Question and Answers....

glad you enjoy your work, being a flight attendant, especially for a regional carrier is all about attitude and it looks like you have a good one.   Curious if you want to comment on your page if regional carrier flight attendants are like the regional carrier pilots who all hope to work for a mainline carrier one day.  

Comment from grpg233 - 3/23/05 2:00 PM

 

As I have said in previous entries, my dream was to be an international flight attendant.  I wanted to work trips to Paris desperately. My industry was a lot different, when I started five years ago.  All the airlines were hiring, and I had planned on only staying at my airline for a year, so that I could put my transfer in to be a flight attendant at our mainline carrier.   I had been recuited by a mainline flight service manager, on one of my flights.  I will never forget that day what a dream come true...

Everything seemed to be going according to my plans, when the Twin Towers fell on the morning of September 11, 2001.  My hopes and dreams of being an international flight attendant fell with the World Trade Center.   I knew then, that I would not be going to another airline anytime soon.

I like to count all of my blessings, instead of feeling sorry for myself that I am not flying on bigger planes.  The airline industry is very unstable, and I am lucky enough to be employed at an airline who is growing.  I HAVE a job, that I enjoy doing.  I am in the upper one third as far as senority.  I can hold weekends and holidays off. 

I think you will see the regional airlines taking a more dominant presence in the domestic market over the next ten years.  There has been a huge shift towards low cost carriers, that the heritage airlines are struggling to keep up with.  A name brand isn't enough to sell a ticket anymore.  My prediction for heritage airlines, is smaller aircraft with increased frequency, to compete with low cost carriers.  The 70 seat, 90 seat and 100 seat "regional jet aircrafts" that have begun to hit the market are only the beginning.

Just one easy leg to Atlanta

It was supposed to be an easy flight to Atlanta, but does anything ever go smoothly when you want them to? 




I am keeping this entry brief, do to the nature of the incident... 

We were inroute to Atlanta from Chicago, delayed because of weather in the Atlanta area.  It was already a short overnight to begin with, and rain in Atlanta wasn't making it any easier...

If weather delays weren't enough...  We had a medical emergency inroute, and had to divert to Nashville to have a passenger checked out by paramedics.  Paramedics said that he was ok to continue with us to ATL, so we gassed up, got new paperwork and headed on our merry way...  (I am not at liberty to discuss the details, so don't ask.)

We FINALLY get to ATL at about 1:30Am, ONLY 3 hours late.  We then had to wait about thirty minutes for the hotel van to pick us up from the airport.  Which is funny, because the hotel is only ten minutes away.  Hmmmmm, makes COMPLETE sense to me!!

IF THAT wasn't enough...  When we finally get to the hotel, we find out that the hotel is completely booked for the night, and there are 3 rooms for 4 crew members.  Keep in mind, when our company gets us hotel rooms, they are a set number per month, bought and paid for.  The hotel cannot just give our rooms away, they are already paid for.  So after the front desk girl flittering about for thirty minutes to tell us that there were no more rooms available, our Captain had to then go to another hotel.  Mind you it is now almost three in the morning, and we have to be down in the lobby bright eyed and bushy tailed at 10am.  You can do the math...

So this morning we meet down in the lobby to catch the van to the airport, and low and behold there is our captain...  There WAS a room afterall at our hotel, and he finally got into it at just before 3am...

Today as tired as I was, even with the delays and weather in Chicago, what kept me going was seeing all of these smiley faces from passengers cominginto my plane.  People who were delayed, and missed flights, rerouted, tired, but still gave me a smile and a hello.  I would have to say that about 98% of my passengers today were so delightful, that I enjoyed having them on my plane.  That's what makes it all worth while, folks.  Seeing happy people, and making people happy is the reason I love my job. 

The Opinions are in....

In my last entry I asked everyone their opinion of what they think a flight attendant should be...  I am suprised that most of the comments were about my weight loss and how much they like my pics...

 

This was my favourite comment:

I think a flight attendant should be a well trained professional who can cope with any problems that arise passenger wise in a flight. I don't think that they should be considered flying waitresses though it seems like a good many of the traveling public think they are.

These ladies and gentlemen are doing their jobs and the not so frequent flyers who haven't been on a flight since Coffee, Tea of Me days need to realize this.

