My View from 30,000 Feet

Babe in Arms?

2017-06-18T02:29:00.003-04:00

Found this gem on one of our Facebook pages...I have edited it for abbreviations used:

"Today I had a passenger on the LAX (Los Angeles) to LHR (London Heathrow) flight that would not let the Flight Attendant put up the bassinet for the mother with a baby that was in his row. He told the Flight Attendant "I plan to put my feet up on that wall !" As the Lead Flight Attendant, I actually had to go tell him that the mother was not going to hold her infant baby in her arms for 10 hours.

Bassinet on the bulkhead

He wanted to know what his compensation would be for the inconvenience of not being able to prop his feet on the wall. I gave him the 'sorry for the inconvenience form'. (This is a form which the passenger is able to seek compensation through Customer Service--but, is being replaced with other means in the next couple of weeks.)

He seemed to think he was going to get reimbursed for the entire cost of his ticket. At least mom got to use the bassinet and no video recorders were turned on."

UGH!!

House hearing on the airline industry today

2017-05-02T17:19:00.001-04:00

Today, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a hearing on Customer Service in the airline industry. My airline was there, as well as three others: Alaska, Southwest and American. At many points, senior leadership was excoriated for the airline policies that are in place regarding lost luggage, change fees, seat size, pricing--it was a well-deserved field day.

However, one statement made by Indiana Representative Todd Rokita (at the 4:07:30 mark) stood out to me above all the others: "A grown man, assumedly sane, approached by Law Enforcement on an aircraft, should abide by the request being made."

*mic drop*

Here's a link to the hearing:
https://transportation.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=401344

It's been a bad few weeks for us...

2017-04-29T01:45:00.000-04:00

My colleague, Mary, posted this on Facebook. Thought you'd like to read it, too.

"Okay, I'm officially and thoroughly irate.

On my way to work two days ago I made the mistake of running a few errands while I was dressed in uniform. As I was walking through a parking lot I heard a male voice ask if I work for United. I turned and answered yes, then with contemptuous snickering in his voice he started to say something about our recent bad press. I didn't even let him finish, just turned around and talked over him as I walked away saying, "You're hilarious, really. I'm sure I haven't heard that one before." He hit a nerve.

At first I took 'jokes' over United's recent bad press light heartedly. Haha, very funny, let's move on....but the world is not moving on and we flight attendants now find ourselves smack dab in the middle of what has become the latest spin of 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire'!

There is no question that even to the most seasoned of travelers, air travel can be stressful. After making their way to an airport, people have to stand in line to check in their bags, then another line to get poked and prodded by security, and yet another line to get on an airplane. They do all of this while lugging their children/pets/belongings through seas of humanity, only to end up "trapped" on metal tubes with tens to hundreds of strangers all vying to secure their own personal space and each seeking to have their personal needs satisfied (be it at the expense of others, if necessary).

I just started my twentieth year as a flight attendant and I speak from experience when I say that 99% percent of the flying public are decent, civilized, well-behaved people who manage to make it through all of their air travel without incident. Then there is the 1%....the 1% which I fear is a growing number. A growing number that has been emboldened by the recent wave of videos showing only parts of stories that had much more context than what was shown and over which the general public has seen fit to express their uninformed, self-righteous outrage. Uninformed, self-righteous outrage disseminated at record speeds over the all-powerful, often biased and ill-informed, cherry-picking, headline chasing media whose irresponsible misinformation drives airline stocks into a tailspin and consequently sends airline management groups into full panic, tails-between-their-legs, public relations fix-it modes that only serve to reward people for bad behavior.

