Pan Am Training Video: "Missed Connection" (circa mid-1980s)

[@lammy1234567890]

I do like in these videos how when they do it the "right way" the passengers are barely any happier than when it's done the "wrong way".

[@WhatALoadOfTosca]

The only difference is the stewardess nods and gets down on one knee lol

[@hirnfaser7245]

@@WhatALoadOfTosca no what? They try to be much more understanding and empathic, always offer some sort of solution in the realm of what is possible

[@alje311]

sometimes no matter whether you do it the right or wrong way, you simply won't win.

[@rowgli]

I dunno, that's probably the happiest he's been in years ;)

[@mawelsh]

@@WhatALoadOfTosca The key is she positions alternatives in the second scenario, marketing 101

[@WhatALoadOfTosca]

I always love how "the right way to deal with it" always involves the stewardess getting down on one knee.

[@nonyafkinbznes1420]

What? I thought taking a knee was all the rage.

[@WhatALoadOfTosca]

@@nonyafkinbznes1420 It's all the "air rage" ;)

[@thepinkyprincesspoetc.a.5767]

To meet the passenger on THEIR LEVEL 🌈

[@bjorkestra]

There's a psychology involved. If you have to look UP at the person you're talking to, it can escalate the situation. Coming to a more equal or slightly lower eye level is preferable. I learned this while volunteering in a hospital in "dealing with difficult people" training. Combine that with speaking softly and clearly, showing empathy, then giving constructive options -- these can give the customer a better sense of empowerment, even if it's somewhat illusory.

[@cyndicorinne]

@@bjorkestra thank you, yes it is one of many psychological approaches shown here that help to defuse a situation while still meeting objectives.

[@ClipperMaidOfTheSeas]

Nothing says being prepared like flying all night in coach from Miami to Brussels via JFK & Heathrow

[@georgethetravelgenius1705]

or flying the financially troubled Pan Am regardless, Shouldve taken Sabena... :P

[@eurouc]

I think her response on the first interaction was the best.

[@seand2711]

I love the stewardess' response in the first video. "Perhaps you should!"... then walks away. That's the best way to handle this asshole.

[@reedh.5309]

😂😂😂😂

[@MNBluestater]

Had a colleague once that said “you’re absolutely right, you will be missing your connection.”

[@abd12459]

True . He keeps in butting in 🙄

[@bh5692]

“Maybe the next time you should..” [walks away] actually seems to be an effective end to his tirade lol

[@philollenberg]

"Great, here's British Airways' brochure."

[@DoctorSkillz]

I was a frequent traveler on Pan Am. The crew was always respectful, professional, and polished.

[@lovedfriend2020]

I love the offer of a "drink" :) I am sure she needed a drink after listening to him lol

[@samiramarley]

The first example is still used by Spirit Airlines to train.

[@FuquarProductions]

"Mr. Anderson, if your so important and need to be places....You know better than to schedule a tight connection. Tough break, better luck next time"

[@forresthodge1024]

In fairness it sounds like there was a weather delay compounded by another mechanical issue with the plane; could've been upwards of 3 hours or longer. So it's possible that he may have had a reasonable connection time to begin with. Similar thing happened to me about a year a half ago. I was flying on Delta from MCO to RIC, with a 2 hour layover in ATL (shocking, I know). Turns out the flighty of MCO to was delayed for what was supposed to be a 90 minute delay, which wouldn't have been bad, as I could've made the connecting flight (it was leaving from the same terminal I was supposed to be arriving at.), however, the mechanical issue with the plane took longer to fix, and delay ended up being about 2.5 hours. Needless to say I missed my connecting flight. Even though I had factored in what I thought was a reasonable amount of time to catch the the connecting flight.

[@Eric-sn4qz]

Mr Anderson. Your screwed you Putz. He should have known better.

[@ianforsyth2692]

I agree. How they would handle it today: You need to plan your day, Mr. Anderson. :) Next time you know to book a flight for an important meeting at least 3 days prior to the meeting. In the interim, please hand me your credit card if you'd like to order some of our savory snacks to relax you. Don't make us call the Sky Marshall to carry you off the plane for talking too much and put your mask back on. I'll write your name in my giant notebook because after this flight, I positively won't remember who you are.

