Catfighting flight attendants put a stop to Delta Connection flight

by Laurel Miller on

A Delta Airlines connection flight was cancelled last Thursday, after two female flight attendants engaged in a catfight. According to the Associated Press, Rochester-to-Atlanta-bound Delta Connection Flight 887 was forced to return to the departure gate after one of the passengers fell ill. Memphis-based Pinnacle Airlines spokesman Joe Williams states that there was no physical contact between the dueling attendants, merely a “verbal disagreement.”

Passenger Steve Mazur contradicts Williams’ statement, saying that the women, “Apparently got into a fistfight. The pilot decided to kick everyone off the plane.” Fellow passenger Corey Minton adds that they were ordered to disembark because “stewardesses were fighting.”

Delta damage-controlled the situation by finding alternate travel arrangements for passengers, but likely won’t be able to erase the salacious image of flight attendants scratching one another’s eyes out. Both women have been put on leave until an internal investigation can be done. Says Williams, “The activity described is not acceptable.”

Disruptive passenger didn’t count on black belt “fight attendant”

by Scott Carmichael on

Rarely do you hear the words “At that point, I just put him into a choke hold” coming from a flight attendant.

But this is exactly what happened on US Airways flight 1447 last week when passenger Kinman Chan allegedly started freaking out after he doubled up on his dose of medicinal marijuana.

According to reports, halfway into the flight, Mr. Chan started losing his mind – screaming, banging on the bathroom doors and opening compartments in the rear of the plane.

He then went into a bathroom and came out with his pants down. It was at this point that flight attendant Lorin Gorman told him to sit down. When he refused, he also made a threatening motion to her – so she put him in an arm lock, jumped on him, and put him in a choke hold.

The plane was diverted to Pittsburgh where Chan was arrested and charged with disrupting a flight attendant. He now faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Poor Mr. Chan obviously had not expected to run into a fourth-degree Tae Kwon Do expert on his flight. She credits her post-9/11 special training for her skills and ability to deal with small spaces.%Gallery-76818%

Galley Gossip: The Bachelor – airline employees, spouses & why Vienna is perfect for Jake

by Heather Poole on
If you think long distance dating is difficult, try being married to an airline employee. It ain’t easy. Because working for an airline is not just a job, it’s a lifestyle, a very unusual one. Even now, seven years later, my husband, a man who travels more often than I do, doesn’t completely understand how things work in the aviation industry and will often times get frustrated whenever we’re discussing our travel schedules. That’s because my schedule, much like a pilot’s schedule, can change at a moments notice, making it difficult to create long term plans. I work holidays and weekends and I’m away from home for days at a time. Not many people can handle that.
Pilots, for the most part, are type A personalities. They’re logical thinkers who remain calm, cool, and in control as they command the aircraft. Think Captain Sullenberger. There’s no room for emotion when faced with ditching an airplane into the Hudson River. Flight attendants, on the other hand, tend to be caretakers. We can pretty much make do in just about any situation. There’s a reason why so many flight attendants end up on reality television shows like Survivor, Amazing Race, etc. Now they say opposites attract. I believe it. So is it any wonder that many pilots and flight attendants wind up having relationships with people who are completely different from themselves? Quite a few pilots tend to choose nurturing types like flight attendants, nurses and teachers, while a lot of flight attendants seem to get involved with pilots, police officers and firemen. Makes sense.
In my last post, The Bachelor – pilots, fashion & a few pilot fashion tips, I mentioned that I’m a fan of the reality television show The Bachelor. Well it just so happens that this season the man in command of the rose ceremony is a pilot named Jake. I truly believe that Vienna, one of the final four contestants, will be the last woman standing. What can I say, I always go for the underdog. Also, I admire strength in the face of adversity. Oh, sure, Vienna’s a little immature, sharing intimate details of her dates with Jake that would have been better left unsaid, but she’s young, thinks she’s in love, and excited about what the future may hold. No one is perfect. So why would I choose the wild child who rubs everyone the wrong way, the woman who snuck into bed with the captain of her dreams only to be turned away and sent back to where she came from? Two reasons: 1. She has the type of personality that can handle life as a pilot’s wife. 2. The psychological effect of fear.

