Travel and stress.

Travel and stress.

Travel is a stressful situation. As an international flight attendant, I served over twenty years in the travel industry.  I have seen the realities of stress on travelers firsthand. Based on the latest incidences in the travel industry, it seems like travel and stress have increased significantly.  Here are a few thoughts to reduce the stress around traveling, not only for yourself but for everyone around you.

There are many reasons why travel can be stressful. There is a financial strain associated with travel.  Air travel can be expensive and places a burden on many. At the same time, many people think of travel to get away and destress from financial situations.  The reality is that the stress relief expected at the end of the travel experience requires lots of financial planning and logistics many do not anticipate.  Many travelers have worked hard to save and plan for their trip.  Therefore, maximizing every dollar is essential to them.

As a flight attendant, I often heard many frustrated passengers claim, “I paid for this seat.”  The reality is they paid for transportation from point A to point B.  All the service received between is extra.  Even if you preselected a seat, there would be no guarantee that you will be assigned that seat.  In addition, the overhead bin above your seat is not your designated space.  It is a shared space. Hence, frustration and anger when seat selections are not honored, or there is no room in the overhead bin for carry-on luggage.

Covid has brought on the realities of reduced onboard services.  Many travelers are often taken aback by the lack of services.  Again, they assumed that what they paid for was service. This is far from the truth. When travel expectations are unrealized, this creates a stressful situation the traveler has no control over. Most frustrating is the fact that they have already paid for what they believed to be their rights. Expectations do not meet reality and they try to vent their frustrations.

Most importantly, think beyond yourself when traveling.  Those in customer service positions in the travel industry have not met you and have no personal grudges against you.  They work for the company you paid and did not personally receive your hard-earned dollars.  In most cases, they are also trying to save for the experience you are trying to have. Rules and restrictions govern them, and it is their unfortunate job to explain to you those same issues you find aggravating.

So please give grace to yourself and others when traveling.  Remember that the stress you are experiencing is often an everyday reality for the customer service personnel.  Whether they be flight attendants, gate agents, or TSA, they too are only doing the job they were hired to do.

I hope these thoughts have given you pause.  Practice kindness when traveling. It will improve the experience not only for yourself but for everyone else.

What’s your travel footprint?

What’s your travel footprint?

A travel footprint is an impact you make in your travels. As a flight attendant, I got to see the best of people and the worst.  With the recent uptick in travel, many travelers seem to be leaving footprints less than desirable.  Here are a few ways that you may unknowingly leave a negative travel footprint behind.

The Covid virus exemplifies how much of a footprint we leave behind unknowingly.  We are urged to wash and sanitize our hands often. It’s one of the first things I do when I leave a public space, and especially when I board an airplane.  Airplanes can fly an average of four roundtrip flights per day. There is no way for a traveler to tell who has been sitting in the seat before them. Leaving your seat area in total disarray is not a footprint you want to leave behind. Try to hand off your trash to a flight attendant. Do not leave trash stuffed into your seatback pocket or lying around on the floor.

Similarly, when you go to a hotel.  Know that someone must clean behind you.  There have been so many times when I have passed an open hotel room door and been amazed at how the guests have left the room. Leaving such a footprint is partly the reason why hotels have a check-in time afternoon or later.  It takes a lot to clean a hotel room after it’s been trashed, and the people who are waiting for that room want it to be as spotless as they expect.

When vacationing, travelers expect to be catered to and treated well.  Try to leave a positive footprint with the people who serve you.  Say please and thank you to staff.  Acknowledge others around you and how your actions and behavior affect them.  Be kind to the wait staff and be gratuitous when possible. Having been in the service industry for many years, I know how much an appreciative and considerate customer can impact someone’s day.

Travelers should always respect personal space.  Taking your shoes off and resting your feet in someone else’s space is just rude.  Be courteous and keep your feet in your space. Most travelers know it’s difficult for small children and toddlers to be still in a confined space. However, allowing children to kick the seat in front of them as entertainment is disrespectful.   Giving toddlers food to play with and not cleaning up after them is also ill-mannered.

We all expect an airplane to take us to our destination, and it usually does.  However, all travelers must consider that there may be extended delays where you spend much more time with your seatmate than anticipated.  Some delays will have passengers together for quite a lengthy time, and if your footprint is less than favorable, this can be a very uncomfortable time. In worst-case scenarios of turbulence or unplanned landings, sometimes your fellow passengers become an essential connection.  Try to leave favorable first impressions.

Have you thought about the travel footprint you leave behind? I’d like to know.

Five things every flight attendant wants you to know.

Five things every flight attendant wants you to know.

There has been a significant increase in passenger disturbances in recent months.  It’s important for passengers to understand the duties and responsibilities of flight attendants. There are many realities your flight attendant wishes that you knew about their job.  Here are just five for you to consider.