[@Eric-sn4qz]

@@ianforsyth2692 I agree with your agree. Because you didn’t plan your trip accordingly you don’t get to throw you weight around and crap on the stewardess. A complaint is one thing. Poor planning is unacceptable.

[@airodyssey]

I know it's just role playing, but that a-hole wouldn't even let the poor lady speak, especially in the second segment. She did a really good job!

[@tomservo5007]

well, he (the actor) did a good job too. The frustration really came through

[@WhatALoadOfTosca]

It's a training video so of course it's role playing ;)

[@owtkt]

I've been working at a large international airline for 2 decades. The way he's playing the passenger - the language, tone, talking-over, etc. - is exactly how people react in real situations everyday. Oscar worthy performance.

[@skoodledoo]

If a meeting was so important, you'd make sure you were there in much more time than that.

[@Rooples]

The one thing I've learned from all these videos is its a big no no to stand up, you gotta talk to the passenger like you talk to a toddler, by kneeling down to their eye level. Something I have never seen done on a flight ever lol

[@MsTimelady71]

I think the FAs would handle him more like Number 1 nowadays. They don't take a lot of crap from anyone.

[@grazegraff]

We kneel down when the passenger is nice. If they are not, we will stand behind them so it's more difficult for them to beat us

[@SoloYolo84]

Except for asian airliners its respect

[@straightpipediesel]

Exactly, fly Asian. Had a Singapore Airlines' Singapore Girl get on one knee just to say they were out of apple juice and would I want orange. It's a huge part of their training.

[@canadagood]

I learned this as a bartender. When there was somebody ignoring all the bright lights and lack of music at closing time then I would sit down at their table and ask if they had a nice evening before mentioning the time. That always worked. If instead, I towered over them and demanded they leave then we'd start a long argument.

[@californiahummus]

I used to work with a waitress who would kneel down to take orders. The customers loved her because she was at eye level. We thought it was hilarious because she was always drunk and could not stand up too long.

[@PaulFisher]

Sounds like a win/win to me!

[@zms8092]

Pulling out the old OAG - aw - these were the days.

[@CallieMasters5000]

This man has been waiting for this meeting for YEARS. That's the saddest thing ever.

[@SayYesToAwesome]

Racism is pervasive and must be dismantled. Are you actively anti-racist?

[@matildahospital5839]

$10K commission for a $1MM deal? Seems like a raw deal

[@rowgli]

I've been waiting years for this meeting AND IT MUST HAPPEN TODAY

[@cds1848]

With his scatter brain communication style, ain't no way he's closing a million dollar deal anyway... ; )

[@goldenhourkodak]

His acting quality went way down on the second version

[@philollenberg]

And I have a meeting with humans at a table in Brussels and they will be meeting, a meeting with me, about business, at a business table, with business men, about meetings, with people, in Brussels, a million dollar talking people meeting about business things around a table and if I don't make it then the table won't have all the people and the million dollar business deal meeting business people won't happen and it's important I'm in Brussels with the other business people at the important business meeting about business and it's a million dollars with other important Brussels business people and I have to fly there.

[@Eric-sn4qz]

Hahahhahahah

[@Eric-sn4qz]

Old coot.

[@abd12459]

@@philollenberg 🤣🤣

[@MsTimelady71]

Fellow who needs to fly Spirit Airlines on his next flight just to see how the other half live. Also if he wants to talk about tight connections and flight delays, BA is not the airline you want to fly.

[@Haruka_Takami]

Had this conversation many times. Once had a Very Important Executive tell me that if I didn’t get this airplane on the ground immediately, he was going to lose a multi-million dollar business deal and it would be my fault.

[@PaulFisher]

“We can get this airplane on the ground immediately, but you would still lose your multi-million dollar business deal (among other things), and the NTSB would have to get involved.”

[@chad5893]

I've noticed the key to calming people down starts with kneeling. This actually happened to me. I was pissed off because I got downgraded as an Executive Platimum on and upgrade with AA. The purser kneeled down and did exactly what this woman flight attendant did. It works. I calmed down.

[@stankythecat6735]

Maybe next time you should …. Love it !

