The Life of a Flight Attendant (Travel Lemming Podcast #8)

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a Flight Attendant? Maybe you’re considering it as a career or maybe you’re just curious. In this episode, Travel Lemming Podcast Host Betty Hurd tells us about her career as a Flight Attendant + how she chose it as a career path.

This episode also includes the biggest misconceptions of being a Flight Attendant, Betty’s interesting Flight Attendant Stories, & more.

👉 Articles from TravelLemming.com

-50 Best Places to Travel in 2025: https://travellemming.com/best-places-to-travel-2025/ 

💻 Perspectives from TravelLemming.com 

-Denied entry from China: https://travellemming.com/perspectives/i-got-deported-from-china/
- How to overcome airport anxiety: https://travellemming.com/perspectives/overcoming-airport-anxiety/ 

-Betty’s experience at an Indian wedding: https://travellemming.com/perspectives/indian-wedding/ 

-How to book a discovery flight: https://travellemming.com/perspectives/discovery-flight/ 

#FlightAttendant #TravelTips #Aviation

Segment Timestamps

00:00:00 – Intro

00:02:00 – Background & Applying for the Job

00:04:29 – Hiring Process

00:08:45 – Training Process

00:17:30 – Base Assignments 

00:20:16 – Scheduling

00:25:48 – Pay Structure & Benefits

00:30:08 – Day in the Life & Crew Roles

00:35:09 – Best Parts

00:41:46 – Worst Parts

00:44:30 – Passenger Annoyances

00:48:41 – Misconceptions

00:50:52 – Funny Stories & Celebrity Encounters

00:55:14 – Favorite Layovers

00:58:14 – Staying Healthy

01:00:45 – Big-Picture Reflections

01:02:10 – Advice

01:03:13 – Wrap-Up

 

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
we get paid when the brakesare released on the plane.
I don't think a lot ofpeople understand that.
the training process was grueling.
I don't think many peoplerealize how intense training is.
It was one of the harderthings I've done in my life.
So what are some common misconceptionsabout being a flight attendant?
The biggest misconception aboutbeing a flight attendant is

(00:21):
have you ever wondered what it'slike being a flight attendant, or
maybe it's a career that you'reinterested in pursuing today, whether
you're a potential future flightattendant or just a curious passenger.
This episode is going to be oneof our most interesting, I think,
because my guest today is noneother than your host, Betty Hurd.
Betty, in addition to being the host ofthe Travel Lemming podcast, is also in

(00:44):
her day job, a full time flight attendant.
And we're going to do a special episodetoday where we're going to just go in
and dive into all of the little bits, andthings that you wanted to ask about what
it's like to become a flight attendant.
I know I have a long list of questions.
It's going to be a really long episode.
We've got a lot to get through, butfirst Betty, how are you doing today?
Hi, Nate.

(01:04):
I am doing awesome.
I'm so excited to tell everybodyabout my life as a flight attendant.
So we've got a great episode coming up.
Yeah, I'm so excited to talk to you.
I've got a lot of questions, but Iwant to mention to all the listeners
out there, If there's something I'mnot covering, but you have a question
for Betty, you can go ahead and leavethat as a comment on our YouTube.
So just search for the travellemming podcast, YouTube.

(01:26):
If you're not listening to this on YouTubealready and just leave a comment there and
then Betty, hopefully you'll be able togo through and try to answer some of them.
Absolutely.
I am here for you all.
I definitely love to answerquestions about my job.
There's a lot of differentthings that people don't seem to
understand about it because it'sa very unique work environment.
So any questions you have for me, Iwill be on YouTube answering those

(01:47):
as soon as this episode is posted.
Awesome.
Well, I've got a lot of my own,so let's go ahead and dive right
in, to talking about, what it'slike as a flight attendant.
I am super interested in this, obviouslyI've been flying a ton for the last decade
or more, why don't you tell us justa bit about, you know, why you chose to
become a flight attendant, and then talka bit about kind of how that came about,

(02:10):
Yeah.
So I never really knew that Iwanted to be a flight attendant
until much later in my life.
I know for a lot of people, Ithink they say, Oh, my whole life.
Like that was my dream jobto be a flight attendant.
And that just was not the case for me.
I to take it back a little bit.
I was born and raised inTucson, grew up there my whole
life, went to college there.
So I got my degree in journalism.

(02:31):
I always thought I'd be a reporter.
And unfortunately, I graduated during 2020and everyone knows what happened in 2020.
COVID just threw a wrenchin everyone's plans.
So before that happened, my planwas to become a reporter or at least
get some job that had to do with.
The news or journalismand get out of Tucson.
Not
like being a podcast host.

(02:51):
exactly my dreams have come true.
No, but I just, I really didn't think thatI would be staying in Tucson for long.
And again, not because I don't love it.
It's just that I alwayswanted to leave it.
It was, I felt like it hadrun its course in my life.
So when COVID hit and I was in lockdownfor however long it took, you know,
I only got freelance jobs, writingremotely straight out of college.

(03:13):
Reporting was not, wasn't an option.
So I felt very lost at the time.
I had a really great friend incollege and he started dating this
girl who was a flight attendant.
And the first time I met her, Iremember just talking her ear off
about how that worked, how she gotthe job, what she liked about it.
And that kind of was in the backof my mind for several months.
And then I actually, went through abreakup and that was when I really was

(03:38):
like, okay, I need to get out of Tucson.
This was probably like end of 2021.
And so, I'd been in lockdown.
I had felt like my life was justnot going the way I wanted it to go.
And then when, with thatevent, I really was like.
It's time for me to go.
And weirdly enough that week that thathappened, my, my friend's girlfriend, the
flight attendant texted me and said, Hey,my company just opened job applications

(04:02):
for the first time since COVID.
And I was like, this is a sign.
Like I have to apply.
So that was really the start of it.
That was in August of 2021.
I sent in my application that day thatshe texted me and it took a really
long time for me to actually get to thepoint where I was going to training.
It was like a full six monthsfrom application to training
start date, which isn't typical.
It was just a weird time with COVID.

(04:23):
But, yeah, that was thebeginning of it all for me.
So I'll tell you a little bitabout the interview, process.
So I submitted the application.
They sent me a questionnairewhere I record myself answering
these questions and it's timed.
So that's part two.
Then many, many months later,like in November, they emailed
me about, a video interview.
And so I had thought duringthat whole interim period, I

(04:44):
had no communication from them.
I thought that they had nixed me fromthe list that I didn't make the cut.
And so in November I was like, okay.
I'm still in this.
They do the video interview and thenfrom there they said, okay, you're
going to do the in person interviewat our headquarters next month.
So they send me to headquartersand for anybody who's interested
in Becoming a flight attendant.
This is the most importantpart of the interview process

(05:06):
is this in person interview.
And it's because they're trying tosee how you interact with people.
So if you're someone who has themost impressive resume, anyone's
ever seen versus someone who'snever had a job in their life.
The person who's going to get thejob is the one who they can see
does really well on a team, someonewho's friendly and approachable.
If that person who's never had ajob before comes off way more of

(05:29):
a, like, a people person than theperson with the impressive resume,
they're going to get the job.
That's what they care about so muchbecause you are the face of the
airline as a flight attendant and yourpeople skills really, really matter.
So.
That in person interview, I was reallynervous about it, but it actually
ended up being kind of fun where,we were just kind of doing a lot of
teamwork, a lot of group scenarios.
There was like one one on one sessionthe whole time for the entire day.

(05:53):
And yeah, it was actually like alot easier than I thought it would
be, but they're really watching youand seeing how you work with others.
So I luckily did get the conditionaljob offered that day and, was set to
go to training about a month later.
So again, then when I started, itwas at the end of January, 2022.

(06:13):
So from August, 2021 to six months later,that's how long it took me for this
entire process, but we finally got there.
So it was quite a long process.
Amount of time though to figure out whatI was going to be doing with my life there
And so did you just applied to oneairline and for listeners, so Betty,
you work for a major American airline.

