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December 16th, 2009 
Bobby 
Shame on you, Senator Chuck Schumer (NY)! The same Senator who advocated and voted for passenger rights on board an aircraft called a flight attendant a “bitch” after being asked to power down his cell phone prior to departure of a US Airways Shuttle flight from New York to Washington on Sunday.
According to reports the Senator argued with the Flight Attendant saying he was allowed to keep his phone on as long as the cabin door was open. However, the announcement was just made that it was time to power down all electronic devices in preparation for departure. The Flight Attendant said that he was “obligated to turn it off whenever a flight attendant asked,” technically true. You must obey all crew member instructions, lighted signs and posted placards… you’d think one of our nations Senators who flies as much as he does — would know this. 
After the flight attendant walked away, Schumer turned to his seat mate and uttered “bitch.”
His seat mate, another Senator was quoted as saying he powered down his phone when asked, and was polite to the flight attendant. However, other passengers on the plane said that a few moments after the conversation between Senator Shamer Schumer took place, his phone rang again. “It’s Harry Reid calling,” the passenger quoted Schumer as saying. “I guess health care will have to wait until we land.”
For someone who takes an active part in creating law and enforcing that everyone be treated equally, you, Mr. Schumer, a representative of your constituents in New York State, should be embarrassed. You fought for the passenger bill of rights, but it’s evident you are one of those people I encounter on my planes daily who don’t respect the job we do and our main purpose on board the aircraft, your safety and security. Just because you help to make the ‘rules,’ doesn’t mean you can break them.
I hope US Airways lost your bag.
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Can we give him the “Hypocritical Ass” award for being such a douchebag?
How dare he! If you don’t want to follow the rules, fly on your own jet…oh yea, NOT GONNA HAPPEN ON MY DIME!
We should pass this along to crankyflier.com to give him the Cranky Jackass award.
I agree with your assessment. Schumer acted like an ass. As the people’s servant, he should kn ow better than to act like he’s above the law, or to denigrate an FA simply for doing her job.
On the other side of the coin, there’s no point in prohibiting cellphone use in an aircraft that is still at the gate with the door open. The rule itself (about electronic devices) comes from an abundance of caution about influence on electronic nav/comm equipment. As long as the plane is still tied to the gate, no safety of flight issue exists.
In a similar situation, I’d attempt to reason with the FA involved, or with the senior FA/purser. However, if the cabin crew insist, I’d stow my phone, shut my mouth, and take up the issue later. Discretuion is the better part of valor, and disregarding the instructions of the aircraft crew is always wrong, even if the passenger is right on the underlying issue.
The reason why cell phones are prohibited in aircraft is because the FAA simply does not have the money to test every new phone that comes out. In order for ALL phones to be allowed during taxi/takeoff/landing, they’d need an FAA seal of approval, not just on one aircraft, but all types of aircraft out there. May it be Cessna 150/152/172/182, Boeing 737/747/757/767/777, Airbus A318/319/320/330/340, etc… You get the idea…
Furthermore, all it takes is one assemblyman missing one wire that should’ve been insulated, but wasn’t. All it takes is one new phone that somehow interferes with ground/ATC communication with the flight deck… So why take that risk?
Not to mention when someone is on the phone, they pay that much less attention to safety demonstrations and safety sensitive instructions. Bad things can happen on airplanes with such speed that a single moment’s hesitation could mean the difference between you getting out safely and you roasting in a fiery inferno. Or worse yet, SOMEONE ELSE pays the ultimate price because of your ignorance. And believe it or not, things CAN go wrong even with the door open. A lil food for thought….
I also have to add that i work on a regional jet. We say in our PA’s when electronics have to be turned off… it is before the door is closed. The airline that owns us, there policy is when the door closes.
The difference? I am usually the only Flight Attendant on board and I have to have compliance from my passengers… there is no one else to check that everyone has turned off their devices while I close the door.
Each airline is different for different reasons. Door open or closed, when the Flight Attendant says off… it goes off… no questions asked. We are just enforcing the rules and doing our jobs!
I hope this guy feels like the ass he has shown himself to be.