[@roachtoasties]

He scheduled a tight connection. Delays happen, and he'll need to go through the policies and regulations that exist to assist him when he lands. If I was the flight attendant after all that tongue lashing, I'll just tell the customer I can arrange for the Metropolitan Police to pick you up at the terminal in London, so he can spend a "comfortable night" in jail. I guess that's why I never became a flight attendant. :)

[@ballasog]

With respect, you're out of your mind. He didn't do anything except talk. Also, how do we know he scheduled a tight connection; I think he didn't. It was an MX, who knows how long that took, and now apparently there's a WX. They could have been delayed 2 hours or more. I was delayed 2 hours once getting from JFK to Prague - fortunately didn't have to connect. The better choice might have been to fly into KLM. The first runthrough, the FA was obnoxious and she was significantly in the wrong and certainly didn't help the situation. The second runthrough was a bit unrealistic because the PX started out the second time not nearly as harsh as the first time and of course she did have solutions and mellowed him out. I think the actor is just a super nice guy and it took so much out of him being mean the first time that he didn't have it in him to be that mean again. If I was PX on the second runthrough I would have a lot of confidence that I would get to Brussels for my meeting. Second time FA concentrated on solving the problem and not letting PX rattle her. Your solution would have gotten you fired. And unemployable.

[@WhatALoadOfTosca]

Sadly lots of people with this kind of attitude have become flight attendants. Airlines are too quick now when unhappy to say "you are being aggressive" or "you are a terrorist".

[@Eric-sn4qz]

I would’ve said sir why don’t you come back to the rear of the plane. Then he would’ve gotten a Bronx party hat.

[@abd12459]

🤣🤣

[@Eric-sn4qz]

@@WhatALoadOfTosca Flying has been a train wreck for years. You always must alot time for unexpected issues. He should have known better the old fart. No pitty here. Sit down Pops and enjoy the flight.

[@Chris58851]

So many things had changed since Pan Am and these footage only served as nostalgia value. Most passengers still thinking they deserved to be treated like flying in the past but they forgotten today's economy ticket is just a fraction of Pan Am's ticket. Yet a passenger beside me moaning how great is flying in the 80's, picking everything in the cabin that made him sick, not realising he's flying 1,200 miles on ultra-budget airline probably selling seats for $97.

[@knownothing5518]

I love how she sasses him off professionally when he's rude ass heck but when he's being emotional but still lets her talk to him, she's doing her best to help him plan for what to do after landing with a delay.

[@nikvolt8298]

I wasted my life learning how to fly. I should have trained to be a training video actor. This guy is really good.

[@PanAmMuseum]

These Pan Am employees turned out to be great actors! You should check out our podcast! podcast.thepanammuseum.org/share 💙✈️👨‍✈️🧑‍✈️👩‍✈️

[@justingill9430]

Some advice; if you know you have an important meeting coming up, DON'T fly on the day of the meeting. You should fly at least 2 days in advance in case something happens. Common sense.

[@Sashazur]

This guy’s accent and speaking style reminds me of a certain ex-President!

[@Sashazur]

@Hyperskreem 82 I literally only said this guy sounds like Trump, period. But you read that as hatred and obsession. Then you say Biden is a vegetable. Project much?

[@lukerinderknecht2982]

@Hyperskreem 82 *your

[@WhatALoadOfTosca]

Love it. The first way she treated him is exactly how they teach their staff to treat today with any airline. Lol

[@Ben-xe8ps]

It has to be remembered that this is a training video and therefore the person playing the part of the passenger has been told to be as rude and difficult with the FA as he possibly can and also not dwell on the several unlikely and inconsistent aspects of the passenger's problem. It is, for example, claimed that 'this flight number continues to BRU', which means that it is a through flight and not a transfer connection, and it is also said that the onward flight is Pan Am operated but presumably with an aircraft change. This would be credible for a flight to the US with the passenger connecting to a Pan Am domestic flight at NYC but is not credible at LHR for an onward flight to BRU. However, if things were as stated, considering that several passengers were travelling on to BRU and it was a through flight with the same flight number and Pan Am certainly did not have local traffic rights LON - BRU, I'm sure that the BRU bound aircraft would be delayed for the less than an hour necessary rather than take off empty. Based on the time the SN departure from LHR to BRU and the fact that the flight time to BRU is approximately 1 hour with a 1 hour time difference (BRU as 1 hour ahead of LON), it is highly likely that the passenger would still be able to make his meeting if the location of the meeting in in central Brussels. His original booking was on a flight scheduled to depart LHR at 0945. If he could be booked on the 1030 flight mentioned, he would only be delayed by 45 minutes, although in reality as the Pan Am flight would arrive at 0940 and the SN flight would depart at 1030 with a change of terminal required, everybody would need to hurry themselves but it would not be impossible. The BA flight that gets in at 1140 would be useless as to arrive at BRU at 1140 it would need to depart from LHR at around 0940, prior to the arrival of the Pan Am flight In the place of the FA I would do everything to reassure the passenger that the Pan Am ground staff at LHR would do everything possible to assist and rebook him. The second FA did quite a good job of this. The first FA should not have told him 'maybe next time you should' when he said next time he was going to fly BA. This is not an acceptable response.

