, I was chuckling to myself as they wobbled back down the aisle 5 rows to their seat…but, they got the point.
Another great Blog, I always, always, always wear my seatbelt as a passenger,,, Turbulence, I've seen, been in & Scared by it, as I"ve seen an adorable 6 year olds head bounce off the overhead bin! With no warning whatsoever,,, I know most folks think we are being "Fussy", Like you stated, we are REQUIRED by the FAA to make the announcement & ask you to comply!
It only takes ONE Time for your head to bounce off the overhead bin or to see the cart come off the ground… to become a BELIEVER!
Wear your seatbelts, people! =)
PS: Now when the turbulence happens to bounce you off the cutest passenger in row 11C, that is a "good thing"
Seems that not much has changed in the 15 years since I retired….last schedule I had was CLT-LGW-CLT, four or five times a month, and you bet that sign came on….Smiles!
Ahhhh…soooo..next time – we can just look at the F/A..and…say…sooo..you did this huh???? *LOL* Just kidding – I'm one for sticking in my seat as long as I can personally!
I don't' know how you do it! As a passenger, I can't stand the people that roam the aisle bumping into other folk's headrests and the likes. And why they feel the need for FAs to back their carts all the way up the aisle so they can get back into their seats, when they shouldn't have been up in the first place, is mystery to me. I think the seatbelt light should be standard operating procedure on flights under 2 hours!
So….the next time you find yourself strapped in, you can read MORE MAGAZINE WITH YOUR NEW FREE SUBSCRIPTION!!! Yes, I'm yelling. Well not really yelling, just talking fast and in an excited kind of way because you get a free subscription – Yay for you!
Head over to Lulu's to get me your info for the mag peeps 🙂
Lu
yes fa's do ask the Capt to turn on the fasten seatbelt sign for many reasons. Getting knocked down by pax when serving etc. Also as mentioned earlier, sometimes it gets so crowded in the aisles and galleys that we can't get through to do our service, and we do ask that the Capt put the seatbelt sign on, but I would say that is pretty rare. We try to work around our passengers as much as possible.
Also though the opposite of this is true..sometimes I call up to ask if there is anyway that they can turn the seatbelt sign off because it seems smooth and passengers really need to go to the bathroom. Sometimes the answer is yes we can try it and sometimes the answer is no they need to stay seated.
Seatbelts and the seatbelt sign is one of my biggest pet peeves. When I make a mandator seatbelt PA before pulling into the gate I always speak slowly and with authority. When I travel in the back the sounds of seat belts unclicking as the plane pulls into the gate drives me nuts. They can't wait really? They save all of 1/2 second? The absolute worst is when parents let their kids STAND up in the row when the seatbelt sign is on. Saw it last night while LANDING. I just don't get it.