“I don’t even know if the job is worth going back to… It’s not going to be the same as it was…it might be time to take the package.”
You don’t even need to read the news to know there’s very little flying happening at the moment. Some airlines are even collapsing and their employees are the collateral. Their futures, and the companies they work for are extremely uncertain. Across the spectrum, airline workers were undoubtedly some of the first and hardest hit when the reality of the new coronavirus began to hit home in March. That’s not to say that there’s no one flying. Some flight attendants are still working through the pandemic,and they would have already noticed how much their jobs have changed compared to just 6 months ago.
In the hunt for a vaccine, there’s hope that should one become widely available, flying will rebound to what it was. From the perspective of flight attendants who are grounded and missing the life they used to have, there’s nothing more that many want than for things to go back to ‘normal.’
But despite this hope, there’s an undeniable sense that COVID-19 has forever changed travel and that it will impact the way we do our job. While no one has a crystal ball, there are a few ways that the threat of coronavirus and other disease, has already changed and will likely continue to change the way the job looks like, at least in the medium term.
New PPE Policies and Procedures
At the beginning of the pandemic, airlines were discouraging the use of facemasks for their cabin crew. Some outright banned them. How their tune has changed. Widespread mandating of crew wearing facemask is here to stay until the virus is significantly suppressed enough in the community to justify their protective value.
Even then it’s still likely that the cultural shift in mask wearing, as we have seen throughout parts of Asia, will become commonplace in certain settings, such as in airports and on planes. Adjusting to wearing a mask at work, especially for hours on end, will no doubt take some getting used to.
While the mask is the main piece of PPE, expect a lot of boxes of gloves to be loaded onto the aircraft. Gloves on, gloves off. And repeat. For suspected cases of the virus on board, there’s even the space age full body suits and face shields. These are just the requirements for cabin crew when it comes to PPE adherence – the passenger monitoring and compliance of PPE is a whole different kettle of fish.
Increased Health and Safety Monitoring
I’ve always said the biggest part of the job of being a flight attendant is managing people. Managing people who are all together in a close space. This part of the job will be ramped right up when it comes to ensuring groups of people don’t congregate in areas of the plane, or gather together on the jetway or aisles. Perhaps it will be a win for cabin crew trying to work in the galley – no more passengers allowed to be loitering around. Some carriers are even making crew manage use of the toilets, requiring passengers to press their call bell if they need to use the bathroom, and ushering passengers only to restrooms as they become available.
These are often tricky situations to navigate for crew, who by nature, are people pleasers and like to be ‘YES’ people. As the flying public grapples with the changes on board, there’s likely to be a lot of pushback and resistance from entitled passengers or those struggling to adapt. But hey we had that before corona anyway right?
People will nervous about sitting close to someone sniffling or coughing, or someone refusing to wear a mask, and it will be up to the flight attendants to manage these situations. Maybe a welcome challenge for some of the more assertive among us. Delta has introduced a policy to life ban passengers should they repeatedly refuse to wear a mask on board – it will be interesting to see if other carriers follow (hazmat) suit.
Less Service Focus and Fewer Offerings
While the workload of enforcing new health and safety rules will increase, there’s no doubt that the service workload will markedly decrease. Forget pillows and blankets that could potentially be harbouring germs. Meal offerings have already become less elaborate, and there will only be alcohol served on some routes. That’s if you’re on a flight where you’re lucky enough to get anything to eat or drink included.
In some cases, water bottles and a snack pack will be pre-set on each seat and there will be no meal service, just a trash collection – all done to minimise contact. Even business class service will be scaled down, the main drawcard being the extra space available which will be no doubt sought after in a physically distant pandemic world.
This reduction in service delivery may be seen as a big win for some crew. Less service means more time off, but for just as many I’d argue they’d find it disappointing. Especially for those crew flying for legacy carriers who enjoy the all-inclusiveness of their brands. Part of what makes our job special is being able to offer a great service to our customers.
These service delivery changes are being done under the guise of limiting contact between crew and passengers, and while that might very be part of the reason, I’d argue the bigger reason is cost. Revenue has been decimated, and you can bet executives around the world are looking at ways to reduce costs. As people begin travelling in larger numbers, I’d hope that some of the inclusions will slowly come back, as airlines aim to set themselves apart in their service offerings.
Changed Job Conditions?
Less flying for the foreseeable future means the work available will be less. For those working, expect more reserve periods, and less chance of getting called out from standby – probably a silver lining. But depending on the workplace relation laws from country to country, there might be job sharing, less hours available and pay freezes. One of the most damning prospects is the potential for the pandemic to be used by airlines as a justification to reduce working conditions. These changes remain to be seen, but you can bet if things don’t improve, it will become harder for flight attendants to avoid conditions being changed. Once certain benefits have been reduced, or taken away, it’s very hard to get them back.
New Layover Rules and Fewer Destinations
Currently airlines are requiring crew to not leave the hotel on their layovers to minimise the risk of infection. This makes sense, but as the primary perk of a flight attendant is to see different places, it’s a real shame. Eventually, I’m confident these rules will be relaxed as the situation is brought under control, but it will likely remain destination specific. Speaking of destinations, there’s going to be fewer of them. Crew have to take whatever flying they can get. Only the most profitable routes will remain, and to countries where the virus has been controlled.
Is it all doom and gloom for flight attendants?
Prospects might seem dire, but the good news is that many of the changes enforced will only be temporary. No one knows how long, but the pandemic can’t last forever, and there will always be a demand for travel. Once confidence to do so increases, there will be a lot of pent-up demand. There will always be a need for flight attendants as the human face of an airline, as well as the very necessary safety requirements.
One thing is for sure, the job won’t be what it was for the medium term at least, and maybe not ever what it used to be – but it’s still a great job. I’d say to crew who are considering their future, if you’re not up for the changes that are guaranteed to come, please step away as hard as that might be. Will have to adapt. There are a so people clamouring to be hired as flight attendants, and so many who have lost work in the recession. Relinquishing your position will enable the next generation to access opportunities in aviation if you’re not prepared to get on board in this brave new world.
“As much as it’s not what it used to be, it’s still the best job I’ve ever had, and if corona has taught me anything, it’s how much I value it and having a job in general.”
