Galley Gossip: Nonrevs, deadheads & commuters in (and out) of uniform

by Heather Poole on
Wanna know the best way to change clothes on an airplane? I bet you do. I’ll get to that in a moment. (Or you can just scroll down to the bottom of this post.) Now that I’ve got your attention…

Have you ever seen a uniformed crew member sitting on the jumpseat and flipping through magazines? Or even worse, watching a movie? Don’t be too quick to judge. There’s a very good chance that lazy flight attendant is a nonrev passenger, not a working crew member. Looks can be deceiving.

Standby – waiting for an open seat on a flight that one is not ticketed on, whether it’s an airline employee or a passenger who is ticketed on a specific flight who has decided to depart at a different time.

Nonreving – (non-revenue passenger) flying standby on an airline employee’s travel passes. Nonrev’s are always at the the bottom of the standby list

Commuting – When an airline employee nonrevs from the city he/she lives to a city he/she is based. Because I commute to New York (where I’m based) from Los Angeles (where I live), I’m an LA commuter.

Deadheading – traveling on company time to cover a trip departing out of a city different from where one is based. This usually happens on a reserve month when a base is short flight attendants. Flight attendant gets paid to deadhead, but aren’t officially working the flight. Deadheaders go to the top of the standby list surpassing ticketed standbys.

Most nonrevs travel in uniform in order to bypass the line at security and bring liquids on board. Others wear their uniform because they’ve just finished a sequence and didn’t have time to change clothes because they had to sprint across the terminal to catch a commuter flight home. While some wear their uniforms because they’re actually going to work as soon as they step off the airplane.

Once while deadheading back to base in uniform, the agent issued me an aisle seat in the front row of coach. I happened to be the last passenger to board. As soon as I sat down a man two rows back started in with, “Why does she get to sit in that seat! I wanted that seat! She’s an airline employee – that’s not right!”

Seconds later the agent asked me to switch seats with the complainer. I sighed, grabbed my belongings, and switched seats. As soon as I settled into the second seat I heard it all over again. Another passenger wanted my seat, a seat they deserved, not me. A flight attendant working the flight leaned over and quietly asked me if I’d be willing to switch. I didn’t have much. I was in uniform. And so I played musical chairs again.

On a different flight a passenger turned around, glared at me, a lowly uniformed crew member sitting in a passenger seat, and yelled, “This airline sucks!” after the Captain made an announcement that the flight had been canceled.

It was hard not reacting to that.

The first thing nonreving airline employees do the morning of their trip is check the passenger load. This takes place seconds after rolling out of bed while the coffee is still brewing. Airline employees will continue to check the standby list constantly throughout the day right up until departure time. Of course passenger loads determine the outfit.

Here I am doing what I always do before a flight, while trying to nonrev from Chicago to New York last week – #88 on the standby list.

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My nonreving outfit of choice consists of dark blue jeans and a blouse or dressy shirt when the flights are open and I know there won’t be a problem getting a seat in coach. Needless to say, it’s been awhile since I’ve worn jeans on the airplane. What I usually end up sporting is a nice pair of trouser pants with the same kind of shirt mentioned above – just in case the only seat available is located in first class – or a jumpseat.

At my airline jeans, shorts, T-shirts, and flip-flops are not allowed to be worn by nonrevs occupying jumpseats or premium cabins. This explains why nonrevs are some of the best dressed passengers on board the airplane and why I can spot a nonrev a mile away.

Even my husband has an official nonrev outfit; khaki pants, a button down shirt, and brown boots. The funny thing about this is he actually refers to it as his “nonrev outfit” even when he’s not traveling on my passes.

Recently on a flight to Dallas, Murphy, a commuting flight attendant based in New York, boarded the airplane dressed in navy blue polyester. I couldn’t help but notice a bundle of clothes tucked under her arm and the sneakers peaking out from under her pants. Quickly she threw her crew bag into the overhead bin and made a beeline for the lav. A few minutes later she exited the bathroom wearing a smile and looking a whole lot more comfortable.

“What’s the secret to changing clothes in the lav?” I asked Murphy as I served her a beverage during the flight. “Like how do you do it so quickly in such a contaminated confined space?” Murphy shared the following tips…

HOW TO CHANGE CLOTHES ON AN AIRPLANE:

  1. Have your clothes ready to go. That means get them out of your bag before you board the flight.
  2. Change into the shoes you want to wear before you get on the airplane. That way you’ll have less to carry and you won’t be tripping all over yourself in the lav.
  3. Wear (uniform) pants instead of a dress. They’re easier to change out of when you’re in a hurry.
  4. Take advantage of the baby changing table. Use it to hold your clothes. No changing table? Line the sink with paper towels.

