Galley Gossip: A question about being a mother and a flight attendant

by Heather Poole on

Dear Heather,

I have one quick question for you… I am about to be a new mom (with a baby boy due in February) and I’m also a flight attendant. I love my job (people, travel, benefits… everything!) but I’m worried about how hard it’s going to be for me to be a flight attendant and a mommy. Any tips?

Varina

Dear Varina,

First I must congratulate you on being a new mom! It’s the best job in the whole world. As for being a flight attendant and a mom, I’m going to tell you two things several flight attendants told me when I was pregnant and worried about how I would handle flying and being a new mother…

  1. Don’t worry
  2. It will all work out

And it did work out, even though I did worry, and still worry – at times! What do I worry about? What I’m going to do when my two year-old is in school and what am I going to do if we have another child. I want another child. How am I going to make that work – writing, flying and commuting? And just when I start to get all worked up, those flight attendant voices come back to me and say…

  1. Don’t worry
  2. It will all work out

Now I’d like to add one more thing…DON’T QUIT! No matter how hard it may seem when you come off maternity leave and find yourself back on the line, don’t give up your job until you’ve figured out how to make it work for you, because it can work, it’s just a matter of finding the routine that is right for you and your family. Whether you drop trips, fly turns, work nights, work days, only work the weekends, or work a week straight and have three weeks off (like me), you’ve got options, lots and lots of options. What makes our job great job is the flexibility, so work it, girl!

Of course you’re going to feel like quitting, we’ve all been there, but do me a favor and give it at least six months before you make any drastic decisions. I say this because I know many new mothers who wanted to give up their flight attendant careers the year their babies were born, but then, later on, were glad they continued to work. With a job like ours, there’s no reason to quit! Remember, the first year is always the hardest.

SUPPORT: If your significant other is supportive and understands your job, you’ll be just fine. While my husband is a great guy, he’s a hard worker and doesn’t always know when to turn it off. Because I live in Los Angeles and work out of New York, he gets frustrated when I’m gone for a week straight. In the beginning, it was my husband who stressed me out the most, not my job. I can’t tell you how many times he begged me to quit flying. But I stood firm and reminded him of our second date when I told him I would never quit – EVER! Thankfully my husband has gotten much better when it comes to my job and taking care of our son. It took two years, but he’s now handling the situation like a pro.

FAMILY: The hardest part about being a flight attendant and a new mom is worrying about your child when you are away from home. If you know your child is in good hands with people who love him, you’ll be more at ease. In my post, A question about being a flight attendant when I have a small child at home, I mentioned that my parents and in-laws have helped me out immensely during reserve months. Without them, I don’t know that I’d be able to do my job, not when my husband travels as often as he does for business. While line months are doable, reserve months are killer. While it’s hard on my husband and I when I’m working away from home, my two year-old son is just fine.

“Ready to go back to California?” I asked my son as we walked to a nearby park in Queens, New York last week. It was my day off of reserve and my mother-in-law had just dropped him off to stay with me.

“No,” he said matter of fact as he held on tight to a big yellow bouncy ball.

“No?” I repeated, reading his face for any signs of distress. “You don’t want to go home?”

He smiled. “Not yet.” Then he added, “I like New York!”

Me, too!

And there you have it. My son is happy in New York, even though mommy is working. Me, not as happy, not when I’m on reserve for the entire month. But knowing my son is doing just fine makes flying a lot easier on me. While I miss my son greatly when I’m working, my son is getting to know his father and grandparents in a way he wouldn’t have if I didn’t have my job. So if you’ve got family nearby who are willing give a helping hand, take the offer and run – er, fly!

DAYCARE – During the months I hold a line, I take my son to a preschool / daycare. He’s been going to this facility since my four month maternity leave and six month personal leave of absence came to an end – he was just ten months old. Trust me when I tell you that it was harder on me than it was for him to go to daycare. The key, though, is finding a place that you are comfortable with, a place that you can trust. Because most daycares have waiting lists up to six months long, make sure to start your daycare search as soon as possible. While I still feel a little sad dropping my son off at school, I know he’s fine, especially when he says, “I had a fun day at school, mommy!” when I put him the car at the end of the day. At first I would only take my son to daycare when I worked, which was about eight days a month. Now I make sure to take him at least twice a week, even when I’m not working. I don’t want each time he goes to daycare to be like his first time. To alleviate stress, I try to be consistent. Even when I want to keep him home with me.

NANNY – While I didn’t go the nanny route, I did entertain it. The reason I chose not to use a nanny is because the nanny could get sick and if that happened who would watch my son while I was flying and my husband worked? We do not have family or friends nearby who can step in at the last minute in case of an emergency. However, I do know many flight attendants who use nannies and even a flight attendant who shares a nanny with another flight attendant. They alternate work days. One flight attendant I know placed an ad in the newspaper for a sitter at night and found an elderly woman who ended up working for her until all three children were grown. I know another flight attendant who found help through her church. Just keep your ears open and talk to flight attendants and other mothers around you.

