November 25, 2025 • 29 mins
Ever wonder what it’s like to fly the skies on a whim, hopscotching from one city (or country!) to another without a confirmed seat in sight? In this episode, we’re diving deep into the wild, wonderful world of non-rev adventures — the ultimate flight attendant perk. From unexpected detours to last-minute jaunts across the globe, we’re sharing our favorite standby travel stories and tips for how to navigate the chaos with humor and heart.
We’re spilling all the tea on the perks (and perils) of standby flying, including how we once jet-set to Paris for a croissant and how an Uber across state lines helped Rich hit his 50th state just in time. Whether you're a seasoned staff traveler or just curious about how flight crews make the most of their benefits, this episode is packed with laughs, travel inspo, and a healthy dose of galley gossip.
Watch the full episode on YouTube
Episode Highlights:
[0:21] Why we became flight attendants (hint: free flights)
[1:09] The chaos of holiday travel and how to survive it
[2:15] Drew’s uncle gets a rude awakening about buying standby tickets
[4:48] Rich’s unforgettable birthday flight to San Juan and why crew love crew
[7:45] The beauty of reciprocal travel agreements among airlines
[8:39] Drew’s Boston-to-Vegas pivot: why winter weather can't stop a standby trip
[13:01] Winning the non-rev game: rerouting through Vegas to beat the crowd home
[14:50] How StaffTraveler saved our Minneapolis concert plans
[16:21] The breakfast-in-Paris trip that almost derailed our wedding planning
[18:50] Rich’s epic quest to hit all 50 states — including an Uber across the Dakotas
[22:46] Our whirlwind 7-country vacation and why Egypt blew us away
[24:03] Pro tips for newbie non-revs: buffer days, backup plans, and bathroom couches
[25:00] Galley Gossip: The “cloud” coming from the engine that wasn’t
Thoughts on this episode? Text us!
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This episode was brought to you by StaffTraveler, the #1 non-rev app! If you travel on standby and are looking to make your journey easy and stress-free, check out StaffTraveler for free in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
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Have a funny, wild, or heartwarming travel story from a flight that you’re dying to share with us? Submit your story at the link below and we could feature your story on an upcoming episode of the show!
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We love people and we love to travel... no, seriously! Want to join us on one of our upcoming group trips? Check out the link below for current trips!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Rich (00:02):
Ever wondered what your flight attendants are really
talking about behind the galleycurtain?
Andrew (00:06):
Welcome to Two guys on a plane. Your go to podcast for an
insider look at flight attendantlife.
Rich (00:11):
We're your hosts, rich and Drew and we're here to tell you
what really goes on at 35,000feet.
Andrew (00:16):
So sit back, relax.
We're ready for takeoff.
Rich (00:21):
So one of the main reasons people become flight attendants
or airline employees in general,is, of course, the flight
benefits. People are constantlyasking us, oh, can I have a
buddy pass? Or, how are youflying somewhere for free? And
there's that old saying, youknow, marry me fly for free, or
at least, kind of because you'reon standby, and there's fees
attached sometimes, but that'swhat we want to talk about
(00:43):
today. Is one of our favoritethings to do in this job, is to
use all of our free time to flyas a non Rev. And Mom, if you're
listening, a non rev means a nonrevenue passenger, so you fly a
standby or a non revenue for theairline, and if there's seats
available at the end ofboarding, you can have one of
them. It's as simple as that,and it's one of our favorite
(01:03):
things about being crew membersand working for an airline. So
today we're going to get intothat a little bit.
Andrew (01:09):
So before we get started with today's episode rich, how
has flying been recently?
Rich (01:13):
Flying has been good.
Can't really complain. I feellike we're kind of around the
holiday season. People arestarting to get a little more
tense and crazy, but for themost part, knock on wood.
Nobody's done anything nuts yet.
So I think, I think we'rehanging in there, but talk to me
in a couple weeks, when theholiday season is over and I
will probably be saying adifferent singing, a different
tune. I don't think I'm readyfor holiday travel yet, but
(01:35):
how's it been going for you?
Andrew (01:37):
You know, honestly, not bad. Flying in and of itself, is
fine, kind of fresh offvacation, just back to flying.
So nothing really crazy toreport. You know what's funny
though, do you remember we wereon vacation recently and we had
this family get together? Do youremember my uncle talking about
his flight benefit? Or, like,not flight benefits, but his
(01:59):
travel experiences? And he wasgriping about his son who got
first class on the way towherever we were. And he's like,
I've been flying for years andyears and years and years, and I
don't understand why I don'thave any status. And we were
like, okay, but do like, Are youa loyal traveler? And he was
like, Well, no, I just boughtthe cheapest ticket on whoever.
And we were like, it was justreally funny to us that he has
(02:23):
been flying for like, businessand things and like, could not
figure out how his loyaltyprogram, loyalty programs were
great. So we were leaving thefamily vacation, and his son got
a first class seat back to wherethey live. And he was like, he
checked in and got a standbyticket, basically. Do you
remember this? He was right. Hewas like, I'm checked in, but I
(02:44):
don't have a seat, and I wasflying standby. And he was like,
What do you mean? And I waslike, no, like, you'll have to
go to a podium and hope theyhave a seat for you. And he was
like, No, I bought a seat. And Iwas like, No, you bought a
chance, pretty much, which weget for free. So this whole
interaction was hilarious to us,so I thought that was a fitting
story, since we're talking aboutnon REM experiences today,
(03:05):
because he's been flying for somany years and has no clout.
Rich (03:09):
He really didn't seem to understand he's like, but I paid
good money for this. I mean,sure, but you bought whatever
discounted third party cheapticket you could find would get
you, and now you're confused whyyou don't have a seat
assignment? Like families andstuff do this all the time. You
know, when they come on theplane, they're like, oh, you
know, I have, you know,whatever, this situation, and
(03:30):
it's like, Well, did you pay tohave your seats together? Like,
people don't realize that's nota guarantee anymore,
Andrew (03:35):
correct? It's not and those things, you have to make
the seat selection. You have topay the extra $5 to make sure
that your family's all togetherand you're a family of 12. No,
you're not all sitting together.
We can only get three of youtogether like calm down,
everyone. Take a deep breath.
It's really fine. But the factthat he was flying standby and
was just unaware that he hadbought that type of ticket and
(03:58):
then was so frustrated, we methim at the airport, and he was
running around trying to figureout what to do about it. We were
like, just go to the gate andask them if they have a seat for
you.
Rich (04:09):
That's definitely like a big takeaway. If anyone is
listening and not airline, readthe fine print. Know what you're
getting into, know what you'resigning up for. There's baggage
fees, there's seat fees. There'sfees for everything these days,
and as an airline employees likewe know it sucks. We totally get
it, but you really have to knowthe fine print before you get
yourself into a mess and thatyou can't get yourself out of.