Let's begin with America's newest millionaire, "Dr" Dao. He was asked to step off an airplane NOT because of overbooking but because weather conditions caused an unforeseen need to reposition airline crew from one city to another. Three people deplaned the very same flight without incident (the "99%"). Dr. Dao (the "1%") decided that he was going to kick and scream like an entitled, bratty, irrational, temper-tantrum throwing man-child who wasn't getting his way. The TAIL END of the incident was caught on tape by fellow passengers (none of which volunteered to take his place giving up their seats, mind you), and here we are today. Much to my shock and chagrin, instead of defending themselves for having done nothing wrong, United Airlines handed over a lump sum of cash which will no doubt magically make Dr. Dao's pain, suffering, and inconvenience all go away. Was the incident over the top? Yes. Did it have to go the way it did? Of course not. But it was initiated and escalated by Dr. Dao and handled by employees of Republic Airways and Chicago's Airport Authority. Where does United Airlines come in? United Airlines contracted Republic Airways to operate their short haul flights. As a result United's name was painted on the outside of the airplane, thereby United Airlines suffered the media stain and most significantly United Airlines had the deepest pockets which made them the bullseye that Dr. Dao's lawyers honed in on. So now there is not much left to say except to the unscrupulous Dr. Dao...well played, sir. Enjoy your millions.

Queue in the American Airlines stroller mom. Who doesn't have sympathy for a crying mother holding her baby, right? Well....let's review the actual facts. She insisted on bringing a stroller onto an airplane, which is not permitted. Strollers are checked at the gate upon boarding an aircraft and are returned at the gate of arrival upon deplaning. With passengers carrying on everything but their kitchen sinks these days, there is simply no room in the overhead compartments for long, bulky strollers. When I watched the video of this incident for the first time and saw the mother sobbing hysterically I had to ask myself good God, are we just talking about a stroller here or did they take her CHILD with the stroller?!??? I thought someone had died! But no, there was no child abduction or death to be spoken of....just another 1%'er who felt they were entitled to be exempted from to the rules. Again, an incident that escalated and got out of control, but also again...an incident that was unnecessarily initiated by its very theatrical "victim."

EVERY DAY, across the country, across the world, flight attendants put out hundreds to thousands of fires (figuratively speaking). EVERY DAY. People board aircrafts with all sorts of baggage and I'm not referring to their luggage. Passengers come aboard cranky, tired, frustrated, short tempered and seeking to find comfort and rest in an environment that just isn't suited to being comfortable OR restful. It is literally impossible for us to make everyone happy...and we flight attendants become the targets of the 1%'ers anger, glares, eye-rolls, verbal insults, and even physical threats or worse!

*Someone complains it's too cold on the airplane so we ask the cockpit to warm up the cabin, then ten minutes later someone else is complaining that it's too hot. *We run out of chicken and they wanted chicken, or we run out of beef and they wanted beef. Or how dare we not have vegetarian, gluten-free, organic, strained tofu to offer them...all the while taking no responsibility for their lack of planning ahead given their specific dietary needs. *We ask passengers wearing headphones 3-5 times what they would like to drink but they can't be bothered to look up from their gadgets so we walk away and two seconds later they're doing the Exorcist head spin barking at us that we "skipped" them! *We have literally seen passengers move other people's bags to accommodate their own then left the other person's belongings hanging out so the overhead bin wouldn't close, but they didn't care because their carry ons were in. We have been yelled at for touching people's coats as we tried to rearrange bins to make room for more bags, their coats...like coats were delicate, breakable heirlooms! *Parents leave their seats completely trashed because they can't be bothered to clean up after their own children; leaving chewed up food, dirty diapers, liquid spills, crumbs and trash all over their now empty seats and floor space. The same parents who are incredulous that we don't have an unlimited supply of milk and diapers at their disposal and who are insulted that we won't take their childrens' dirty feces-filled diapers but rather ask them to deposit them in the lavatory trash bins. *We only have a limited supply of bottled water to be shared by ALL passengers but we're the bad guys because we won't give someone a full bottle of their very own. Meanwhile on their way to the plane they walked passed twenty-seven restaurant/snack/or sundry shops in the airport terminal that all sold bottled water. *Domestically we don't serve free meals in coach. We haven't served free meals on domestic flights in coach since 2002...yet this is somehow news and we become the terrible people because we aren't feeding them. *We get yelled at by people for the way they were treated by TSA when they went through security. *We get scornful looks because we don't accept cash, rather only credit or debit cards for onboard purchases. (Just yesterday I was yelled at because we "discriminate against people who don't have credit cards!") *Occasionally our wifi and entertainment systems may be down, or a seat may not recline, or a reading light may be out...all end of the world scenarios. *Then there are the inevitable flight delays and cancellations caused by any number of reasons, none of which are flight attendant decisions, yet WE are the ones who face the wrath. Any time we cannot make the impossible happen or give people the answer they want to hear, we are the villains.

