Galley Gossip: Why are so many male flight attendants gay?

by Heather Poole on

Scary flights. International layovers. Old flight attendants. Gay flight attendants. In that order these four topics often arise whenever someone who doesn’t work for an airline finds out what I do for a living. I have no problem discussing my job. In fact I love sharing interesting stories and helpful travel tips with those who are interested. While sexual preference has nothing to do with the job, the fact is a majority of male flight attendants are not straight and people want to know why.

I’ve never felt comfortable writing about coworkers whom I see as colleagues and friends, not gays. But because so many people seem truly curious I asked a few flight attendants who are openly gay if they’d be willing to write something about the subject that I could print here. Without hesitation, they agreed to share their thoughts. Unfortunately I never heard back from them after our flight. So I decided to do the next best thing and contact my friend, and coworker, Brian, author of the blog Straight Guy in the Queer Skies, to hear what his thoughts were on why there are so few straight men in our profession. Here’s what he wrote…

The industry is already gay friendly, so it only makes sense that the next generation of flight attendants will be gay as well. Every confused, awkward gay teen going through puberty, desperate to fit in during high school, dreams of being a flight attendant. It’s the promised land! This could be why the job may not seem as appealing to straight men. Some “straights” don’t like working with “gays”, while others might be nervous that the general public will perceive them as gay, so the majority of straight males stay away from the profession. Some guys just aren’t secure enough in their masculinity, or maybe they don’t want to always fight that battle every time someone asks what their profession is.

There are gay men in every profession, but there are certainly some arenas that are more accepting of gays than others. The service industry is one of those areas where gay men are very much accepted and do a fantastic job. Most of us straight boys aren’t nearly as good when it comes to customer service. I’m not sure why this is and I don’t really care. All I know is working under the customer service umbrella in some ways is like being a performer; you’re in the spotlight. You do things and all eyes are on you. You say things and everyone listens. The world is your stage. This might not be appealing to most straight men.

I never wanted to be a flight attendant. I graduated from college and was trying to figure out what to do next when my mother suggested I apply to an airline because her cousin worked for one, the same one I work for now. I doubt I would’ve pursued it on my own but my mom went behind my back and sent in my application without me knowing. A week later she told me I had a flight I needed to show up for and an interview in another city. I didn’t have anything else to do that day so I just went with it. Even after I got the job, I didn’t really think it was something I’d want to do for very long. I didn’t think I’d fit in. I stuck with it though and eventually I grew to love it. But that’s how randomly I got into the business. I would have never come up with this occupation on my own. I don’t think it’s something straight men really think of whilst contemplating their career path.

The most honest answer is the reason why people do anything. Why start a band? Why go out for a sports team in high school? Why buy a Corvette? Why get out of the bed in the morning? Why shower? You do it in hopes of getting laid. Gay men know there are a million opportunities for fun on and off the plane provided by the job, therefore they apply for it.




Photo courtesy of Augapfel

Galley Gossip: Flight attendant training – from graduation to the first flight

by Heather Poole on

After graduating from flight attendant training, how much time will I get to go back home and take care of things before moving to my crew base? – Lorelei

Two hours after my silver wings were pinned to my blue lapel on stage in front of classmates, family and friends, I hugged and kissed my loved ones goodbye, stepped onto a bus, and headed to the airport with thirty of my classmates. Most of us boarded a flight departing to New York’s LaGuardia Airport, my new crew base. It was late at night when we landed and I only had three days to find a place to live before reporting to work for the first time.

Flight attendants hired by major carriers usually have three to four days off before their first trip, but one of those days is spent touring the airport. Therefore it’s very important to get all your business taken care of before you go into training because once it begins things will move swiftly.

When I started flying in the mid-nineties, flight attendants at my airline had to serve six months probation before obtaining flight privileges. In other words, our travel passes. This meant that unless I purchased a ticket like a regular person, or another flight attendant was kind enough to donate one their buddy passes, the only time I spent on an airplane was when I walked on board to work a flight. I won’t lie. It wasn’t easy being far away from home and working a job that’s unlike any other, but I struggled through the difficult time and six months later, armed with my passes, life changed for the better.

Before flight attendant training starts, the airline will send you a packet containing information regarding everything you’ll need to know from what to pack for training to how much money you’ll need to bring with you to your new base. It seems like just yesterday I was sitting on the closet floor looking up at my clothes trying to figure out how I could get everything I needed for seven and a half weeks of training inside two suitcases that could not weigh more eighty pounds, two suitcases that would then go directly to my new crew base. Good luck!

Photo courtesy of JFithian

Galley Gossip: Flight attendants trained to spot human traffickers at the Super Bowl

by Heather Poole on

What do hundreds of flight attendants, thousands of under-age prostitutes and the Super Bowl all have in common? Dallas. On Sunday they’re all traveling to Texas. American Airlines, American Eagle, Delta, United, and Qantas hope to help stop human traffickers from pimping out women and children by holding training sessions that will enable flight attendants volunteering their time on the ground to help spot signs of trafficking. According to Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot in an article posted by Reuters, the Super Bowl is one of the biggest human trafficking events in the United States. During the previous two Super Bowls fifty girls were rescued. This year with authorities, child welfare advocates, and the airline industry all collaborating to fight under-age sex crimes, even more lives could be saved.

How did the airlines even come to be involved in human trafficking? It all started with Sandra Fiorini, an American Airlines flight attendant based in Chicago. Because of Fiorini flight attendants now know what to look for and who to call if they see something suspicious on board a flight. This after Fiorini tried to report a situation and no one responded. It involved an eighteen year-old boy on a six-hour flight carrying a newborn infant with its umbilical cord still attached. No wife. Just one bottle of milk and two diapers stuck inside his pocket. In 2007 Fiorini met Deborah Sigmund, founder of the organization Innocents at Risk, and soon they began working together with airline employees to become the first line of defense against human trafficking.




