Galley Gossip: Gifts for flight attendants (and travelers)

by Heather Poole on

A stun gun, Xanax, travel massager that glows in the dark, ten foot pole for not touching things with, these are just a few of the things my flight attendant friends want for Christmas. What, not your gift-giving style? Okay so perhaps one of these will do….

1. PASSPORT COVER – In this day and age you might not want to advertise your country of origin. Not to mention it’s kind of fun dressing up the old passport some of you should be very proud of based on the number of stamps inside. If you’re a passenger, check out the adorable covers at Flushshop.com. Flight attendants will want to go with Modcloth’s Safety Misinformation Passport Wallet. (pictured)

2. BAG TAGS – All those crew bags lined up against the wall in flight operations look alike. No one wants to end up on a layover with clothes we’ve never seen before. A unique bag tag will help. One of the the funniest ones I’ve ever seen read “Baggage Handlers are Hot.” Ya know that bag made it to its final destination! Flight attendant Bailey loves Anne Taintor’s line of sassy, vintage bag tags. (And he’s going to kill me for sharing this with you.)

3. OVEN MITTS – The oven racks are hot, hot, hot! This is why flight attendants no longer have fingerprints. Because I’m always accidentally leaving mine behind on the airplane, I can never have too many pairs. Flight attendant Eric is a fan of Grips. As for me, I like Fred’s Hot Head dog shaped insulating mitt.

4. MINI TRAVEL ROLLER SET – Looking good is important to flight attendants. This is not always easy when our layovers are only eight hours long and we’re scheduled to work ten to fourteen hours a day. But somehow flight attendant Joann always manages to look fabulous and I have a feeling it has something to do with her Conair mini roller set.5. GREEN TRAVEL/REUSABLE TOTES – My friend Melanie can tell domestic flight attendants from international ones by the bags they carry on their layovers – Harrods vs Trader Joe’s. For just $2.99 you can help us show off our travel style with a fun international tote from World Market. Or how about (sending me) a Loot Bag from Anya Hindmarch, creator of the “I’m not a plastic bag” bag.

6. TRAVEL SOUND MACHINE – At the layover hotels, flight attendants are usually assigned one of two rooms – the one across from the elevator or the one next to the ice machine. My friend Cady wouldn’t have been able to survive a Disney Cruise or her last visit with the in-laws without her Brookstone travel sound machine. It’s great at blocking out noise from others.

7. TIFFANY’S AIRPLANE CHARM BRACELET – Because it’s from Tiffany’s! And it’s an airplane. Need I say more?!

8. A FULL FARE TICKET – So we can actually get to where we’re going! The flights are full and flying standby is not always an option anymore. Earlier this year Jet Blue offered a 30 day all-you-can-jet pass for just $599. Something like that would have been amazing for the commuter in your life.

9. VIDEO CAMERA – Documenting travels can be just as fun, if not more fun, than actually traveling! Don’t believe me? Just ask Sodwee, AKA Airboy – or better yet watch one of his videos. I love the Flip because it’s easy to use.

10. iPAD – Staying connected to family, friends is very important. Being able to do a last minute trip trade is just as important! So is watching movies, listening to music, and surfing the web on a layover. That said, nothing in the world would make a flight attendant happier than an iPad. Santa, you listening?!

Check out my 2009 Gift Guide

Galley Gossip: Four year-old kid discusses airport security & TSA pat downs

by Heather Poole on


The following video was created for parents traveling with small kids who might be a little nervous about subjecting their children to the new TSA procedures. Regardless of how you may feel about the new enhanced security measures, there’s no need for children to be scared. My son will explain to them what a pat down is and even share a few tips. But first a few things the TSA would like you to know about going through airport security with children…

