I haven’t flown outside the U.S…Mexico doesn’t really count, in many years. Well I’m back from an amazing trip to South Africa (been home about 10 days) and something seemed different to me anyway. After hearing about the flight attendant getting a couple of teeth knocked out it made me think.
I flew KLM from SFO to Amsterdam and then down to Cape town. Came home on Air France (yes same ownership) from Joberg to Paris and back to SFO. 4 legs of about 10+ hours each. Lucky for me 3 of the 4 were half full and being 6’3" I felt very lucky.
Is it just me or are European flight attendants more chill than Americans? Seems like every Alaska air flight I take they are pretty tight. Maybe it was the fact we weren’t full and it MUST make life easier on the crew, but I sure felt a more relaxed and laid back vibe from the European crew members.
I do generally find international airlines crews to be more service-friendly than our domestic lines.
Of course, I am rarely flying international airlines’ short-haul flights (as I do here in the US) so comparing my experience on a long-haul Austrian Airlines flight to a SouthWest short-jump flight may not be fair. That said, on similar routes, I give non-US airline crews better marks.