Like I mentioned above, you’ve got option, options, and more options, it’s just a matter of figuring out which combination works best for you. Even if you try them all and still nothing works, at least you gave it a shot. You’ll be able to look back with no regrets. Hey, flying is not for everyone, I know that, especially when you’ve got the most important job in the world – caring for a child.

Hope that helps,

Heather Poole

Have a question? Ask me! Skydoll123@yahoo.com

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Galley Gossip: What to do when the flight crew yells brace!

by Heather Poole on

You’ve just boarded the airplane, stowed your large bag in the overhead bin, smaller bag completely under the seat in front of you, and taken your seat. As passengers continue to file past you down the aisle, you place those headphones in your ears, crank up the Ipod, and recline your seat way back. This flight is just like all the other flights you’ve been on before. After the safety demo is over, an evil flight attendant comes sauntering down the aisle, stops at your row, and asks you to put your seat back up and turn your Ipod off. When you ignore her, she tells you again, reminding you that anything with an on and off switch needs to be stowed and put away for takeoff. You give her a look. What’s the big deal?

Three minutes after take-off you hear a loud bang. The crew, still strapped into their jumpseats, begins yelling Brace! Brace! Brace! Do you know what to do?

Hopefully you’ll never find yourself in the brace position, but if you are told to brace most likely the flight attendants will stand in the aisle and actually show you the different brace positions, as well as brief you on how to open the emergency exit doors and windows – in case the crew is injured and unable to get to the exit. That’s why it’s always important to look over the briefing card, particularly if you are sitting in an exit row. Because sometimes things happen without warning, like it did for those who crashed into the Hudson River onboard US Airways flight 1549 yesterday. Amazingly everyone onboard survived, including an infant, thanks to the heroic efforts of Captain Chesley B “Sully” Sullenberger and the entire cabin crew who popped opened those doors, inflated the slide / rafts, and commanded the quick evacuation!

THE BRACE POSITION:

  1. Standard brace position (facing the cockpit): Sit as far back in the seat as possible with lap belt low and tight across the hips. Keep feet flat on the floor, out from underneath seat. Rest chin to chest and bend over as far as possible, chest to knees, wrapping your arms around your legs and clasping hands under knees
  2. Standard brace position (facing the tail of the aircraft): Sit as far back in seat as possible and press head against seat back. Keep feet flat on the floor, out from underneath seat. Rest hands on knees or hold onto the seat arm rest.
  3. Pregnant women: Pad stomach area with blankets and pillows. Seat belt should be worn under the stomach, not over. Cross wrists and rest forehead on the back of hands against the seat in front of you
  4. Lap children: Place child in an approved safety seat. If a car seat is unavailable, make sure the seat belt is secured only around the adult. Place child on the seat, between the legs of the adult. Lock arms around the child and bend over child. Infants: provide support to head, neck, and body.

While it’s important to know how to brace, it’s also important to have room to brace. This is why flight attendants ask you to keep your seat backs in the locked and upright position on take-off and landing. When seat backs are upright passengers are able to get out of their row and into the aisle much easier, which makes for a quicker exit. Every second counts when it comes to evacuating an aircraft, particularly one that is sinking in the Hudson river on a snowy day in freezing temperature.

Not only is it important to keep your seat upright, it’s just as important to place all your carry on bags in an overhead bin or completely under the seat in front of you. Again, it makes for a faster evacuation when there aren’t bags blocking the aisles and tripping passengers on their way out the exit doors and windows. This is also why the exit rows must remain clear and why the seats don’t always recline in these rows. So next time I come to your row, the emergency exit row, to brief you on the window exit, it is very important to pay attention. It could just save your life.

Photo courtesy of Derek7272

Galley Gossip: SFO airline museum, LAX airline show & a request for photos!

by Heather Poole on

Here are two different letters I recently received from two different guys named Ken concerning two different airline themed topics you may be interested in – the San Francisco airline museum and the airline show that is now on tour…

Heather,

Thanks so much for your blog and Galley Gossip, I’m a regular reader! As a matter of fact I gave your blog info to a pilot I met today (through my regular course of work) who actually has flown with and knows Kent Wien (and his brother) but was unaware of Kent’s Cockpit Chronicles on Gadling, which is where I found your site. Since you have a mini airline museum perhaps I will email you a few things from my Pan Am collection some day that would be suitable for framing! Don’t worry, no pictures of me! If you ever get a long layover in SFO check out the Airport Museum in the non-secure part of the International terminal. It’s pretty impressive and free!

