Flight Attendant Current
Communication Breakdown; Distraction; Situational Awareness; Time Pressure; Training / Qualification; Workload
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General Flight Cancelled / Delayed
Company Policy; Environment - Non Weather Related; Procedure
After holding 50 minutes to board the aircraft the flight attendants were told we could board first class and business. Cleaners were still on board. I arranged with the Customer Service Representative (CSR) Supervisor (with a handshake) that he would check with me before boarding - we needed 15 min for our security and safety checks. A Manager was wandering around. The flight crew; flight attendants and I were faced with bulk packages of newspapers in front of our equipment credenza filled with amenity kits; head sets and document bag. Old document bag and blue service kits from the inbound flight were never removed from plane. Four overhead bins in first class were filled with return amenity kits and headsets - leaving no room for passengers' luggage. It is mandatory that they place their bags in those overhead compartments. Closets for the flight attendant bag storage are filled with bassinets - not where they belong. Faced with juggling these items to comply with my luggage stowage and moving new papers to get to emergency equipment- I was informed by the Manager that we were boarding. The first passenger to enter the plane 2 seconds after the Manager informed me - forced his way passed the bulk newspapers and I bent over checking my flashlight. The Manager without regard to my duties had circumvented me and told the CSRs that I was ready. I was not. It had been about nine minutes since crewmembers had entered the plane. I had not checked the lavatory; my safety equipment nor had I been briefed by the Captain. At this point the Manager moved the newspapers and began greeting customers. I was incredulous. I left the door to be briefed by the Captain. I had briefed my crew to be hyper vigilant. This situation was a standards procedure failure. We boarded with vacuum cleaner cords on the floor (a tripping hazard) and were rushed to board without due diligence of security and safety procedures. Why doesn't Management have to comply with the SOPs? It takes too long to show the supervisor the necessary verbiage in the new handbooks. Once passengers are on board it is difficult to check the lavatory. Having a captain's briefing after boarding demeans his authority. How can I be alert for unauthorized bags; intoxicated passengers; odd behavior when the special briefing hasn't been given or I'm not at the door because I'm not ready. Once passengers are on board service begins and they don't understand anything but your complete attention. After spending time with the handbook- here is what I know. I have up to 15 minutes to preflight my plane. The purser; captain; agent and zone are responsible for the flight- not a supervisor. The company manual gives me the authority to decide if the regulations have been met. It says preflight is an FAR and must be accomplished before closing the door. None of these requirements were accomplished because the Manager decided we could board. Oddly enough he was instrumental in delaying our flight further by holding for ice cream that was missing- directly countering the Captain's wishes to be on our way. In fact after waiting about 15 minutes we left without the dessert. How is ice cream more important than safety?
A B777 Flight Attendant reported a Manager initiated aircraft boarding for an international flight shortly after the flight attendants boarded; before the cabin preflight was complete and as aircraft cleaning was in progress.