(04:31):
Yeah, but that's a good segue toget into our episode today, we
wanted to talk about some of ourfavorite non rev adventures,
because, you know, the end ofthe day, the reason why we all
do this job is because we wantto go places. We want to travel
the world for free. And wecouldn't do that without these
amazing flight
Andrew (04:48):
benefits. They are the best fringe benefit that we
have. So thinking back, tell meabout one of your favorite
experiences,
Rich (04:56):
one of my favorite I mean, where do. Again, like, there's,
I love it, because there's somany different types of
adventures. Like, you've got theadventures that you plan for,
right? Like, you've gotsomebody's wedding coming up,
and you have to figure out howto get there. You've got, you
know, a birthday party orsomething that you're going to
and you have to figure that out,yeah. So one of my favorite,
like, adventures, non revvingearly on, was it was one of the
(05:20):
first times I flew in anotherairline that wasn't mine. And it
was my birthday, and my friendClint and I wanted to go to San
Juan to celebrate. I don't knowif you and I had met yet. We
had, we had, right? Yeah. So wewere together, but Clint and I
went solo on this like San Juanvacation, just for a couple
days, we ended up flying JetBlue out of DC, and you know, we
(05:45):
walked on, we're like, Hey,we're crew. Whatever we get on
the plane, the flight attendantsget a bit nicer. We got our own
row in the last row. So ofcourse, the flight attendants
probably wanted that row forthemselves, but non revers ended
up there. It is what it is, butthey couldn't have been nicer to
us. I mean, they kept, like,bringing us drinks, and I
remember they were doing thebeverage service, and they came
over and they were like, it'syour birthday. Like, cocktails
(06:05):
on us. And I was like, oh, okay,well, don't mind if I do. She's
like, do you want to get like,birthday drunk? And I was like,
Andrew (06:14):
I don't know another I was
Rich (06:17):
like, I don't know what your definition of that means,
but sure that sounds fun. So afew vodka cranberries later,
Clint and I are both in the lastrow just cackling, having the
time of our lives, and I go intothe back alley and waiting for
the bathroom, and I'm talking tothe crew, and we're all having
fun, you know, just laughing.
And I was like, new still, so Iwas like, I'm not a good like,
non rev I don't like sitting onthis long of a flight and doing
(06:39):
nothing. So, like, Can I pick uptrash for somebody? And they
were like, Oh, my God, you'rebeing ridiculous. No, it's your
birthday. You're on a flight.
Like, enjoy yourself. And I waslike, no, no, I want to pick up
trash. And one of the flightattendants goes, well, you can,
I guess, and she's clearly kindof hesitant, and she goes, but
you're not doing it out ofuniform. And I was like, I'm
(07:00):
sorry. What? She gives me herapron. I put on her apron and
her scarf, and I go through thecabin, oh, that's a little a
little bit buzzed, a little alittle bit buzzed. And I go
walking through the cabin, and Ipicked up trash. There's
actually photo evidence of thisthat's floating around on the
internet somewhere. And, yeah,it was one of those flights
(07:23):
where we landed and they gaveus, like, a goodie bag of stuff
to go. We have the time for ourlives, but, and then we had an
amazing time in Puerto Rico. Butit was like, this is one of
those moments where I'm like, Ireally fucking love this job.
Yeah, like, it just crew, takecare of each other. You have
fun. They were having fun. Wewere having fun. It was a great
experience and an amazing tripoverall.
Andrew (07:45):
That is one of my favorite parts, mom. If you
don't know, we have a lot ofreciprocal agreements, so we can
fly on like most domesticcarriers, as if it was our own.
As long as they're seats, we canusually fly on them. So it's
really helpful for domestictravel, truthfully. And I just
love it, because it doesn'tmatter what airline you get on.
It doesn't matter what companyyou actually work for. The
(08:08):
moment you like, step on andsay, Good morning. I'm a non
Rev. I'll be in seat. They treatyou as if you work for their own
airline. We are all flightattendants. We all share wings.
They just have a different nameprinted on them, but like, you
wouldn't know that, like ridingan airplane, everyone treats you
so well, yeah, just like you'reone of their own. Always, the
community vibes are truly one ofthe best parts of the job, for
(08:30):
sure. That's the second favoritefringe benefit, absolutely.
Rich (08:36):
What about you crazy non rev story, or favorite non rev
Andrew (08:39):
moment? I've had a lot of them over the years. We
talked in a different episodeabout the time I flew to Japan
for lunch. I think another oneof my favorite travel days was
when I was really, really new toflying. I was probably in my
first year as a flightattendant. I was based in DC,
and I woke up one day and waslike, I just needed an
(09:00):
adventure. Where do I want togo? So I, like, walked into the
airport and was like, looked atthe departure board and was
like, oh, Boston leaves in like,35 minutes. So I've never been
I've always wanted to go. Theyhave great public
transportation. So like, I'mjust gonna roll to Boston today
and just go spend the dayexploring my hometown, his
hometown. So yeah, I walked overto the gate. I did, like, no
(09:24):
listing checking or anythinglike that. I just walked up to
the gate and was like, can youput me on standby? And the gate
agent was like, for sure. Sothey did. I didn't know if it
had seats or anything like that.
It turns out it did. And I goton. It's like, mid spring, so
I'm in like, a light shirt,light
Rich (09:42):
pants. And we all know mid spring in Boston could mean dead
of winter. Well, it was
Andrew (09:47):
dead of winter when we got there. So I go to Boston. I
get there, I'm not dressed forit. It's dead of winter. I
legitimately believe it'ssnowing. When we get there. I
walk out the airport doors. Iwas like, no. No, no, I made a
mistake. I walked right back in,and I, like, looked at the way I
was dressed, and I was like,Okay, I need a warm climate. So
(10:07):
I went back to the departureboard, and there was a flight to
Vegas leaving in like, 2035,minutes. So I hiked myself on
over to the gate, and was like,Can you list me? And they were
like, yeah. So they did. Andthen I flew to Vegas. So I
started this adventure at like6am I ended up landing in Vegas
at like 9am because of timechanges and all that. So yeah, I
(10:29):
just spent the day in Vegas andthen red eyed back to DC to go
to work the next day.
Rich (10:34):
That's amazing. And this is the funny part about this job
too. Is that you know, you hadtwo choices when you landed in
Boston. Go buy a sweatshirt or acoat,
Andrew (10:44):
even dawn on right though, or hop
Rich (10:46):
on a plane to your nearest or furthest, maybe warm
destination like that's just thecrazy decisions that we make in
those moments as people withflight benefits, because you're
like, you know what? Let me justpivot and turn this into a whole
different
Andrew (11:00):
it was a whole different vibe. It was a whole different
trip. Was my first time inVegas. My brother still thinks
that I try to pass off like myexperience at Paris in Vegas, as
a trip to Paris. And I'm like,Nah, bro. Like, i i Yes, I went
to Paris the hotel, but hethinks because I say I went to
Paris, that I'm trying to passoff this casino
Rich (11:23):
and the real city. I've done it all.