[@azfarsyukri612]

I think during the time frame these videos were recorded Pan Am had intra european local traffic rights ..i might be wrong tho

[@Ben-xe8ps]

@@azfarsyukri612 Oh yes but not LHR-BRU. They had their 727 fleet based in Germany for the German internal flights to Berlin and operated a daily 727 flight London - Berlin. Also the round the world flight PA1/PA2 had traffic rights LHR-FRA and at least one other daily flight from NYC continued to FRA, but these were same aircraft through 747 flights with local traffic rights. They also at one time operated some local 727 flights eastwards from Germany into Eastern Europe using their German based fleet but not sure if those routes were still continued into the 80's.

[@LLover-ee3qv]

Pan Am in fact had a daily LHR-BRU flight as a continuation or so called tag-on from JFK. PA132 was bookable as a JFK-BRU itinerary with a stop and scheduled change of aircraft (PA frequently changed between A310 and B727 on the LHR-BRU leg) at LHR. Pan Am had tons of intra-European flights at the time. Only the IGS routes to Berlin TXL were stand-alone services. All other flights were linked to a U.S. originating/bound flight, sometimes with several stops, but the flight numbers continued on. Some of these flights were 5th freedom in which PA was allowed to transport local traffic, some were not. PA132 LHR-BRU wasn’t a 5th freedom route, so you’re right about the fact that they couldn’t transport any local passenger. The passenger in this training video originated in JFK though and therefore was allowed to make the connection to BRU. That’s in fact why PA operated all these non 5th freedom intra-European routes, to be able to offer more service to more international destinations. They - along with TWA - were experts at this method of routing passengers through one of their European hubs and gateways. Pan Am used both LHR and FRA as their two major European connecting hubs.

[@lucast3006]

If I had a “million dollar meeting” overseas, I probably wouldn’t schedule a paper-thin international connection like a dumb rube. No, I would do the smart thing and leave earlier. Mr. Anderson deserves to be late and I hope he missed his meeting!

[@mynewyork165]

But that was in the 80's & 90's when they didn't have extra security protocols.

[@hewhohasnoidentity4377]

@@mynewyork165 you could bring a loaded firearm and nobody cared. You could also smoke on the flight. Times were different. Also, it was very common for a woman to be treated like this and nobody around come to her aid.

[@FuquarProductions]

@@hewhohasnoidentity4377 My father used to travel with a pistol, he was really only required to hand it to the crew before boarding.

[@fujifrontier]

This is the world I wish I could have experienced

[@nonyafkinbznes1420]

He couldn't schedule an earlier flight, dum dum, he just came from Miami!

[@SayYesToAwesome]

Remember Braniff Airlines? They had colorful planes!

[@tomservo5007]

"Sir, would you like to go outside and push the plane faster?"

[@nonyafkinbznes1420]

He's got an impwantant meeting. There are millions of dollas at stake.

[@BossySwan]

He needs to have a cawfee

[@ivanahavitoff7308]

Linda would have said-not my problem, not my connection and stop smoking!

[@suhailshafi]

While I don't disagree the elderly man in a suit was behaving arrogantly, the stewardess handled the situation impeccably the second time round. I commend her.

[@philarob80]

Well,oh yeah, well , ok well ahh , haberdashery, rabble, Lol this guy was spot on

[@BBC600]

Don't worry the pilot is going to put his foot on the accelerator. Like what does he honestly expect?

[@fujifrontier]

@@BBC600 fly toga the whole way 😂

[@nonyafkinbznes1420]

@@BBC600 The airline to keep their scheduled time? God forbid if a passenger is late to catch their flight.