Make sure to check out my next Galley Gossip post about a new website for airline employees (and retirees). Until then, here are a few other posts involving the joys of nonrev travel:

Photo courtesy of travelin librarian

Gadlinks for Monday 8.3.09

by Brenda Yun on

This Monday, and the first week of August, begins with an apology. It’s been nearly a week since our last installment of Gadlinks, and it’s all my fault. I celebrated my 31st birthday on Wednesday, and have since been in a car, traveling between Seattle and San Francisco. Here at Gadling we are celebrating roadside attractions and undiscovered America, so it seems only appropriate to provide some Gadlinks in keeping with the theme.

And finally, my friend in Ohio sent me a video of Touchdown Jesus, and I couldn’t help but look up videos on pilgrimages to this famed roadside attraction. This one inspired me the most, though — a music video with fire dancers by the extra-large Jesus statue. The music is quite catchy, if I do say so myself.

Tomorrow, Jeremy will bring us the usual Gadlinks. ‘Til then, have a great evening!

More Gadlinks HERE.

Barbara Walters’ apartment had an intruder while she was on vacation

by Jamie Rhein on

One of the worst things that can happen when one is away on vacation is a break in. It happened to me once. There I was in Kentucky with miles between my apartment with its missing TV, vacuum cleaner and leather jacket and worries that someone had been rummaging through my stuff–a person I didn’t know.

When Barbara Walters came home from being gone for several days, she noticed her apartment looked awry. Something was amiss. Sleuthing turned up tracks which led to a dead pigeon in a bathroom. Mysteriously, all the apartment’s windows were closed and locked, as were the doors leading to outside.

According to what she said on The View today, there’s a hawk in her neighborhood which perhaps went after the pigeon knocking it down her chimney and into her apartment. The pigeon wandered into the bathroom which is filled with mirrors and killed itself trying to get out. [see video]

This story reminds me of when my husband and I came home to our apartment in Singapore to find some sort of poop on our photo album. Then there’s the time I came home after being away from my village in The Gambia to discover a wooden trunk partly eaten away by termites. Another time a mouse took up house in the inside of my oven, built a nest and had babies there. This was also when I was in The Gambia. Leaving my village for any length of time was an invitation for critters to come on in.

I never thought I had something in common with Barbara Walters. Who knew? If it’s between critters and a robber, I’d go with the critters every time.

Warning to hikers: alien big cat spotted in Scotland

by Sean McLachlan on

If you thought the only monster in Scotland was the one in Loch Ness, you thought wrong. Mysterious giant cats are stalking the land, and while many people consider them as big a hoax as Nessie, one has recently been sighted and filmed. The video, taken by an off-duty Ministry of Defense dog handler, shows what appears to be a black feline measuring, if you judge by some nearby railway tracks, to be about four feet long. It’s certainly way too big to be a normal cat and doesn’t look at all like a dog. In fact it looks for all the world like a jaguar, although jaguars don’t exist in the wild in Scotland or anywhere else in the British Isles.

Sightings of wild cats are fairly common in the British Isles and have been dubbed by the easy to remember moniker Alien Big Cat (that’s ABC). Many look like pumas or jaguars. The Big Cat Research group has gathered data on more than 5,000 sightings and has lots of photos on their website, some laughable, some downright eerie.

You might just fob this off as a bit of harmless mystery, or some pussy on steroids, but one Scottish woman was attacked by an alien big cat and required numerous stitches. After that incident local police warned people not to approach or feed any giant cats they come across. So if you’re planning a hike in Scotland, be careful. Oh wait, I’M planning a hike in Scotland. Uh oh.

Road trip tip: How to sleep comfortably in your car

by Jamie Rhein on

I have slept in a car once on a road trip. When I drove from Odense, Denmark to Paris where people are smiling more than when I was there, my friend and I pulled off of the road somewhere to sleep. We could have been in France. I can’t remember. What I do remember is that it was not comfortable. We were in a Peugeot station wagon, so space wasn’t the problem, but we didn’t have enough bedding and it became light too soon. By the time I finally fell asleep, there I was waking up again.

Yesterday’s video road trip tip was about how to stay awake while driving. This one is about how to sleep comfortably. After watching this video you might think why get a hotel room when there’s a Walmart parking lot? Sleeping in a Walmark parking lot is a budget travel idea for sure. This video has demonstrations and some great ideas. The main idea is to plan to stay in your car.