Galley Gossip: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

by Heather Poole on
Happy New Year, everybody! For the first time in fourteen years I’ve actually got the day off. I know, even I can’t believe it. “So what do you have planned for New Year’s Eve?” several people have recently asked.

They always look a little surprised when I say, “Not much. Just hanging out at home and making my famous spicy blacked eyed peas.”

“You’re not going out?”

“Nope. I never go out. Usually I’m working,” I say because I am, usually working.

“Really?”

“Really.” And that’s a good thing! Trust me

This year, unlike other years, I plan to stay home and celebrate quietly with my family. Because in three days I’ll be on reserve, which means that except for a few scheduled days off, I’ll be on-call to the company 24/7 for the entire month of January. I’ll be stuck in New York where I work, not in California where I live, which is why I’m trying to make the most of what little family time I have left before packing my bags and heading back to work on the 3rd. Don’t worry, you’ll get to hear all about my time waiting around at my crash-pad for crew schedule to call and send me who knows where at a moments notice. It’s not fun.

In the past I’ve always bid to work New Year’s Eve, because most times when you bid to work one holiday in December you can usually get the other, more important, holiday off – Christmas. However, even though I’m working on such a festive night, I’ve been fortunate enough (a few years) to descend into Kennedy or La Guardia airport just at the right time. There’s nothing like being in that dark, quiet, cabin, everyone so still and content, the lights of the city twinkling on the ground beneath us, when the Captain or a flight attendant makes the announcement I’ve been waiting for all night.

“Happy New Year!”

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And just like that every single passenger, and flight attendant, is smiling. It’s always a beautiful sight.

2008 was a good year, and not just because of all the amazing flight attendants I was fortunate enough to work with on each and every trip, but because of all the wonderful passengers I met, and I did meet many. Some I’ll never forget. So here’s wishing you and yours a happy and healthy 2009. Happy travels to all and to all a good flight!

The photo gallery above consists of photos taken from one of my last flights in 2008

Passengers sickened when de-ice fluid seeps into aircraft

by Grant Martin on

There’s nothing like adding insult to injury when it’s snowing like cats outside, your flight is already late and you have to pull up to the de-ice pad for a half hour of soaking.

When flight 528 from Seattle to Burbank moved up for de-icing this week though, that’s exactly what happened. Apparently during the process, some of the fluid seeped into the aircraft’s ventilation system and dispersed into the cabin, choking passengers and raising alarm.

Amazingly enough, despite passengers vomiting and getting ill, nobody wanted to return to the airport to get checked out because the flight was already late. Despite their wishes, however, the aircraft was returned to the gate and nearly twenty passengers were evacuated and treated for their injuries. Nobody was seriously injured.

Normally, de-icing is a fairly standard procedure, as our resident pilot, Kent Wien detailed in one of his earlier posts. This isolated incident may have just had to do with improper de-icing techniques or a malfunctioning ventillation system.


Other tales from the skies
Amazing and insane stories from a real-life flight attendant and co-pilot

Galley Gossip: Looking for love on the airplane (or at the airport)

by Heather Poole on

I never realized how much people actually disliked traveling until I started writing for Gadling. Well the next time you have to travel, don’t despair. It’s not all bad. Not if you’re single that is. In fact, if you are single, it can be a lot of fun. Real fun! How do I know? Because recently I read an interesting article about looking for love at the airport, which I think is a fabulous idea. I did it. Why not you? I succeeded. You could too!

So what if I really found the love of my life on the airplane, same thing! I believe so strongly in finding love while traveling, I’ve even instructed quite a few of my single flight attendant and agent friends to look for love at the airport and on the airplane. Forget online dating. That’s old school. The airport is where it’s at. Where else can you find men, all kinds of men, lots and lots of men (and women) just standing around waiting for something good to happen. Think about it, you could be that good thing. I’m talking about an endless supply of diverse and interesting people here with nothing to do but wait – for you! Don’t see what you like, sit tight, a new flight will be boarding or deplaning soon.

Once you’re on the flight, make sure to check out those seated around you. Whatever you do, don’t forget about the ones working behind the drink cart. Hey, flight attendants need a little love, too! Seriously, the flight doesn’t have to be miserable. It’s all up to you. Just say hello. To someone. Anyone. NOW!

In the article I mentioned above, “Sally” suggests grabbing an E seat. Oh I know what you’re thinking, there’s no way, no freakin way you’re going to sit in a middle seat. Hey I don’t blame you, it’s the worst seat on the airplane! But not when you’re sandwiched between two hotties.

Here’s what Sally suggests..