[@Unuthryear]

I like that they included American Airlines response as 1st example

[@Bungle-UK]

Translation: “I planned my time badly and didn’t leave allowance for a delay, but it’s all your fault”. Should have travelled the day before 🙄

[@iliadde]

Where's the version number three? "Shut up or I'll call security and we'll kick you off the plane" 🤣

[@SimirJohnson]

Version 3 is the male Karen demanding to speak to the manager. Lol

[@hotel3sixty64]

If the meeting was so important he should have flown the day before. Wish this was 2022 and the air marshalls had lit him up.

[@richardbarrett7236]

I like the way she treated him in the first version. He is obnoxious. 😝

[@Nigelsmith79]

I think she handled it the right way the first time …..

[@_ms.mannequin_]

He's the original Karen!

[@db60615]

This guy needed LINDA! 🤣🤣🤣

[@_Meng_Lan]

Or Cheryl or the smoking passenger .. the trinity of anti male karen

[@SammyReed-cd4cu]

That looks like Cheri sitting beside them in the next aisle, and I think that's Cindy, who had to put up with "Ms. WorldPass", sitting behind them!

[@ShakespeareCafe]

This guy just opened a whole can of whoop ass from Linda.

[@samiramarley]

He should've used the Pan Am app on his phone to stay on top of any tight connections. Why didn't he just text the folks he was going to be meeting that his flight had been delayed?

[@grassytramtracks]

Pan-Am app just sounds so wrong

[@_Meng_Lan]

You're kidding sami .. aren't you..

[@bg02261989]

legend says that he missed his connection and the million dollars deal with that meeting and he continued to be a jerk to the agents in London as result he was rebook on last flight of the day that departs after 10pm on purpose while the next flight was in 2 hours and it was available that he could have if he would be nice to the airline staff.

[@jnnx]

“The heck with the WorldPass!”

[@fred420]

Take all the time you need with the amount of leg room they have lol

[@_Meng_Lan]

Darn it the flight attendant saying "maybe you should" my neighbour has probably woke up with my guffaw

[@tomdan15]

This is like how you want to respond vs how you have to respond too not get sacked 🤣🤣

[@172Break]

Linda would sort this in 5 mins.

[@_Meng_Lan]

Linda would have lined up the Airplane "Slap" queue. ?get a hold of yourself..slap .. slap.. ✈️ 🎉

[@johnfitzgerald2339]

"GET ME BRETT WEIR, I SAID!"

[@NewsCrew]

Pan am upper management really has a fetish for kneeling and being submissive

[@mike48084]

It’s not just Pan am Management, human beings tend to associate kneeling with showing respect and honor to the other person. It is normal in most cultures around the world to show respect to your customers.

[@WhatALoadOfTosca]

@@mike48084 They certainly don't on Ryanair or easyJet lol

[@mike48084]

@@WhatALoadOfTosca I also said MOST cultures. The Brits are one of the few cultures that don’t believe in respecting the customer. Prob has to do with their socialist society.

[@WhatALoadOfTosca]

@@mike48084 Socialist society? Britain doesn't have a socialist society. I live in the UK. If you doz then your area must be very very different from mine! ;)

[@mike48084]

@@WhatALoadOfTosca really? Are you in the British Virgin Islands or something? Things like 20% sales tax, and NHS triage sounds a little fishy to me. I know some damn good engineers working in the UK that after being taxed to death are making the same as some manual laborers.

[@steverone7623]

This guy couldn’t figure out what he was mad about.

[@bjorkestra]

I was waiting for him to say something like, "Can't you make the plane fly faster?!"

[@Sashazur]

Business million dollars I wanna can’t meeting later important business

[@mrbusdriversir]

Wow! Things have changed for sure. Nowadays, flight attendants don't care if you will make it or not. Unless you are first class you don't mean much to them.

[@Sashazur]

Even in first class nowadays, if your connection is tight or missed, they just tell that you were probably rebooked and to check the monitors outside the gate when you land. There’s no 1:1 hand holding like this. At least that’s been my experience on KLM and Delta.

[@elfulano5884]

He should've flown with SABENA instead.

[@abd12459]

That already ceased operations too in 2001

[@nvkulk]

Is this guy Gil Gunderson ready to make the deal on those Colecos??