  • TSA will screen everyone, regardless of age, including babies.
  • NEVER leave babies in an infant carrier while it goes through the X-ray.
  • All children must be removed from strollers and slings when passing through the machine.
  • All children’s items must go through the X-ray; diaper bags, toys, strollers, slings, etc.
  • If any of your items do not fit through the X-ray, a TSA officer will physically and visually inspect it.
  • If your child can walk through the metal detector unassisted, TSA recommends you and your child walk through separately.
  • Do not pass your baby to a TSA officer to hold as you walk through the X-ray machine.
  • If you choose to carry a child through and the alarm sounds, TSA will check both of you.
  • Medication, baby formula, food and breast milk, and juice are allowed in reasonable quantities exceeding 3.4 ounces, and are not required to be in a zip-top bag. Declare these items for inspection at the checkpoint.
  • Children under 12 who require extra screening will be subjected to a “modified” pat down. It’s less intrusive than what an adult might receive.
  • Click the link for information regarding children travelers with special needs or medical conditions.




Photo courtesy of Tatiana Mik

Galley Gossip: Can a mother of two young kids become a flight attendant?

by Heather Poole on
My name is Stephanie and I am thinking of becoming a flight attendant. My only concern is my two boys ages 5 and almost 2. How can I have time to be a mom and work? I love to travel and I hear benefits are good. Can I work flights after bedtime? But when will I come back?

The most difficult thing for a flight attendant, Stephanie, is being flexible in terms of scheduling. Making long term plans is next to impossible when you never know what you’ll be working month to month – or even day to day if you’re on reserve! Even if you are able to hold a schedule, that schedule can always change at the last minute and the only thing you can do about it is continue on with the trip or quit! Keep in mind if you do quit mid-sequence, you’ll have to figure out how to get home as you’ll no longer have travel benefits.

Two years ago I had a trip that was scheduled to land on Christmas Eve. With thirteen years as a flight attendant, I was finally able to hold Christmas off! I couldn’t believe my luck. But on Christmas Eve the final leg of our trip canceled. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, the entire crew got reassigned, which meant none of us would make it back in time to celebrate the holiday! I wound up in Toronto at an airport hotel when I should have been at home with my family eating turkey and dressing like everyone else.

Unless you have an amazing support system twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week for the kids, this may not be the job for you – at least not right now! It’s why so many flight attendants start working at an early age or later on in life after the kids are grown. Trust me it ain’t easy juggling the job with family, especially when you’re brand spankin new with little to no seniority.

SENIORITY – Refers to a flight attendants years of experience. Years of experience with an airline is based on date of hire. Seniority is everything at an airline. It determines what trips a flight attendant can “hold” and whether or not a flight attendant will serve reserve. Basically it determines whether you’ll be working days, nights, weekends, and holidays, as well as where you’re going and how long you’ll be gone. So there’s no telling when – or if – you’ll make it back home.

Here are a few more things to consider…

THE PAY: No one becomes a flight attendant for the money. While the benefits are good, the pay is not. Most flight attendants that work for major U.S. carriers make less than $20,000 annually their first year. Smaller airlines pay even less than that! I know a flight attendant that works for a regional carrier and she makes $14,000 a year! AND she works holidays without incentive pay.

WEEKS OF TRAINING: The majority of airlines provide their own training. (This is why it doesn’t make sense to go to one of those “flight attendant schools.”) My airline required seven and a half weeks of unpaid training at a facility near the airlines corporate headquarters. Years ago I worked for a low cost carrier called Sun Jet International Airlines that only required two weeks of unpaid training. It was conducted at a hotel in Houston. Can you handle being away from your children for weeks at a time in order to earn your wings.

CREW BASES: Most airlines have crew bases in a handful of cities. That doesn’t mean you’ll be able to work out of the city of your choice. In order to be based in a certain city, there must first be an opening at the base. Crew bases are awarded by seniority. At my airline New York is the most junior base in the system, so it was no surprise that the majority of my classmates in training wound up there – myself included. New York is where I’m still based, even though I live in California. That makes me a commuter.

RESERVE: Flight attendants on reserve have no life. At my airline we bid for a schedule of days off only. We get twelve of them. The rest of themonth we’re on call. This means we must be ready to go to the airport at anytime – day or night. We’re given at least two hours from the time crew schedule calls us with a trip to the time we have to sign in at the airport. One night I ordered Chinese delivery and was out the door and on my way to the airport to work a flight to London before the food even arrived!