“If you’re single and looking and really in the mood, there’s one great way to meet people on a plane. You fly Southwest. Make sure to board with the last group, which means you’ll probably be stuck in a middle seat. Then you walk down the aisle looking for a middle seat next to a really hot guy. Done.”

Personally I think Sally’s suggestion is brilliant. Don’t you?

Like I mentioned already, I met my hubby on a flight from New York to Los Angeles three days after Christmas. The flight was empty. I think we were somewhere over Illinois when I began to take notice of him. Whenever I tell the story of how we met, people (even flight attendants) always seem a little shocked. Then they’ll look at me funny and ask, “Really?”

Yes, really.

I’ll then look at them funny and ask, “What’s the big deal?” because really, what is the big deal?

Trust me, there’s no better place to find a man (or woman) than on an airplane. When I met my husband I didn’t think he was my type. Not at all. He was short. But what I would soon come to love about him was the fact that he had manners. Whenever I offered him something to eat or drink he always said please and thank you. (Good manners are a must when it comes to meeting a flight attendant.) You know that old saying, you can always tell a lot about a man by the way he treats his mother. Well the same holds true for the way he treats me. The flight attendant. Or anyone else in the service industry.

My husband, the passenger, he actually made eye contact while saying please and thank you, something that rarely happens on flights these days, and he did it without ogling. He was polite. But not flirty. A gentleman. This I found to be very attractive. You see if they flirt with me they’ll probably flirt with you, too, and that’s not a good thing, not when you’re looking for something serious.

Of course I couldn’t help but notice the computer, Ipod, magazine, and pen and paper inside his carry-on bag. This showed me that he was a man with a plan, which was my kind of man. The thing that got me was the delicious looking sandwich he’d brought onboard with him. It was a sign that he knew how to take care of himself. Hello, he was traveling in business class! We still serve food in business. Of course what sealed the deal was when he offered me a bite. This showed me he was a giver, not a taker. Right then and there I knew he was the one for me. We were engaged eight months later.

The point I’m trying to make here is that love really can happen at the airport or on an airplane, and it can happen to you. You just have to be open to it. And you have to say hello. To someone. Anyone. Now! How else will they know you exist?

What’s that you say? Can’t afford to fly? Well then go to the bar. If you’re in Denver there’s a nightclub called DC10 where the waitresses make the rounds dressed up as “sexy flight attendants.” The club has no VIP room so all the customers can feel as if they’re traveling in first class. Hello!

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Photos courtesy of Heather Poole (Yeah, that’s me!)

The art of reticketing flights

by Grant Martin on

One of the world’s great mysteries is when exactly the best time is to buy airplane tickets. You want to wait just long enough so that the price hits its lowest point — but you can’t wait too long, or else it’ll skyrocket again. Is it four weeks out? Four months?

You can never know. Even with the help of tools like Farecast, Kayak and Farecompare, there is always the risk that two days after you purchase your family trip to Europe, the price of your itinerary is going to plummet.

What most people don’t know, however, is that many tickets can be repriced. In the same way that you can take a television back to Best Buy if you find out it went on sale the day after and get the difference, you can also exchange tickets weeks after you book them.

Airlines, of course, are a little more criminal stingy about the process. Almost all of them charge a rebooking fee that can vary between $50 – $150 dollars. But on a high priced ticket, that can be a fraction of a price fluctuation.

The key is to keep an eye on your ticket price, even after you purchase it. If you see your exact same itinerary drop significantly in cost, call the airline up and ask to refare or rebook the ticket. They’ll dig around to see if it’s worth your time after levying the rebook fee and if you’re lucky, they’ll issue a voucher for the difference in price.

Just last week, for example, I noticed that a huge fare sale to Salt Lake City affected the ticket price for a future itinerary that I have into Reno. Calling up Delta Airlines, I got them to issue me a $54 e-cert for use in future travel. Sure, it’s not cash in hand, but I can definitely use the voucher.

What this stragety is particularly good for is repricing business travel. Many travel agents will blindly book a ticket on a preferred airline at high cost. When you, the passenger, check back in and reprice the ticket later, however, the reward is yours.

Vomit bag becomes iPhone movie watching case

by Scott Carmichael on

In a design I can only describe as “why didn’t I think of that”, one enterprising airline passenger decided to turn the in-seat vomit bag into a simple iPhone movie case.

Forget $40 plastic cases with stands, this paper bag simply fits behind the seat table and provides an instant and easy way to watch your movies. The case is even “compatible” when the person in front of you reclines their seat.

Brilliant.

(Hodenmumps.to, via Engadget)