(06:35):
We can't say which one in orderto make sure that we're compliant
with, , your agreements with,with your employer company policy.
But it, one of the big ones.
And were you only applying to thatone or you were applying to others?
I did just apply to this one.
It was basically because of thatfriend that I had who told me to
apply I didn't even research anyother airlines, but typically so many

(06:57):
people that I met at that in personinterview told me, Oh, I've applied
for this one and this one and this one.
And they had a whole list ofthem and we're just kind of
going down the list, seeing whichone they got accepted to first.
Okay, so very cool.
So the interview process for becominga flight attendant involves, you know,
Watching you and how you interactwith other people because they want
to make sure that you're a peopleperson, which makes sense for the job.

(07:19):
Now, do you have any tips for somebodywho is applying for how to go through
that or how to think about whether ornot it's even the right job for them?
Yeah, I think people reallyneed to make sure that they
know what they're getting into.
Like you said, you needto be a people person.
And I think a lot of people gointo this job thinking that they
can get the travel benefits and,you know, make their own schedule.

(07:43):
And they're not really thinking abouthow much interaction they're going
to have with people every single day.
And I mean, you meethundreds of people a day.
, so I think just knowing who you areas a person, if you're not someone
who handles being around that manypeople, or you don't really have that
much interest in having to put onyour customer service face and that
whole, you know, persona all the time.
So I think that's a really important thingto acknowledge before you dive into this

(08:06):
very long career of, human interaction.
Any other tips for somebody who'sthinking about applying to become
a flight attendant to help themthrough that application process?
You know, as cliche asit sounds, be yourself.
They're really just looking to make surethat you're A nice kind outgoing person.
And again, even if you don't have awhole bunch of stuff on your resume,

(08:28):
that's not nearly as important as,being a team player and showing up
as a friendly, approachable person.
Really, that's, that's the biggest part.
So when you get to that in personinterview, just have a smile on your face.
That's actually a big thing.
They're like, just be very smiley.
Okay, so you've got the conditionaljob offer to work for this airline

(08:48):
and now presumably they don'tjust put you right on a plane.
There's a lot of traininginvolved in that.
You mentioned that earlier.
Tell us a bit about what thattraining process looks like
to become flight attendant.
Sure, the training process was grueling.
I don't think many peoplerealize how intense training is.
But, yeah, it was one of theharder things I've done in my life.

(09:09):
It was a lot of fun, but very challenging.
So it was seven weeks.
Six days a week, 10hours a day on average.
We got to training.
We're assigned a randomroommate on the first day.
I got lucky.
I had the best roommate in the, inthe world, who is still one of my
best friends to this day, but it'skind of intimidating when you show
up and you're living out of a hotel.

(09:30):
So you get your room assignment withthis stranger you've never met before and
training starts pretty much immediately.
Like the next day, they havean orientation day and then
they You go right into it.
So the first week's very dry, very boring.
it's tough too, because those long daysto start out with, like it's exhausting
and it's very centered on company policy.

(09:51):
Just the very dry materials, oflearning all the ins and outs of the
company that first week, and then youtake an exam at the end of the week.
So it's, it's not the hardest week,but it's just long and kind of boring.
And then the next week is when youlearn your first aircraft door.
So it's on your basic aircraft,you take an entire week to learn
how to, arm and disarm this door.

(10:11):
And you have to say everything verbatimhow it is in the manual, so it's pretty
wild that you have to like memorize thisentire script and as you are being watched
by trainers when you do your testing
they're watching your every move,making sure that every word that
you say lines up with your actions.
And sometimes they're so strict thateven if your verbiage is off by a little

(10:34):
bit, you fail and you have to redo it.
And so, , it's a really high stress weekbecause it's our, really like the first
time we're getting put to the test.
And so everyone has to pass this andthere are quite a few people who don't
get past it just because they getreally in their head and It's hard to
have to carry out this task that isso foreign to you because you don't
know anything about planes beforegoing into this unless you've been

(10:55):
in aviation before, which most peoplearen't so yeah, that's a grueling week.
Once you get through that week,though, then you go into evacuations.
Evacuations are the worst week,in my opinion, because you're all
on this trainer, so they have aretired aircraft in the building.
It has a whole first class economy.
It has the galleys, all the jump seats.

(11:15):
It's completely.
Set up as a real airplaneand they pair you into cruise
and give you these scenarios
.You don't know what the scenario is going to be until you're in
the moment, doing your evacuation.
So prior, they teach you about, youknow, aircraft disasters and crashes
and all these times where crews in reallife have had to evacuate the plane.
And, so we have these scenarios whereit's, you know, there's a fire in

(11:39):
the cabin, the landing gear fails
.Things like that, and so, if you so much as flinch in your brace
position, like, that's a fail.
You get one chance to redo it.
If you don't, you go home.
\, the rest of the passengers arejust your classmates, and, They're
supposed to just pretend like theyhave no idea what's going on, and
you have to make sure everyone getsoff the plane within 90 seconds.
That's the requirement, and so theFAA, for those who don't know, is

(12:02):
the Federal Aviation Administration.
It's a U.
S.
government agency, within the Departmentof Transportation, and so it regulates
all civil aviation in the United States,like air traffic control, aircraft
certification, and airport standards.
So, when we're in training, wehave to meet all the FAA standards.
So, like I said, when you're evacuatingan aircraft, no matter what size

(12:23):
aircraft it is, you must get everysingle passenger off within 90 seconds.
So that's what they're gradingus on, is that we get everyone
off safely, and we do all of our,proper checks, and then we get off.
And like I said, people were, peoplego home a lot on evacuations week.
And I don't really know howit works with the company.
I think you have to wait like sixmonths before you can try to come

(12:44):
back to training, but it's a reallylike high stakes time for evacs week.
So.
So, you go into training, but thatdoesn't mean that you're going to end
up actually working through the job.
Like a fair bit of people areit's, it's like, you know, hunger
games or something kind of winnowing
at each level.
I mean, it makes sense to me becausesafety is obviously incredibly important,

(13:04):
,so it makes sense that there would be a lot of rules and a lot of regulations.
You need people to really, youknow, in an incident, like The
passengers are going to be lookingto the crew for assistance on that.
So it makes total sense and You know,we've had commercial, aviation going
for almost a century and, actuallyoverall statistically incredibly
safe, the safest way to travel,
okay, so you go through theclassroom week, you go through

(13:25):
learning how to disarm and arm thedoors, how to do the demonstrations.
You've got to go throughthis evacuation training.
What comes after that?
Yeah.
And so just to backtrack really fast, whenyou said not everyone makes it through.
My first class, I think westarted with over 125 people.
I think we graduated with 70.
So that just kind of shows you howmany people don't typically make

(13:46):
it through the entire process.
But anyway, back to, theprocess of training.
So yes, after evacuations.
Then it's briefings weekand that's for ditching.
So for people who don't know whatditching is, which I didn't know before
becoming a flight attendant, that'swhen you land in the water, which
is very, very, very uncommon, reallythe only notable time that that's
happened was the miracle on the Hudson.

(14:07):
Captain Sully,
Kevin Sully landing the U.
S.
Airways plan plane in the Hudson River.
So, other than that, it's justsuch a rare thing, but obviously
we need to be trained on it.
So that's when we have toget our, passengers are able
bodied assistance to learn.
We have to basically teach them how tooperate a door in the moment while we're
like preparing for this water landing.

(14:27):
And we only have five to ten minutesto do so where we pull these assistance
and say, This is how you will open thisdoor and operate it if I am unconscious.
This is how you do it if I am conscious.
And you have to spit out all thisinformation, which For me it wasn't
that bad because I'm very much so like ascript minded person like it kind of felt
like theater Like I was memorizing myscript and had to tell them exactly word

(14:48):
for word what they needed to know But Iknow it was a really hard week for a lot
of people because it was just so muchinformation that we had to Deliver again
pretty much verbatim for us to pass thisAnd, yeah, that took a full week as well.
The next week you're learning every otheraircraft door, which in my case, we have
six different aircraft in our fleet.
So like I said, that oneweek was learning one door.