Our primary job is to ensure the safety of our passengers as we get them from Point A to Point B. To ensure we meet this most basic responsibility, there are sets of rules and laws that were established long before my time and by people much smarter than I am. Rules and laws that the entitled 1% of the flying public feels don't apply to them. I understand no one likes being told what to do, but it is necessary to follow established rules and laws, especially within the tight confines of an aircraft whether it's sitting at a gate, taxiing down a runway, or flying at 39,000 feet. There has to be order and safety measures have to be followed or we all leave ourselves open for undesirable consequences.

*Yet...despite our repeated announcements and requests, people still get up when the seatbelt sign is on. Even when turbulence is bad enough that flight attendants are told by the cockpit to take their seats we still have to reiterate to people that they need to stay seated with their seat belts on. *Upon closing the aircraft door for departure, we ask people to end their phone conversations and put their phones on airplane mode. Up to ten minutes later we still catch people talking on their phones...because everyone else turned off their phones but they don't have to. *For take-off and landing we ask people to close and stow their large laptops...five minutes later they're still typing away. *Every airline has a section of extra legroom in their coach cabins. When passengers buy their tickets, they ALL have the option to pay the additional cost of sitting in the extra legroom section. Some who choose not to pay then board the aircraft and move themselves up to the more desirable section. One, this is theft. Two, everyone else sitting up there paid to sit there, so what makes the seat jumpers think they shouldn't have to? Yet it happens frequently on flights with light passenger loads. *We ask that people use the lavatories in their own cabin but like children testing the grown ups some make a point of trying to use the ones in first class. Like those are somehow better. They're not. *We've had people smoke, drink from their own alcohol supply, perform sexual acts, fondle people they didn't know, expose themselves, smuggle animals, get into pissing contests with each other over the most mundane things...even simple tasks like stowing their tray tables and bringing their seat backs forward when it's required...with the 1%'ers everything is a battle and we are the ones who have to deal with them.

It's often exhausting. Yet the majority of us love our job and would never want to do anything else. We are the eternal optimists who greet you with a "hello" and a smile and send you on your way with a "thank you and have a nice day." One of the very great perks of the job is that no two flights are ever the same. When we are inevitably faced with the 1%'ers, we do our best to handle them as professionally and appeasingly as possible. It doesn't always end well and not everyone is always happy, but we certainly don't upset people out of malice. One thing I feel I can safely say about most flight attendants is that we hate paperwork and we genuinely have no interest in creating any for ourselves.

As for United Airlines. I believe it is a GREAT company to work for, and we have thousands of employees who every day bend over backwards to help people in countless small and sometimes incredible ways that will never make the news. We don't do it for recognition, we do it because we are nice, decent people who are happy to help; and any one of us should be able to walk through a public parking lot without being jeered at for where we work. Needless to say, if anyone has any more 'jokes' for me, I would encourage them to direct them elsewhere. It's not funny and we are not laughing!!"

Questions You've Always Wanted to Ask

2017-02-22T22:16:00.000-05:00

A couple of things weren't exactly what I said, but close enough!

http://www.businessinsider.com/a-flight-attendant-answers-the-questions-youve-always-wanted-to-ask-2016-5

Christmas in London

2013-01-01T15:11:00.003-05:00

Another Christmas Eve in London for me! This is the third year in a row I have gotten my Christmas Wish List from the Crew Desk. Wow. Just WOW! And, I flew with a friend, Julie, so that was great! We didn't do much--slept a little when we arrived, then walked all afternoon over Regent Street and the fully and festively decorated Oxford Street. Michelle, one of our flying partners had her cousin Jamie meet us and he hung out with us as we shopped amidst the hoards of Christmas Eve shoppers.

An alley of shops off Regent Street

These fresh hydrangeas and roses had glitter on them--much prettier in person, though!