A flight with a professional crew is a pleasure to be on, whether it's a 777 or a CRJ.

magickann

That in a nutshell pretty much sums up my feelings as well. I was impressed that MOST people are aware of what a flight attendant's job is...  Though I think that maybe it was just my fellow brothers and sisters who commented correctly!  LOL

Whether or not people understand what my job is really like, it won't change the fact that I really enjoy what I do, even though I do not make alot of money doing it.  Long days, weather, and crabby passengers can be trying on one's patients.  In spite of that, I couldn't imagine doing anything else.   

 

Suffer?

something wrong with my font selector----since you are in a beauty orientated profession you must suffer---
try an asian diet
Comment from luk243 - 2/24/05 9:27 AM

 

Suffer? Suffer for what?  I take care of my appearance...  I admit that I didn't always, but I do now.  After almost 3 years of changing my eating habits, RATHER than trying some FAD diet, that does more harm than good yo-yoing.  DIETS dont work, healthy eating and good lifestyle choices DO!  I have lost over FIFTY pounds....  That's a small toddler that is no longer attached to my booty!

As far as being in a beauty oriented profession...  Has anyone been on a flight lately?  The days of hot pants and go-go boots are long gone.

Honestly people...  What do YOU think of when the word flight attendant comes to mind?  I want to know, because I think I am falling short to the expectations of the traveling public....  Please e-mail me with what YOU think a flight attendant should be, and I will post a compilation of your answers in about a week!  I will also post what a flight attendant REALLY is, to compare and contrast.  This should be fun...  Looking forward to your answers, GOOD, and bad.

 

 

Of Jugs and Jelly beans....

My crew this month is a riot.  There are times that I think, I am getting paid to have this much fun?!?!?  Having a cool crew that gets along makes life alot easier!  The pilots that I am flying with this month have come to enjoy trying to make me laugh during boarding.  It's hard to be serious and professional when you have your captain shaking a jar of jelly beans asking for a couple of jugs.

Jugs...  Speaking of which, I made the mistake of telling my cockpit crew a story about a pen pal of mine who is from Australia.  The first time that he had a layover in L.A. he and his crew went to a bar and asked the bartender for a couple of jugs.  (I know that I am remembering this story wrong... sorry hon.)  I guess in Aussie slang, a jug mean a pitcher of beer.  I don't need to explain what jugs mean in US slang.  I think that there are several magazines that are devoted solely to the subject.  Well that just opened up a huge can of worms of ways for my cockpit crew to give me a hard time.  Now whenever I ask them if they want anything from the galley, all that they want is my jugs...  Of water that is!

Wednesday night, my first officer and I went to a pub, in White Plains, to have a beer or two.  The bartender took a liking to myself, and gave us free pints the entire night.  Now before you get your hopes up about my love life, let me paint a better picture for you.  Sorry to say that missing teeth, and a huge pot belly don't do it for me.

Last week my captain had jelly bellies that he shared with everyone.    It was a hit, and we had fun trying to figure out each flavor without the cheat sheet.  The funny part came Thursday afternoon, when we met downstairs for the van.  Each of us had a HUGE bag of jelly bellies.  Great minds think alike.  We all brought them out at the same time with a beaming, "Look what I bought!" 

Times like these are the reason that I have been a flight attendant for five years.  You can't be serious all of the time...

Fan comments

...(a) No certificate holder may move an airplane on the surface, take off, or land when any food, beverage, or tableware furnished by the certificate holder is located at any passenger seat.

Very important that you make sure all food and items used to serve food have been cleared and disposed of properly and secured, there's no point in cutting corners or taking chances up there just to save time and take the easy way out.

Also, we're all still awaiting Traveling Tips Part 3, and a Safety Tips Part 1 entry in the coming days.
Comment from u2slipstickboy

....In your entry above, you have written "gold wings" in the color orange, the html color-code of #ff8000.  If given the option of editing entries, and the option of displaying a large array of colors, perhaps you could change the color of those two words to the color of Gold, the html code of #ffd700.  It doesn't have to be done, but it would be more helpful for readers, more of a peace-of-mind issue than anything.

As for the jumpseat now being available, that is great news, sure beats laying out in the overhead-luggage compartments.
Comment from u2slipstickboy - 2/6/05 7:01 PM

...I shall remember never to be the first person to exit a plane in the winter months, as eyesight is invaluable.  I was thinking we could add that safety tip as an addendum to Traveling Tips Part 2, but since Part 2 mainly focuses on nutrition, perhaps saving it for the upcoming Traveling Tips Part 3 would be more sensible.
Comment from u2slipstickboy - 1/30/05 10:04 PM

(honestly... is this guy for real?  What's up with all of this WE crap, since this one is the only one who comments on such trivial things.  One more comment like these, and you are banned for life!  This is MY blog, not a group effort!  Make this a lesson for the rest of you hypercritical people who have nothing to do, other than obcessing about what colours, and content that I use in my blog!  This is my REAL life not some over edited reality show!)