NOTE: How the reserve system works varies at different airlines, but most flight attendants serve straight reserve. This means they’re on reserve until they have enough seniority to hold off. If the airline is in a hiring frenzy, you may not have to be on reserve for very long as newer flight attendants will bump you off. But if you’re hired at the end of a massive hiring streak, you could get stuck on reserve for a very long time. I’ve been working at my airline now for fifteen years, I’m based at the most junior base in the system, and even I am still on reserve!

Photo courtesy of Santheo and Tawheed Manzoor

Galley Gossip: Flight attendants, turbulence & scary flights

by Heather Poole on

One of the scariest flights I ever worked also happens to be one of the first flights I ever worked for an airline called Sun Jet International Airlines. I lasted three months before moving on. Sun Jet is no longer in business. I’m going to guess this had a lot to do with gimmicky $69 flights to cities like Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Newark, and Long Beach. While cheap tickets attract a lot of passengers interested in saving a buck, they don’t always cover the cost of maintenance and upkeep of aircraft for smaller airlines. At least that’s what I assumed based on the fact that I quickly became accustomed to the FAA meeting our flight in Long Beach, California every Tuesday afternoon and taking the equipment out of service. And this had nothing to do with all those duct taped armrests or the black plastic garbage bags some passengers had to sit on after they discovered their seat cushions were soaked with urine. Because that’s what happens when you mix cheap tickets, a quick aircraft turn-around on the ground, and seventeen unaccompanied minors on a previous flight! Hey, better a damp seat than no seat. Unfortunately that was the only alternative most of the time, because our flights were always full.

I should have known when I boarded it was going to be a strange flight based on the aircraft lighting alone. Throughout the all-economy class cabin the side wall lights were on the blink and flickering in the dark. This made the airplane feel less like a disco and more like a haunted house. But it wasn’t until we hit severe turbulence half an hour before landing in Dallas that the creepy mood lighting actually became a problem. It started to freak the passengers out. At one point even I began to feel like I was starring in my very own Stephen King horror movie at 30,000 feet.

“Flight attendants take your seats!” boomed the Captains voice over the PA.Strapped into my jump seat, I noticed passengers clutching the armrests while others held hands across the aisle. I didn’t see any praying, but I’m sure there was plenty of that going on because with each dip there were moans and groans and even a few full on screams, making a bad situation sound even worse.

Keep in mind most of our flights were filled with first time fliers with little-to-no interest in racking up frequent flier miles, so a lot of these people had never before experienced turbulence in their lives and here they were experiencing it at its worst for the very first time! While it was my job to keep the cabin calm, there was very little I could do from my jump seat except reassure those sitting nearby that everything was going to be okay. It’s a fact that most injuries occur only when passengers don’t have their seat belts on. But with each bump, the screams got louder and louder until someone yelled out the unthinkable:

“I don’t want to die!”

For a split second all was quiet. That’s when I got scared.

Unpredictable behavior makes me nervous. I tell you this because the flight was a non-smoking one, but from my jump seat I could see a few passengers were lighting up. Great, I thought, because here we were on a flight so bumpy there was no way I could possibly get up and run to the back in order to grab a bottle of halon to fight a fire if I had to. Fire in the cabin, by the way, is about the only thing that scares me in flight.

“You need to put that out!” I yelled from my jump seat, but as soon as the words had left my mouth I regretted saying them as I imagined a cigarette being squashed into the fabric of the seat back in front of them.

Instead of doing as they were told, they continued to puff harder and faster as the airplane jolted side to side and the lights blinked rapidly on and off. This is when others began to join in. Someone seated close to me said something about smoking one last cigarette before the airplane crashed. That’s when I heard a familiar voice scream out again.

“I don’t want to die!”