Andrew (11:27):
I have now, at the time I hadn't I have now, but he
still, to this day, swears thatI try to pass off the casino as
a real Parisian visit. I mean,for some people, maybe it is,
(12:39):
might be the closest thingthey've ever gotten. I don't
judge. Have fun. That's myfavorite part, and that's one of
the pieces of advice I alwaysgive new hires, like, go to a
departure board. Like, look itup and just use your flight
benefits. Like, right? Don'tworry about flight loads. Just
go look at a departure board andbe like, this city sounds fun,
and just go ride it
Rich (12:57):
out. It's such a fun game to play. I did that once in
Amsterdam. I had this when Istarted flying. I made this like
commitment to myself that I wasgonna go somewhere new,
different country for mybirthday every single year,
which eventually became ouranniversary trip. We go
somewhere new every year. Butbefore you, it was my birthday,
and I made this whole plan to goto Dublin. And for me, as last
(13:21):
minute as I can do is like aweek before. So I plan this
whole trip to Dublin, and dayof, there's no seats, no one's
gonna get on that flight. And sowe totally pivoted, changed our
minds, booked a cancel theAirbnb in Dublin, book to hostel
in Amsterdam, and this is, like,at noon. And so we're like, my
friend's coming up from DC, I'min Philly. We're like, figuring
(13:43):
this out. We're like, getting onthe plane. We're like, I don't
know where we're gonna stay. Ithink this hostel might have
spaces we can go figure it outwhen we land. Like, just wild
adventures. And that's like, oneof the best things to do with
this job is to just do thosechaotic trips like that. Just
make it so fun and last minute,and don't even think about what
you're
Andrew (14:02):
doing. They're my favorite. I truly feel like the
stress of non revving is morefun than like, getting
somewhere, playing that game,figuring out where to go, and
then you finally, like, I needto go to Minneapolis, but the
direct is full. So like, how canI get there? I remember this one
time I commuted from Nashvilleto Charlotte, and all the
(14:26):
flights from Charlotte toNashville were full, and so I
ended up in I took a flight fromCharlotte to Las Vegas because
there was a late, like 8pmdeparture from Vegas back to
Nashville that was wide open.
And I was like, Well, I can'tget to Nashville. So if I can
get to Vegas, I can get toNashville. And all the other
people that I knew that werecommuting that day were like,
(14:50):
we're still at the airport. AndI was like, I got home last
night, and they were like, howdid you do this? And I was like,
I won. I played the non rev gameand I won. You all have fun.
Rich (15:00):
I mean, it took you on a long journey, but you still beat
them home, correct? Yeah, Istill got home on the day I
intended to get home on license,and I won, and that became one
of my most favorite routes toget home from work, right? If
all else fails, I can go toVegas to get home. It's, it's my
favorite. A win is a win is awin is a win. I mean, a win is a
win. Yeah, you nailed that one.
You just mentioned Minneapolis,and we were going to an adult
(15:22):
concert there. And that wasanother one of those times where
we had, like, a plan. We thoughtwe had it all figured out, and
we woke up that morning we weregoing to take one airline, and
it was full. All of a sudden, wewere like, Okay, let's use staff
traveler, let's pivot, let'sfigure this out. And we look and
there's like, I think a Deltaflight that leaves in less than
an hour. We're home, we'repacked, we're home, not
(15:46):
showered, not not ready, notanything. And we were like,
well, it's either we leaveimmediately, right now, as is,
in pajamas with our bags, andget to this flight, or we don't
make the concert. So we. We gotinto an Uber somehow, got to the
gate, like maybe 15 minutesbefore departure, went up to the
the most wonderful Delta gateagent I've ever met, and we were
(16:09):
like, Hey, we're trying to nonrev on this flight, and any
chance we can get on. And shecouldn't have been nicer. And we
got on, got a row to ourselves.
The crew treated us likeroyalty, and we were just so
lucky. And it wouldn't haveworked out if we hadn't, like
looked at staff traveler andfigured it out. And for those of
(16:31):
you that don't know about stafftraveler, it is the number one
non rev app. It is a absolutemust. If you have airline flight
benefits, get it because you cancheck airline loads on every
airline. You can seeconnections. You can see all
sorts of stuff. And the way itworks is you get credits. You
can earn credits by filling outloads for your airline. And then
you can also put in loadrequests for other airlines as
(16:52):
well. So you put in a request,someone at that airline with the
access to loads puts in theinformation. You get your
answer, and voila, it's a gamechanger.
Andrew (17:02):
Oh, a life changer. The rooting of it all, because you
don't even know that airlinesfly places sometimes like,
right? That that part has savedus on so many non revved
Rich (17:11):
ventures. What Alaska flies here like? I have no idea.
So, what about us? What are someof your favorite non rev
adventures that you and I havebeen on,
Andrew (17:23):
I remember what my favorite of all times we were
engaged, you had vacation and Ididn't, and so we were trying to
figure out what to do, and Ihad, like, two days off, or
three days off or something likethat in your vacation. And you
were like, I can't, I can't justwaste my vacation. I can't just
sit here. And I was like, hey,what do you want to what do you
(17:44):
want to do? And you were like, Iwant to go to Paris for
breakfast. And I was like, Well,then let's go, right? So Paris
happened to have seats, and welisted, and weren't we trying to
buy a house too? Like, we leftall kinds of things just up in
the
Rich (17:58):
air. We did. We were getting married. We had, like,
could have been using our timefor something so much
Andrew (18:05):
wisely, but we decided to go to Paris. We literally, I
mean, it was basically the speedof, like, one of their
overnights over there. But we,because we, the crew that we
went in with, is the crew thatwe came out with. So we flew
over. We stopped at a cafe. Wehad a croissant and coffee, and
then we stopped at this magicalcafe or pub for a croc masseur
(18:28):
for dinner, and then we ranhome. It was perfect, Yep,
Rich (18:32):
yeah, stayed one night, um, had like, a backpack and a
duffel bag, just wandered thestreets, and it was like January
wandered the streets of ChileParis in the winter, and it was
as magical as you would think itwas. We were tired as hell. I
think we were like fallingasleep at dinner, but it was so
worth it. Coco under the EiffelTower. For one, it was great.
(18:55):
Yeah. What about you? What isone of your favorite of our
travel experiences? Um, one ofmy favorites is probably our
trip to Alaska. We did apartnership with perks.
Perks.com and they're amazing.
They have incredible like dealson cruises, hotels, all that
sort of stuff. Really nicepeople that run that company, so
check them out. But yeah, we dida deal with them partnership,
(19:19):
and they sent us on an Alaskancruise. And it was really cool,
because we had both been to all,almost all 50 states by this
point. And we thought, how coolwould it be if we could go to
Alaska together for our 50th theproblem was I still had, like,
four more before that, but I waslike, this is, like, in nine
(19:40):
months, I got plenty of time I'mgonna bounce around the country
over the next few months and getthose four states done, cut to
maybe, like, six days before thecruise. I'd done none of it, and
I was beating myself up. And Iwas like, How could you do this?
You were supposed to go to your50 estate together, and you
didn't, and I went on the nonrev adventure of a lifetime. I
(20:01):
had North Dakota, South Dakota,Wyoming. And I don't remember
what the other it might havebeen. Maybe it was Montana. I
thought I'd had a layover. Itwas one of those West Coast what
like? Yeah, one of those outthere. And so I went on this
just wild adventure. What did Isay? Wyoming, yeah, North
Dakota, South Dakota. Wyominghad
Andrew (20:25):
to have been Montana. It must
Rich (20:26):
have been Montana. But anyway, so I go on this route. I
have this whole like map plannedout. I'm gonna go from Philly,
and then I'm gonna go to, like,Chicago, and then Chicago to
North Dakota, and then I'm gonnabounce back North Dakota, back
to Chicago and then to SouthDakota. Well, I get to North
Dakota, see it. Saw all of it,everything he needed to see.
(20:51):
Went into Fargo, saw what Ineeded to see, tried to go back,
but flights filled up, and theywere all regional jets, so there
was no jump seat or anything.
