Flight attendants and 9/11.

Flight attendants and 9/11.

by | Sep 11, 2021 | 0 comments

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September 11, will always be a day of remembrance.  I was an American Airlines flight attendant at the time. It is a particular day that would always sit heavy in my heart.  I was based in New York, where this tragedy occurred, and I had flown with some of the crew who perished that day. Flight attendants and 9/11 will forever be intertwined.

Along with the trauma that the world has experienced, flight attendants experienced dramatic changes in their work environment. Along with these changes, the job description has remained the same yet has changed.  The career of a flight attendant is more than serving snacks and drinks on an airplane.  Flight attendants have always been responsible for travelers’ safety, security, and comfort.  Their duties are similar to first responders.  They are trained to fight fires, handle medical emergencies, and are retrained and recertified every year by the FAA.

At this time of year, we are bombarded with the phrase “never forget.” For many flight attendants, it’s almost impossible not to do so.  New safety rules about congregating in the aisles, galleys, or near the lavatories were implemented worldwide. Everyone who flies is reminded of those rules.  But flight attendants are daily assaulted for trying to enforce those rules.  These rules, which may seem trite to travelers, are a daily reminder of 9/11 to flight crews.  Somehow when travelers are on board, many seem to conveniently forget the reason for these rules.

9/11 saw changes that did not happen over time but overnight.  Airplanes were grounded, and airport procedures forever changed.  These security changes not only occurred in the airport but in businesses and public places all over.  The world was on alert to be vigilant, and flight attendants needed to be more observant.   A passenger’s trip to the bathroom was no longer routine; we had to subconsciously note how many times and how long they stayed in the lavatory.  We had to wonder if the souvenir picture passengers were taking was simply that and no more.  So, while passengers think the flight attendant’s job is routine, know that they have a lot more on their minds.

For travelers, the changes 9/11 brought included security screenings that can be intrusive at times.  Passengers now had to take off shoes, belts, and odd pieces of clothing.  Everyday items are currently judged for their ability to be used as weapons and confiscated.  Travelers can no longer take liquids beyond security. Even breast milk or baby formulas became suspect. Airlines stopped serving food, and airport options are less plentiful and more expensive. Travel, in general, has gotten harder for travelers.

I’d like us to remember that while the events of 9/11 are not always on the minds of the public.  They are forever on the minds of flight crews, and they will “never forget.”  I hope this post has given you pause for thought this day, the 20th anniversary of 9/11. I hope you remember it the next time you travel and give grace to your flight crews who never can forget.

5 Flight attendant annoyances

5 Flight attendant annoyances

by | Dec 28, 2020 | 0 comments

There are many things that flight attendants find annoying. Some are more annoying than others, and some may not be an annoyance based on the individual flight attendant. The following are some that I still remember as being annoying to me. For disclosure, these are from my lived experience as a flight attendant.

1.Coffee: Having been raised and based in New York as a flight attendant, if a passenger said, “regular coffee,” I understood it to mean coffee with milk and sugar. If they said, “light and sweet,” I like most flight attendants had no idea how light to make the coffee or how many sugar packets the passenger needed. Some passengers meant just a drop of milk, and others wanted half milk, half coffee. Deciding how many packs of sugar meant sweet to a person you’d never met was a pointless guess at best. Like passengers, flight attendants are people from all over the country and the world; knowing each passenger’s specific coffee requirements was most times an exercise in futility.

2.Aisle Passengers. Most passengers prefer aisle seats because of the ability to have a little extra room. This preference was often a perception that overlooked the fact that the aisle they assumed to be extra space was the flight attendant’s working space. Airline service carts could be a hundred pounds or more and somewhat challenging to maneuver. Weighted down with beverages or food to serve the number of people on board, often proved a challenge for a flight attendant to operate. Aisle passengers often extended their body parts into the aisle, and it was not uncommon for the cart to inadvertently hit a passenger. In many cases, the passenger got angry at the flight attendant without considering that the service cart was at least 3 feet long and even higher. Hence, the flight attendant seeing over the cart, and the extended body part was unreasonable at best.

3.Touching. Passengers often think it is ok to touch or poke a flight attendant to get their attention, which is often very annoying to flight attendants. A flight attendant call light is within every passenger’s reaching distance, and using this is much preferable than to be poked. Moreover, a hand wave or similar gesture is universal regardless of language. Having your body nudged several times a flight could be rather annoying.

4.Lavatory doors. They are not automatic, and standing in front of them will not make them open. Often passengers would stand in the lavatory area waiting for flight attendant instructions on how to open the door or be told whether it was vacant or not. Bathroom doors, like every other bathroom door elsewhere, has a lock. Unlike most bathrooms, airplane bathrooms have instructions, and most often, if not in the native language, there is visual signage. Along with signage, airline lavatories also have an occupied/unoccupied sign, which in most cases are red and green and are universally understood to mean the same everywhere. To be seen as a bathroom attendant is very frustrating to flight attendants.

5.Asking “where are we?” Flight attendants walk up and down the aisle, usually positioned several feet above the window level. Furthermore, like most passengers, they cannot pinpoint locations 30,000 feet above the ground. Yes, several landmarks are apparent to some, but flight attendants do not have the luxury of sitting and looking out the window on flights, nor do they have an inner GPS. Your guess is as good as theirs.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this glimpse behind the scenes. These are perceptions of my lived and actual experience as a flight attendant. I hope they’ve been eye-opening and will make for more happy travels.

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