All the best and I will continue to read and enjoy your work.

Warmest regards,

Ken A.

Ken A.

Thank you for reading my blog! And thank you, thank you, thank you, for telling me about the San Francisco airport museum located in the international terminal. I went to the website and found myself amazed. The museum is so cool, in fact, that I don’t know how it is I’ve never heard of this museum.

“I told you about that museum!” my husband exclaimed when I mentioned it in passing.

I looked at him like he was crazy. “You did?”

“Don’t you remember when I told your friend Stephen he should donate a couple uniforms from his collection to the museum?”

“Oh yeah!” I exclaimed. As for Stephen, he’s a flight attendant who has an amazing collection of flight attendant memorabilia that may just rival any museum in the world.

Anyway, next time I find myself at the San Francisco airport I will definitely make the extra effort to visit the exhibits on display. I’m bummed that I missed Take Your Seat, A History of Passenger Airline Seats, as well as Cathay Pacific Airways, Six Decades of Service, but I do hope to catch Cabin Comforts: Photographs of Airliner Interiors, which will be running until May 2009. And to think something so amazing is actually free!

Like you mentioned above, Ken, most airline enthusiasts have a mini airline museum of their own. I’d love to see your Pan Am collection. As you already know, I have my own collection of anything and everything airline related located in my guestroom closet. Gadling writer and pilot Kent Wien apparently has a pretty big collection, too, and my guess is a lot of his memorabilia has his name on it due to the fact that Wien Air, which folded in 1985, was the second oldest airline in the United States. So what do you say we – me, you, Kent, Stephen, and anyone else who has a collection – take photographs of our personal airline museums and share them here on Gadling? I’ll create the gallery. All you have to do is take a photo, just one photo, and email it to me at the address posted below.

Thanks for writing, Ken!

Heather Poole

Heather,

I just thought I’d let you know, that the airline memorabilia show will be held Sat. Jan.24th 9:00a-3:00p. It will be at the Hacienda Hotel on Sepulveda just south of LAX. I know you’re in NYC this month on reserve but i thought I’d let you know just the same. Hope you make it through reserve!!! UGH!!! Keep well. Fly Safe!!!!

Ken J.

Ken J.

Thank you for the reminder. I’ve been meaning to check out that airline show for two years now. After five scheduled days off, I’ll be on-call in New York on the 25th, so I’ll be commuting from Los Angeles to New York on the day of the show. Just my luck. But I did go to the website and saw that the show will be in New York at the LGA Marriott hotel on March 21st, so perhaps I’ll catch it then. Are you going to the show in Los Angeles? If so, let me know what it’s like, and more importantly, what is sold, because as you know I’m interested in anything with a flight attendant theme that I can add to my own airline museum, the one I will be photographing for the gallery I mentioned above. My husband recently boxed up my museum and put it in storage while I was away from home on a layover. Hey, that’s okay, just means I have more room for more stuff! Thanks again for the reminder.

Happy travels,

Heather Poole

Email photos to Skydoll123@yahoo.com

All photos courtesy of Telstar Logistics – flickr.com

Galley Gossip: A question about why I’m based in New York when I live in California

by Heather Poole on

Dear Heather,

Reading your comments about being on reserve in New York made me wonder; why don’t you fly out of LAX? I know quite a few people at United who commute west coast to IAD, but that’s primarily because you can’t get the great international flying anywhere else in the system and their seniority goes a lot further.

John in MRY

Dear John,

Good question, John! In fact, it’s a question that my own family and friends have asked often. But first I’d like to address the airport / city codes you mentioned in your question for our readers who are not familiar with airline lingo…

Back in 1995, my classmates and I were offered several base choices prior to graduating from flight attendant training. Because the bases were rewarded by class seniority and class seniority was determined by age, which made me one of the more junior people in the class, I only had three real options – San Francisco, Miami, and New York. My plan was to eventually live at each and every base the airline offered. That’s why I took the job in the first place. To travel. To experience new things. To live in different places.

San Francisco: San Francisco would have been my first choice, except for the fact that the base was (and still is) one of the most senior bases in the system. When it comes to working for an airline seniority is everything. It determines what you fly, when you fly, and days off. Not to mention, the cost of living in California was (and still is) expensive for a flight attendant. A new hire back in 1995 only made a salary of $17,000 the first year. And because only a handful of people from my training class were going to San Francisco, all of whom were from San Francisco, I knew it wouldn’t be easy to find a couple of roommates to share a small place in the short four days the airline allotted before we were all off and flying our very first trip. Though I didn’t go to San Francisco, I knew that one day I would transfer there as soon as I acquired a little more seniority and my pay checks were just a wee bit bigger.