There was no way for me. To getback to Chicago or Dallas or any
of these other places to get toSouth Dakota. So I was like,
I'll rent a car. Well, this isright after covid. There are no
cars like car rentals areimpossible. They're completely
(21:12):
sold out. So I'm in Fargo, andI'm like, I guess I'm gonna have
to stay here for the night. Ihave no choice. I'm sitting in a
bar, and I'm like, just forfunsies. Let's see what an Uber
from Fargo, North Dakota toSioux Falls, South Dakota would
cost me. And it was, like $175and I was like, I was gonna
spend that on a hotel, or I wasgonna spend that on renting a
(21:36):
car. So I was like, You knowwhat? Screw it. I'm just gonna
do it whatever. So I get intothe Uber, and this is after like
five canceled Ubers, because whothe hell is thinking that their
ride is gonna now want to crossstate borders? Like, it's
probably sketchy. And I get intothis car, and this guy goes, Are
you sure you want to go to SiouxFalls, South Dakota? And I think
I'm absolutely sure. So I getinto this two hour car ride I
(21:58):
fall asleep, which at this pointI'm like, I'm gonna get
kidnapped. Something stupid isgonna happen to me. I'm gonna
get left at the side of a road.
And we stopped at a rest stop,because it was two hours, like,
we had to go to the bathroom, wehad to do whatever. And I, like,
brought all my stuff with me,and he was like, oh my god, I
get it, but I don't get it. So Icome out, and he's like, are you
(22:20):
ready? So we keep going, and Imade it in one piece. But I went
from there, then down to Dallas,and then I was gonna go to
Jackson Hole, Wyoming. And maybeit was only three states that I
had left. I think at this pointit must have been, maybe because
I was gonna go to Jackson Hole,but the hotels because Jackson
Hole were, like $600 a night.
And I said, Well, screw that. Ican't do that. And then I was
(22:42):
talking to you, and you werelike, we'll just go into Denver
and then go, like, across theborder real quick, into
Cheyenne, Cheyenne. And so I didthat, and it was sketchy, and it
was a wild experience. Andinvolved a train that broke
down, a bus that broke down andanother sketchy Uber ride, but I
made it, and then I finallybounced up to Seattle, where I
(23:05):
met you, which is where I metyou in Seattle. We spent the day
in Seattle, and then up toanchor, and then for a magical
if you haven't been toAnchorage, and then on route up
to Anchorage for an incrediblefew days there, and an
incredible cruise. So yeah, thatwas definitely one of my
favorite. Just insane lines,trains and automobiles, insane
non rev,
Andrew (23:25):
I can't, I still can't believe you did it. But we
completed 50 together, which isone a feed in itself, because,
like so many people, haven'teven been to all 50, right?
Which we love that we can saythat we did. I think the only
other, like really longadventure. We've been a lot of
places together, but this lastone that we went on was totally
epic. I mean, what? What do wedo?
Rich (23:48):
Are you our most recent vacation? Bouncing from seven
countries in 20 days? Yeah, Ithink we ended up in Italy,
Egypt, hungry. Slovakia.
Slovakia. I said it. You saidit, right? Romania, Romania,
Bulgaria, Switzerland,Switzerland, like it was an
insane journey over three weeksand and we flew to all of them.
(24:11):
Thank you. Yeah, all theseairlines, they and staff
traveler for helping us do allof that. Seriously wild. I know
we keep talking about it. Thestaff traveler came in the
clutch. If you haven'tdownloaded already, it's free to
download. Go to staff travelercomm slash, two guys. They are
fantastic, and you will not bedisappointed. It's so helpful.
Such
Andrew (24:32):
a game changer, Egypt.
You guys, if you haven't yet, ifit's not on your list, put it on
your list. Yeah, get a guide. Gowith the travel company. It was
magical. You cannot tellsomebody the feeling of like
standing in these, like 1000year old monuments, not standing
around them, near the millionyear old monument,
Rich (24:54):
before we wrap up any last minute, like any pieces of
advice or tips that you have forpeople who are out there and
don't non rev enough, andthey're scared to do it, like,
what
Andrew (25:04):
you pack an extra pair of underwear in your backpack
and go do it. I mean, it is.
There's no way to, like, getover the fear of it other than
doing it. You just have to go doit, and you have to be willing
to sleep in an airport. I haveslept in a Minneapolis bathroom
because I found a couch thereonce and it was quiet. It's
weird, you slept in a bathroomon a couch in the Minneapolis
Airport. I have questions. Ialso had them, but that's where
(25:28):
I found a free couch. So that'swhere I slept. You just have to
do it. Don't be afraid. Thereare a lot of tools out there.
We've mentioned staff traveler alot, but use your tools and go.
Rich (25:41):
My biggest tip would be just add buffer days to whatever
you're doing, because you reallyjust never know. Even if you
have confirmed seats, you neverknow if a flight's going to take
off as it's supposed to. So addbuffer days. It takes so much
stress out of it for you,because you're like, if we make
it, we make it. If we don't, wedon't just go with it. Go with
the flow. Have fun, enjoy life.
That's what the travel. Benefitsare for well. Before we wrap up
(26:01):
today's episode, I think weshould do another round of
galley gossip. Galley. Galleygossip is where we read your
stories that you send to us attwo guys on a plane comm slash
podcast about crazy passengerstories or wild times that you
had on a flight of yours,whether you're a flight
attendant, pilot, crew member,or just a passenger, you can
(26:23):
send us your stories at two guysin a plane.com/podcast and we'll
read them out loud on ourpodcast. I hope this is better
than the mouse story, though,because I still have follow up
questions from that story aboutthe mouse in the pocket. Yeah,
agreed. Well, today's story isfrom Eli in the UK. He was
flying a flight from London toTampa, totally typical long haul
(26:45):
flight. I was alone in thegalley mid flight when a
passenger came in to tell me toalert the captain to something
immediately, as something iscoming out of the engine. And it
was very disturbing, trying toremember my training, I'm
immediately asking her for asmuch detail and to show me, you
know what she's looking at. AndI'm I'm all nervous, and I'm
(27:06):
going and we look out of thewindow at 4l and see nothing. So
I asked her to explain again,what is it exactly that you see?
Whilst also trying to keep calmin this moment, she then
explains it was air coloredcoming out of the back of the
engine and looked like a cloud.
Oh, that would be the jetstream, madam. And then
(27:29):
proceeded to explain to her, inlayman's terms, how an airplane
works. What a waste of myadrenaline and my time. That's
an amazing story. Eli, thank youso much for sharing.
Andrew (27:40):
Yeah, Eli, you're so much more professional than I
am, because as soon as she cameback there and told me she saw
something, I would have beenlike, is it a colonial woman
Rich (27:48):
on the way, is she churning butter? I mean, it's
one of those things where youhave to find the balance
between, okay, I have patiencefor people and their questions,
because they don't know howairplanes work and how aviation
works, but also, what did youthink that that was coming out
of the back of the engine? Idon't know that's was it red? I
(28:12):
mean, then maybe we can talkcloud colored. That
Andrew (28:16):
makes me think of this one time I was working a red
eye, and this passenger came tothe back of the galley like all
like sleepy eyed, and was like,have we landed yet? And we were
like, there are signs. Thisquestion is totally unwarranted.
There. There are signs to answeryour question and and, no, no,
(28:36):
sir, please go back to sleep.