(15:10):
Then this week is learning theother five aircraft one a day.
So it's really expedited there.
And you take an exam at the end ofeach day learning each and every one.
And you're kind of
every aircraft has a door thatworks a little bit differently
Every single aircraft is, someof them are vastly different.
Some are very similar.
We also have different, configurationsof each plane, like dozens sometimes.

(15:30):
Well, maybe not dozens, but aroundlike 10 configurations for some planes.
for like how the seats are laidout and where the galleys are
the restrooms and all that?
where the safety equipment is,everything is slightly different,
which is quite annoying.
But, we just have to learn so manythings and you have to have it down.
But, you know, like I said, withit being like 10 hours a day, six

(15:50):
days a week, like they're nailingthat information into your brain.
Like I still have dreams aboutevacuating a plane, like once a
month, I will have an evacuationdream and I'm like saying my commands.
It's pretty wild.
They really, make you memorize stuff.
But anyway, after that fifth week ofaircraft doors, then the sixth week
is when you're doing first aid.

(16:11):
So they teach us everything from howto react to a stroke, to minor cuts and
scrapes, to someone giving birth on aplane, to someone dying on the plane.
That's this massive scope of Injuriesand accidents, that we cover as
well as firefighting, where weactually don the portable breathing
equipment that kind of looks likethat beekeeper thing on your head.

(16:32):
And you pull the pin on the fireextinguisher and you're putting out fires.
And, so that's a fun week actually.
And then, after that is when we do ourtraining flights, where they actually
put us on a flight from our headquartersand we do a turn, which is when you go
to one destination and come right back.
So all of us had our different crews.
And we got to fly forreal for the first time.

(16:54):
And, it was really excitingand nerve wracking.
It's just a whole bunch of emotions andthe crew that like the actual flight
attendants who were scheduled for thoseflights just got to sit in passenger
seats, so they loved it, but you know,they got to answer our questions and help
us out and that was kind of like the stampof approval at the end of all of this.
And the final thing that happensis you take your, final exam,
which is a massive test that takesseveral hours on every single week,

(17:18):
all the material you've learnedover the past six and a half weeks.
Once you pass the final exam,it's graduation time, then
you're out and you're free.
And once you get through it, you'rejust so exhausted and so grateful.
And you've bonded with all ofyour classmates and you make
some of the best friends ever.
So you've got seven weeks six days a weekten hours a day So you're talking, you

(17:38):
know by the end of it You're up to almost500 hours just for the training process.
And then after you're donewith all that now what happens?
So after that you go towhatever base you were assigned.
And my first base I was given LAX,which is, which was my dream base.
I always wanted to live in LA.
I believe they offered us six.
Sometimes they offer you one.
Sometimes they send the entireclass to the same place.

(17:59):
It's really just a need based thing.
You don't really have an option.
But if you're lucky, you getto bid for whatever is your top
preference and hopefully you get it.
So yeah, one week aftergraduation, I started flying in L.
A.
And, they put you up at a hotel forone week and then you're on your own.
You have to find your own home,and at the time I was very broke.
Starting pay is also super, super low,which is unfortunate because every

(18:23):
single base is in a Major city in the U.
S.
that is typically very expensive, so Ilived in a crash pad, and so for those
who don't know what a crash pad is, it'sa flight attendant housing situation,
where it's just a ton of flight attendantswho have typically bunk beds, sometimes
they're hot beds, which means you comein, you set up your bed, and then when

(18:44):
you leave for a trip, you strip it, andthen the next person comes and sleeps in
that exact same bed, or it's a cold bedsituation where you come back and you
have your exact same bed, Bunk bed allthe time that you pay rent for, but it's
lower rent than, you know, if you were toget an apartment or something like that.
I was paying 400 a month for mybunk bed and it was in a place
that was really close to the beach.

(19:05):
Five minutes from the airport.
So even though I had such a smallspace in this apartment, it was a two
bedroom, two bath apartment with 14of us flight attendants living in it.
But you know, we're not all there atthe same time because we're all flying
and we all have different schedules.
So that was how I startedout to save money.
And since then I've lived inlike three different crash
pads, two, at different bases.

(19:26):
So it's not an ideal way of living,but it's definitely manageable.
Also Nate really
people in a two bedroom.
Yes.
you've got how many beds is that?
Are you switching out the beds there?
A hotbed situation.
mine was a cold bed situation.
Thankfully.
I did, I have done hotbed situations.
It's just kind of a pain.
That's really for like when I'mthere way less, for example, I've
been commuting from Phoenix to SanFrancisco for the last 10 months.

(19:49):
And, that is when I do a hotbed situation.
Cause I'm only staying overnight in SanFrancisco, like a few nights a year.
Um, but yeah, when I was living in LA, Iwas basically living at that crash bed.
So I had my own little bunk bed withmy, I put up my little photos around
my bed and, had my own bedding andyeah, it was an interesting time, but
the girls I lived with were awesome.
It was an all girls one.

(20:10):
Some of them are co ed.
But yeah, it just kind offeels like college in a way.
Okay.
So you're set up with your crash pad.
We talked a bit about kind ofwhat your personal situation looks
like, but how does it look workingas a brand new flight attendant?
Tell us about that.
So there's two termsI want people to know.
One is being on reserve.
The other one is holding a line.

(20:30):
So when you first start out asa flight attendant, you are on
reserve, which means you're on call.
And so this is a tough thing.
It's a tough situation.
It doesn't mean that you'reon call for the entire month.
It just means that you have certain dayswhen you are on call, but it is at least
from my company from midnight to midnight.
So it means that they can call youto work a flight that they are short

(20:52):
on people for at 2 AM, noon, 8 PM,it doesn't matter what time of day.
Again, this is just from mycompany specifically, but, I know
that there are some companiesthat do reserve very differently.
Sometimes they do it like.
Every other month or justcertain times of the day.
But yeah, so when you first startout, because you have no seniority,

(21:13):
this is a very, very seniority basedjob, so yeah, you're basically
getting called to work the flightsthat people don't want to work.
You're working days that peopledon't want to work, especially if
you're on call for the holidays.
You're going to work Thanksgiving,Christmas, or whatever holiday that
you celebrate, New Year's, Those arethe times when people call out the
most, probably, which is obvious why.

(21:36):
And so, yeah, being onreserve is, is really tough.
But then when you gain more seniority,you get to do what's called hold a line.
And holding a line is nightand day so much better.
It's when you get assigned your entiremonth, for the month coming up and you
know exactly what trips you're working.
You know exactly what days you're working.
You can see your crew, you cansee everybody, you can trade trips

(21:59):
with people, you can drop trips.
If someone picks it up.
So holding a line is so much betterthan being on reserve because
you just have the freedom tocraft your schedule a lot better.
Okay.
And you get to avoid the anxiety ofhaving no idea where you're going next.
So with time, this is something where,you know, when I first started out and
I was having these horrible days of justhaving really tough trips and no sleep and

(22:23):
getting called in the middle of the night.
And so many senior flightattendants were like, just hold
on for a little bit longer.
I swear, once you hold theline, it'll all be worth it.
And just the last two months I got to holda line for the first time in over a year.
Just because of how theseniority numbers worked out.
And it was amazing.
I actually got to be home for theholidays because I got to move my
trips around and swap and drop.

(22:43):
And compared to when I was onreserve, you know, I, didn't have
the freedom to do any of that.
So those are the twodifferent forms of scheduling.
Holding a line or being on call,
And the reserve or the on call.
So that's.
Typically the more junior flightattendants and they're, you know,
they're reserved to kind of justfill in where wherever's needed.

