Opdateret: 10/25/19 | 25. oktober 2019
Jeg mødte først Heather Poole på en rejseblogkonference. Jeg havde læst hendes blog i et stykke tid (hun skriver om livet som flyvning) så godt som vi kom godt overens. For nylig udgav hun en bog, Cruising Attitude: Tales of CrashPads, Team Drama samt Crazy Passenger på 35.000 fod, om livet som flyvning. Jeg har ironisk nok hentet det på en flyveterminal såvel som at læse den i et fly. Hun fandt tid på 35.000 fod for at tale om sit job såvel som bog.
Nomadisk Matt: Du er en flyvning. Hvordan er det? -en
Heather Poole: Selvom jobbet har ændret sig meget gennem årene, kan det stadig være meget sjovt. Dog er tålmodighed et must, meget mere end nogensinde før. Flyvende er ansigtet til flyselskabet, såvel som passagerer har en tendens til at tage tingene ud på os, selvom det, der skete, ikke er vores skyld.
Udover at være venlig såvel som udadvendt, skal vi ligeledes være i stand til let at tilpasse os ændring. Dette er grunden til, at vi altid har backup -planer A, B såvel som C, da der altid er noget, der er bundet til at gå galt i luftfartsindustrien: mekanikere, forsinkelser, aflysninger. De sker. Selv på julaften. Hvis der er børn derhjemme, kan dette være et af de vanskeligste aspekter af jobbet.
Flyvende er ligeledes meget uafhængige. Det er ikke ualmindeligt at møde en kollega for første gang på en tur såvel som da ikke se dem igen i et par måneder, måske endda år. Det bedste ved jobbet er, når vi går af flyet; Vi efterlader altid angsten fra flyvningen. Hver flyvning er en ny flyvning, der indikerer hver dag er et nyt eventyr.
Hvor typisk fungerer flyvepersoner? Flyver de en masse af de samme ruter over såvel som igen?
Vores tidsplaner er typiske omkring 85 timer om måneden. Lad dog ikke antallet bedrage dig. Det flyver kun tid. En masse flyvende arbejder meget mere end det. Tid på jorden tæller ikke med til vores løn såvel som som et resultat ikke inkluderet i vores månedlige skemaer. Derfor ønsker vi at bruge så meget tid som muligt i luften og ikke hoppe fra by til by med masser af tid mellem flyvninger på jorden.
Luftfartsselskabet finder ud af, at den slags tur, som en flyvning kan holde. Dette beskriver, hvorfor en masse internationale langdistanceflyvninger er bemandet med seniorbesætninger. Når vi har nok anciennitet til at holde en god tur, er det den eneste tur, vi skal arbejde, indtil vi er senior nok til at holde endnu meget bedre. Tidsplaner er oprettet med en dag eller to slukket mellem hver tur, men masser af os vil “rejse handel” med andre flyvende for at arbejde et par ture i træk i køb for at maksimere vores fritid på jorden.
Noget tip om det flyselskab, du arbejder for?
En af de enorme.
Hvad syntes dine kolleger om, at du skrev denne bog?
Jeg ved ikke, at mange af dem engang ved, at jeg har skrevet en bog. Så godt som hvis de ved det, antager de sandsynligvis bare, at jeg stadig skriver det. Jeg har talt om at skrive denne bog i årevis!
Vidste dit flyselskab såvel som var der nogen form for begrænsninger, der blev placeret på dig?
Jeg bad ikke om deres tilladelse til at skrive bogen, så godt som jeg bestemt ikke kaldte nogen op i hovedkvarteret for at afgive en meddelelse om den. Flyvende lærer at lægge lav meget tidligt i deres karriere. Jeg har dog blogget om at flyve i lang tid. Jeg er temmelig specifik, de ved, hvem jeg er. Bare husk, at min bog ikke er en flyselskabseksponering. Det handler om, hvordan det er at være en flyvning.
Det betyder ikke rigtig, hvem vi arbejder for; Jobbet er stort set det samme, uanset hvor du går. Plus halvdelen af bogen finder sted på jorden, da det ikke kun er et job, det er en livsstil. Det var det, jeg begyndte at skrive om. Der er desuden så masser af misforståelser omkring flyvende, at jeg tog en beslutning om at sætte rekorden lige.