This was a Marmite promotion where people uploaded their own picture online
and it was displayed for all the world to see!

A side window display at Selfridges

Jamie and his cousin Michelle

Julie and me

Bailey's, Sambuca and grenadine. Sounds awful, tastes great!

I hope that 2013 brings good health and great travels to us all!

Seeing Costa Concordia

2012-12-19T14:58:00.000-05:00

After a good night's sleep at the Hotel Alfiero, I woke up early to shower, pack and get ready for the day. I stumbled into the bathroom and turned on the shower--the water barely trickled out. I adjusted the knob. And, adjusted the knob. Over and over and over. Nuthin'! After a minute, the dribble of water dried up. I tried the water in the sink--again, the drops of water just crawled. Just waking up and checking her e-mail, Casey had little pity for me, saying I should have washed my hair the night before. Grrrrrrr!

I quickly dressed and went downstairs to the Front Desk of this 17-room, family-owned hotel to complain, only to find the reception area was locked off. Apparently there isn't much need for water or a Front Desk Clerk in the town of Porto Santo Stefano at that early hour. <sigh>

I managed to use the cold water trickling out of the sink to wash up and get going. Just as I finished putting on my makeup, I could hear the water in the building turn on. It was 0620. (That's good intel for the next time I'm in town!) I turned on the faucet with its' welcome blast of water, and could now brush my teeth with abandon!

Side note: There is a sign posted on the door of the reception area telling guests to let the staff know if you plan on departing before 7 am. It's in Italian. We didn't translate it until we were leaving. DOH! Also, we wanted to store our suitcases at the hotel for our day trip over to Giglio--we left them in our rooms, with a note on them, as well as slipping a note under the door to the Front Desk. When we got back, our belongings were untouched and had been safe there.

We walked a block over to the ferry's ticket office and bought our tickets to Giglio Island-about $13 each. The ferry ride, which lasts an hour, would leave at 0730.

Flat Shelby having a cappuccino on the ferry.

The boat had a handful of working people on it--several firefighters, too. We settled downstairs in a lounge, and bought a couple of cappuccinos in little plastic coffee cups. The ride itself was a little wonky for me...the weather had been bad the last couple of days there, and the sea seemed angry. The pitch and roll of the waves, combined with being down below, got to me a couple of times and I had to quickly divert my attention so as not to start getting seasick. Ugh!

About halfway across, I could see a big white something in the water, in front of the island we were approaching. I thought, "That can't be it--it's too big." But, it was--the Costa Concordia, indignantly laying on her side.

One of the firefighters onboard.

Our pictures don't begin to show the massiveness of this ship. Maybe this satellite image will:

Seeing the name made it all the more real.

What was once a trip to go see something cool and ohmygawd, suddenly became very real, very tragic and very sad. Our excited morning had a heavy pall cast on it. Making it even sadder was remembering that 32 people had died on that ship--with 2 of their bodies yet to be recovered.

As we got closer, we could see all the heavy equipment on, and surrounding the ship. Like an iceberg, 65% of the ship is underwater. The ferry passed by the Concordia--less than 100 yards (90 meters) away--then turns left to dock in the tiny, picturesque seaport.

Casey and I exited the ferry and found a taxi. Our driver said he would take us up to the cliff where we could get pictures and wait, then bring us back to the port for 15 Euros. It took less than 5 minutes to get to the vista where we took these pictures. The driver pulled over on the side of the tiny, two-lane road.

"Cinque minuti, per favore," Casey said to the driver, who nodded in agreement. He would wait the 5 minutes we wanted to get pictures. Grabbing our cameras out of our purses, we jumped out of the cab and began taking pictures.

Then, the driver drove off! He left us standing there on the side of the deserted road, with only our cameras. No purses, no passports, no credit cards, no cash...the only thing we had was our cameras and Casey's iPhone.

My heart skipped a beat (or two!) and for half a second, Casey and I just looked at each other. Neither one of us freaked out, but on the inside, I started cussing up a storm! Almost immediately, Casey said, "I'm sure he just went to turn around. He'll be right back." Sounded reasonable to me, and we started taking pictures again.

