Narrative:

While looking over the flight attendant briefing sheet I noticed that jumpseat 1L; inboard was inoperative. Upon boarding the aircraft and discussing with crew and cockpit crew our concerns were there are no flight attendant's that can see the cabin from any jumpseat. Aft jumpseats face away from passenger cabin and if the only usable jumpseat forward is the outboard seat at 1L you can see no more than the passengers in 1CD and 2C. You are not able to see the cabin and passenger activity in the cabin. In other words during all phases of flight; if the flight attendant's are in their jumpseats we can not monitor the cabin effectively with regards to passenger/crew safety and security. Per our captain; when calling ramp control to express his concerns as captain; ramp control informed him if the flight attendant's were giving him problems about the jumpseat we would be replaced. Is that any way to address valid concerns the working crew has with the safety and security of our passengers? Also per captain; the plane had been in the hangar for three days with the deferral on the jumpseat and the jumpseat had been broken for over two weeks. We called a flight attendant supervisor and explained our concerns. I deferred to captain's judgment on whether or not he/she was willing to take the aircraft. Per the flight attendant operations manual; flight attendant's must take the jumpseat or nearest passenger seat to his/her assigned exit door. In this case the first class seats are available but the interphone is not within reach.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Flight Attendant aboard an A320 reported her unwillingness to accept an alternative seat required by a deferred flight attendant jump seat. The inability to monitor the cabin and passengers from the prescribed location was cited. The company stated a possibility of replacing the cabin crew should they refuse to accept the MEL as written were reported.

Narrative: While looking over the Flight Attendant briefing sheet I noticed that Jumpseat 1L; inboard was inoperative. Upon boarding the aircraft and discussing with crew and cockpit crew our concerns were there are no Flight Attendant's that can see the cabin from any Jumpseat. Aft Jumpseats face away from passenger cabin and if the only usable jumpseat forward is the outboard seat at 1L you can see no more than the passengers in 1CD and 2C. You are not able to see the cabin and passenger activity in the cabin. In other words during all phases of flight; if the Flight Attendant's are in their Jumpseats we can not monitor the cabin effectively with regards to passenger/crew safety and security. Per our Captain; when calling Ramp Control to express his concerns as Captain; Ramp Control informed him if the Flight Attendant's were giving him problems about the Jumpseat we would be replaced. Is that any way to address valid concerns the working crew has with the safety and security of our passengers? Also per Captain; the plane had been in the hangar for three days with the deferral on the Jumpseat and the Jumpseat had been broken for over two weeks. We called a flight attendant Supervisor and explained our concerns. I deferred to Captain's judgment on whether or not he/she was willing to take the aircraft. Per the Flight Attendant Operations Manual; Flight Attendant's must take the Jumpseat or nearest passenger seat to his/her assigned exit door. In this case the first class seats are available but the Interphone is not within reach.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.