US airline service seen as unfriendly

While most visitors to the

United States are charmed by the genuinely friendly, pleasant and often folksy service offered in most restaurants, hotels and shops, the approach adopted by flight attendants on many American carriers is much less amicable, according to Pico Iyer, a columnist for The New York Times. In an article entitled “Jet Lagged,” the author argues that the

US has some of the most unfriendly skies in the world, thanks to “surly” and sometimes “snooty” cabin crew, as well as a near total lack of in-flight meal and snack service on domestic routes. Although many may not be surprised to find that service aboard most of Asia’s carriers– such as Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Thai–is far superior than on US-based airlines, Iyer expressed a degree of shock when noting that “even” British Airways had friendlier and more helpful cabin attendants, who were willing to engage in “charming small talk” with passengers,

Pico found that while ground staff and customer service representatives at many airlines—especially at United—are generally polite and efficient, something seems to change when the plane takes off and passengers are left in the hands of cabin crew and with sub-standard in-flight service. For example, while passengers aboard Singapore Airlines get to enjoy dozens of films and television shows thanks to a highly developed in-flight entertainment system, the selection aboard long-haul United flights stands at around six in business class, according to the NY Times columnist. Additionally, while US carriers serve no meals aboard flights within North America, it is still standard practice for full-service airlines to provide passengers with complimentary light meals in continental Europe, as well as in

Asia. Pico Iyer does, however, believe that the current situation may improve as new airlines, such as Virgin America and Jet Blue, start to shake up the industry.