A321
Flight Attendant Current
Communication Breakdown
Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor
Flight Crew Overcame Equipment Problem
Aircraft; Human Factors
Flight attendants entered the aircraft first. I came on board and thought that the plane stunk very bad. I couldn't imagine having passengers smell this aircraft. The Flight Attendant A said that it smelt like dirty shoes. Then Flight Attendant B said that she thought that it smelled like possible toxic fumes. Flight Attendant C said she couldn't smell anything but she was stuffed up. We deplaned and stayed in the jetway. I called the gate agent to tell her. She said that she was going to call the Tower. Pilots weren't there yet. They arrived approximately 20-25 minutes later. During the 20 minutes catering had arrived. Between the L1 & L4 door being opened there was a breeze through the aircraft. First Officer arrived and we told what was happening. She said Gate Agent told him. Then the Captain arrived; same thing; Gate Agent told him. We waited on jetway and then I went on board to ask him if he could smell the odor. He said no and that his aircraft is going to ZZZ and we needed to decide if we were getting off. We were shocked. We had no idea that his response was going to be so mean. We called for a Supervisor. We told the Supervisor that we were willing to go if the plane would at least be checked out by a mechanic. Supervisor said that the Captain was in charge and he has final say. We were again surprised. We told her that the Captain did not smell what we smelt. It didn't seem to matter. Then the Captain motioned with his arm and thumb and said 'Your out of here!' to us. We were shocked. Its almost as if what we experienced didn't matter. We were told by the supervisor we would receive a point; etc. We all worried about getting in trouble. Then again; the Captain said we were done. Flight Attendant B and I went to get our luggage. I was humiliated and belittled. He was horrible to us. Flight Attendant A stayed on board because he thought he would lose his job. Flight Attendant B and myself went to Flight Service.Why couldn't we have had a mechanic check out the aircraft?
A321 Flight Attendant reported a communication breakdown between flight attendant crew and flight crew regarding a fumes event during pre-flight.