AHHHH....  You people and your demands!  Give me some tips on how to become a flight attendant.  I need some adivce on becomming an comercial pilot.  Where is Traveling Tips part 3, what happened to safety tips part 1?  You need to use different colours in your BLOG...  Can you send me some pics of you in your uniform?  Send Trogdor to my house to dance around!  Ok..... Maybe not the last one! 

I appreciate the interest that you have taken in reading about my life.  From most people's comments and letters, it seems that I have given them a real life perspective on what it's really like to be a flight attendant.  Especially for those of you who are interested in this as a career, I am more than happy to share with you everything that I know. 

I write about what is on my mind and what is currently happening in my life, not on demand...  This is my REAL life, and not a so called reality show.  I am not trying for ratings, I am just expressing how I feel in a public way.  Some of you enjoy what I write about, while others find some of the things that I talk about boring.  My life isn't glamorus and exciting, so you will have to deal with that, I do.  If you are searching for the unrealistic view of being a flight attendant, then I suggest that you rent the movie, A View From the Top.  Though it was a very cute movie, it is as unrealistic as they come. 

The next round of travel tips will start appearing at the start of the spring break/summer travel season.  That's when most of the traveling public who rarely travels, ventures out with everything except the kitchen sink.  If you want safety tips, go to the Transportation Safety Admin. website, or take a self defense class.

Now keep in mind that this is ONE of three blogs that I write.  For my most devoted fans, if you send me a nice e-mail I may send you the links to the others. 

Stay tuned...  The best is yet to come....

Say hello to my little friend... Mr. FAR 121

Ever wonder why airlines have all of those silly rules that noone wants to follow?  They are actually called Federal Avaition Regulations, which the government madates for safe flight operation.

 

Here are a few key ones that I found off of the www.faa.gov website.  Scheduled commercial carriers operate under FAR 121.  Charter airlines usually operate under FAR 135.  In general, certificate holder refers to the airline operating the flight.  Check out the website for the full list of part 121 FARs.  FAR 121 and 91 are what madates my duties.

Never thought it took so many rules to get a plane off of the ground did you?  And these ones are just a minute portion of the rest of FAR 121 in whole!

 

FAR 121.580 (see also 91.11) "No person may assault, threaten, or interfere with a crewmember in the perfomance of the crewmembers duties aboard the aircraft being operated."

FAR 121.291 "each certificate holder must conduct an actual demonstration of emergency evacuation procedures"

FAR 91.517  "no person may operate an airplane carrying passengers unless it is equipped with signs that are visible to passengers and flight attendants to notify them when smoking is prohibited and when safety belts must be fastened.
The signs must be so constructed that the crew can turn them on and off. They must be turned on during airplane movement on the surface, for each takeoff, for each landing, and when otherwise considered to be necessary by the pilot in command.

FAR 91.523  "No pilot in command of an airplane having a seating capacity of more than 19 passengers may permit a passenger to stowbaggage aboard that airplane except--
(a) In a suitable baggage or cargo storage compartment, or as provided in Sec. 91.525; or
(b) Under a passenger seat in such a way that it will not slide forward under crash impacts severe enough to induce the ultimate inertia forces specified in Sec. 25.561 (b)(3) of this chapter, or the reuirements of the regulations under which the airplane was type certificated. Restraining devices must also limit sideward motion of under-seat baggage and be designed to withstand crash impacts severe enough to induce sideward forces specifed in Sec. 25.561 (b)(3) of this chapter

FAR 91.533  "a) No person may operate an airplane unless at least the following number of flight attendants are on board the airplane:
(1) For airplanes having more than 19 but less than 51 passengers on board, one flight attendant.
(2) For airplanes having more than 50 but less than 101 passengers on board, two flight attendants.
(3) For airplanes having more than 100 passengers on board, two flight attendants plus one additional flight attendant for each unit (or part of a unit) of 50 passengers above 100.
(b) No person may serve as a flight attendant on an airplane when required by paragraph (a) of this section unless that person has demonstrated to the pilot in command familiarity with the necessary functions to be performed in an emergency or a situation requiring emergency evacuation and is capable of using the emergency equipment installed on that airplane