In college I studied psychology and wound up taking a class on human sexuality. That’s where I learned all about the power of fear. It can paralyze a person. I can’t tell you how many passengers I’ve met over the years who are afraid to fly, who completely freak out at the mere hint of turbulence. Fear can also save a life. It’s called your sixth sense. One should always trust it. You may be surprised to learn that fear also has a lesser known, more interesting effect on humans. It has been shown that men find women more attractive when they’re scared.

Remember Jake’s one on one date with Vienna? More specifically, remember the bungee jump nervous breakdown? Jake, it turns out, is afraid of heights. But he’s a pilot! I know. How can a pilot who spends a majority of his time at 30,000 feet be afraid of heights? Simple. In an airplane Jake is in control. But jumping off the side of a bridge is a completely different story. So when Vienna, quite naturally, found herself comforting Jake as he tried to catch his breath before taking the giant leap, I thought to myself, perhaps she’s the one. Finally, hand in hand, Jake and Vienna took the plunge. That’s when I knew she had an edge over the other women in the house. Then, as the two of them bounced a few feet above the ground, face to face, embracing each other tightly and kissing passionately upside down, I felt like she might be the one to walk away with the final rose. I’m glad, because I think Vienna is perfect for Jake.

Early on in the show Vienna was scorned by the other women in the house. Basically she’s pretty much been on her own from the very beginning. It takes strength to put up with a house full of catty women, and Vienna handles it with a smile on her face. Whether or not you like the girl, you have to give her props for dealing with a difficult situation quite beautifully. I don’t think I would have been quite so nice. This tells me that Vienna is a survivor. I mean if she can handle Ali’s temper tantrum at the second to last rose ceremony, she can handle just about anything. Not to mention, she also seems like a lot of fun, capable of putting a smile on Jake’s face in any situation, even the awkward ones.

Jake should choose a woman who is not only nurturing, but also independent since she will spend half the month alone. Jake will be away at least twelve days a month. Because of this he needs someone strong, confident, and loyal, a woman who can deal with last minute changes and can also make spur of the moment decisions that include back up plans A, B, & C – just in case something goes wrong, because when you work for an airline, something is bound to go wrong. Take it from me, a flight attendant, this is not an easy combination to find in a partner. Here’s why the other women are all wrong for Jake…


  • GIA: Smart, sweet, and drop dead gorgeous, Gia has it going on. She’s the perfect woman. If I were a man, she would be the one. If Jake weren’t a pilot, I would root for her. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Gia ends up one of the last two women standing at the alter. But because Gia admitted in the last episode that she doesn’t always feel secure, which is not a good thing when married to a person who isn’t always around to boost the ego, I don’t think she’s the perfect match for Jake.
  • ALI: No doubt about it, Ali is the most outspoken woman in the house. At times she comes off as a you-know-what. Instead of focusing on Jake, she’s chosen to put all her energy into hating the competition, Vienna. Not a good sign. Marriage is work. It’s not easy to remain focused on the positive, on what made you fall in love with your partner in the first place without life distracting you from what’s truly important. Can a person prone to jealousy and negativity handle a life with someone who is constantly surrounded by adoration from both men and women? I doubt it.
  • TENLEY: Sensitive and sweet, she’s a likeable girl with a big heart. I can see why Jake would be attracted to her. But in the long run, she might be too fragile for Jake’s lifestyle after being involved in a failed marriage to the one and only man she’s known intimately, a man who abandoned her for another woman. Jake’s a pilot. Each and every month he will have to leave her in order to go to work. Is Tenley strong enough to handle all those nights at home alone? I don’t think so.
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Don’t forget to tune in tonight at 8pm on ABC for the exciting hometown date episode of The Bachelor.

Photos courtesy of The Bachelor web site.

