B767 captain reported due to company policy; the flight attendant staffing has decreased resulting i...

Narrative:

The flight attendants on a per flight basis have been reduced by one across the board. While this does not sit well with the flight attendants; it clearly has safety and security implications for us as well; as evidenced by my experience yesterday. I was in the cruise to ZZZ and trying to call the front galley for a bathroom break. There was no answer after three call attempts. Also; it is noteworthy that the mid galley is now not manned as it is only used for storing the arrival snacks. On my fourth call I got an answer from the rear galley. Four of the flight attendants were on break and the remainder (5?) in the back of the plane. They all expressed concern about the loss of a flight attendant and also ramifications of a profit sharing issue - their morale had clearly taken a thump. I am extremely concerned about the front area of the plane being left unattended during flight operations; when cockpit security is of paramount importance. I also am concerned about the purser leaving for a break and not notifying the cockpit of their impending absence; and telling us how is in charge in his/her absence.is it a reasonable directive during preflight briefing to emphasize the front galley and cockpit approach area should not be left unattended?

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B767 Captain reported due to company policy; the Flight Attendant staffing has decreased resulting in the forward portion of the cabin understaffed during cruise flight. The Captain states this is a security issue for the flight deck and forward passenger cabin.

Narrative: The flight attendants on a per flight basis have been reduced by one across the board. While this does not sit well with the flight attendants; it clearly has safety and security implications for us as well; as evidenced by my experience yesterday. I was in the cruise to ZZZ and trying to call the front galley for a bathroom break. There was no answer after three call attempts. Also; it is noteworthy that the mid galley is now not manned as it is only used for storing the arrival snacks. On my fourth call I got an answer from the rear galley. Four of the flight attendants were on break and the remainder (5?) in the back of the plane. They all expressed concern about the loss of a Flight Attendant and also ramifications of a profit sharing issue - their morale had clearly taken a thump. I am extremely concerned about the front area of the plane being left unattended during flight operations; when cockpit security is of paramount importance. I also am concerned about the Purser leaving for a break and not notifying the cockpit of their impending absence; and telling us how is in charge in his/her absence.Is it a reasonable directive during preflight briefing to emphasize the front galley and cockpit approach area should not be left unattended?

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1619286
Time
Date	201902
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.ARTCC
State Reference	US
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B767 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Cruise
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Captain Check Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 198 Flight Crew Total 23026 Flight Crew Type 9206
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Deviation - Procedural Security Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown

B767 captain reported due to company policy; the flight attendant staffing has decreased resulting in the forward portion of the cabin understaffed during cruise flight. The captain states this is a security issue for the flight deck and forward passenger cabin.