This would be very helpful rightnow.
Rich (28:40):
You just never know what passengers are
Andrew (28:42):
going to say, or do you have no idea? Thank God we have
non rev benefits, right?
Rich (28:46):
Make up for it. Well, that's all we have for today,
but thank you so much for tuningin and supporting our show. We
could not do this without you.
For those of you on Patreon, wewant to give a special shout out
and thank you for supporting ourshow. If you'd like more behind
the scenes content and other funstuff. Go to patreon.com/two
guys on a plane to join us andsupport our show. Once again, we
(29:07):
could not do this without yoursupport. So thank you for
everyone. If you like thisepisode, go ahead and share it
with a friend, and make sure tosubscribe and follow join
Andrew (29:16):
us next time for more humor, heart and stories from
our beverage Park.
Rich (29:21):
This episode was brought to you by staff traveler, the
number one non rev app if youtravel on standby tickets and
are looking to make your journeyeasy and stress free, check out
the staff traveler app in theApple App Store or Google Play
Store. Visit stafftraveler.com/two guys to learn
more and sign up
Buzz Burbank (29:38):
an ironic media production. Visit us at i r, o,
n, i C, K, media.com, you.
Ever wondered what your flight attendants are really
talking about behind the galleycurtain?
Andrew (00:06):
Welcome to Two guys on a plane. Your go to podcast for an
insider look at flight attendantlife.
Rich (00:11):
We're your hosts, rich and Drew and we're here to tell you
what really goes on at 35,000feet.
Andrew (00:16):
So sit back, relax.
We're ready for takeoff.
Rich (00:21):
So one of the main reasons people become flight attendants
or airline employees in general,is, of course, the flight
benefits. People are constantlyasking us, oh, can I have a
buddy pass? Or, how are youflying somewhere for free? And
there's that old saying, youknow, marry me fly for free, or
at least, kind of because you'reon standby, and there's fees
attached sometimes, but that'swhat we want to talk about
(00:43):
today. Is one of our favoritethings to do in this job, is to
use all of our free time to flyas a non Rev. And Mom, if you're
listening, a non rev means a nonrevenue passenger, so you fly a
standby or a non revenue for theairline, and if there's seats
available at the end ofboarding, you can have one of
them. It's as simple as that,and it's one of our favorite
(01:03):
things about being crew membersand working for an airline. So
today we're going to get intothat a little bit.
Andrew (01:09):
So before we get started with today's episode rich, how
has flying been recently?
Rich (01:13):
Flying has been good.
Can't really complain. I feellike we're kind of around the
holiday season. People arestarting to get a little more
tense and crazy, but for themost part, knock on wood.
Nobody's done anything nuts yet.
So I think, I think we'rehanging in there, but talk to me
in a couple weeks, when theholiday season is over and I
will probably be saying adifferent singing, a different
tune. I don't think I'm readyfor holiday travel yet, but
(01:35):
how's it been going for you?
Andrew (01:37):
You know, honestly, not bad. Flying in and of itself, is
fine, kind of fresh offvacation, just back to flying.
So nothing really crazy toreport. You know what's funny
though, do you remember we wereon vacation recently and we had
this family get together? Do youremember my uncle talking about
his flight benefit? Or, like,not flight benefits, but his
(01:59):
travel experiences? And he wasgriping about his son who got
first class on the way towherever we were. And he's like,
I've been flying for years andyears and years and years, and I
don't understand why I don'thave any status. And we were
like, okay, but do like, Are youa loyal traveler? And he was
like, Well, no, I just boughtthe cheapest ticket on whoever.
And we were like, it was justreally funny to us that he has
(02:23):
been flying for like, businessand things and like, could not
figure out how his loyaltyprogram, loyalty programs were
great. So we were leaving thefamily vacation, and his son got
a first class seat back to wherethey live. And he was like, he
checked in and got a standbyticket, basically. Do you
remember this? He was right. Hewas like, I'm checked in, but I
(02:44):
don't have a seat, and I wasflying standby. And he was like,
What do you mean? And I waslike, no, like, you'll have to
go to a podium and hope theyhave a seat for you. And he was
like, No, I bought a seat. And Iwas like, No, you bought a
chance, pretty much, which weget for free. So this whole
interaction was hilarious to us,so I thought that was a fitting
story, since we're talking aboutnon REM experiences today,
(03:05):
because he's been flying for somany years and has no clout.
Rich (03:09):
He really didn't seem to understand he's like, but I paid
good money for this. I mean,sure, but you bought whatever
discounted third party cheapticket you could find would get
you, and now you're confused whyyou don't have a seat
assignment? Like families andstuff do this all the time. You
know, when they come on theplane, they're like, oh, you
know, I have, you know,whatever, this situation, and
(03:30):
it's like, Well, did you pay tohave your seats together? Like,
people don't realize that's nota guarantee anymore,
Andrew (03:35):
correct? It's not and those things, you have to make
the seat selection. You have topay the extra $5 to make sure
that your family's all togetherand you're a family of 12. No,
you're not all sitting together.
We can only get three of youtogether like calm down,
everyone. Take a deep breath.
It's really fine. But the factthat he was flying standby and
was just unaware that he hadbought that type of ticket and
(03:58):
then was so frustrated, we methim at the airport, and he was
running around trying to figureout what to do about it. We were
like, just go to the gate andask them if they have a seat for
you.
Rich (04:09):
That's definitely like a big takeaway. If anyone is
listening and not airline, readthe fine print. Know what you're
getting into, know what you'resigning up for. There's baggage
fees, there's seat fees. There'sfees for everything these days,
and as an airline employees likewe know it sucks. We totally get
it, but you really have to knowthe fine print before you get
yourself into a mess and thatyou can't get yourself out of.
(04:31):
Yeah, but that's a good segue toget into our episode today, we
wanted to talk about some of ourfavorite non rev adventures,
because, you know, the end ofthe day, the reason why we all
do this job is because we wantto go places. We want to travel
the world for free. And wecouldn't do that without these
amazing flight
Andrew (04:48):
benefits. They are the best fringe benefit that we
have. So thinking back, tell meabout one of your favorite
experiences,
Rich (04:56):
one of my favorite I mean, where do. Again, like, there's,
I love it, because there's somany different types of
adventures. Like, you've got theadventures that you plan for,
right? Like, you've gotsomebody's wedding coming up,
and you have to figure out howto get there. You've got, you
know, a birthday party orsomething that you're going to
and you have to figure that out,yeah. So one of my favorite,
like, adventures, non revvingearly on, was it was one of the
(05:20):
first times I flew in anotherairline that wasn't mine. And it
was my birthday, and my friendClint and I wanted to go to San
Juan to celebrate. I don't knowif you and I had met yet. We
had, we had, right? Yeah. So wewere together, but Clint and I
went solo on this like San Juanvacation, just for a couple
days, we ended up flying JetBlue out of DC, and you know, we
(05:45):
walked on, we're like, Hey,we're crew. Whatever we get on
the plane, the flight attendantsget a bit nicer. We got our own
row in the last row. So ofcourse, the flight attendants
probably wanted that row forthemselves, but non revers ended
up there. It is what it is, butthey couldn't have been nicer to
us. I mean, they kept, like,bringing us drinks, and I
remember they were doing thebeverage service, and they came
over and they were like, it'syour birthday. Like, cocktails
(06:05):
on us. And I was like, oh, okay,well, don't mind if I do. She's
like, do you want to get like,birthday drunk? And I was like,
Andrew (06:14):
I don't know another I was
Rich (06:17):
like, I don't know what your definition of that means,
but sure that sounds fun. So afew vodka cranberries later,
Clint and I are both in the lastrow just cackling, having the
time of our lives, and I go intothe back alley and waiting for
the bathroom, and I'm talking tothe crew, and we're all having
fun, you know, just laughing.