Galley Gossip: 5 ways flight attendants handle difficult passengers

by Heather Poole on

Flight attendants deal with unruly passengers all the time. How we handle a problem passenger depends on the situation. Most of the time a few simple techniques can be used to diffuse a situation, but I’ll get to that in a moment. Because sometimes, every once in awhile, we have no choice but to involve law enforcement – not just for our safety, but for the comfort and safety of passengers on board. What kind of behavior could possibly result in an arrest? The following scenarios actually took place in flight and are just a few examples of what not to do on an airplane.

THE GROPER: When I first started flying, a big wig studio executive sitting in first class from New York to Los Angeles walked into the business class galley and pinched my you-know-what in front of three coworkers. Shocked, we all just stood there trying to comprehend what had just happened. That’s when Mr. Big Wig actually did it again.

THE FIGHTER: A young woman dressed suggestively wandered around the coach cabin talking to several different male passengers. Later on we learned she had asked each one of them to buy her an alcoholic beverage. After they refused, she finally came back to the galley and requested a beer. The flight attendant refused to serve her since she appeared to be a minor. The passenger responded by punching the flight attendant in the face.

THE FLASHER: A passenger stood inside the lavatory with his pants down around his ankles. Whenever he’d hear someone pass by, he’d push the accordion door open and quickly expose himself.

Here’s a tip: If you wouldn’t do it at your mama’s house, don’t do it on the airplane.

Usually flight attendants can spot the typical problem passenger during boarding. This is because when we smile and say hello, they bite our heads off, letting us know exactly why they won’t be flying our airline ever again. Whether or not we had anything to do with what went wrong before they even came on board does not matter. We are now stuck for hours on end with an unhappy passenger who is determined to take it out on us.

Of course, it never fails, this same passenger will not find a place to stow their bags because they were late getting to the airport and now the overhead bins are full . This is the passenger whose seat does not recline due to the fact they’re sitting in front of the exit row. This is the passenger who did not get a chance to purchase a snack because we ran out of food before we even got to their row. This passenger, without a doubt, will snap at a flight attendant at some point during the flight. So what can a flight attendant do to keep the situation from escalating?

5 WAYS TO HANDLE UNRULY PASSENGERS

  1. Get down to their level: Literally, get down on one knee in the aisle. This position is less threatening to passengers
  2. Listen: Most passengers just want to be heard. That’s it.
  3. Keep calm: Do not raise your voice. Stay in control
  4. Just the facts: Ask what the problem is and then have the passenger suggest a solution. Keep emotions at bay.
  5. Excuse yourself: A new face is new energy. If you’re not getting anywhere with a difficult passenger, remove yourself from the situation and ask a coworker to step in. Even though a coworker may tell a passenger the exact same thing you did, they could get a completely different response.



British Airways offering a crash course to retrain pilots as flight attendants

by Scott Carmichael on

Faced with another threat of a flight attendant strike, British Airways is preparing for the worst. The airline asked everyone within the company to voluntarily sign up for a 21 day training program to turn them into temporary flight attendants.

As of right now, only 216 volunteers signed up for the initiative, which falls quite a bit short of the 13,500 flight crew members that will walk out when a strike takes place. Five of the nine retraining courses are designed for pilots – which would turn them into the best paid cabin crew members in the world. The average BA pilot earns a just under $200,000 per year.

Of course, the union behind the flight attendants is not impressed, and they are quick to point out that the 21 day course is much shorter than the normal 3 month training a flight attendant receives, and could be a serious safety issue.

It makes sense for them to say this – as the public perception of the union and this strike is very negative. The same union almost shut down British Airways over the Christmas period last year, but a British court blocked their efforts at the last minute.

A union spokesperson said “Not only does this show contempt for the crew, what message does it send to passengers who have paid to be cared for by a premier airline?”. Personally, I’d rather have a cabin crew with just three weeks of training than be stuck at the airport for a week because a union was unable to reach an agreement on new pay cuts.

The British aviation authority, CAA, has approved the measures and will be monitoring the safety aspects of the training, to ensure that passengers are never at any kind of risk when they fly on a plane with the new temporary crew members.

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