1.         The primary duty of a flight attendant is safety. The primary responsibility is to help passengers in the event of an emergency.  Other responsibilities include fighting fires, first aid, and directing evacuations.  Flight attendants are trained to conduct safety checks before each flight.  In addition, they present safety equipment and give instructions to passengers on how to use the equipment. While trained in dealing with unruly passengers, the level of passenger aggression seen recently is beyond what most flight attendants are prepared to handle.

2.         In addition to their safety duties, flight attendants provide customer service. They greet and communicate with passengers.  Help them find their seats, and assist in directing passengers in how to stow their luggage.  They are not bellhops and are not required to lift or carry bags for passengers. Most airlines urge their flight attendants not to lift or move heavy bags because of inflight injuries to the crew.

3.         Although flight attendants at times do serve meals and beverages. They are not waiters in the sky.  Serving customers comes secondary to the safety of the passengers.  Many times, flight attendants are blamed for not having a particular beverage or meal.  They can only serve what has been provided to them by the airline and have no idea of passengers’ wants or needs unless asked.  Most importantly, however, there is no supermarket in the sky.  If it is not on board the aircraft before departure, it cannot be served in flight.

4.         Flight attendants are often hired for their critical thinking skills and to be problem solvers.  They are not airplane police.  They are, certified by the Federal Aviation Administration and are required to make sure passengers comply with federal guidelines.  These guidelines include wearing seatbelts and, most recently, wearing face masks over the nose and mouth. Most passengers remove their masks after boarding and become very uncooperative and combative when prompted to follow the guidelines.

5.         Most importantly, passengers should know that it is a federal offense to interfere or physically assault a flight crew member.  Assaulting or intimidating a crew member can result in a felony conviction.  Interfering with flight crews can result in prison time and significant fines.  In addition, airlines can ban passengers from flying a particular airline.

The airline has important information on every passenger that boards their airplane.  Flight crews are given some of that information.  They know your mileage status, the extent of miles or money paid for your flight, and your assigned seating. Next time you fly, think a bit more about your flight attendant.  Know that they are human and experience delays, disturbances, and frustrations just as you do.  Be kind and give grace.

Summer travel behind the scenes.

Summer travel behind the scenes.

Being an avid traveler means you raise avid travelers.  I went to pick up my daughter from one of her summer trips recently and was amazed at the number of travelers at the airport.  Being in the field of travel, I was aware of the increase in travel recently.  However, I was not prepared for the actual realities. Many of my friends who are still in the flying business have been discussing the many travel issues they have seen this summer.  Here are a few ideas that have been shared by my friends who are in the business of flying.

Firstly, if you are flying anywhere this month on any airline, pack snacks and PB&Js. Carry a refillable water container, a portable charger for your phone, a deck of cards, or UNO.  Download extra movies on your iPad or kindle.  Whether you have wireless headsets, also bring the old-school plug-in type.  Carry a light blanket. Go to the airport one extra hour earlier than you would have. Bring your patience and a mask. If you must travel with kids, go to Dollar Store or Walmart, and buy new toys your kids have never seen, give them these during the inevitable delays. You can also purchase blow-up arm floaties to use a pillow or lumbar support for your back.  A small portable fan or paper fan will help, especially during these hot summer months. Finally, pack a tennis ball to help massage your aches.

Airlines no longer supply pillows or blankets.  Since Covid, there is usually no food onboard to buy or give, and there are not enough beverages for flight attendants to serve second requests for drinks.  Fill your water bottle in the airport or buy a bottle of water or drink in the airport. There is not enough bottled water on board for flight attendants to refill your container, nor are they allowed to fill it for sanitary reasons.

If you are booked on the last flight of the day, be prepared that you might end up spending the night in the airport.  Do not check your medicine or keys in your luggage.  Carry a Pen!! You may have to fill out forms or need to write down information.

I was an international flight attendant for over 23 years, and I have NEVER seen it this crazy! Every airline is short-staffed, gate agents are working alone at gates for oversold flights, the wait times to get through to reservations are 3+ hours. Restaurants and stores can’t get people to work. Super long lines everywhere. LOTS of mechanical issues, weather, staffing issues, none of which is due to frontline airline employees. They are as frustrated as you are. They are EXHAUSTED! These travel realities have been happening to them every day for over a month, with no relief in sight.

Therefore, I am asking you to BE VERY KIND TO EVERYONE, especially your flight crew. It’s always appreciated. Always bring treats, whatever they may be, to the agents and flight attendants. They’re human also and live this travel nightmare every day, not just once a year.

Have you traveled lately? I hope these realities have opened your mind and that you be kind and travel well this summer.  Let me know.

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