(23:04):
And so when you're doing that,you're at your home base and you're
just kind of waiting for a call.
Or you're out and about, orare you actually at the airport
No.
So there's a difference between beingon reserve and being on airport standby.
If you're on airport standby, thatmeans you're sitting at the airport
for a period of four hours for thosereally, really last minute trips.
That's like if a flight gets superdelayed and that crew can't make

(23:27):
it last second to their connectingflight, those people will fill in.
Whereas on reserve, you have tohave at least a three hour call
out period to get to the airport.
So, those reserves will get assignedtrips that start at least three
hours later from when you get called.
Got it.
And so you start as ajunior flight attendant.
The first, I guess, soundslike a couple of years or so

(23:48):
you're potentially on reserve
the entire time.
Is that right?
Yes, and it's different, again,for all companies, but it
also really varies by base.
When I first started at LAX, I met quitea few flight attendants who told me
That they were on reserve for the past18 years because LAX was not opened
up for new hires for all that time.

(24:10):
And so their seniority remains so low.
There weren't enough peopletransferring in for those 18 years.
So they just remained at thevery bottom of the barrel and
they're on reserve for that long.
And I just was like, how do youdo that for almost two decades?
I can barely do it.
I mean, I've been doing it for two yearsand I'm already so like exhausted by it.
So.
It's wild.
There are some bases that get a lotmore people, typically the bigger

(24:32):
bases, the more international onesand the smaller bases, don't let
in as many new flight attendants.
And so those people might be onreserve for much, much longer.
So let's say when you are on reserve,like how do you schedule your life?
Like, if there's an important event ora wedding or something that you need to
do, like, at what point do you have anycertainty that you can even do that thing?

(24:53):
Like you're looking how far outand , how do you make those plans?
Well, like I said, youdo have some days off.
So typically you get assignedto be on reserve 18 days of
the month and have 12 days off.
It can fluctuate, but you can bidfor your schedule the month prior.
So.
If you know the date that you'resupposed to go to a wedding or, any
event, you can try as hard as you canto bid for all of the schedules that

(25:16):
line up with your personal life, butit doesn't always work out that way.
So, I mean, I've had so many timeswhere I got the schedule that I
didn't want and I had to miss things.
I've actually been pretty luckymyself with holidays and getting to
attend holidays, but I know a lot offlight attendants who have missed.
Weddings, funerals, you know,their birthdays and big milestones.
And it's tough.

(25:36):
That's one of the harder things aboutthe job, at least starting out is that
you really don't have much freedom with,with making your schedule the way you
want it to be that comes with seniority.
So, let's talk, I want to talk a bitabout what compensation looks like,
understanding that, you know, there aremany different companies and you only
work for one, but are you able to sayabout kind of how the compensation works?
sure.

(25:56):
And just to preface this, I obviously I'mnot telling anybody, what company I work
for, but everything that I am talkingabout is all, on my own accord and I do
not represent the company by any means.
I just have to say thatcontractually and everything.
But yeah, let's,
Your personal opinion.
Yes, for sure.
But I can tell you a little bit,at least in my own, Personal
experience, how my pay works.

(26:17):
So we get paid when the brakesare released on the plane.
I don't think a lot ofpeople understand that.
I think people think that flightattendants have this very glamorous
life and get paid to travel allover and make all this money.
And certainly with seniority,you do get paid a lot better.
Your pay goes up yearly.
And so when you've been there for yearsand years you know, the whole fact that
you get paid when the brakes are released,isn't so bad because you get a pretty

(26:41):
And what, when you say when thebrakes are released, I probably a lot
of listeners are confused by that.
I,
as I understand what you're sayingis that you're on the clock, but
you're not paid for that time walkingthrough the airport, getting to the
plane, even getting everybody loaded.
It's literally when the brakes aredone and the plane starts moving, that's
when your comp and your clock starts.
Yes.

(27:01):
And so many times when I tellpeople this, they're just baffled.
They have no idea.
And I had no idea before this job too.
Yeah, we don't get paid for boarding.
At least my company doesn't yet.
We're hopefully we're doing contractnegotiations, which we've been
Dealing with for years now, hopingto get paid for that, ground time.
But no, we get paid when the doorshave already been closed and the
pilots are back in the plane up.

(27:22):
And you know, they'recoming away from the gate.
That's when our pay clock starts.
I don't get paid for anytime that I sit around in the
airport waiting for connections.
And sometimes those canbe up to four hours long.
I don't get paid for delays.
for example, I was delayed.
about six hours the otherday for a maintenance issue.
And the flight was onlyan hour long flight.

(27:43):
So even though my whole crew sat therefor six hours at this airport with,
you know, passengers getting reallyupset and yelling at us and, you Not
having a good time, understandably.
So we didn't get paida dime for any of that.
We got paid the one hour for theflight once we actually left.
And so things like that arereally frustrating about the job.
Hopefully that changes soon, butyeah, , I don't think a lot of

(28:04):
people understand how our pay works.
It's definitely not salaried.
It's hourly and there's veryspecific things that have to happen
for that hourly clock to start.
So for our listeners out there, nexttime you're getting on a plane and you're
walking on, and there's a flight attendantgreeting with a smile, that flight
attendant probably isn't getting paid.
So be sure to smile back
Yeah.

(28:24):
I think people are, for the most part,are very understanding and I think
some people do know that we don't getpaid for boarding, but boarding is
typically when the most problems arise.
And we have a lot of difficulties withpassengers and baggage and all of that.
And so it is pretty wild that wedon't get paid during that time.
And so is the compensation entirelyhourly or is there some sort of base
component or there are other incentives,or is it just purely based on hours?

(28:47):
We get paid per diem, which is,the time spent away from base.
So as soon as we leave on thatfirst leg to when we come back, I
think it's like around 2 an hour.
So if you're on a four daytrip, then you're getting
paid, you know, what is that?
Like 90 hours times two or something.
So, you know, it's a little bit extra,I kind of justify going out to eat

(29:08):
and get meals with my per diem pay.
Got it.
And okay.
And about that meals and hotels and stuff.
So when you're on a stopover from yourbase, Is there anything compensated
in terms of food, hotels, whereto stay, all that sort of stuff?
The hotels are paid for.
Hotels and transportation, we getpicked up at the airport, either
by a shuttle or a private driver.
And, the hotel is, It's all arranged.

(29:30):
It's prearranged.
prearranged.
So we luckily don't have to pay foranything of that, but meals, no, , we
occasionally get meals on the plane,which I just don't like to eat the
airplane food just because, you know,it's actually very tasty, but it gets old.
I mean, you don't want to eatit for two years straight.
Like I have been, but yeah, they'lloccasionally provide you a meal
on the plane if you're workingall day long with no breaks.

(29:51):
Other than that, that's about it.
It's the hotel and thetransportation is paid for.
And then your per diem is expectedto kind of cover the rest of
that.
Got it.
Okay, so that's a littlebit about compensation.
I definitely want to ask you abit about some of the that people
are probably wondering about, butwe'll get to that in a minute.
First, I just want to talk aboutwhat it's like on the plane and
particularly for listeners whomaybe aren't as, knowledgeable

(30:14):
about sort of how aviation works.
What are the differentroles on a typical crew?
And you talked earlier about how it'svery different depending on the size
of the plane and the layout and theconfiguration, but typically you walk
on the plane, who are the other people?
Other people that you're workingwith, who are your coworkers?
Have you met them before?
They entirely new.
And what are their rules
Yeah, so for me, having been on reserve solong, I rarely fly with the same people.

(30:37):
If I do, it's completely by chance.
So typically when I walk up to the planeat the start of a trip, I have not met
a single one of these people in my life.
We all are assigned a positionand we keep that position for
the remainder of the trip.
So there's the lead flight attendant.
There's different names for thatlead flight attendant, depending
on the company, but, purser isa common term that people might
hear, over the announcements.

