December 18-19 First Winter Storm

December 18, 2013

I walked to work yesterday for the first time in the snow! It was crazy, it was snowing pretty heavily.  Katie was on airport standby also, so we walked together and took videos of each other.  I’m glad I have my snow boots here.  It would stink to walk in regular shoes.

Around 9pm, I was trying to nap and I got my call from Scheduling.  The SDQ (Santo Domingo) redeye turn, leaving at 10:09.  UGH!  For real, SDQ?  There are certain flights that flight attendants dread doing and this is one of them.  Oh and I’m the number 1, awesome. 

I run up to gate 36, which is listed on the board as our departing gate.  The gate is empty - no crew, no gate agent, no passengers.  Uh, what?  I'm having a semi heart attack; I don't want to be in trouble for being late.  Call scheduling - gate has been changed to gate 34.  I run over.  There is a gate agent, whew, but no other crew members.  I'm still slightly panicking because - where is my crew???  No pilots.  No flight attendants.

After a half an hour, the crew shows up.  They'd all  been delayed from the storm.  The F1 (who I was replacing) was snowed into his house and had to call out for the trip.

Also from the storm, flights were cancelled last night and there were a lot of delays.  We were scheduled to leave on time, but the ticket counters were short staffed so people were delayed checking in.  Then, boarding took forever, because people on flights to SDQ bring a Ton of stuff with them. To my surprise and contrary to what I've heard, the passengers weren't horrible when we told them "you have to check your bag, it's too large".

Around 11pm (an hour late), the plane was fully boarded, we closed the doors and backed out of the gate way.  And then... we sat... for 2 hours until we finally took off at 1am.  The pilots didn’t communicate much, but 2 issues caused the delay - the plane was way over weight (too many passengers with too much luggage) and we had to wait in line for de-icing.  The flight went really well.  Passengers were nice and friendly, probably relieved to be getting out of Boston.

The hardest part about working a red eye flight like this is the trip back.  We landed in Santo Domingo at 5am, deplaned the passengers, grabbed coffees and immediately began boarding again.   The pilots change, but all of the flight attendants work the flight back.  FA's can work 16 hours and up to 18 hours during irregular operations (i.e. a snow storm).  By the end of the trip back, all 3 flight attendants were delirious.  Vanessa and I were jumping up and down in the back galley to stay awake.  I’m pretty sure I fell asleep while standing up.  My crew was really awesome.  I hope I get to work with them again it would’ve been awesome to have a layover together.

I took some amazing photo’s of sunrise from the jet bridge in SD when Vanessa and I went to get coffee.

By the end of the trip, I’d been working for 17 hours straight and had been awake for 23 hours.  It’s the craziest feeling, almost like being drunk.  We were all giddy, a little delirious, out of it, but still semi functional.  I called Scheduling to make sure I’m not on call the rest of today… and then they put me on home reserve at 3am tomorrow.  Geez, the schedule that flight attendants keep is insane.  I can’t believe it.  I’m the first person on the “call at home” list, so we’ll see what happens.  Can I please get a California turn or something??

9 Days Off

I had such a nice time off!  I spent a lot of time with Justin and our families.  It's been really tough being so far away from everyone.  Here are some of the things I did during my time off.

Went on a motorcycle ride with Justin and some good friends of ours.

 Saw little ponies

Went to Gainesville to visit my bestie for her birthday

Played games in Gainesville

Went to the neighborhood Christmas party and then went to Justin's office Christmas party

I guess I didn't get pictures with any of our families :( 

Having so much time at home made it Really Really hard to go back to Boston.  Think I was sadder leaving this time than when I first went to Boston.  I won't be able to come home again for a month, since I took so much time off at once.

December 7

I enjoyed working with my F3.  I sent Justin a picture of us and he's like "why are you sending me pictures with other dudes?"  lol

oh, I just thought it was a fun idea... like "hey!  here's us on the plane!" guess not lol

Did I mention that the F3 hiked Machu Picu last year??  He told me a lot about it and I think that'd be a great trip for me and Justin in 2014.  We fly into Lima, so I'll have to start looking into it.  I'm excited for fun trips in 2014!!

