5 ms·

I've heard of airline companies doing similar when interviewing flight attendants - United will fly you to Newark to interview, but often there will be people s

I've heard of airline companies doing similar when interviewing flight attendants - United will fly you to Newark to interview, but often there will be people shadowing candidates to see how they behave during their travels and that feedback is taken into account when evaluating candidates.

metadat 4y ago
It's impressive if they have the resources and sophistication to really execute on this.
- facet1ous 4y ago
  They could just note to flight attendants that there are passengers interviewing w/ the airline and have them raise any red flags pretty easily.
- _moof 4y ago
  It's really nothing - just a different fare code. Gate agents and cabin crew can already tell when someone is a non-rev (e.g. an employee using flight benefits), so looping them in on the backend is just a quick schedule lookup and a couple more people on the feedback system. (N.B.: I'm not saying this actually happens, because I don't know; just that it would be very little trouble using systems that are already in place. I, for one, didn't change out of my suit until after I'd gotten back home when I did an airline interview.)
sargun 4y ago
A strong part of me believes that United indexes on how much of an asshole the person can be. /s. But, seriously, I feel like if you're using a potential employer's services, you should assume they're taking that into account when they're hiring you.
- influx 4y ago
  Seriously, compare the employees of United vs Southwest and there's a huge difference in attitude. Southwest employees seem happy, friendly, helpful, while United... Not.
  - pmcollins 4y ago
    funny because i’ve heard of a very similar anecdote to this one but at southwest airlines.
    - ldoughty 4y ago
      And I'm sitting here wondering how people have bad interactions with flight attendants? Literally 90% of the words I say to them are: Hello, how are you. Thank you. Yes, water please. Have a good day. I think I asked once for a pillow (usually on Redeyes they hand them out) I've never had a fight attendant decline my request, or complain about it...
      - KerrAvon 4y ago
        People sometimes have nonstandard needs, or get sick, or need to deal with another passenger's overly aggressive behavior. It's more about how the flight attendants react to those situations than to standard service.
        sterlind 4y ago
        I've started using a wheelchair recently so that's fresh on my mind. I haven't flown with it yet, but I'm nervous at the prospect of my delicate $10K power chair being smashed to bits in the cargo hold, or lost, or the flight attendants losing patience with me getting to my seat.
        zdragnar 4y ago
        Are you not able to use it on the plane itself? It's been a long time since I've flown anywhere, but I seem to recall there being quite good accommodations for such things.

metadat 4y ago

It's impressive if they have the resources and sophistication to really execute on this.

facet1ous 4y ago
They could just note to flight attendants that there are passengers interviewing w/ the airline and have them raise any red flags pretty easily.
_moof 4y ago
It's really nothing - just a different fare code. Gate agents and cabin crew can already tell when someone is a non-rev (e.g. an employee using flight benefits), so looping them in on the backend is just a quick schedule lookup and a couple more people on the feedback system. (N.B.: I'm not saying this actually happens, because I don't know; just that it would be very little trouble using systems that are already in place. I, for one, didn't change out of my suit until after I'd gotten back home when I did an airline interview.)

sargun 4y ago

A strong part of me believes that United indexes on how much of an asshole the person can be. /s. But, seriously, I feel like if you're using a potential employer's services, you should assume they're taking that into account when they're hiring you.

influx 4y ago
Seriously, compare the employees of United vs Southwest and there's a huge difference in attitude. Southwest employees seem happy, friendly, helpful, while United... Not.
- pmcollins 4y ago
  funny because i’ve heard of a very similar anecdote to this one but at southwest airlines.
  - ldoughty 4y ago
    And I'm sitting here wondering how people have bad interactions with flight attendants? Literally 90% of the words I say to them are: Hello, how are you. Thank you. Yes, water please. Have a good day. I think I asked once for a pillow (usually on Redeyes they hand them out) I've never had a fight attendant decline my request, or complain about it...
    - KerrAvon 4y ago
      People sometimes have nonstandard needs, or get sick, or need to deal with another passenger's overly aggressive behavior. It's more about how the flight attendants react to those situations than to standard service.
      - sterlind 4y ago
        I've started using a wheelchair recently so that's fresh on my mind. I haven't flown with it yet, but I'm nervous at the prospect of my delicate $10K power chair being smashed to bits in the cargo hold, or lost, or the flight attendants losing patience with me getting to my seat.
        zdragnar 4y ago
        Are you not able to use it on the plane itself? It's been a long time since I've flown anywhere, but I seem to recall there being quite good accommodations for such things.