By continuing you agree to eChinacities's Privacy Policy .
Sign up with Google Sign up with FacebookQ: Foreign flight attendants hate Chinese passengers?
And another flying question, sorry.
Anyone else notice that foreign flight attendants (Americans in my case) are really short tempered/mean to Chinese passengers? Granted in some cases (opening the luggage compartment during landing?!) they deserve it, but it seems I can't go home without hearing a flight attendant freak the hell out on random unsuspecting Chinese passengers.
Last year, I watched a flight attendant confront an older husband/wife for taking a picture of themselves after the plane landed to commemorate their first time going to the US. The flight attendant made a bilingual passanger explain to them that that was not allowed....because of 9/11. Minutes earlier I saw a white couple do the same thing with no issue. WTF?
What ridiculous flight stories do you have?
11 years 12 weeks ago in Transport & Travel - China
I've often found western stewardess to be sometime rude and often too ugly, not so with the Chinese stewardess, altho I did had one demand to see a picture I took. I think she thought it was of her, was my GF.
Maybe they just don't like Chinese. My sister works at Toronto airport and she hates Chinese because she finds them rude and discusting.
TedDBayer:
Not like Chinese always act appropriately, I took alot of flights last summer in China and everyone of them was delayed or diverted. In Shenzgen my flight was delayed 5 hours and transfered to 2 different gates. Just before we boarded a Chinese guy charged to the head of the line and started yelling at the attendants, then threw his suitcase at one woman. She was cleared out, but I never saw security come for the guy.
I agree. Western stewardesses are often less polite, patient and attractive than their Asian counterparts. But Chinese passengers, especially tourists who just spend a short time seeing the States and come right back (not knowing or caring about any western customs and unable to speak English) don't do them any favors.
I've been on flights from China where quite a few of the Chinese passengers simply think that they don't have to follow any rules. Opening storage bins during takeoff and landing, using phones and mobile devices at specific times when they are told not to, spitting sunflower seed shells into the aisle after repeatedly being told to stop, and pushing like they're on the metro.
So yes, during flights I've heard flight attendants complain about Chinese passengers. You can only say "Sir, put your seat up" in any language so many times before you start to get annoyed by being ignored by someone who thinks the rules don't apply to them.
Look, in the States, air travel security has gone up, way up, often at the expense of individual liberty but in the name of collective security, and at the same time, airline service, courtesy, etc, etc., has gone way down.
Conde Nast, the biggest travel magazine publisher in the States, routinely runs surveys on how the entire world adjuges service on airlines in the States -- and the choices most favored are "terrible" and "abysmal".
American flight attendants aren't rude just to the Chinese -- they are rude to about everyone under the sun. The average age of a flight attendant in the United States is probably 50 - 60 these days, and most of them are tough, brazened, old birds, uncaring and with no service attitude at all.
Why are there no 5 star airlines in the United States? Just ask yourself.
kchur:
They were really nice to me, probably because I had already gone through all the security checks before entering the plane...
nevermind:
I don't recall this question asking anything about US airliens. Please stick to the topic, 981.
My wife works for a Chinese airline company and even Chinese flight attendants dislike Chinese passengers. After observing how Westerners behave on an airplane and then being subjected to the Chinese, these ladies have developed an intense dislike for their "country-fellows" lack of manners and common courtesy. My wife is Chinese and I hate to say it but, having lived here for 4 years now and taken many flights back and forth to the States,I completely understand how these ladies feel. The areas of the airplanes where Chinese passengers have been are disgustingly filthy and they simply refuse to stay seated when they are supposed to. A person's patience can only take so much.
I remember coming from the UK to China with Qatar Airlines and the amount of crap the stewardesses had to put up with from a group of Chinese passengers was terrible. Things included walking around the plane while taxiing, opening overhead bins at all times, wanting to sit in whatever seat they chose and once the stewardess had told them they were in the wrong seats all sorts of arguments broke out, rubbish thrown everywhere. I fly two return trips each year between the UK and China and this particular time was the worst example. Many Chinese are fine but some are the rudest most ignorant peasants out there and I am surprised this time that they were allowed to stay on the flight.
Those Chinese passengers were probably just disgruntled because they weren't allowed to board the plane with first class passengers after queue breaking and while holding their group 6 economy tickets.
The two very big reason I noticed while boarding and de boarding which makes the Flight Attendant as well as Co Passengers annoyed:
1. While boarding they assume that there are more number of passengers than available seats and they run like a 100 mts sprint competitor.
2. While de boarding, they start opening the head cabin as soon as plane use to land..but it has been clearly mentioned and announced so many times by flight attendant that once the flight will stop, then only they can open their cabin to take out their baggage.
I have seen so many times, that after landing the Plane is running and going to parking ..and they are in the queue which is against saftey measure ..