(30:59):
So the purser as the lead isthe communicator in case things
go wrong with the pilots.
They're the one who makes theannouncements and they're kind of like
the voice that you're hearing over theloudspeakers throughout the flight.
And then you have the galley people.
So there's the forwardgalley and first class.
And the back galley for economy.
They're the ones who are setting upthe drink carts, setting up the food.

(31:19):
They're just organizing everything,which is one of my favorite positions
because I really like to just likeorganize every single thing exactly, like
according to how I like to set it up.
And then there's the cart person.
And so this is on a very basicsetup, like on a Boeing 7 37.
And it's different when youget on a massive wide body
aircraft like a 7 7 7 or a 7 87.

(31:41):
Then there's, you know, doublethe crew and everyone has their.
Specific positions.
And again, they keep that position.
So if you're working a position thatyou haven't worked in a very long time.
Luckily, we have an electronic manualthat we can use on our work phones where
we can fully review what that personis supposed to do in that position.
You get to look at where allof your safety equipment and

(32:01):
your checks are supposed to be.
It's very helpful because lots of timesyou're flying a position you haven't
flown in six months or a year or ever.
so it, it changes every single trip.
and what about the economy versusbusiness or first class, is there a
separation of the crew , for the premiumcabins, or is it just all together?
There is a separation, yes, but thatdoesn't mean that those people are

(32:21):
totally confined to those areas.
The purser typically is goingto be going back and forth,
checking in on the economy people.
I mean, they're the ones up in frontdealing with first class, but throughout
the flight, You really just get towork as a team and you kind of fill
in where people need, more attention.
so yeah, we do have thosedesignated cabins, but again,

(32:42):
it's not like a strict role.
And what about communicationwith the pilots?
It depends every trip, you know, somepilots are very communicative and very
on top of making calls, you know, ifthere's turbulence or if whatever is
going on with air traffic control.
Other times it's like.
Dead silent up there, which canbe frustrating if you're trying to
communicate with them about, youknow, oh, it's really bumpy back here.

(33:05):
That's a big thing.
Like, turbulence with,pilots and flight attendants.
There's always some tension about itbecause the pilots barely feel the
bumps at the front of the aircraft.
Meanwhile, the back of the plane islike going up and down and everyone's
like falling all over the place.
So, that's something that wecommunicate the most with the pilots.
Aside from that, it's really justif, there's a medical emergency.

(33:25):
You know, where we have someone who'sattending to the person, and then we
have like a runner communicator, andthen there's the person who is relaying
all the information to the pilots.
So there's a constant cycle ofcommunication that should be
happening on every single flight.
So super interesting about the turbulence.
So if somebody is, particularly botheredby turbulence, is that mean that
they're better off sitting towards thefront of the plane or somewhere else?

(33:47):
Yes, I would say it does make a littlebit of a difference if you're like
in the very front of economy versusway in the back by the lavatories,
you're definitely going to feel thebumps a lot more by the lavatories.
But you know, not such a big differencethat like it's not like somebody
who's sitting at the front is gonnabe perfectly still and not feeling a
thing versus the person in the back.

(34:08):
Everyone's gonna be feeling it at leasta little bit if it's really bumpy.
got it.
And do you have any communicationwith anyone on the ground or is
it just you and the pilot and thepilots are the ones doing that?
We don't, at least not when we're inflight, so that's a big part of it.
That's a really common misconceptionwith passengers, especially with
delays, you know, passengers all thetime they'll stop me on the plane and

(34:29):
say, hey, we're really last secondto get to our connecting flight.
Can you tell them to wait forus or something like that?
And I'm like.
As much as I wish I could tell yourconnecting flight ground control or
ground crew to wait for you, there'sabsolutely no way that I can do that.
Pilots are able to talk to the groundabout, medical emergencies, or if

(34:50):
there's something where they needto have, law enforcement meet the
aircraft, but we don't talk to anyone.
The only time we're talking to anyoneon the ground is when we're boarding
and we're in communication with thegate agents talking about how much
bag space we have left on the planeis pretty much all we talk about.
Got it.
Very interesting.
Okay, now I want to ask you about thebest and the worst things about your job.

(35:11):
So maybe you want to start withtelling us what are the best things
about being a flight attendant?
The best thing about being a flightattendant, I think is quite obvious
and that's the freedom to travel.
I think.
More so than any other job in the world,you have the opportunity to travel
far and wide, unlike any other career.
And that's why I really wantedto do it because I've always

(35:31):
been such a massive traveler.
And it's really incredible.
The flight benefits that we do getagain, different for every company.
But at least with mine, I am able tohop on a ton of different airlines
because we have an alliance with them.
So whether I'm commuting or I'm goingto have dinner with a friend for the
night and then flying back home orflying across the world for a long trip,

(35:54):
I typically can fly standby with pan.
I don't even know how many airlines Ihaven't actually counted, but I'm almost
always able to get where I'm going on awhim for next to nothing, or for free.
So.
That part is amazing.
And I also get to bring myparents with me, which is awesome.
And one other traveler.
So my boyfriend's on my benefits and weget to go on some awesome trips together.

(36:15):
We're actually going toJapan in two weeks because.
It's the really dead season in Japan.
So we were like, might as well go.
Hopefully we'll get first classand we don't have to pay a dime
for it, which is incredible.
I just took my mom on a trip to Cancunfor a wedding and saved all this money.
And, unfortunately we had togo to a funeral just a couple
of weeks ago on a whim too.
And the fact that I gotto get my mom there.
Was just, it felt like I was in away repaying her for like a little

(36:39):
tiny bit of how much she's donefor me throughout my entire life.
So that's like a really massivereason why I wanted this job and why
I continue to work this job because.
The ability to travel is so easyand, it's a lot of fun for sure.
There's also, the factor ofmeeting some awesome people.
Some of the best friends I've madein my entire life I've met on this

(37:00):
job, whether they were a roommatethat I met at the crash pad or my
friends from training, some of them,I still talk to on a weekly basis.
We had such a tight knit group.
And then I also just meet suchawesome people on my cruise.
Again.
Like I said before, I don't knowanybody going into these trips, and
I come away from the trip three orfour days later feeling like I know

(37:21):
every single thing about that person.
Like, you really get toknow people on the cruise.
As well as the passengers.
There's some really nice passengers.
So, yeah, those are some ofthe best things about this job.
Also with seniority, which I don't quitehave this yet, but with time you have the
freedom to really craft your schedule.
A lot of people havesecond and third jobs.
Some people make this their side jobonce they have the seniority to really

(37:43):
plan their schedule and get to have thosetravel benefits still, which is kind of
like my goal in the end is to kind of.
Do writing and journalism as my mainjob and then fly a little bit on the
side, like a trip or two a month.
So that's awesome.
And I just know if I were to havean office job, I would lose my mind.
I just am so not a person whocan be stagnant doing the same
exact schedule every single week.

(38:03):
So, that part's awesome.
And then I also want toask you, for my reference.
So you're going out with a crewand you're going out with it for
the same, like you said, you'respending three, four days together.
So you meet them on the plane,but then if you're not, until
you come back to base, you're,
Same plane, just different flights.
Different planes, differentpilots, but your flight attendant
crew usually is exactly thesame throughout the whole time.

(38:25):
Got it.
Got it.
Okay.
That's helpful.
So on, on the subject of you saidyou get to spend several days
sometimes with the same crew.
So they're new when you, when youshow up to that first flight, but
then you're staying together untilyou kind of come back to base through
several different flights together.
At least sometimes.
Is that right?
Yes, yes, that's correct.
We are together for theentirety of the trip.

(38:46):
Sometimes there's one position whereyou have a new person swapping out
each trip, but there's typicallylike the core three people who
you are with for the entire time.
Very cool.
And on the subject of the freeflight benefits, so you mentioned
your boyfriend and your parentsgetting able to fly for free.
What can you tell us about how that worksand what somebody who is considering

(39:07):
becoming a flight attendant mightexpect in terms of free flight benefits
for themselves and for loved ones?
Yeah, of course.
So, the flight benefits.
We have myriad of benefits, whether we'retrying to fly completely free on standby
or trying to buy a discounted ticket.
So if you have something comingup where you like, no, you
definitely have to be at this event.