Flight attendants aren’t the only ones who can help. There are more frequent fliers now than ever before. Passengers should also be aware of what to look for while traveling.

Warning Signs

1. Someone who doesn’t have control over his/her own identification

2. Someone who has few to no possessions.

3. Someone who is not allowed to speak for themselves, or is made to speak through a translator

4. Someone who isn’t sure of where he or she lives or is or has no sense of time

5. Someone who avoids eye contact or appears fearful, anxious, tense, depressed, nervous, submissive.

6. Someone who rarely is allowed to come and go independently and may be accompanied by someone who controls their every movement

7. Someone who may be dressed inappropriately regardless of weather conditions.

Number to call

Human Trafficking Hot line 1-888-373-7888.

(Don’t wait until it’s too late. Put that number in your cell phone now!)

There are more slaves today than any other time in human history. A person can be sold several times a day for many years, opposed to drugs that can only be sold once. Because of this human trafficking is one of the fastest growing crimes in the world, only second behind drug trafficking. It generates 32 billion annually for organized crime. Each year two million women and children become victims. 300,000 children within the United States are being trafficked each year. Most are forced into a life of prostitution and pornography in large urban areas such as Washington DC, New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Florida. If it can happen on my flight, it can happen on yours. Open your eyes. Get involved. Write that number down!

Photo courtesy of The Consumerist

Thailand’s new PC Air first airline in country to hire transsexual flight attendants

by Laurel Miller on

Being the hostess with the mostess just got more competitive. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Thailand’s newest airline, PC Air, is raising the bar on airline personnel. It’s the first Thai airline to hire transsexual flight attendants, as part of a pioneering effort to redefine equal rights within the industry. PC Air is slated to debut in April, running charter flights across Asia. The airline has already hired six transsexual crew members, including Thanyarat ‘Film’ Jiraphatpakorn, winner of the Miss Tiffany Universe Transsexual beauty pageant in 2007. Over 100 transsexual people applied during the first round of hiring.

Thailand has one of the world’s largest transsexual, or “third sex” populations, and its surgeons have achieved a global reputation for providing relatively affordable, easily accessible sex change operations (which pertain to the transgender, not transsexual, population). PC Air doesn’t require sexual reassignment surgery; rather, applicants need to meet criteria that include language and customer service skills.

While many Thai transsexuals are involved in prostitution or more legitimate forms of entertainment, PC Air’s president, Peter Chan, wants to provide more opportunity for the trans community. “I think these people can have many careers, not just in the entertainment business, and many of them have a dream to be an air hostess…When it’s their dream job or the job they love, they can do it even better,” he says. “Our society has changed — it’s evolution. I’m a pioneer, and I’m sure there will be (other) organizations following my idea.”

Galley Gossip: Flight attendant training – which airline to pick?

by Gadling Staff on

Next week I’m to start flight attendant training for American Eagle. But today I got a call from Delta and they want me to go for a face to face interview two days after I’m to start training! If I go to the Delta interview, I’ll forfeit American Eagle completely and won’t ever be able to reapply, as this is my second chance to go to training with them. I’m giving up my good paying but burned out retail management job and changing my life to do my long lived dream job as a flight attendant. I’ve been waiting to get a call back for over a year due to training cancellations last year. American Eagle training is three weeks long, but doesn’t pay, while Delta pays for six weeks of training. I’m afraid to give up American Eagle to go to a Delta interview and possibly not make it and then I’m out both! What should I do? – Laura

Dear Laura,

Have you tried to delay your training class with Eagle? If not, give the airline a call and see if you can push it back a few days, meaning you’d like to start in the next available training class. I’m sure they have a couple of them lined up. This way you can go to the Delta interview without forfeiting a shot at Eagle. Most airlines hire on the spot, so you’ll know the day of the interview if Delta is interested or not. If they send you to “medical”, congratulations, you made it! If they say they’ll contact you soon, that’s code for thanks but no thanks. Move on. And

If Eagle won’t let you change your class date, I suggest sticking with Eagle. Initially I had planned on telling you to hold out for Delta, which is also what most of my coworkers suggested after I ran the scenario by them, but after weighing the pros and cons I think it would be foolish to put all your eggs in one basket. The simple fact is a bird in the hand is worth more than two in the bush . Before I was hired by a major US carrier, I was passed over by one of its biggest competitors. I tell you this for two reasons; you never know what’s going to happen and you should never give up on your dreams. I’d also hate to see you lose a wonderful opportunity because you chose to go to an interview instead of training.

Working for a regional carrier is a great place to start. You’ll gain seniority quickly and get travel benefits, as well as experience on the job. A little experience is always better than none, especially if you don’t speak a second language and you’re interested in interviewing for a major carrier like Delta. Who knows, you might love working for Eagle. I know a lot of flight attendants who do. But if you don’t, simply quit and apply to another airline offering better pay and international layovers. That’s exactly what I did three months after Sun Jet, a low cost carrier, hired me fifteen years ago.

FYI: I’ve heard through the grapevine that you can try to transfer to American after a year on the job with Eagle. I’ve also heard American will be hiring soon.

Ultimately the decision is yours, Laura, because only you know what’s best for you. Good luck! Make sure to write back and let us know what happened.

Heather

UPDATE 1/27: I’m excited to report that Laura held out for Delta and got hired yesterday! Only 8 out of 125 people made it through. FYI: Laura is NOT a speaker. I’m so excited for her!!! Now why did she decide to hold out for Delta? It migh have something to do with another question she asked right after this post went live. Stay tuned for another upcoming Galley Gossip post inspired by Laura

%Poll-58829%

Photo courtesy of DavityDave