And I was like, new still, so Iwas like, I'm not a good like,
non rev I don't like sitting onthis long of a flight and doing
(06:39):
nothing. So, like, Can I pick uptrash for somebody? And they
were like, Oh, my God, you'rebeing ridiculous. No, it's your
birthday. You're on a flight.
Like, enjoy yourself. And I waslike, no, no, I want to pick up
trash. And one of the flightattendants goes, well, you can,
I guess, and she's clearly kindof hesitant, and she goes, but
you're not doing it out ofuniform. And I was like, I'm
(07:00):
sorry. What? She gives me herapron. I put on her apron and
her scarf, and I go through thecabin, oh, that's a little a
little bit buzzed, a little alittle bit buzzed. And I go
walking through the cabin, and Ipicked up trash. There's
actually photo evidence of thisthat's floating around on the
internet somewhere. And, yeah,it was one of those flights
(07:23):
where we landed and they gaveus, like, a goodie bag of stuff
to go. We have the time for ourlives, but, and then we had an
amazing time in Puerto Rico. Butit was like, this is one of
those moments where I'm like, Ireally fucking love this job.
Yeah, like, it just crew, takecare of each other. You have
fun. They were having fun. Wewere having fun. It was a great
experience and an amazing tripoverall.
Andrew (07:45):
That is one of my favorite parts, mom. If you
don't know, we have a lot ofreciprocal agreements, so we can
fly on like most domesticcarriers, as if it was our own.
As long as they're seats, we canusually fly on them. So it's
really helpful for domestictravel, truthfully. And I just
love it, because it doesn'tmatter what airline you get on.
It doesn't matter what companyyou actually work for. The
(08:08):
moment you like, step on andsay, Good morning. I'm a non
Rev. I'll be in seat. They treatyou as if you work for their own
airline. We are all flightattendants. We all share wings.
They just have a different nameprinted on them, but like, you
wouldn't know that, like ridingan airplane, everyone treats you
so well, yeah, just like you'reone of their own. Always, the
community vibes are truly one ofthe best parts of the job, for
(08:30):
sure. That's the second favoritefringe benefit, absolutely.
Rich (08:36):
What about you crazy non rev story, or favorite non rev
Andrew (08:39):
moment? I've had a lot of them over the years. We
talked in a different episodeabout the time I flew to Japan
for lunch. I think another oneof my favorite travel days was
when I was really, really new toflying. I was probably in my
first year as a flightattendant. I was based in DC,
and I woke up one day and waslike, I just needed an
(09:00):
adventure. Where do I want togo? So I, like, walked into the
airport and was like, looked atthe departure board and was
like, oh, Boston leaves in like,35 minutes. So I've never been
I've always wanted to go. Theyhave great public
transportation. So like, I'mjust gonna roll to Boston today
and just go spend the dayexploring my hometown, his
hometown. So yeah, I walked overto the gate. I did, like, no
(09:24):
listing checking or anythinglike that. I just walked up to
the gate and was like, can youput me on standby? And the gate
agent was like, for sure. Sothey did. I didn't know if it
had seats or anything like that.
It turns out it did. And I goton. It's like, mid spring, so
I'm in like, a light shirt,light
Rich (09:42):
pants. And we all know mid spring in Boston could mean dead
of winter. Well, it was
Andrew (09:47):
dead of winter when we got there. So I go to Boston. I
get there, I'm not dressed forit. It's dead of winter. I
legitimately believe it'ssnowing. When we get there. I
walk out the airport doors. Iwas like, no. No, no, I made a
mistake. I walked right back in,and I, like, looked at the way I
was dressed, and I was like,Okay, I need a warm climate. So
(10:07):
I went back to the departureboard, and there was a flight to
Vegas leaving in like, 2035,minutes. So I hiked myself on
over to the gate, and was like,Can you list me? And they were
like, yeah. So they did. Andthen I flew to Vegas. So I
started this adventure at like6am I ended up landing in Vegas
at like 9am because of timechanges and all that. So yeah, I
(10:29):
just spent the day in Vegas andthen red eyed back to DC to go
to work the next day.
Rich (10:34):
That's amazing. And this is the funny part about this job
too. Is that you know, you hadtwo choices when you landed in
Boston. Go buy a sweatshirt or acoat,
Andrew (10:44):
even dawn on right though, or hop
Rich (10:46):
on a plane to your nearest or furthest, maybe warm
destination like that's just thecrazy decisions that we make in
those moments as people withflight benefits, because you're
like, you know what? Let me justpivot and turn this into a whole
different
Andrew (11:00):
it was a whole different vibe. It was a whole different
trip. Was my first time inVegas. My brother still thinks
that I try to pass off like myexperience at Paris in Vegas, as
a trip to Paris. And I'm like,Nah, bro. Like, i i Yes, I went
to Paris the hotel, but hethinks because I say I went to
Paris, that I'm trying to passoff this casino
Rich (11:23):
and the real city. I've done it all.
Andrew (11:27):
I have now, at the time I hadn't I have now, but he
still, to this day, swears thatI try to pass off the casino as
a real Parisian visit. I mean,for some people, maybe it is,
(12:39):
might be the closest thingthey've ever gotten. I don't
judge. Have fun. That's myfavorite part, and that's one of
the pieces of advice I alwaysgive new hires, like, go to a
departure board. Like, look itup and just use your flight
benefits. Like, right? Don'tworry about flight loads. Just
go look at a departure board andbe like, this city sounds fun,
and just go ride it
Rich (12:57):
out. It's such a fun game to play. I did that once in
Amsterdam. I had this when Istarted flying. I made this like
commitment to myself that I wasgonna go somewhere new,
different country for mybirthday every single year,
which eventually became ouranniversary trip. We go
somewhere new every year. Butbefore you, it was my birthday,
and I made this whole plan to goto Dublin. And for me, as last
(13:21):
minute as I can do is like aweek before. So I plan this
whole trip to Dublin, and dayof, there's no seats, no one's
gonna get on that flight. And sowe totally pivoted, changed our
minds, booked a cancel theAirbnb in Dublin, book to hostel
in Amsterdam, and this is, like,at noon. And so we're like, my
friend's coming up from DC, I'min Philly. We're like, figuring
(13:43):
this out. We're like, getting onthe plane. We're like, I don't
know where we're gonna stay. Ithink this hostel might have
spaces we can go figure it outwhen we land. Like, just wild
adventures. And that's like, oneof the best things to do with
this job is to just do thosechaotic trips like that. Just
make it so fun and last minute,and don't even think about what
you're
Andrew (14:02):
doing. They're my favorite. I truly feel like the
stress of non revving is morefun than like, getting
somewhere, playing that game,figuring out where to go, and
then you finally, like, I needto go to Minneapolis, but the
direct is full. So like, how canI get there? I remember this one
time I commuted from Nashvilleto Charlotte, and all the
(14:26):
flights from Charlotte toNashville were full, and so I
ended up in I took a flight fromCharlotte to Las Vegas because
there was a late, like 8pmdeparture from Vegas back to
Nashville that was wide open.
