I hope you’re enjoying the long Labor Day Weekend, but also hope you’ll make some time to check out some of these great blog post from the past week.  It’s always hard to pick the best of the best, but these captured my attention this past week:
Up, Up, and A Gay, a recently discovered blog from another Flight Attendant, dishes about why we’re always dishing about work.  It’s true, too!
Los Angeles Times tries to makes sense of the security rule regarding exact name matchups.  There may be flexibility now, but what little there is will be going away soon.
The …read more

Anther reader question having to do with the specifics of Flight Attendant scheduling.
Q.  What is deadheading?
A. In aviation speak, deadheading is a phrase used to position a flight crew member as part of their scheduled trip.  The term “positioning” is also used.
A Flight Attendant who is deadheading is on duty, that it, s/he is traveling on a particular flight under orders of the company, and is not a pleasure travel.  They may or may not be in uniform, that policy varies among airlines.  They will likely occupy a regular passenger seat on the airplane, although on some carriers they …read more

A very popular reader question is about how to break into the industry and get hired as a Flight Attendant. Today’s questions comes from Adrien, who asks:
Q. I’m a 28 year old male based out of Phoenix, Arizona. I’m interested in becoming a flight attendant. I have worked most of my life in the golf industry so I have plenty of customer service experience under my belt. I’m fluent in French so I would love to work for an international airline. I understand that this is a career where you don’t really get to choose what you want at first, …read more

I’ve seen a hotel room or two in my career.  Everything from a rundown dilapidated hotel, with no heat, but they’d send up a space heater, to lovely resort properties that cared about your every need.  So, today’s reader questions, from Marty, is one that is near and dear to my heart.
Marty asks:
Q.  I was wondering what flexibility you have, if any, in choosing what hotel to stay at?  I’m imagining that you probably have to stay at the airport location for whatever hotel chain that your airline has designated?  Is it the same chain in every city?  And …read more

Since one of the benefits of the job of a Flight Attendant is travel, the question for today is one that I get all the time.
Q.  Do you use your travel benefits?  Where do you go?  How often?  How do you decide?
A.  This is not quite as easy of a question as it might seem.  Much depends on how much time is available, the time of year, if I’m traveling with a friend, alone, or with a group of people, and, of course, the available budget.
For quick getaway weekends of only 2-3 days, that probably means sticking close to …read more

I read lots and lots of travel blogs posts over the course of a week, but it’s only the best of the best that I share with you.  This week, these blogs made me smile, laugh, wonder, question, or simply admire.  Perhaps you’ll feel the same way.
The Buenos Aires Guide – Be careful when booking you’re hotel, or you may wind up at one that rents by the hour.
Nerds Eye View – Pam is off at BlogHer with a bunch of other Seattle travelbloggers.  While I had to miss the event due to a scheduling matter, I’m keeping up …read more

Today’s question comes from Zoe, who is interested in the training process that we go through before qualifying as a Flight Attendant.  She asks:

Q.  During the training, what will be taught by the training center?  Do they have evaluations tests every day?
A.  Training differs among various airlines, but the two basic areas covered are Safety and Service.
For US airlines, the Safety part of training encompasses the bulk of the training process.  It will cover such things as learning about the various aircraft you will fly, emergency equipment and procedures, how to evacuate a plane, first aid, safety and security, …read more

Today’s Flight Attendant Friday question comes from Lauren, a young woman who is working on her degree while the economy gets turned around and airlines start hiring again.  Which, I would add, is a very wise choice to make.  The degree will help give you an edge in the hiring process.
Here’s what she wants to know:
Q.  My question is do you get breaks whilst on duty? If so, how long are they and how many would you get on a 12 hour flight?, I’m just curious to be honest.
A.  Duty hours for Flight Attendants are regulated by a number …read more

There are no words to convey the deep sadness and sense of grief that sweeps of the Flight Attendant community when news hits us that we have lost compatriots.  When I reported for work this morning, the news was all abuzz that a plane had disappeared, Air France Flight #447 flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.
Disappeared?  Airplanes just don’t disappear!  But apparently this one did.  And it will be days, weeks, and months, before experts sort through what happened and have answers for us.

No matter the airline, the aircraft, or the nationalities involved, those men and women who do …read more

It’s clever.  It’s fun.  It’s very, very cute.
And the first time I heard a rapping Flight Attendant it would be a hoot.  But working multiple flights and hearing this more than once a day, would start getting as old as the regular safety announcement.  What do you think?