(39:28):
it's probably wise tobuy a discounted ticket.
I don't know the exact.
Discount on those becauseI've never bought one.
I always take my chances and fly standbybecause I'm cheap, but, yeah, there's
quite a few ways to travel much cheaper.
And so standby, for those whodon't understand the standby system.
It's basically you get put on a list fora flight that you're trying to take, and

(39:50):
depending on how many seats are open,you're kind of listed by seniority, and
this depends on companies too, but mineis by seniority, where, if they have a
certain amount of seats left, They'llgo down the list and allow those people
to take the open seats, because why not?
They're open anyway.
And so, yeah, that's typically how Itravel, with my mom, when I took her
to Cancun, we were both on standby,because I was able to look and see

(40:13):
that those flights were not completelyfull, so I didn't feel nervous
about getting her there that way.
And the same thing, with myboyfriend, we always, whenever we
travel, we actually kind of justlook at, What flights are open.
And if we're trying to go on a trip, we'lljust kind of go wherever is not crowded.
so we can kind of spread out on the plane.
So yeah, that's typically how it works.
And, and domesticallyit's free internationally.

(40:35):
You'll typically have to pay aninternational tax, which can range
from anywhere between like 50 to 300.
But still way cheaper than ifyou're getting a round trip ticket.
On a massive airline that couldcost, you know, thousands of dollars.
So it's a big, I kind offactor that into my pay, even
though I don't get paid a lot.
I'm like, okay, but I'm going onall these trips for basically free.

(40:57):
And, that's kind of howI justify everything too.
And your family, how does thatwork for their benefits and do
they have to fly with you?
Can they fly separately?
They can fly separately.
Their seniority on the standby listgoes down when I'm not flying with them.
So there's like a whole system, all thesedifferent codes that I still don't fully

(41:17):
understand, but there's a differencein where they're at on the list.
If I'm with them, where they're on mysame level of seniority, if I'm not with
them, I think they shoot to the bottomof the list, which is unfortunate.
Doesn't matter if the flight'swide open, but, you know, if
it's only got a few spots, that'swhen it starts to get sticky.
But, Yeah, the people who areon my benefits, there's only a
handful, my parents and my boyfriend,they can fly with or without me.

(41:40):
There's just a change in wherethey're at on the standby list.
we've talked about the best partsof being a flight attendant.
What are the worst parts, in youropinion, of being a flight attendant?
So there's definitely some cons tothe job, as with any job, probably
very different from other jobs though.
So at least when you're on reserve,like I am currently this month,

(42:00):
I just went back on reserve.
Like I said before, that'swhen you're on call.
That's really tough because your sleepschedule can get really messed up.
And there's a lot of anxiety that comeswith going to bed, wondering if they're
going to call me in one hour you know,and if, Five hours or if they're gonna
call me at all So I have really sleeplessnights when i'm on call like that And
I do feel quite a bit of anxiety thatI never really felt before this job.

(42:22):
Where I just feel like My typicalday to day routine is just completely
off because I just don't knowwhen they're going to call me.
So, that's a tough part.
Also, like, when I was based in NewJersey, there were times where they
would send me to Europe and I'd bethere for 24 hours and then I'd come
back and I'd have my minimum rest.

(42:42):
Which according to the, FAA is 12 hours.
I would sleep for 12 hours.
They'd call me rightaway to go to California.
So right there within the spanof three to four days, it's like
a nine hour time difference.
And my body just could not keep up.
And so that's a really toughpart of the job is it takes a
really big toll on your body.
So that's why it's really importantto take care of yourself, which we'll

(43:03):
get into later, how I stay healthyand how I take care of myself.
But yeah, just a very differentenvironment and schedule from most
other jobs where you're going tothe same place in the same city,
on the same schedule all the time.
Another con is, you know, sometimespeople can be difficult and
sometimes they'll say and do thingsthat might hurt your feelings.

(43:25):
Which anybody in customerservice can understand.
I mean, working in bars andrestaurants all through college, I
dealt with the same kind of people.
The only difference is whenyou're on a plane, you can't
really get away from them.
So when you do have troublesomepassengers, it can make a difference
in how you're feeling about the day.
So it's just important to, take a deepbreath and not try to internalize things.

(43:45):
And.
And move forward.
I always just remind myself, I'mnever going to see this person again.
But yeah, I think the people are notso much a negative part of the job.
If anything, they're more a benefitwith the really nice people you meet.
But I think more so it's just thetoll that the job takes on your body.
Again, when you do get tohold a line, then, you can.
Plan whether you're going towork in the morning or work a red

(44:06):
eye, whatever works best for you.
And you're not just gettingtossed into whatever and
throwing off your whole schedule.
So that's when you geta more stable lifestyle.
And at that point, you know,really all you have to deal with
is the good parts of the job.
I'm still waiting on that time.
I think I still have a couplemore years of seniority to gain
to really have the schedule thatI want in my own personal life.

(44:28):
So on the, on the subject of difficultpassengers, I mean, obviously besides
not being a jerk and just being generallynice to customer service folks, I
sometimes wonder as a passenger, ifthere's anything I'm doing, maybe
unintentionally, that's kind of likeannoying to the flight attendants.
Are there any particular common thingsthat passengers do that, annoy you?
I think the most annoyingthing for me personally is when

(44:50):
people poke me or touch me.
I really, really hate that.
I mean, I don't think anybody at workwants to be touched by a stranger,
but a lot of times when I'm especiallyworking in economy and people are asleep
or, you know, appear to be asleep andI'll be going by them and then they're
like, Suddenly their eyes shoot openand they're like, wait, you skipped me.
I'm like, I didn't skip you.
You were asleep.

(45:11):
But they'll turn around and like grab myjacket and tug on my sleeve or poke me.
And I'm just like, don't touch me.
So that's something, if you're listening,don't ever touch a flight attendant
or anybody, you know, it's like havesome like spatial awareness too.
And, you know, you can ringyour call bell in that case and
say, Hey, can I get something.
You don't have to touch us.
Also like on that note, peoplewill come into the galley areas,

(45:33):
which is, you know, where we'repreparing the food and the drinks.
Which they're very confinedspaces, tiny, tight, little space.
People will come in there and just belike, Oh, I need to stretch my legs.
And they'll like start doinga full blown yoga session.
And I'm just like, what are you doing?
Like I have to work.
This is my workspace.
You can't be in here.

(45:54):
Just like.
Doing the splits and stretchingout your legs like this.
So, and that happens alot on long haul flights.
So I think it's just amatter of personal space.
That's a huge thing.
I mean, it is hard on an airplane.
There isn't a lot of space to workwith for the passengers or the crew.
But really that's my biggest annoyance.
Other than that, don't vape on the plane.

(46:15):
That's huge.
It's so annoying when I have totell, like, I'll see it in someone's
hand and I'm like, don't make mecome back and talk to you about
this because it's a huge thing.
Like vaping is so easynow compared to smoking.
And, you know, back in the day whenpeople were allowed to smoke on the
planes, It was a very obvious thing.
Vaping is such a secretive thing thatpeople can do now, but still when they go
into the laboratory, I've had it happenwhere someone has set off the fire alarm.

(46:38):
And I want everyone out there tounderstand that depending on the
pilots, there are some pilots whojust have a vengeance for vape
vapors, I guess is what you call them.
And if, if the pilots learn aboutsomeone vaping on the plane and like
the fire alarm is set off, some ofthem have no mercy and they will have.
Law enforcement meet you at the plane,and you will be fined thousands of

(47:01):
dollars just for pulling out yourvape and hitting it once on the plane.
So, that's one thing I like, Idon't think a lot of people realize,
especially my friends who all vape.
Like, I've told them, cause they'llbe like, oh, it's like, Sometimes
I just really want to just do it onthe plane and no one will notice.
And I'm like, it's not worth it.
Just don't do it because if there'sa flight attendant who immediately

(47:22):
alerts the pilots and the pilotsare not having it, you could be
spending so much money and then haveto talk to the cops when you land.
So that's just something Iwant people to know about.
Very interesting.
So what are other things that someonecan do to just try to be a good
passenger with respect to the crew?
I think really just being respectful andrecognizing that this is a shared space.