And I was like, Well, I can'tget to Nashville. So if I can
get to Vegas, I can get toNashville. And all the other
people that I knew that werecommuting that day were like,
(14:50):
we're still at the airport. AndI was like, I got home last
night, and they were like, howdid you do this? And I was like,
I won. I played the non rev gameand I won. You all have fun.
Rich (15:00):
I mean, it took you on a long journey, but you still beat
them home, correct? Yeah, Istill got home on the day I
intended to get home on license,and I won, and that became one
of my most favorite routes toget home from work, right? If
all else fails, I can go toVegas to get home. It's, it's my
favorite. A win is a win is awin is a win. I mean, a win is a
win. Yeah, you nailed that one.
You just mentioned Minneapolis,and we were going to an adult
(15:22):
concert there. And that wasanother one of those times where
we had, like, a plan. We thoughtwe had it all figured out, and
we woke up that morning we weregoing to take one airline, and
it was full. All of a sudden, wewere like, Okay, let's use staff
traveler, let's pivot, let'sfigure this out. And we look and
there's like, I think a Deltaflight that leaves in less than
an hour. We're home, we'repacked, we're home, not
(15:46):
showered, not not ready, notanything. And we were like,
well, it's either we leaveimmediately, right now, as is,
in pajamas with our bags, andget to this flight, or we don't
make the concert. So we. We gotinto an Uber somehow, got to the
gate, like maybe 15 minutesbefore departure, went up to the
the most wonderful Delta gateagent I've ever met, and we were
(16:09):
like, Hey, we're trying to nonrev on this flight, and any
chance we can get on. And shecouldn't have been nicer. And we
got on, got a row to ourselves.
The crew treated us likeroyalty, and we were just so
lucky. And it wouldn't haveworked out if we hadn't, like
looked at staff traveler andfigured it out. And for those of
(16:31):
you that don't know about stafftraveler, it is the number one
non rev app. It is a absolutemust. If you have airline flight
benefits, get it because you cancheck airline loads on every
airline. You can seeconnections. You can see all
sorts of stuff. And the way itworks is you get credits. You
can earn credits by filling outloads for your airline. And then
you can also put in loadrequests for other airlines as
(16:52):
well. So you put in a request,someone at that airline with the
access to loads puts in theinformation. You get your
answer, and voila, it's a gamechanger.
Andrew (17:02):
Oh, a life changer. The rooting of it all, because you
don't even know that airlinesfly places sometimes like,
right? That that part has savedus on so many non revved
Rich (17:11):
ventures. What Alaska flies here like? I have no idea.
So, what about us? What are someof your favorite non rev
adventures that you and I havebeen on,
Andrew (17:23):
I remember what my favorite of all times we were
engaged, you had vacation and Ididn't, and so we were trying to
figure out what to do, and Ihad, like, two days off, or
three days off or something likethat in your vacation. And you
were like, I can't, I can't justwaste my vacation. I can't just
sit here. And I was like, hey,what do you want to what do you
(17:44):
want to do? And you were like, Iwant to go to Paris for
breakfast. And I was like, Well,then let's go, right? So Paris
happened to have seats, and welisted, and weren't we trying to
buy a house too? Like, we leftall kinds of things just up in
the
Rich (17:58):
air. We did. We were getting married. We had, like,
could have been using our timefor something so much
Andrew (18:05):
wisely, but we decided to go to Paris. We literally, I
mean, it was basically the speedof, like, one of their
overnights over there. But we,because we, the crew that we
went in with, is the crew thatwe came out with. So we flew
over. We stopped at a cafe. Wehad a croissant and coffee, and
then we stopped at this magicalcafe or pub for a croc masseur
(18:28):
for dinner, and then we ranhome. It was perfect, Yep,
Rich (18:32):
yeah, stayed one night, um, had like, a backpack and a
duffel bag, just wandered thestreets, and it was like January
wandered the streets of ChileParis in the winter, and it was
as magical as you would think itwas. We were tired as hell. I
think we were like fallingasleep at dinner, but it was so
worth it. Coco under the EiffelTower. For one, it was great.
(18:55):
Yeah. What about you? What isone of your favorite of our
travel experiences? Um, one ofmy favorites is probably our
trip to Alaska. We did apartnership with perks.
Perks.com and they're amazing.
They have incredible like dealson cruises, hotels, all that
sort of stuff. Really nicepeople that run that company, so
check them out. But yeah, we dida deal with them partnership,
(19:19):
and they sent us on an Alaskancruise. And it was really cool,
because we had both been to all,almost all 50 states by this
point. And we thought, how coolwould it be if we could go to
Alaska together for our 50th theproblem was I still had, like,
four more before that, but I waslike, this is, like, in nine
(19:40):
months, I got plenty of time I'mgonna bounce around the country
over the next few months and getthose four states done, cut to
maybe, like, six days before thecruise. I'd done none of it, and
I was beating myself up. And Iwas like, How could you do this?
You were supposed to go to your50 estate together, and you
didn't, and I went on the nonrev adventure of a lifetime. I
(20:01):
had North Dakota, South Dakota,Wyoming. And I don't remember
what the other it might havebeen. Maybe it was Montana. I
thought I'd had a layover. Itwas one of those West Coast what
like? Yeah, one of those outthere. And so I went on this
just wild adventure. What did Isay? Wyoming, yeah, North
Dakota, South Dakota. Wyominghad
Andrew (20:25):
to have been Montana. It must
Rich (20:26):
have been Montana. But anyway, so I go on this route. I
have this whole like map plannedout. I'm gonna go from Philly,
and then I'm gonna go to, like,Chicago, and then Chicago to
North Dakota, and then I'm gonnabounce back North Dakota, back
to Chicago and then to SouthDakota. Well, I get to North
Dakota, see it. Saw all of it,everything he needed to see.
(20:51):
Went into Fargo, saw what Ineeded to see, tried to go back,
but flights filled up, and theywere all regional jets, so there
was no jump seat or anything.
There was no way for me. To getback to Chicago or Dallas or any
of these other places to get toSouth Dakota. So I was like,
I'll rent a car. Well, this isright after covid. There are no
cars like car rentals areimpossible. They're completely
(21:12):
sold out. So I'm in Fargo, andI'm like, I guess I'm gonna have
to stay here for the night. Ihave no choice. I'm sitting in a
bar, and I'm like, just forfunsies. Let's see what an Uber
from Fargo, North Dakota toSioux Falls, South Dakota would
cost me. And it was, like $175and I was like, I was gonna
spend that on a hotel, or I wasgonna spend that on renting a
(21:36):
car. So I was like, You knowwhat? Screw it. I'm just gonna
do it whatever. So I get intothe Uber, and this is after like
five canceled Ubers, because whothe hell is thinking that their
ride is gonna now want to crossstate borders? Like, it's
probably sketchy. And I get intothis car, and this guy goes, Are
you sure you want to go to SiouxFalls, South Dakota? And I think
I'm absolutely sure. So I getinto this two hour car ride I
(21:58):
fall asleep, which at this pointI'm like, I'm gonna get
kidnapped. Something stupid isgonna happen to me. I'm gonna
get left at the side of a road.