In my previous career I used to fly extremely regularly, (never to China though, (we weren't welcome)), but all of the 'faults' you have mentioned I have seen a thousand times from almost every nationality on Earth. Rudeness, ignorance and sheer pig headedness, esp when flying, in my experience, has no national boundaries.
Things I have personally seen, (in no particular order)
1. A (assumedly muslim) man praying in the isle, thereby preventing anyone else getting past, this included the meal and drinks and of course access to the lavatory.
2. Two women attacking a man with combs, (he needed medical aid).
3. A group of men so drunk they couldn't walk to the lavatories.
4. A women trying to open the 'window' so she could throw up out of it!!!!!!!
5. An economy passenger demanding access to the business class section because it was his 'human right'.
6. A woman taking off her underwear, (I haven't a bloody clue why she couldn't do that in the lavatory if it was indeed needed.)
7. (Much more than once) A heated exchange when a mother /father wants a paying passenger removed from the seat indicated on the passenger's boarding card so that their infant ( who aren't allocated seats) can use it.
I saw an Air Canada flight attendant freak out on a guy who though he could just get up as soon as the plane landed. That guy lost face big time, it was hilarious. That said, I hope flight attendants don't just assume all Chinese will behave poorly. My wife would go completely unnoticed on an airplane if it weren't for seat space she took up. I'd hate to think of her being treated rudely simply because she was Chinese. One of my best memories was our first trip to Canada where she was served for the first time in her life by a white person. All the whiteys she's ever know where bosses, executives and such. Now my wife who grew up in a slum with a mud floor shack as her house was being served white wine on a flight to Canada by a middle aged white woman.
I actually think that instance gave her a boost of faith in humanity and equality.
I think it is as Hugh said, bad behavior is not related to just the Chinese. I have several friends in the airline industry and they have horror stories related to all nationalities.
That being said, the flight attendants in the US are probably the least hospitable of any nationality I have dealt with, with perhaps the exception for early soviet flight attendants. Things have gotten better with them, but they were the worst I have experienced.
For me, personally, the worst behaved passengers I have witnessed are the Arabic. But, the Chinese do come in a close second. And Americans, I am sure are third.
I get more than a little disgruntled with some Chinese passengers on planes. I am sure some of the cabin crew are just reciprocating what they have had to face themselves. I get disgruntled with children using obnoxious, noisy electronic games without earpieces (almost exclusively the domain of Chinese traveling parties). I get disgruntled at being pushed and shoved whilst putting luggage in overhead lockers because they cannot wait two seconds to get past me. I get disgruntled at the amount of hand luggage carried on by most Chinese because they do not want to wait at the baggage collection point on arrival.
To be honest, I just hate the thought of having to travel with a significant proportion of Chinese passengers on planes.
My personal rankings for flight attendants on international flights that I have taken.
1. Korean Airlines – hen hao
2. Cathay Pacific - hao
3. Air Canada – ma ma hu hu
4. China Eastern - bu hao
5. China Southern – bu hao
6. Air China – Fēicháng zāogāo de fúwù..非常糟糕的服务…very bad service by google translate
This ranking for attendants, by me, comes out the same for the airline, by me…don’t think I have ever been on one of the 3 Chinese airline flights and been on time. Korean Airlines was a much much much better experience than the others. Beautiful, polite and well prepared young ladies.
My personal rankings for passengers on international flights that I have taken.
1. Me - #1 means a good passenger
2. Young Middle aged (All nations)
3. Caucasian
4. Chinese/Korean/Japanese
5. Indian
6. Elderly Chinese
7. Elderly Indian
8. Obviously rich Caucasian and brat Children tied at #8
9. Chinese with families
10. Indians with families
11. Obviously (pretend) rich Caucasian women
12. Special Meal passengers.
13. ANYBODY WITH OVERHEAD LUGGAGE.
JungleLife:
I have also flew on all of those airlines, except China Southern. I was happy with all, but I agree with your number 1 & 2 for sure, both were top notch, and beautiful beautiful women.
In general terms, Chinese are just used to treating servants/waiters/people who serve them quite low compared to westerners. But most of the Chinese that I have been with on planes were decently behaved.
As far as the flight attendants, I usually get good service from Chinese, Japanese, or western attendants. I have always had good service flying.
Let's not forget the incident at Shanghai airport in October when Chinese passengers showed the lengths they will go to in order to remain known as the world's most obnoxious tourists.
The passengers had to disembark at Shanghai because of fog in Beijing, so held the Australian captain and flight crew hostage in the airport for three hours, including assaulting the captain. I have never heard of this happening anywhere else in the world.
ambivalentmace:
makes me wonder if hours of service rules are used for pilots in china or the peasants only play computer games and dont know the rules of transportation workers. perhaps a chinese crew would have kept flying , makes you wonder the next time you fly.