December 6 - Oops this is long

Another rough day in the sky.  I don’t even know where to begin when talking about today.  I guess I’m feeling a little disappointed about the reality of flying right now.  Working on the plane is a lot more work than I was expecting and it’s not as much fun as I thought it’d be.  I’ve had some flights I really enjoyed, but for the most part, passengers make it difficult to enjoy the job.  I thought we’d be out partying and seeing the world, but I’m so exhausted by the time I get off the flights that I just want some alone time and to crash at the hotel.  In addition, I’ve had some pretty crappy trips.  If I never fly from JFK to FLL again, I will be very happy about it.

Last night we stayed in West Palm.  I had such a nice time at dinner with my friends Greg and Michelle (love them).  It would’ve been great to walk around for the Christmas tree lighting, but my call time this morning was 5am and the flight left PBI at 6am, so I had to go to bed asap.  Where’s all the partying I see in movies about flight attendants???  No time to party when you’re exhausted, mentally and physically, after flights and then only have a few hours to rest.

We flew PBI to JFK with no problems.  Most of the customers were sleeping.  I’m pretty sure I should start waking up people as I go through the cabin though, because it’s Really annoying when I’m delivering drinks to row 16 and 2 passengers in row 13 want something because “I was sleeping when you went through.”  Know what that means?  If I now grab you drinks, no one else gets snacks until after I’ve delivered them and you better hope no one else wakes up on my way back to grab the snack basket.  Anyways, the flight wasn’t bad.

The trip from JFK to Ft. Lauderdale was freaking AWEFUL.  If I get stuck on this trip a few more times, I’m going to freaking quit.  All of the passengers bring too much stuff for the overhead bin.  As I mentioned before, it’s the #2’s job to help organize and load the OH bins.  I’m too short and I have to climb on people’s seats to move things in the bins.  On this flight, most of the passengers were really great helping me with loading.  They were all really nice.  During service, I wanted to punch someone.  Every passenger wanted a drink and a water.  Oh and Black Coffee means they wanted sugar?  Oh and Tea with no cream/sugar meant he wanted sugar?  And light cream in the coffee means she wants extra on the side… and I want ice for my water and my friend was sleeping, can she get a coffee with cream, but not too much cream?  Seriously???  I kept thinking to myself, “could someone just punch me in the freaking face and get it over with????”  As I’m bringing a lady in my last row a second bottle of water (because my Entire section wanted a drink + a water), she says “are we going to get snacks”.  So I responded “I can’t get you snacks until I’m done with drinks”… aka stop asking for shit!  Are you freaking kidding me?  Then people in the #3’s section kept snatching at me – trying to grab ice off my tray (which I’d gotten for my passengers) and asking for 500 things.  Hey!  You’re not in my section, I don’t care!  Three ladies in particular, started snatching at the waters on my tray (not in my section), I had to tell them Hold On and I proceeded going through my section handing out water before I came to them.  Like friggin be patient!  By the end of flight I was hiding in the back galley and refused to walk back through the cabin because people were so crazy and so snatchy.  I was so freaking over it by the end of that flight.  In addition to the people on the plane, the other flight attendants I’m working with are having some kind of disconnect.  One of them in particular, keeps going on and on about how they don’t like the other one.  I don’t like the negativity, I just want to like everyone and do my job.  One nice thing is that I saw Richard and Jennie on my plane!  Actually, we had 35 crew members on board the plane!  I really wish I’d been able to sit and chat with them, but the flight was so crazy I couldn’t believe it.  By the end of this flight, I wanted to run off the plane and never look back.

We had 30 minutes in FLL and had to head back up to Providence.  It was such a blessing that there were only 87 passengers on our flight.  They were all sweet, not demanding and NORMAL.  It was great.  I enjoyed it much more.  However, where on the last flight it took at least an hour to do drink and snack service, it took about 15 minutes to do it on this flight…. So we were insanely bored.  Can’t win lol.  My only bad situation was with helping a lady who only spoke Creole.  When I asked if she wanted a drink, she pointed at a beer that the girl next to her had.  I knew she didn’t speak good English, but I handed her the beer anyways.  I should’ve known better and shown her the seat back card that lists the price.  When I came back for payment, she didn’t understand.  It was a huge fiasco that ended up envolving at least 5 other passengers and 4 people exchanging money to get change.  I ended up feeling horrible for charging the lady for her drink.  

