The 40 Questions Answered

Recently a few bloggers like Melissa and Traytable have posted answers to 40 of the most common questions non airline people ask about our job. In the spirit of sharing, here are my answers.



1.Which airline is lucky enough to employ you? The one that loves George Gershwin. If you are clever, you can scroll down and see a photo of one of our planes.



2.What city(ies) are you based in? London baby. Specifically I fly out of Heathrow.



3.If you could choose any city, what would be your dream base? Tough to narrow down. For living in I would choose Paris, Cape Town or Auckland. Wait, add Tokyo to that list, and Hong Kong.



4.How long would you like to be based there? One year at a minimum. Maybe forever...



5.Have you ever done the nasty with a passenger you met on a plane? I plead the fifth on that one. I am not one to self incriminate!



6.Have you ever wanted to? Of course!



7.What is your favorite city thus far to layover in? Tokyo, Rome, Rio and New York.



8.Have you had famous people as passengers? Yes, you can read about the 10 celebrities I have spent the night with .



9.If so, who was your favorite? Gary Oldman.



10.Who was your least favorite? George Michael, great music but a true a&%hole.



11.Who would you love to have on your flight? Gary Oldman, or former president Jimmy Carter, for entirely different reasons.



12.Are you a language speaker for your airline? My current base does not have language trips, but I speak German and French. If or when I transfer back to the States, flying those trips is the only way to currently guarantee international flying.



13.What is your least favorite flight to work? One that has suffered a bad mechanical or weather delay, especially if it involves an aircraft change.



14.Do you have a flight you actually enjoy working? Truly, I do not mind any flight but i will say that those passengers that fly to Denver are kinder and gentler passengers and a little less precious than those flying to Los Angeles.



15.Have you ever done the nasty with a crew member? Only one I was dating at the time. Or something like that.



16.What do you watch on TV when you are getting ready for work on a layover? Law and order ALWAYS seems to be on TV when I am doing the 90 minutes of preflight prep work. The 'dunk dunk' sound is very comforting. If not that then Bravo or Discovery channel.



17.Have you ever dropped a passenger meal and served it? Only while it was still in its foil container, meaning, no part of it touched anything. I would not serve what I would not eat.



18.Do you prefer working coach, business class or first class? If I could pick who I am working with then first class . If it is a random crew, I will work where non lazy crew are working.



19.What is your favorite airplane to work? I know the 777 like the back of my hand so I will say that. Anything with 2 aisles is preferred, except the slave ship (747). Cruel to passengers and crew alike.



20.Do you know what crop-dusting inflight is? I do not care for any type of dusting, but sometimes you have to do it.



21.Do you prefer working early flights or late ones? My body clock prefers late flights, I have having to use an alarm clock. Early flights do have the benefit of everyone's day being fresh i.e. not much has gone wrong with their day yet so they are gentler passengers.



22.Do you like the uniform your airline gives you? Not particularly in comparison to European carriers uniforms. If worn as it should ( pressed, clean, and with pride) it is alright. I really hate when I see crew members looking like they have been pulled behind a train, rumpled too small uniforms, hair down, runs in tights, etc.



23.Do you take your laptop on a layover? Sometimes. This is dependant on whether or not Internet access is free and if I have no plans for the layover. I take it more often in winter than summer.



24.What is your LEAST favorite part of every flight? If it is a full flight then boarding.



25.What is the BEST hotel you have ever had a layover at? In Seoul the Swisshotel was pretty swish. The Steigenbergerhof in Frankfurt was also lovely.



26.Where did you interview for your job? At a hotel in Washington DC. I am still surprised they hired me and often thought of going to an open house to see if they would hire me again. The selection process seemed so arbitrary.



27.What other cities have you been based in? Washington DC, Chicago and Miami.



28.Favorite base? The city of Chicago is pretty fab, but the flying was CRAP. The flying in Miami was great, but the city only soso. London at the moment, it might be Washington in a year or two.



29.Why did you become a flight attendant? My mom was one in the glam days of flying. She sold me a bill of goods!! Seriously the "I love people and love to travel" did and does still apply.



30.Did you apply at other airlines that didn't want you? I applied at Delta but failed the eyesight portion of their physical. So , really, they only didn't want my eyes.



31.Do you like the airline you work for? I do not care for managements current style of leadership. I do have pride in my job and care for my coworkers . Is that PC enough?



32.Have you ever had the CEO of your airline onboard as a passenger? No I haven't.



33.Have you ever dated a passenger you met? Sort of.



34.Have you ever gotten into a disagreement with a fellow crew member? Of course. Working in such close quarters can make tempers flare from time to time. I make conscious choices to work in different cabins than those I cannot bear to work with. Clearly I avoid conflict!



35.Has a pilot ever hit on you? Hasn't everyone had a coworker hit on them? Pilots are like everyone else, some are jerks, some charmers, most are average Joes.



36.Do you dislike passengers or pilots more? I expect to like everyone until I hit some flack. Some crew are pilot haters, I am not.



37.Passengers ask annoying questions when they see you in uniform. What is your least favorite question? The old woman that asked me what branch of the military I was in got me to stop ever wearing trousers, now it is only the skirt! I do not mind the inevitable questions when I am on my way to work, but do not WAKE me from a nap on the tube to ask me what terminal your airline leaves from when there is a frickin sign that tells you in every train car!!!



38.What is the stupidest request a passenger has made of you? Can you move me up to first class? Yeah, that'll happen...



39.Is being a hostess with the mostess your only job? I do occasionally top up my income with catering jobs ( off the books), and I do mystery dining for a company which means free meals.



40.Have you ever gotten any long lasting relationships out of your job? The best friends I could ever wish to have, and several long term romantic ones as well. No complaints from me!!