This time, a passenger struck a flight attendant

by Iva Skoch on

Just last week, we wrote about a pilot whose mental breakdown caused an emergency landing.

Now, AP reports that a flight from New York to Paris was diverted to Boston last night because a French passenger “struck a flight attendant.” Why? We don’t know. Nonetheless, the American Airlines flight landed safely after 8 p.m. Wednesday night at Logan Airport. The “attacker” was taken into custody.

Is it the cabin pressure that makes people go crazy?

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A commercial airplane with a king size bed? I wonder how much that costs…

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New uniforms for the Northwest flight attendants

by Grant Martin on

Earlier this week, Northwest hosted a fashion show in their Detroit World Gateway to show off the new uniforms they’re unrolling. I asked any Gadlingers passing through to snap a couple of photos and in one way or another (thanks Dan), some came through.

In the interest of self preservation as a member of the media and Northwest Airlines‘ frequent flyer program, I’ll refrain from commenting on the uniforms, but I’m interested to see what Gadlingers and AOL readers think of the change.

If you look at some of the other photos in the set, you’ll see a timeline of flight attendant uniforms through NWA’s history; it’s interesting to look at some of the older uniforms and see how they changed over time.

Low-Budget Airline Jetstar is Going Places

by Kelly Amabile on

What happens when flight attendants do their own traveling? That is some of what you’ll see if you live in Australia and have access to the new documentary Going Places, a creative marketing tactic from the folks at budget carrier Jetstar. While it’s not exactly an Aussie version of Flight Attendant School, the eight-program series (which premiered today on Channel Nine) will follow eight Jetstar cabin crew members during training maneuvers and travels to several Asian countries and Hawaii. (Of course, these are all destinations where the carrier flies.)

Promotional material for the series claims that Jetstar is going behind the scenes at it “moves into the highly competitive international market.” As Neil noted earlier this year, the airline was named Best Low-Cost carrier by Skytrax. The Australian-based airline runs dozens of flights within OZ and to destinations throughout Asia, including Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, Cambodia, Malaysia and others. They also fly to Honolulu from Melbourne and Sydney. (I recently flew them round-trip on a short hop from Melbourne to Hobart and was satisfied with the service and budget price – US $170.)

You can view an intro and clips from episode one — looks like your standard reality-TV without too much excess drama. Will it make you want to fly Jetstar on your next vacation or sign up to work for the young company?

Do You Have What it Takes to be a Flight Attendant?

by Martha Edwards on

When I was growing up, I had high career aspirations — literally. I wanted nothing more than to be a flight attendant. With my dad being a pilot, flying was always highly exalted around our house and I found that, like him, I was happiest in the air. I don’t know why I never considered being a pilot … something in the child version of myself would rather pour drinks in the air than be at the helm. And all these years later, I still get a hankering for a career change as the excitement of take-off gets the best of me. Not to mention the lure of free flights.

Most people think that being a flight attendant is the cushiest job in the world, but I beg to differ. I have several friends who work for Westjet, and while they like the travel perks and flexibility of the job, their jobs aren’t all sunshine and roses — for one, they have to clean the plane after every flight and I’ll spare you the details but let’s just say it’s not pretty. They also spend countless hours in safety training and are tested every year — with the promise of dismissal if they fail. Sounds harsh, but it sure makes me feel safe. Then there’s the lack of a normal schedule, the chance of working every holiday — it’s definitely a trade-off.

Still interested? Here’s an insider’s look into the job from Fly Away Cafe.

Soap Opera in the Air

by Iva Skoch on

We’ve heard from pilots about life in the sky (Ask the Pilot), but here’s a book from the perspective of ground-staff personnel: Imogen Edwards-Jones’ Air Babylon.

The first thing to know is that this is fictionalized. She writes with the help of several anonymous sources, then piles all their different, but true, stories together in a fanciful “expose” of the airport business.

It’s pretty entertaining, and pretty scary, since it describes a fictional 24-hours-in-the-life of a ground crew at a London airport, working for a make-believe, mid-sized international carrier.

Essentially, she’s packed all these bad events together into a single day of hell. You’ve got passengers dying of heart attacks during long trips (and what do they do with the bodies??), you’ve got snakes on the plane, you’ve got contraband in luggage, drunk flight attendants, unruly passengers, asylum-seekers, boy bands, and, of course, sex.

True or not, exaggerated or not, it’s entertaining.