'Flightplan' irks flight attendants

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Sep 30, 2005 by Micheline Maynard New York Times News Service

Unions that represent flight attendants are upset with the portrayal their members receive in the movie "Flightplan," starring Jodie Foster, and are calling for a boycott of the film.

On Tuesday, the Association of Flight Attendants denounced the film's depiction of airplane crew members as "rude, unhelpful and uncaring," according to a statement issued by the union, which represents 80,000 flight attendants at a number of airlines.

It was joined in the protest by the Professional Flight Attendants Association, the union for flight attendants at Northwest, and the Transport Workers Union, which represents them at Southwest. "We will tell Hollywood that this disrespect to our profession is not going to fly," said Patricia Friend, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants.

But like many flights lately, the effort is a little late. "Flightplan" has already had a successful takeoff, landing at No. 1 in last weekend's box-office grosses.