(47:42):
You're on the plane with aton of different passengers.
And I know being on an airplaneis not the most comfortable
environment to be in, of course.
But you know, just having your itemsbe compliant is huge and trying to
make space for just what you have.
I think it's really important, like,especially when we have a full flight

(48:03):
and we have these passengers sometimeswho put like every single thing that they
own in the overhead bins and then someonecomes on and then they can't fit their own
bag because Someone put, you know, theirshopping bags and everything up there.
So, I mean, it's just a thingwhere it's like, Hey, have respect
for your fellow passengers.
I have respect for the crewand just try to follow.
Well, always follow crew memberinstructions and kind of keep to yourself.

(48:26):
I mean, there's nothing wrong with askingfor things on the plane or asking for
help or having questions, but alwaysjust communicating in a respectful way
is, is really all that flight attendantsare asking for from the passengers.
So what are some common misconceptionsabout being a flight attendant?
The biggest misconception aboutbeing a flight attendant is
that it is a glamorous job.

(48:46):
That is the
word that I heard the most beforestarting this job, Oh, it's so glamorous.
And no, it is not.
There are certainly times where it canfeel like it is, but for the most part,
we have such long and exhausting days.
I mean, typically for me, I'll work a15 hour day and that's, really common.
And I rarely work anythingless than a 10 hour day.

(49:10):
And, you know, it can be reallyexhausting, especially when
you're working back to back.
And even when you do go to a really cooldestination, sometimes you're so tired
from the flight and the lack of sleep thatyou've had and, and all the people that
you've been around that you're so drained,you can't really even enjoy that place.
And that's been my case a coupleof times where, you I felt so

(49:31):
excited about a really cooldestination that I'd never been to.
And then when I got there, I wasso tired that I was like, Oh,
I'll take a quick little nap.
And then ended up fallingasleep for 10 hours and like
missing out on the whole place.
And so things like that happen a lot.
And, you know, we are cleaningup messes a lot, like.
Babies will have accidents all thetime, and we're on our hands and knees
scrubbing bodily fluids out of the ground.

(49:54):
Like, it's not a glamorousjob, let me tell you.
So, I think that's one of the biggestmisconceptions, because you see in the
movies, these flight attendants who havetheir little hat on, and their makeup's
perfect, and they look so great, and theylook like they're just living the life
flying here and there, and they don'thave a care in the world, but that's
not how it actually goes in real life.
Another misconception, for sure isthe promiscuity of flight attendants.

(50:16):
And while this can be true for surefor some people, I don't think a lot
of people realize how many flightattendants are in very serious
relationships or have families.
Like a lot of people think it's the jobfor a young single person and that's it.
Not that that doesn't happenbecause it for sure does happen.
I mean, you're in this work environmentwhere you're in a brand new place, meeting

(50:37):
so many more people than the typical job.
So it makes sense why that is astereotype and a common misconception.
But there's a lot of us whohave very normal personal lives.
Any interesting stories that you havefrom working as a flight attendant?
I have tons of stories.
Pretty much every tripwarrants a new story.
More recently, , I was working aflight to Cabo and there was an old

(50:59):
man in the back of the plane and.
I'm picking up trash.
Luckily, I have my gloves on and Iwas picking up the garbage and he has
this cup that's full to the brim andhe starts pouring the liquid into my
trash bag and he goes, it's not water.
And I was like, sir, whatare you talking about?
And then he points to theline for the bathroom.

(51:20):
Which was pretty long.
He says, you think I'm going to wait in aline of six people to go to the bathroom?
You're crazy.
And so at this point, he's finishedpouring his entire cup into my bag.
And I realized that he peed in his seatinto this cup and then just dumped it
into my trash bag before my very eyes.
And it was really stinky and gross.

(51:41):
And I was like, you are so disgusting.
I didn't even have words in themoment to like, someone had to go
talk to him after, because I genuinelydidn't know what to say to him.
And Because it was a bodily fluid,we had to lock up that trash bag.
We had to like double bag it, putit in one of the lavatories and lock
it for the remainder of the flight.
So then we had an even longer line forthe bathroom all because he did that.

(52:02):
And it was so gross and yeah, peopledo a lot of nasty things on the plane
all the time that I'm just like, whatwas going through your head when you
decided to do this, but that was not fun.
But on a On a lighter note, and lessgross note, I got to meet Napoleon
Dynamite, and I was working in firstclass, and he was asleep up there.
Sorry, the actor who playsNapoleon Dynamite, John Heater.

(52:26):
I just call him Napoleon Dynamite.
But, you do get to meet quitea few celebrities in this job,
but he was the most notable oneto me because I love that movie.
I've loved it my whole life.
And I went up to him after I composedmyself and I was like, I'm such a big fan.
He was such a sweetheart.
For the most part, celebrities are supernice, but I try to just leave them alone
when I meet them because, you know,it's probably super annoying to have

(52:48):
a bunch of flight attendants takingphotos with you and that type of thing.
but yeah, That was fun.
On the subject of celebrities, arethere any, are there any instances
in which you're like told in advancethat, hey, this very important
person is going to be on the plane?
we are, yes.
A lot of times there'll be a celebritywho has like body guards and they're
waiting out in the boarding area.
And so the pilots or somebody, thegate agents will notice them and

(53:10):
then they'll immediately tell us.
And also there aresometimes where celebrities.
Tell us ahead of time.
Like, hey, I don't want to be bothered.
Can you make sure therest of the crew knows?
And so, we'll have to pass thatinformation along and just give
them their privacy and their space.
But yeah, a lot of times I have no idea.
A lot of times a flight attendant will belike, can you believe who's up there in
first class and they'll tell me who it is.

(53:31):
And I'm like, I have no idea.
who that person is.
I'm really bad with names and faces too.
So I've probably seen my fair shareof celebrities and not recognize
that they were a celebrity.
But yeah, it's, it depends.
Every single flight that has acelebrity on it, they kind of
have different interactions.
Yeah, I imagine that's probablyespecially more common for flights
coming in and out of California,

(53:52):
uh, that you have a lot of
Tons.
Tons of them from LA, especially.
any other interesting stories?
Yes, I am going to refer you all tomy episode with Laura McFarland about
her trip to Lombok, which was ournumber one place to travel on our list
of the top 50 destinations in 2025.
She and I actually discussed this storyin that episode when I got deported from

(54:15):
China, which technically I was deniedentry from China, but the government
officials told me, we're deportingyou, so that's what I tell people, but.
It was just a whole snafu with meflying there on a work trip and showing
up in Beijing with the wrong visa.
And it was horrendous.
It was the worst travelexperience of my life.

(54:35):
I actually wrote an article about it.
It's, one of my perspective pieces if youwant to check that out on travelloving.
com slash perspectives and you canread the whole story there, but
I'll just tell you it wasn't funand a very traumatic experience.
And from here on out, I'm triple quadruplechecking that I have the correct visas
everywhere that I go in the world.
Yeah, everyone go check out episodefive, which is titled Lombok, and that's

(55:00):
where Betty's with our guest host,Laura, to talk more about that story.
Or you can read her article by justgoing to your favorite search engine and
searching travel lemming deported fromChina, and that article will come up.
Okay, next Betty, a couple quickrapid fire questions for you here.
First off, are there any particularlike layover airports that you like

(55:21):
both domestically and internationally?
Sure.
My favorite domestic layoverswere Kalispell, Montana.
And this is in no particular order,but Kalispell, Montana in the fall,
cause the fall leaves are incredible.
It's absolutely stunning there.
I love that layover.
It's probably, well, itprobably is my top one.
Santa Barbara, California, because we getto stay right on the ocean and I would go

(55:44):
on a little run and then get my coffee atthe docks and it's so, so lovely there.
And the weather's always perfect.
And then Portland, Maine,this is definitely my favorite
East coast destination.
I love the lighthouses.
I love the architectureand the coffee shops.
It's so beautiful there.
And the people are really sweet.
My favorite airport of all timethough, is Jackson hole, Wyoming.
It's like a five gate tinyairport with like antler.