Of course, no one died that night. But later on I learned there was a Delta flight in front of us that aborted landing. That, however, didn’t deter our Captain from attempting his approach. When he did finally manage to get the airplane on the ground, we landed so hard I thought the aircraft might split in two. There was thunder and lightening all around as we taxied to the gate. Passengers began jumping up out of their seats and rushing toward the aircraft door.

“Sit down!” I cried. “We’re not at the gate yet!”

“Hold the passengers back when I open my door!” a coworker barked at me. But my colleague never did get that door open because half a second later the Captain announced over the PA that the airport was closed due to thunderstorms in the area. Because of this there weren’t any open gates available. Airport traffic had come to a halt. That meant we were going to have to sit on the tarmac until the weather cleared with an airplane full of passengers on the edge of revolt.

“Let us off!” passengers demanded. We would have, if we could have, but there was no where to go! We were stuck. All of us together in a flickering flying tube.

After the flight I spotted the Captain standing outside of the terminal leaning against a brick wall. An older guy, the quiet type, he stood there with his pilot hat in one hand, a cigarette in the other, while waiting for the employee bus. Immediately I noticed his face looked ashen. Quickly he inhaled and exhaled, eyes on the ground, shirt drenched with sweat under the arms. I couldn’t help but think he looked a lot like those crazy passengers smoking on the airplane, the very ones who thought they were going to die. That’s when it hit me. Right then and there I realized just how scary our flight had truly been.

Photos courtesy of Satanslaundromat and Caribb

Galley Gossip: Celebrity passenger claimed to have special powers

by Heather Poole on

Tom Cruise.

It’s not often I get to start a Galley Gossip post with that name! But that’s the name several readers mentioned after I asked if they could guess which celebrity passenger offered to assist an unconscious woman with his “special powers” on the airplane. Honest to God, I wouldn’t joke about something as serious as this!

It’s interesting to note that Gary Busey, Depak Chopra, Uri Geller, and the Director General of the FBI were also mentioned as celebrities possibly possessing a very unique power. Tom Cruise, however, won the poll by a landslide with twenty-three votes. I wonder if Mr. Cruise is even aware that so many people believe him to be to powerful?!

“Tom Cruise has one power, jumping on Oprah’s couch!” said a reader named Jeff after I posed the question.

Another reader named Neil said, “It’s true. Tom Cruise had special powers over my wife at one time. She’s outgrown him though.”

Now that I’m thinking about it perhaps Tom Cruise does have – or had – special powers! Then again maybe I just have a lot in common with Neil’s wife! Whatever the case, I do know that the celebrity passenger in question was not Tom Cruise, or any one of the other people mentioned above. Unfortunately I am unable to name the passenger (I’d like to keep my job), but I will tell you exactly what happened. Just remember this is Galley Gossip, first class 767 galley gossip to be precise. That said I’m fairly certain the source is a reliable one.

THE STORY …Years ago a celebrity passenger boarded a flight in Dallas. He and his bodyguards took up the entire first class cabin. That’s twenty-two seats on a 757. At some point during boarding one of the bodyguards informed the lead flight attendant that while the celebrity usually didn’t mind signing autographs, he wasn’t feeling well that day and wanted to be left alone. He then told the flight attendant that no one in their party would be needing anything during the flight and that they didn’t want anyone passing through first class unless absolutely necessary. That included the flight attendants. I should mention here that this happened before 9/11. Later on in flight a passenger seated in coach went unconscious. As a flight attendant passed through first class to grab the medical equipment, the celebrity passenger stopped her to ask what was going on. After the flight attendant informed him of the situation, the celebrity offered his assistance, and that’s when he mentioned his special powers.

Did the unnamed celebrity really have special powers? Maybe. Maybe not. According to the flight attendant involved in the situation it was hard to tell if the unconscious passenger came to because the celebrity had touched her with his special power or because her husband had become so overly excited by such a hugely famous person trying helping his wife that he kept knocking her in the arm while exclaiming the celebrities name over and over again. Then again it could have been a combination of both. So don’t underestimate a star’s power!

Photo courtesy of Cristilive