Miami: The majority of the people in my training class wanted to go to Miami, whether they had enough seniority to hold it or not, and most of them did not. The base was (and still is) the second most junior in the system. Of course the weather is always nice, the beaches are beautiful, single life, for me, would have probably been a lot of fun, and the cost of living in 1995 was not bad, not bad at all. I remember seeing an ad in the newspaper for a one bedroom apartment near the beach for $500 a month. It seemed like a dream, a dream that I could actually attain as a flight attendant. Miami was the base for me – but there was just one other place I wanted to go to first.

New York: An hour after my silver wings were pinned to my blue lapel, I was whisked away to the airport where I quickly boarded an airplane that flew to New York. At a window seat I sat, and I’ll never forget looking out of that window at all of those twinkling lights down below as we descended into La Guardia Airport. It was a beautiful sight. Nor will I forget freezing my you-know-what off as I stood outside the deserted airport in the middle of December, two large suitcases lying at my feet, with absolutely no idea what to do next. A not so beautiful sight. I chose New York because I just wanted to go to the one base I knew I’d like the least, just to experience it, and then transfer out as soon as possible. Since I knew most of my classmates would get stuck in New York, I figured it’d be fun to experience flying life with all my new friends. As bad as it seemed at the time having to share a small house in Queens with six other full-time flight attendants, two commuters, a Border Collie named Monica, and Boris, a Russian yellow cab driver who lived in the basement, those were some of the best days of my life.

It’s been fourteen years and I’m still based in New York, even though I live in Los Angeles. Here’s why…

Seniority: New York is the most junior base, yet we have, I think, the best flying. Now, fourteen years later, I’m holding pretty good trips, like transcons from New York to the west coast. That’s one long and easy flight. If I were based in LA, a very senior base, I’d be stuck working up and down the west coast, multiple legs a day, and because flight attendants don’t get paid until the aircraft pulls away from the gate, you do not want to spend very much time on the ground, which is exactly what happens when you work multiple legs a day – waiting in the airport between flights, boarding, deplaning, etc. A flight attendant can easily be on duty for twelve hours but only get paid for eight of those hours when working this type of trip. I work a reduced schedule, so I have to make the most of my days at work. That’s why it’s very important I hold good trips in order to be able to drop them.

Reserve: Reserve, to put it quite simply, is hell. There’s is not one flight attendant I know who enjoys being on reserve. When on reserve, except for a few scheduled days off, you are on-call to the company for a month. Because New York is a junior base, my chances of holding off reserve are good. In fact, I’ve actually held off for a year until this month, and now I am just 15 people from holding off again. For me, it’s much easier to commute to work than to be on reserve, and I do hope to be off reserve again soon. Fingers crossed.

Because I love New York – There’s just something about the energy in New York City, an energy I can’t explain, that does not exist anywhere else. The moment I step off the airplane and walk into the JFK terminal, I feel alive, and creative, which is good when you write about what you do for a living. I love New York so much, in fact, that I even enjoy the brief drive through Manhattan in the dark on the way to Newark airport after being called out for a 5 a.m. sign-in on reserve, which has already happened twice this month – two days in a row. Let’s all pray it doesn’t happen again.

And that, John, is why I’m based in New York. Thanks for the question, and if you, or anyone else, have another question feel free to email me at Skydoll123@yahoo.com

Happy Travels,

Heather Poole

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Photos courtesy of (Vintage airline poster) www.allposters.com, (New York City) Morrissey

Flight attendant foils kidnappers with flight attendant training skills

by Jamie Rhein on

Heather Poole, Gadling’s very own flight attendant who knows the moves to take care of herself and everyone else on a loaded plane, brought this China Daily article to our attention. In China, a flight attendant who two guys had kidnapped, got away by using the anti-hijacking techniques she learned in flight attendant training.

The attendant, an employee of Shanghai Airlines, learned — in preparation for the Beijing Olympics — how to stay calm, act obedient, keep the kidnappers engaged, discretely untie a rope, and make a run for it when the kidnappers weren’t paying attention to her. According to the story, one of the men got into her car at a green light and forced her to pick up another man at a different location.

They took her bank card and her pin number. Her quick thinking probably saved her life. It turns out that, last July, these two guys killed a woman motorist they had kidnapped. This was discovered after she told the police what had happened and they were able to apprehend this pair.

As this story points out, one that is corroborated by Heather’s Galley Gossip post on recurrent flight attendant training, flight attendants know the moves that make a difference in air travel. Maybe their theme song ought to be “Kung Fu Fighting.” Everyone knows Kung Fu fighting, fast as lightning … although in this case, rope skills and calm were the key ingredients.


That flight attendant is something of a hero … something these women are definitely NOT. Click the pictures to find out what kinds of trouble they were getting to in the air.