I wish I’d just comped it because of the misunderstanding.  Now back at the hotel, I had a nice dinner with the other FA’s and they seemed to get along better.  Sheesh, I’m friggen exhausted.  We have another super early day tomorrow, but it’s the last day of the trip.  There’s a major storm coming through, so I really hope our flight isn’t cancelled or delayed.  Fingers crossed.

I can’t wait to spend 9 days at home J

December 5

Wow today feels like I went through a marathon again.  We caught a 7:30 van from the hotel to the airport.  I needed more sleep.  We flew one leg from White Plains to West Palm.  All of the passengers were really nice and fun, but demanding.  They say any flights between New York and SoFlo are very though and now I understand why.  Sort of.  I'm not even sure what I was doing the whole flight, but I was running up and down the aisle the Entire 3 hour flight - 2 drinks per person, tons of snacks, refills and a full flight.

One passenger and his wife were especially awesome.  The husband was a CPA and spent years in the industry.  We chatted for a long time about accounting and how he got into the industry and how he became successful.  It’s very encouraging to me when I talk to successful business people who don’t think I've ruined my life by doing this. 

I didn't write anything else on this day, so I’m assuming the rest of the trips were pretty uneventful.

December 4

Today was probably the hardest day I’ve had so far on a flight.  The customers weren’t bad, just really demanding.  I flew Boston to Palm Beach and then back to White Plains, NY.  I think I was running and lifting for 6 hours straight.

I’ve decided I do not like the number 2 position on the A320.  In this position, I’m supposed to stand in the middle of the aircraft during boarding, help people put their bags up and organize the overhead bins so more things fit.  The people on both flights completely filled the overhead bins, it was Packed!  In addition, my area to “serve” during the flight is in the middle of the plane, which means service takes longer.  I swear I hit every single person I walk past each time I walk down the aisle of the aircraft, and I consider myself a pretty small person.

On the flight to Palm Beach, we had 22 wheel chairs.  Boarding took FOREVER!!  For the most part customers are really nice, but I can’t explain how difficult it is to help people with their bags when I can hardly reach the overhead bins.  I kept having to stand on chairs and climb up into the bins.  Next time, I def need to wear pants (not a skirt) when I’m the number 2.

We only had 2 wheelchairs on the way to White Plains, but a lot of the people were pretty irritated that we were delayed and that the terminal was in so much chaos.  One lady started yelling at me because there was no room for her bag in the overhead bin.  However, I’d built such a rapport with my other customers that they were all really supportive of me and gave reassuring looks.  Several commented how the lady was rude.  I think one of the keys to a successful flight is to get all of the customers to like you during boarding – say hello, be friendly, chit chat – so they feel a personal connection and really like you.  One customer liked me so much, he wanted to set me up with his son… however, I let him know I have a wonderful boyfriend, but I found it pretty flattering.  I also tried to win over grouchy customers by bringing 2 of whatever they asked for – want a water?  How about 2??  Bag of chips?  Here’s an extra one >>wink<<.

After these two flights, I am absolutely exhausted.  People asked for like 2-3 drinks each, wanted tons of snacks, needed help with their stuff, wanted to chat, etc… I feel emotionally and physically drained.  I def think I got my workout for the day.  I really enjoy being around so many people all the time though and I LOVE that customers appreciate that I genuinely care and am super nice.  In too many jobs, I feel like kindness and caring are viewed as weakness.  I hate that.  I don’t know that I can do this job for very long, but I need to find a career that meshes my love of people with analytics.  I’m not sure where to start looking.  Sometimes this job still feels like a dream.  Life is crazy sometimes.

November 30- December 2

So I got back from my 3 day trip yesterday and was "Home Reserve" again today from 3 to 3.  I'm good for another 3 days and got called at exactly 3:05am for a 1 day trip, 6am report time.  I worked with a guy who is pretty senior at the base - 12 years.  He was pretty nice.