Of course, Shelby was with us!

Three long minutes later, the driver came back as Casey had predicted. We hopped in the cab for the ride down the hill to the port. We were back to the ferry before its' 9:00 am departure. Not knowing the time needed to get the pictures would be so quick, we had planned to spend the morning in the tiny seaport and take the next ferry, which departed at 1 pm. There wasn't much in the tiny town to hold our interest for another 4 hours, so I was grateful we were able to take that early ferry.

Leaving Giglio

Back over in Porto Santo Stefano, we looked for a pizzeria for lunch--and there weren't any! But, we did find a little sandwich joint with free wifi, and ate there while we waited for the bus to take us to the Orbetello train station. I bought a ticket to Rome for me, and one for Casey to continue on to Naples, two hours further.

Once we arrived in Rome, it was time to say goodbye. Casey was heading back to her husband and Italian villa in Lago Patria. I stayed the night at an airport hotel before flying out the next morning.

I hadn't seen my kidlet since August, and we had a great time! The trip to Pisa was so much fun as was our adventure to Giglio. Since she's is going to be living there for three years, I'm going to pull out a map of Italy and see where our next 3-day adventure will be. Any ideas for us?

Pisa with my kid!

2012-12-09T00:57:00.001-05:00

My daughter, Casey and her Navy sailor husband, Matt, moved to Naples, Italy this past summer. I have been out on a medical leave--I had foot surgery in August--and wanted to see her before I go back to work next week.

Until they found housing, Casey and Matt lived in temporary quarters at the Hotel Agora. This hotel caters to the military community, and they loved the atmosphere the hotel provides. Everyone staying there is military, and the hotel has many events for the families: grill night, prom night, men's night, etc. The hotel staff became family.

Alessio

So, my first day there, I was so happy to meet some of the hotel staff. We stopped by for a cappuccino to start the day. Alessio was working in the restaurant--when I walked in with Casey and Matt, I heard a booming Italian-accented, "MA-ma!" Alessio was walking from behind the bar as he said it, greeted me with the European two-kiss hello, and gave me a "welcome to Naples" hug. Love him already!

After showing me the gigantic Auchon grocery store (you know how I love those!) and the mall, we picked up some lunch before Matt dropped us off at the Villa Litorno train station. Casey and I had decided to go to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower and then to go to Giglio Island, to see the Costa Concordia-the cruise ship that struck rocks and sunk last January.

My BFF, Shelby and I have been talking about going to see this cruise ship ever since the accident occurred. Her schedule and mine haven't really meshed this year, and she was just a little disappointed she wouldn't be able to go with us.

So, I took her with us anyway! Say hello to Flat Shelby!

Shelby on the train!

It was a long train ride-two hours to Rome, then four hours to Pisa.

On the train window--does it mean "no drinking wine" or "no littering"?

We found our hotel very quickly and easily-the Hotel La Pace. We loved this place. Nothing fancy at all, but around $60 for a twin room, with breakfast and Internet. It was clean, safe and comfortable--we loved it! The staff was super friendly, and gave us directions to for the 20 minute walk to Pisa, as well as restaurant recommendations. Pisa was very safe for us to walk around at night.

We walked up this street lined with shops and Christmas market stalls--and made plans to come back the next morning.

We found the Tower fairly easily and were just delighted with how pretty the white building looked against the black night. I think we appreciated its' beauty more, having seen it first at night: it was stunning!

Of course, Shelby is addicted to the Internet and had to check
her e-mail and Facebook before going to bed!

Of course we posed for the goofy pictures

Doing a little shopping.

Shelby checking out the Pinocchio key chains-he's from that area, you know!

After a great day, it was back to the train station, where we headed to Orbetello and Porto Santo Stefano.

The view from our hotel in Porto Santo Stefano.

Shelby enjoyed the view as well!

We had a terrific dinner of grilled prawns and spaghetti at La Bussola, a block from the hotel. Then we hunkered down for the night. We had an early morning ferry to catch to get to Isola di Giglio and the Costa Concordia.

Things Flight Attendants Say

2012-10-03T00:57:00.000-04:00

We remember...