Hvad er en virkelig saftig historie, du udeladte?
En historie, der blev slettet, handlede om en stjerne, der hævdede at have magiske kræfter, efter at en passager blev bevidstløs. I dag ved vi stadig ikke, om det var hans magiske kræfter eller den ægtefælle, der fortsatte med at skubbe sin partner i armen i et forsøg på at få hende til at komme til så godt som at se den stjerne, han spillede tale om, der fik hende til at få bevidsthed igen.
Med så masser af ændringer i luftfartsindustrien gennem årene, vil du anbefale, at nogen endte med at blive flyvning?
Det er et fantastisk job for nogen, der hader ideen om at arbejde et 9-til-5-job. Det er dog ikke let i starten. Vores levevilkår er temmelig ekstreme. Dette er grunden til, at så mange flyvende enten varer livet eller bare et par uger.
Er jobbet blevet værre i de sidste par år siden alle problemer i flyselskabet?
Af programmet er blevet værre, ligesom mange andre job i Amerika.
De fleste mennesker ved ikke, at flyvende begynder at tjene $ 14.000-18.000 USD det første år.With cutbacks, they’ll be making less! So not only do we make less, we’re working much longer hours followed by shorter layovers. think 8-10 hours at an flight terminal hotel on domestic routes. mix in a delay, as well as there’s barely enough time to eat, sleep, as well as shower.
That said, I’m still flying as well as I don’t feel like quitting — yet. once I can no longer manipulate my schedule the way I want/need to is the day I might have to say buh-bye. I dread that day.
In the book, you talk about how new York City is your “base,” however I know you don’t live in NYC. how can a flight attendant be based somewhere they don’t live?
Instead of driving to work, we take a plane to work. It’s called commuting, as well as it’s getting harder as well as harder to do these days. I once saw two flight attendants come to blows over the one as well as only jump seat on the last flight out.
Between trips, we stay at a “crash pad.” instead of paying for a room, we pay for a bed. often we’ll even share the bed (not at the same time!). Commuters indicate business. We’re in as well as out as swiftly as possible. The name of the game is to get as lots of flying hours in as we can in a short amount of time, so we can fly back home as well as take pleasure in a stretch of days off before we have to do it again.
Are a lot of people getting into the profession these days?
In 2010, Delta announced an opening for 1,000 flight attendants. Over 100,000 people applied. these days it’s much harder to find work with an airline now that being a flight attendant is considered a career, not just a job. Turnover isn’t as high as it once was, as well as competition has gotten fierce.
In your book, you talk a lot about the problem in dating as a flight attendant. As someone on the step a lot, I can relate to that. Do lots of flight attendants have problems dating? Do they all end up with pilots?
It’s hard enough taking care of an unusual job without finding a partner who can offer with it. This is why so lots of relationships end up crashing as well as burning after someone in the relationship becomes a flight attendant. since it’s either quit or break up.
Then of program once you find someone, it takes twice as long to realize that person might not be ideal for you due to the fact that we’re not on the ground as typically as regular people. as well as then there are those who want to date flight attendants just since it’s much easier to juggle multiple partners when one of them isn’t home half the time.
As for pilots, we tend to either love them or hate them, maybe a little too much! To be fair I’m pretty sure the same thing can be said for the way they feel about us.
If you might tell people three things on how to behave on a flight, what would they be?
Vær sød. Vær sød. Vær sød. We’re all in the same boat — er, plane — together. wait until we’re safe as well as sound on the ground if you need to freak out.
Any ideas for getting an upgrade from coach?
Do people still think there’s a possibility of that happening? Don’t get me wrong, miracles do happen, however not often. Flights are full, as well as frequent fliers know exactly where their name is on the list these days.
What’s the secret to at least getting an extra meal or complimentary drink?
Very rarely do we have extra meals on board. In first as well as business class we’re normally catered ideal on the money.
In coach, we barely have enough to serve half a plane full of passengers who are ready to purchase food. as for complimentary drinks, flight attendants have been known to comp drinks to passengers who help out by doing great things like switching seats so a family can sit together.
You can find out a lot more about Heather Poole on Twitter or at heatherpoole.com. You can find her book, Cruising Attitude: Tales of Crashpads, team Drama, as well as crazy Passengers at 35,000 Feet, on Amazon.
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