The following day, I was sent on a 2 day trip.  We had a layover in West Palm Beach.  My cousins live down there so I was really excited to them!  I rented a car and then stopped by the hotel to have a drink with my F1 before heading to my cousins house.  Things were going well chit chatting, until he said "you can probably tell, but I'm into guys and girls".  Um, no.  I could not tell.  Wasn't really sure what to say to that. Awkward.

About then, I got in the car and headed up to see Joe and Jill.  This is a really nice perk of the job, getting to layover in cities where I know people.  Renting a car was a bad decision though, I'll try to get people to pick me up next time instead.  Could get expensive.

The following day, we were supposed to "Deadhead" back to Boston from Tampa, but our flight was delayed like 4 hours.  My F1 and I were stuck in the airport - so close to home but not close enough.  I thought about renting a car again but one way rentals were like $70.  Not worth it.  So we waited and eventually made it back.

Catching Up

So I'm starting to realize that if I try to go back and post about every flight I've had so far (I'm now in February), it's never going to get done and I'll always be behind.  The problem is that this job isn't as easy and freeing as I thought it was and when I get done with a day of flying I'm actually Tired!  Who would've thought???

I'm just going to skip ahead on some things...

Thanksgiving

The next day was pretty simple, Buffalo Orlando:  Orlando Providence

It was Thanksgiving and our flights were practically empty, but the people on the flights were great.  I think one was booked 50 people out of 150.  I enjoyed talking with all of the families more.  Out of 50 people, more than half of them were children.  At the end of our first flight, one of the little boys ran up to me and gave me a big hug before he got off the plane, so cute.

The other flight attendants taught me the importance of bringing air spray on the planes because when people poop, it stinks up the entire galley.  They also showed me that if I put antibacterial stuff on my hands and then put gloves on, it helps repair the dry skin you experience from washing your hands too much.

The hotel in Providence is Awesome.  It was an old factory turned into a modern, boutique hotel.  I'd love to come back in summer.  The pilots, my F3 and I went out in search of a traditional turkey dinner.

My room

View from back patio of hotel

 Back patio of hotel

The coolest chairs!  There are a bunch of these in the lobby, I want some!

Not many places were open, but we found a restaurant serving traditional Turkey dinner!  Turkey, potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole... all of my favorites.

It was really nice to not spend Thanksgiving alone, but the conversation at dinner was super awkward.  The Captain kept talking about his wife, the F/O and I were trying to have normal conversation, and the other flight attendant was telling drunk stories.  After dinner, we went back to the hotel and had some drinks at the bar before going to bed.  I really missed my family.

First Flight!! November 22

I moved all of my things into our crash pad!  After I was a Little settled, one of my roommates (Dustyn) went with me to Target.  Boy it was a hike!  I bought way too much stuff and it's difficult walking with so much.  Target is not that close to our place - had to take a train ride and then walk 15-20 minutes.

I'm on home reserve from 12 to 12 today.  That means I'm on call and the airline can call me at any point to assign me a trip.  The rule is that they have to give me 2 hours notice though.  The whole time we were in Target, I was nervous about my phone ringing.

When we got back, Dustyn and I were walking to Subway when another roommate (Hank) called and wanted to go to dinner.  We walked all the way back to the pad and Hank drove us to Margarita's.  It was delish! I was pretty sure at this point that I wasn't going to get called and was really tempted to grab a drink with the guys, but I didn't.  Boy am I glad I didn't!  About the time we got home, my phone rings and the whole room stops.... It's like the whole world stops and zooms in on the dreaded phone call.

Unfortunately, my phone decided not to work and I couldn't answer it!  Agh!  Hank and Dustyn helped me call Crew Services back and we found out I was assigned a red eye turn to San Juan.  Eek!  I've been awake since 10am!  At the advice of my roommates, I tried to go take a nap, but I was so nervous that I couldn't sleep.