2012-09-11T10:17:00.000-04:00

The Dark Ages weren't so very long ago...

2012-09-04T02:59:00.000-04:00

My company offered a cash incentive to have older, more senior Flight Attendants retire, and this was effective August 31st. Another airline is doing the same thing, and Facebook pages are popping up where those leaving are posting old photos, and memorabilia and sharing stories. These next two photos come from one of those Facebook pages:

"June 17, 1968
TO OUR STEWARDESS APPLICANTS:

We are pleased to confirm your acceptance for stewardess training and look forward to having you join the United Airlines family.

Before deciding to offer you this position you were carefully evaluated on your personality, your educational and work experience, your poise and your desire to assist others, and your appearance. Quite frankly, we feel you are a very special individual and will be a welcome addition to our organization.

Since we may not have a further opportunity to meet with you before you begin training, we would like to ask your cooperation in keeping us advised concerning yourself. Occasionally we find that a young woman will develop a complexion problem or experience a significant weight change after her final employment interview. At your interview it was noted that your complexion was clear and your weight was within our limits for a young woman of your height...

Young women who arrive at our Training Center with complexion problems or weight outside our limits are asked to return home. We want to do everything we can to avoid this from happening for we have no wish to inconvenience or embarrass any of our stewardess trainees. If we are made aware of the potential problems before a young lady arrives at our Training Center, we are usually able to reschedule her class date and give her additional time to solve her temporary problem...."

This one, I think you can read clearly enough. In case you can't, it is a "Notice of Stewardess Employment Conditions" where women had to sign that they would resign their Stewardess position if they got married, or turned 32 years old.

I've always known about the restrictions these women and men had placed upon them...but, to actually see it in writing...makes my head spin! The women that started so long ago really did pave the way for me to be a Flight Attendant, with respect, dignity and a little too much meat on my bones, topped with an occasional zit on my face.

Golden Oldie?

2012-09-03T17:24:00.005-04:00

Can you imagine an airline with an advertisement like this these days?

Stewardess pay...

2012-08-31T14:30:00.000-04:00

Part of the United Airlines Stewardess contract from 1965.

Sao Paulo

2012-08-26T19:16:00.000-04:00

Cool phone booths on Avenida Paulista in Sao Paulo yesterday!

My idea of problem-solving...

2012-08-11T23:15:00.002-04:00

Worked one leg to San Francisco yesterday morning, arriving around 10 in the morning. Had a nice (meaning I slept) 13-hour "dayover" and worked the redeye back.

While we were boarding the redeye flight, I noticed a Man with Three Bags. He had a suitcase, a backpack and a tote bag. He never should have made it past the Gate Agent and the Flight Attendant at the boarding door with the extra carry-on bag, but he did. He put all three bags in the overhead compartment. I very sweetly asked if he could put the small tote bag under his seat. He said "Why? there's plenty of room." I replied that the flight was expected to be almost full, and that I'd put it up for him if there was room after the other 130 people boarded. He said he wasn't going to move it. I said, "Okay, we'll do it your way." and I walked away to help others. (I was very nice, not confrontational, and just didn't want to deal with him...)

Fast forward, towards the end of boarding, a family came onboard. Their seats were separated...Mom and their 7 year-old were seated in two seats together, and Dad with Toddler sitting in one seat together, a couple of rows back. Dad was a big dude. He was sitting in an aisle seat.

The young lady in the middle seat next to Big Dad was also a Big Girl. They were all squeezed in there very tightly. Toddler was rambunctious.

I noticed that the Man with Three Bags had an empty middle seat next to him. I moved the Big Girl that was next to Big Dad and Toddler to the empty seat, next to the Man with Three Bags. This gave Big Girl relief from not sitting next to Big Dad and Rambunctious Toddler. This gave Big Dad some relief with space, and a seat for Rambunctious Toddler after take-off.

The only one not happy here was the Man with Three Bags. Oh, sorry...

Glamour FOUND!