And we stopped at a rest stop,because it was two hours, like,
we had to go to the bathroom, wehad to do whatever. And I, like,
brought all my stuff with me,and he was like, oh my god, I
get it, but I don't get it. So Icome out, and he's like, are you
(22:20):
ready? So we keep going, and Imade it in one piece. But I went
from there, then down to Dallas,and then I was gonna go to
Jackson Hole, Wyoming. And maybeit was only three states that I
had left. I think at this pointit must have been, maybe because
I was gonna go to Jackson Hole,but the hotels because Jackson
Hole were, like $600 a night.
And I said, Well, screw that. Ican't do that. And then I was
(22:42):
talking to you, and you werelike, we'll just go into Denver
and then go, like, across theborder real quick, into
Cheyenne, Cheyenne. And so I didthat, and it was sketchy, and it
was a wild experience. Andinvolved a train that broke
down, a bus that broke down andanother sketchy Uber ride, but I
made it, and then I finallybounced up to Seattle, where I
(23:05):
met you, which is where I metyou in Seattle. We spent the day
in Seattle, and then up toanchor, and then for a magical
if you haven't been toAnchorage, and then on route up
to Anchorage for an incrediblefew days there, and an
incredible cruise. So yeah, thatwas definitely one of my
favorite. Just insane lines,trains and automobiles, insane
non rev,
Andrew (23:25):
I can't, I still can't believe you did it. But we
completed 50 together, which isone a feed in itself, because,
like so many people, haven'teven been to all 50, right?
Which we love that we can saythat we did. I think the only
other, like really longadventure. We've been a lot of
places together, but this lastone that we went on was totally
epic. I mean, what? What do wedo?
Rich (23:48):
Are you our most recent vacation? Bouncing from seven
countries in 20 days? Yeah, Ithink we ended up in Italy,
Egypt, hungry. Slovakia.
Slovakia. I said it. You saidit, right? Romania, Romania,
Bulgaria, Switzerland,Switzerland, like it was an
insane journey over three weeksand and we flew to all of them.
(24:11):
Thank you. Yeah, all theseairlines, they and staff
traveler for helping us do allof that. Seriously wild. I know
we keep talking about it. Thestaff traveler came in the
clutch. If you haven'tdownloaded already, it's free to
download. Go to staff travelercomm slash, two guys. They are
fantastic, and you will not bedisappointed. It's so helpful.
Such
Andrew (24:32):
a game changer, Egypt.
You guys, if you haven't yet, ifit's not on your list, put it on
your list. Yeah, get a guide. Gowith the travel company. It was
magical. You cannot tellsomebody the feeling of like
standing in these, like 1000year old monuments, not standing
around them, near the millionyear old monument,
Rich (24:54):
before we wrap up any last minute, like any pieces of
advice or tips that you have forpeople who are out there and
don't non rev enough, andthey're scared to do it, like,
what
Andrew (25:04):
you pack an extra pair of underwear in your backpack
and go do it. I mean, it is.
There's no way to, like, getover the fear of it other than
doing it. You just have to go doit, and you have to be willing
to sleep in an airport. I haveslept in a Minneapolis bathroom
because I found a couch thereonce and it was quiet. It's
weird, you slept in a bathroomon a couch in the Minneapolis
Airport. I have questions. Ialso had them, but that's where
(25:28):
I found a free couch. So that'swhere I slept. You just have to
do it. Don't be afraid. Thereare a lot of tools out there.
We've mentioned staff traveler alot, but use your tools and go.
Rich (25:41):
My biggest tip would be just add buffer days to whatever
you're doing, because you reallyjust never know. Even if you
have confirmed seats, you neverknow if a flight's going to take
off as it's supposed to. So addbuffer days. It takes so much
stress out of it for you,because you're like, if we make
it, we make it. If we don't, wedon't just go with it. Go with
the flow. Have fun, enjoy life.
That's what the travel. Benefitsare for well. Before we wrap up
(26:01):
today's episode, I think weshould do another round of
galley gossip. Galley. Galleygossip is where we read your
stories that you send to us attwo guys on a plane comm slash
podcast about crazy passengerstories or wild times that you
had on a flight of yours,whether you're a flight
attendant, pilot, crew member,or just a passenger, you can
(26:23):
send us your stories at two guysin a plane.com/podcast and we'll
read them out loud on ourpodcast. I hope this is better
than the mouse story, though,because I still have follow up
questions from that story aboutthe mouse in the pocket. Yeah,
agreed. Well, today's story isfrom Eli in the UK. He was
flying a flight from London toTampa, totally typical long haul
(26:45):
flight. I was alone in thegalley mid flight when a
passenger came in to tell me toalert the captain to something
immediately, as something iscoming out of the engine. And it
was very disturbing, trying toremember my training, I'm
immediately asking her for asmuch detail and to show me, you
know what she's looking at. AndI'm I'm all nervous, and I'm
(27:06):
going and we look out of thewindow at 4l and see nothing. So
I asked her to explain again,what is it exactly that you see?
Whilst also trying to keep calmin this moment, she then
explains it was air coloredcoming out of the back of the
engine and looked like a cloud.
Oh, that would be the jetstream, madam. And then
(27:29):
proceeded to explain to her, inlayman's terms, how an airplane
works. What a waste of myadrenaline and my time. That's
an amazing story. Eli, thank youso much for sharing.
Andrew (27:40):
Yeah, Eli, you're so much more professional than I
am, because as soon as she cameback there and told me she saw
something, I would have beenlike, is it a colonial woman
Rich (27:48):
on the way, is she churning butter? I mean, it's
one of those things where youhave to find the balance
between, okay, I have patiencefor people and their questions,
because they don't know howairplanes work and how aviation
works, but also, what did youthink that that was coming out
of the back of the engine? Idon't know that's was it red? I
(28:12):
mean, then maybe we can talkcloud colored. That
Andrew (28:16):
makes me think of this one time I was working a red
eye, and this passenger came tothe back of the galley like all
like sleepy eyed, and was like,have we landed yet? And we were
like, there are signs. Thisquestion is totally unwarranted.
There. There are signs to answeryour question and and, no, no,
(28:36):
sir, please go back to sleep.
This would be very helpful rightnow.
Rich (28:40):
You just never know what passengers are
Andrew (28:42):
going to say, or do you have no idea? Thank God we have
non rev benefits, right?
Rich (28:46):
Make up for it. Well, that's all we have for today,
but thank you so much for tuningin and supporting our show. We
could not do this without you.
For those of you on Patreon, wewant to give a special shout out
and thank you for supporting ourshow. If you'd like more behind
the scenes content and other funstuff. Go to patreon.com/two
guys on a plane to join us andsupport our show. Once again, we
(29:07):
could not do this without yoursupport. So thank you for
everyone. If you like thisepisode, go ahead and share it
with a friend, and make sure tosubscribe and follow join
Andrew (29:16):
us next time for more humor, heart and stories from
our beverage Park.
Rich (29:21):
This episode was brought to you by staff traveler, the
number one non rev app if youtravel on standby tickets and
are looking to make your journeyeasy and stress free, check out
the staff traveler app in theApple App Store or Google Play
Store. Visit stafftraveler.com/two guys to learn
more and sign up
Buzz Burbank (29:38):
an ironic media production. Visit us at i r, o,
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