Air Canada Flight Attendants Voted Second Rudest In Informal Poll

A flight attendant passes in front of the Air Canada check-in counters at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013. The number of international visitors to Canada plunged 20 per cent since 2000 even as global travel soars, according to a sobering report being released Thursday by Deloitte Canada. Photographer: Ben Nelms/Bloomberg via Getty Images

So much for the friendly skies.

Air Canada has placed second in an unscientific poll ranking airlines based on the rudeness of their flight attendants. The informal poll comes from the site Airfarewatchdog and asked 3,400 readers to choose from 14 carriers. Air Canada was the only Canadian airline on the list but took second the spot with 14 per cent of the vote.

The results were adjusted based on the number of passengers travelling from January and October of 2013 in order to not skew the results based on the size of the airline, wrote George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog .

Air Canada wouldn't comment on the poll's mechanics but pointed out Air Canada has been recognized for various awards, specially for their flight attendant service from organizations around the globe.

The airline's most recent recognition related to its flight attendants was in 2013 when it won the title for "best flight attendants in North America" in Premier Traveler’s "Best Of" awards.

“In addition, our monthly customer satisfaction surveys done by an independent organization shows in-flight service satisfaction continue trending upwards,” Air Canada spokesperson Angela Mah told CTV News.

Topping Air Canada in flight attendant rudeness was Spirit Airlines, a U.S. carrier that came out on top with 26 per cent of voters saying the low-budget airline had the least courteous attendants.

Following in third place was Frontier Airlines with 11 per cent of the vote. Meanwhile, Alaska and Southwest airlines were voted as the airlines with the friendliest stewards, each clocking in with one per cent of the vote.

Air Canada carried an average of 115,000 customers a day and more than 35 million people a year. From 2012 to 2013, the airline received 150 of all 301 official complaints filed against Canada's eight major airlines, according to the Canadian Press.

"While we strive for zero complaints, in this context, 150 complaints is a minute fraction relative to the number of interactions we have with all our customers," spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said in an email.

To see how other airlines stacked up in terms of flight attendant rudeness, check out the gallery below.