[@HunterShows]

4:17 * glare * Are you even a WorldPass member?

[@wag954]

Where's Linda? Get Linda in the mix

[@fmphotooffice5513]

Now CS is system-wide and handling the maximum number of people like herding cattle leaves nobody to blame. Of course it's intentional.

[@markielee3997]

“Maybe next time you should” 💀💀💀😂🤣😂

[@graemeconnelly8849]

should have been digital or zoom meeting

[@adrianatkins3128]

And this is why they went bust. From the worlds best airline they just became awful at the end. Poor service, optional uniform standards and loss of routes. A shame really but it was a mere shadow of what Juan Trippe created

[@PanAmMuseum]

This is a training video for flight attendants. The first half is an example of what not to do and the second half is an example of how to better handle the situation and meet Pan Am’s expectations.

[@adrianatkins3128]

@@PanAmMuseum Hi and yes I’m aware it was a training video showing how not to do things and then how to do them correctly. My comments were more related to my own experiences. Had great experiences with PA but towards the end things really went downhill. I’m not blaming the crews as such but more the senior management. Even on board there was a feeling that crews knew the end was coming and some (but by no means all) just seemed to have given up

[@philollenberg]

This man rambles on so long, who would want to meet with him? Is it used as some kind of punishment?

[@buddyrevell6369]

He could have just set up a zoom call. Geez..

[@DVincentW]

I'm starving.

[@andrealuvshouse]

Delays? Tight or missed connections? Ride Amtrak in the US. That’ll teach ‘em. Never plan any trips that involve connections or a time constraint without building in an overnight stay in your connecting city. Get to your connecting city, plan an overnight stay, board your connecting plane or train the next day. Amtrak will train ANYONE on how to travel long distance. Delays of many hours happen all the time. They’re not often delayed by weather, but they are always delayed by trackwork if Amtrak doesn’t own the track they’re using, mechanical breakdowns, and increasingly, unruly passengers (where they have to stop the train and wait for police to haul the person or ppl off the train). Some ppl just have no common sense. Do a better job planning for contingencies and you won’t have this frustration

[@josemanueltoledo8062]

Fast forward to 2022. His job was out sourced to some remote home office in Wakanda. His Boss discovered that he can save that 10000 commision, and pocket it by outsourcing. Eventually he was found dead, cause of death fentanyl in his coffee.

[@gargantuaism]

I thought the stewardess was going fly in his boss like how they flew in Charlton Heston into the 747 to fly the plane in Airport '75.

[@femaleforester]

Nobody does the kneeling thing anymore 😂

[@vermontviking]

The F/A having an OAG on hand!

[@cheetajet320]

That's called rewarding bad behavior nowadays.

[@sunnyscott4876]

Now he would sucker punch the flight attendant and demand compensation because of a weather delay that the airline had absolutely no control over..

[@michaellane3017]

Could that guy be more self-centered?! lol

[@jimpikoulis6726]

Oh no... I call the Galley..... The gentlemen would like a Serve of Brussels Sprouts!!!!

[@offrails]

Maybe she should have just let him BA deal with him next time, or even better, Ryanair (though they probably weren't around at that time)

[@Eric-sn4qz]

Guess what pops you gonna be the last one off the damn plane

[@BossySwan]

*AN IMPOYTANT MEETIN*

[@RiverDanube]

Fourth years on, that meeting wasn't that important after all, neither was loosing the sleep or complaining to others.

[@jbar_85]

Should have left the day before.

[@MNBluestater]

These days taking a knee like that is really putting your safety at risk.

[@stupid8911]

Oh, my God, Anderson, take a drink and stifle yourself. Hell, have some bread and calm down...

[@Anyone553]

Next time take British Airways!!!

[@oniondeluxe9942]

So, if you don't have a $10000 commission at stake, you have to put up with a missed connection? Come on! If his so called business meeting was so important, he should have flown out the night before

[@kev8515]

At least they did not have to deal with the mask ordeal.

[@nondescriptnyc]

4:30 ~ I wish we could put that jack@ss on Sabena 548…

[@WhatALoadOfTosca]

Sabena and Panam... Funny how they both went to the wall. I wonder was it their customer service ;)

[@jakerowe5089]

Hi im a fu***** KEVIN AND I NEED YOU TO FIX THE WEATHER AND FLY FASTER