My captain bought me ice cream today!
And it made me the happiest little girl on earth. It’s like I was starving and had never been offered food in my life.
obviously that’s how I would react to cookies and cream ice cream.
no one will probably buy me ice cream anymore again…not after how I reacted.
It can be tough to eat healthy while traveling as flight crew. However, it can be done. The last FO I flew with is a friend, and we’ve flown together several times before. Between the two of us, we sat down in the crew room and created a healthy spread of: carrots, celery, avocado, pita chips, honey roasted almonds, and hummus. Not pictured: cherry tomatoes. It just takes an effort to bring the healthy things along. But it was very delicious too.
Every year flight attendants have to go through something known as “recurrent” or recurrent ground training” or “recurrent/ground school”.
Basically, we’re taking a mini refresher course on Federal Airline Regulations (FAR’s), emergency equipment, evacuation drills, and much more. Every airline handles this in their own way, but there are certain things that must be covered per the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration).
I just recently finished my 2nd recurrent, so I am currently legal for another full year. Every year I get nervous beforehand. It’s not that I don’t know my job, instead, it’s that this event is what determines if I will KEEP my job for another year. It’s a bit nerve-wracking. I don’t think I have ever met a flight attendant who didn’t have at least a healthy dose of being nervous prior to recurrent.
Anyway, I just wanted to say that I’m really happy I passed.
It’s really a good thing to do this yearly review. I don’t encounter medical emergencies and major security concerns every day, so it’s nice to be reminded how to best handle things and be prepared.
Hello pretty bird!
I am fairly certain that every airline has a policy that if something goes awry or if the credit card machine isn’t working, then the first alcoholic beverage transaction is on us (the airline).
Well, I’ve been fortunate enough to be in the position where I usually have everything in working order and don’t have to worry about “comping” a drink.
Today was the fateful day where my machine was not working. And of course my bitchiest of passengers were the ones who wanted to order alcohol. Perfect.
The first dude was cool, he was super thankful after me explaining, “Oh sir, don’t worry about it, it’s on me”.
The second lady asked for a bloody mary. After I gave her the same statement, she just grabbed the drink, and poured it without so much as a thank you or eye contact.
The other flight with this broken device led me to the pinnacle of entitlement with “The Iceberg”. That’s what I want to call her. She came on board with 2 huge down feather jackets (wearing one, and one in hand) and a scarf thick enough to double as a neck brace. She then proceeded to ask me for a blanket (which we didn’t have) and demand incessantly from the beginning. Guess who wanted a vodka? Well, we were out, so she opted for a gin & tonic. Lemon or lime? We didn’t have either, so she persistently rolled her eyes and grabbed the drink. When I told her to not worry about it, that the drink was on me, she gave me a nearly snarling glare.
I mean, seriously, you really don’t have to kiss my feet or anything…but if I give you a free alcoholic beverage that normally isn’t free, the least you can do is muster up a polite, “Thank you”.
I really needed to rant about this. I mean, I am the most happy and thankful person when I get something for free…ESPECIALLY alcohol!
The bag lineup
The center line.
Tonight I had the big talk with my mother.
I spoke with her seriously about becoming a pilot.
Her response?
She was supportive! And that only makes me more happy. I am currently awaiting a phone call from my uncle (who is a captain at the company that I work for) to talk to him and see what my first move should be.
Guys. I really want to do this. Even if it takes baby steps. I don’t want to live a life full of regret wondering how life would have been different if I didn’t take advantage of this opportunity or not.
I am very nervous/excited/happy/contemplative. Let’s see if I can figure out a way to make this work.
Today, I was doing my beverage service on a very short flight. People were asking for multiple drinks at once, extra sugars,extra napkins, etc. I was just in such a flow of things that I didn’t realize how fast my hands and arms were moving about in order to accommodate everyone’s request. At one point, I thought of Ganesh. Although I’m not Hindu, I did take several courses in college based on India. The main point? The hands. There are 4 of them. Today, I felt like I had 4 hands. Just replace the items in Ganesh’s hands with styrofoam and plastic cups, napkins, and beverages. I’d be all set. In fact, if I had photoshop I would just photoshop all those items into Ganesh’s hands. I’m not trying to be disrespectful, conversely, I’m saying that if you have 4 hands, you definitely have more responsibility. There’s more room to get your hands full.
Today, I made a very rookie move.
I left my ID badge at the hotel. When I got to the airport and was getting ready to present my badge, I realized I had left it. I could have had a meltdown so fast.
But, thankfully, my FO (First Officer) punches some numbers on his phone and says, “Here. I dialed the hotel. Talk to them. Have them bring it to you.” The captain said, “Um, like I’ve never done that before? Stuff happens. No big deal. We’re going to start up the plane. Here’s my number. Text me with an update.”
First of all, my crew was fantastic in how they worked together in helping to keep me calm. Second, the hotel was also fantastic for getting my badge immediately and then returning promptly to the airport to deliver it to me.
My badge is important. I can’t go past security without it. I can’t go to work without it. I may as well not be there if it isn’t there. Did I mention that we were still able to board the aircraft on time? Also, we left the gate 8 minutes early. Sometimes I need my crew and at times they need me. Teamwork infiltrates every aspect of the job. That’s high quality teamwork right there. I’m thankful for my amazing crew.