2012-07-01T18:10:00.000-04:00

All in a day's work, a Flight Attendant posted this on Facebook:

"On my flight from Honolulu to Phoenix last night, a sharply dressed young lady, after being served a glass of Chardonnay, passed us the following note written on a napkin. We had a completely full flight. How would you have handled this situation? I have to admit, I almost barfed right there just at the thought of what I was reading."

2012-06-10T05:47:00.001-04:00

Here's something ya don't see very often! Open seats!

2012-06-10T05:19:00.000-04:00

Good morning, y'all!! Let's get this party started!

2012-06-03T13:10:00.000-04:00

Thank you, 17B!

2012-06-03T11:33:00.000-04:00

My ride back home today...

2012-06-02T09:36:00.000-04:00

Welcome aboard, y'all! Washington to Denver today, then LAX for a short, 13 hour layover.

Planespotting on St. Maarten

2012-05-04T22:54:00.002-04:00

Well, we've done it! The holy grail of planespotting!

Norm and I were back in St. Maarten (SXM) a couple of weeks ago, at my favorite Sunset Bar and Grill on Maho Beach, watching the planes land. And, the KLM 747 arrived around 1120, a few minutes late! It was great! We've checked another one off the bucket list!

But, it is so cool to be there and see it, that I'm going to have to go back and see it again!

Really, Coca-Cola?

2012-03-12T12:02:00.000-04:00

Really, Coca-Cola? As the makers of Sprite, did ya really have to go and do this?

From the Flight Attendant's perspective, these cans look exactly alike! Not to mention that my bird's eye view is from the top of the can in the beverage cart. The aluminum-colored top of the can. From there, I can just see a tiny bit of color to decipher which can is which. Now, I'll be picking up every single can in an effort to find the *one* Sprite Zero in each tray on the cart. There goes my manicure!

It was bad enough when Coke did the white polar bear cans during the holidays...now this!

Thank you to the Seagram's company for making the ginger ale cans gold on the top. Too bad we don't seem to carry that brand any more...

Things Flight Attendants say...

2012-01-15T03:55:00.004-05:00

Things Flight Attendants say...thanks, Heather!

Bucket list...check!

2012-01-04T21:50:00.000-05:00

It's been tough to find things to blog about. Work-wise, not much has been going on. Flying for Reserves is pretty slim these days. I flew one trip in August (Beijing), one trip in September (Spokane), and have had Standby every other time I was scheduled. And, there's only so many times I can post a picture of those recliners in the Crew Lounge!

Norm and I were able to get away on a cruise in December. I had one of the best days in my life when our ship stopped in St. Maarten. We grabbed a cab, and rode all the way to the other side of the island to Maho Beach. This beach is tres famous for plane-spotting...you may have seen the videos on YouTube-this is the airport where the planes are so close to people on the beach right before they land.

Finding a table in the shade at the Sunset Bar and Grill, we settled in. With a pretty rum drink, eating a pizza, enjoying the sea breeze, listening to Air Traffic Control on special speakers and a live reggae band, while watching planes land with the one I love the most, it was the just the best day ever!

The menu--and the pizza was great!

The surfboard with all the scheduled arrivals. This didn't include all the private jets.

We watched plane after plane land and take off. Unfortunately, the heavys (wide bodies) landed after we had to be back on the ship, but, I'll make a trek back there to see the big boys land one day.

It was nothing short of awesome!

Here are a couple of YouTube videos cool landings:

KLM

Air France

I know, I'm such a geek!

✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽

My View One Year Ago: He's Outta Here!

My View Two Years Ago: Celebrity Alert! (Well, sort of...)

My View Three Years Ago: Dancing Nina's All-Star Revue

My View Four Years Ago: Important Flight Attendant Announcement!

Veteran's Day 2011

2011-11-10T23:59:00.001-05:00

Veterans are really important in my life. SInce I've written this post, a couple more have joined the family: my newly-married daughter Casey's husband is Matt, who has been serving in the US Navy for a few years; and my baby child--my son, Chase who is in the process of testing to see where he'll land prior to raising his right hand to swear allegiance to this country in the US Navy.

So, this is a post I wrote 3 years ago about Veteran's Day and their families. I hope you'll read it, and think about the families, too!

And, to those Vets out there today, past and present, thank you for your service!