Call Button Abuse? Emirates Tells Cabin Crew to Stop Ignoring Passengers’ Pages
This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.
Despite whether it’s polite or not — Emirates is now urging flight attendants to promptly answer every time a passenger rings the call button, even if it’s just for a refill on booze.
This information comes from a leaked memo by Emirates that went out to all cabin crew earlier this week. According to Paddle Your Own Kanoo, it read: “Feedback from our customers in the last 4 months has highlighted that cabin monitoring is not being done as it should be. Cabins are being left unattended and call bells are not being answered immediately or at all.”
The memo goes on to discuss a new policy in which call bells can only be reset at the passenger’s seat once their request has been completed, rather than resetting the bells from the aircraft’s central control unit. Cabin crew members are allegedly not happy with the memo, stating that answering every call would cut into time needed to complete service on short flights.
As is, Emirates has a pretty cut-throat reputation when it comes to managing their flight attendants. Women employees are required to wear a specific shade of “Emirates Red” lipstick, for example — and that’s just one of a lengthy list of grooming and fashion rules put in place by the Dubai-based airline.
Emirates’ new policy is also a departure from the norms set by a majority of US airliners, in which passengers are generally discouraged from hitting the call button unless it’s an emergency. “It depends on where you are flying. In the US, the crew call that button the ’emergency call button,’ meaning they only want you to use it in an emergency,” flight attendant Jay Robert, also known as A Fly Guy, told TPG. “International airlines just refer to it as a call button, or call bell, meaning during non-service times you can press it if you need something.”
A national etiquette expert we spoke to in July 2018 said that passengers should give themselves a “litmus test” prior to hitting the call button. “While flight attendants are there to make your flight comfortable, [it’s] not a service industry. They’re not waiters,” Diane Gottsman — author of “Modern Etiquette for a Better Life” and founder of The Protocol School of Texas said to TPG. “If you genuinely need assistance, that’s what the call button is for. If you’re just thirsty and the beverage cart hasn’t come yet, sit tight and be patient.”
Featured image by Rolf Schulten/ullstein bild via Getty Images.
Sign-up Successful!
Welcome to The Points Guy!
WELCOME OFFER: 80,000 Points
TPG'S BONUS VALUATION*: $1,650
CARD HIGHLIGHTS: 2X points on all travel and dining, points transferrable to over a dozen travel partners
*Bonus value is an estimated value calculated by TPG and not the card issuer. View our latest valuations here.
- Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. Plus earn up to $50 in statement credits towards grocery store purchases within your first year of account opening.
- Earn 2X points on dining including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out and travel. Plus, earn 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
- Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. For example, 80,000 points are worth $1,000 toward travel.
- With Pay Yourself Back℠, your points are worth 25% more during the current offer when you redeem them for statement credits against existing purchases in select, rotating categories.
- Get unlimited deliveries with a $0 delivery fee and reduced service fees on eligible orders over $12 for a minimum of one year with DashPass, DoorDash's subscription service. Activate by 12/31/21.
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Get up to $60 back on an eligible Peloton Digital or All-Access Membership through 12/31/2021, and get full access to their workout library through the Peloton app, including cardio, running, strength, yoga, and more. Take classes using a phone, tablet, or TV. No fitness equipment is required.
Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.