At 10:50, I head to the airport.  I met my two co-workers and we headed to the airplane.  I was the FA3 on the trip.  By the end of the flight, I was so delirious, I honestly don't remember much about the flight.  Most of the customers spoke Spanish only, so I tried my best to communicate with them to get drink orders.  The FA1 and FA2 were really nice giving me suggestions on things to do and how to set up my galley.  The flight went well, but by the end, I was literally jumping up and down in the back to stay awake.  Falling asleep during a flight will get you fired, but after being up for over 24 hours, I was def struggling.

My First Pairing!! Nov 27

For some reason, I can't get this to post After the posting "My first flight"... agh

November 27, 2013

A pairing is just another name for a group of flights that you’re assigned to.  I walked through the rain to get to the airport this morning.  It was pouring.  My shoes, stockings, pants, face… everything was soaked.  I showed up in time for my 9am airport reserve report and stepped into the bathroom touch up my drowned rat look. 

9:02 I walk into the crew lounge and start to set up my things, expecting to post up for the day.  “Are you Danielle??  Someone was just calling your name, but they left, I think you’re on a flight”

Me:  “no way, it’s 9:03 and my report time was 9am and I was second in line to be called”  Look at my phone, I missed a phone call.  Seriously????

So here I am, on a 3 day trip and I’m the FA1.  The FA1 is the person who makes all of the PA’s and is supposed to be the lead, for the most part.  The positions (FA1, FA2, FA3) can be assigned to anyone, it doesn't matter your seniority or experience, it really just defines what your duties are.

Today we did 4 “legs” (aka flights):  Boston- JFK, JFK-Buffalo, Buffalo-Orlando, and Orlando-Buffalo.  12 hours.  It’s been a long day.  I swear fate is against me setting up this actual blog because that was my goal today during airport standby.

   

The first two trips had quite a bit of turbulence.  They were “express trips” which meant the drinks/snacks were limited to a small number of choices.  At one point, I was picking up trash and I had to squat in the aisle because it got so bumpy.  I was impressed how sweet people were to me.  One lady asked if I wanted to grab the seat next to her and an older gentlemen asked if he should grab on to me (in a sweet way, not being perverted… Justin).  We had 2 people throw up all over the back row and I was really thankful to be up at the front of the plane because it wasn't in my section.

I didn't realize how much the turbulence effected me until we got to Orlando.  I was so sick to my stomach and when I got off the plane I felt like I was still rocking.  Honestly, I've been at the hotel for 2 hours and I’m still rocking right now.  The other FA’s said I haven’t gotten my “air legs” yet and that once I get used to flying, I won’t feel like this.

To be honest, nothing really happens during the flights.  I know people have talked about how much flight attendants get hit on, but people don’t really speak to me at all.  A few older men make flirty comments, but besides that, I don’t talk to that many people because I’m pretty busy.

Tonight we’re laying over in Buffalo and I’m so excited it’s snowing outside!!  No one else in our crew seems to share my enthusiasm haha.  Oh well.  I’m still spinning, think I’ll head to bed.

Trees outside the airport.

November 21 - First Airport Standby

I've explained in previous posts, but in case you haven't read it.  Here's a brief description of Airport Standby (ASB).  Basically, we come to the airport and sit in the crew lounge for 6 hours.  If someone calls out sick or can't make it to their flight with less than 2 hours notice, someone from ASB is assigned to the trip.

We're also moving into the crash pad today, so we don't have the hotel anymore and had to move all of our luggage out.   We have no idea how to get around the city, but the hotel has a shuttle to the airport.  So we got dropped off with all of our luggage.

 On the bus trying to find our way around

All of our luggage!!

I decided to take mine with me to the airport, rather than take it to the crashpad and then travel back to the airport for ASB. However.... I didn't think to wear my uniform so that I could just take my luggage through the Known Crewmember line.  Instead, I had to lug my huge suit case and try to get it through the regular security line.  Wow, what a show.

I sat ASB (airport standby) from 4pm until 10pm.  It's a good time to sit in the crew lounge and learn the computer systems, talk to people, and read my Flight Attendant Manual.  Around 6pm, one of my classmates came down to the lounge.  She was also on ASB, but from 6-12.  We had a great time goofing around.

We walked through the terminal and got ice cream.

And then found the kids playground!  Look I'm flying!

What a rough day at work!