(56:08):
Archways everywhere.
And it's just, it's got theview of the Tetons right there.
And if you haven't been to Jackson hole,Wyoming flying in, there is a whole
other experience from any other airport.
I love it there.
Internationally.
My favorite layovers have beenEdinburgh, Scotland, which, they put
us on the Royal mile for anyone whodoesn't know what the Royal mile is.
That's where.

(56:29):
They have, like, the whole, it's likethe downtown historic area with all
these gorgeous, beautiful brick buildingsand it leads to the Edinburgh Castle,
and there's some great bars, some greatfood, and then, on the other side of
the world, Narita, just outside ofTokyo, was one of my favorite places.
Layovers, because you get to walk throughall these pedestrian streets all the

(56:52):
way to this gorgeous Japanese temple,and there's waterfalls, and there's
all these little pop up shops alongthe streets, and you get matcha, and,
you get to get ramen, and it's justsuch a quaint little Japanese thing.
City like outside of the chaosof Tokyo and then also Hong Kong.
Hong Kong has always been one of myfavorite cities in the entire world.

(57:14):
I was there back in 2019, but whenI went there on a layover, my crew
and I took, the tram to the very topof the mountain there, where you can
see a lookout of the entire skyline.
And Hong Kong has.
Probably the most impressiveskyline I've ever seen.
And it's just so gorgeous there.
There's awesome food.
And tons to do.

(57:34):
So those are just a few of my favorites.
But I, I definitely have a long,long list of the best layovers.
Yeah.
For anyone who's transiting through Tokyo,I know Narita in particular is absolutely
worth leaving the airport if you have morethan, you know, five hours or so, because
you don't have to go all the way intoTokyo, just go to the small little town.
And like you said, it's really, thetrain takes you right there and they've

(57:54):
got a temple and all that stuff.
So I, I always.
I have more than five or sixhours, I always like to try
to get out of the airport.
Even though if I have a lounge passand stuff, even still, it's good.
You know, what's the point oftraveling if you're not maximizing
kind of every minute of it?
Very cool.
How about tips for staying healthy?
You're traveling all the time.
A lot of people, you know, I have afriend who feels like he gets sick

(58:16):
every single time he goes on a planeand you're on planes every day.
So what health tips have you picked up?
Yeah, and I think that'strue for a lot of people.
I know people who also say that whenthey're like, Oh, every single time I
have to fly, I come home with a cold.
And so the first few months of this job,probably the first six or seven months,
actually, I was sick all the time.
I think I got COVID twice.

(58:37):
I got some other god awful flu.
I was bedridden so many timeswith just Whatever I was
picking up from flying so much.
And I think in combinationwith the lack of sleep, it was
very easy for me to get sick.
So now I think I've surpassed that, thattime of, you know, being a very new
flight attendant to where my, my immunesystem has gotten built up a lot more.

(59:00):
So.
Now it's pretty rare that I get sick.
But it's really, there's a few thingsI do to stay healthy while flying.
So water is massive, especiallybecause you get way more
dehydrated when you're flying.
So it's important to just drinkwater, water, water all the time.
I try to drink one of those likereally giant liter bottles, um,
every single flight and justto stay hydrated all the time.

(59:22):
I try to eat healthy.
I sleep like crazy.
Like sometimes when I get back from trips,I will sleep for like 15 hours straight.
Like I've woken up to my boyfriendpoking me, like thinking I was dead
because I just didn't wake up becauseI just sleep and sleep and sleep.
And before I used to feel guilty aboutit, because I thought I was kind of like
wasting my days off, but now I, I givemyself a lot of grace with this job.

(59:46):
And I allow myself to rest when Ifeel like I need rest, which is a lot
because it's an exhausting time flyingall over the world all the time, you
know, and skincare is a big thing.
Your skin gets really dry on the plane.
I have some certain products that I useto make sure that my skin stays healthy.
I take my vitamins and wear theproper shoes with compression tights.

(01:00:06):
Compression tights are huge becauseBlood circulation, to prevent swelling
and like varicose veins later in life.
It's huge to stay on top ofthat from the very beginning.
So I always wear my specialcompression tights and I try to wear
like my inserts with my heels sothat my feet don't get messed up.
But yeah, you, once you get intothe swing of this job, you start

(01:00:28):
to figure out what works for youand what makes you feel good.
You're strongest and you're healthiest.
It definitely takes a while.
but like right now, I, I feel like I havea pretty good system going and I feel like
I am a fairly healthy flight attendant.
Okay, well, we're kind of coming to theend of the interview here, but I have
a couple just big picture questionsfor you as we wrap things up, like,

(01:00:49):
as you're sort of reflecting on yourexperience being a flight attendant.
Are there any particularobservations or sort of
realizations that that come to mind?
You know, I think my biggest realizationwith this job is that people are
really not themselves when they'reon an airplane or even in an airport.
It's a very high stress environment.
And, it's just unique.

(01:01:10):
It's nothing like anywhereelse that you could be.
And so I try to give peoplea lot of grace on the planes
because emotions are heightened.
Common sense kind of just goes outthe window sometimes and, and not
everyone really behaves reasonably.
And, you really have to have alot of patience with this job.
Patience is huge.

(01:01:31):
And I think I am already a fairlypatient person, but this job
has tested that many a time.
But everyone has their ownthings going on in their lives.
And so it's really important for me totreat them respectfully and give them.
Give them grace, like I said, and,recognize that, they could be traveling
for a funeral or something reallytraumatic has happened in their lives

(01:01:54):
and recognizing that what I say and doto them impacts them in that moment.
And so I really just try to be kind.
People travel for so manydifferent reasons and it's
important to be kind to each other.
Always, good advice.
Okay.
Last question.
If, for the listeners out there wholisten to this episode or maybe thinking
about pursuing being a flight attendant asa career path, what would you say to them?

(01:02:15):
I would tell somebody who wants to becomea flight attendant that, you know, this
job has completely changed my life.
There's so manyincredible benefits to it.
And you get to see the world.
No two days are the same.
It's not at all like a typicaloffice job or really any
other job in the whole world.
Aviation is so unique.
It's definitely not always amazing.
It can get lonely, especially when you'reon long trips and you're away for a long

(01:02:38):
time from the people you care about.
But if you're a people person, if you loveto travel and you know what you need to
lead a fulfilling life and this soundslike something that excites you and you
want to give it a shot, I think thatit's a great fit for someone like that.
And, and you should giveit a go and just apply.
And I think right now, especiallypost COVID times, all the, airlines

(01:03:01):
were booming, like trying toget tons of flight attendants.
They're trying to get tons of pilots.
So if either of thosecareer paths interest you.
Now's the time to go for it.
All right.
Well, thank you so much, Betty.
Really appreciate you answering it.
I've learned so much today.
I actually feel like I have probablya hundred more questions here.
That I could ask you.
And we already have one of our longerrecording sessions that we've ever had,

(01:03:23):
but for listeners at home, if you havea question that I failed to ask as the
interviewer, go to YouTube, uh, andyou can leave that as a comment there.
And then Betty hopefully can pop onand answer some of your questions.
Yes.
I love answering people'squestions about this job.
I think all the time people don'texpect the answer that I give them.

(01:03:43):
So, if you have anything that you wantto ask me about or anything I need
to clarify, feel free to drop thosecomments on YouTube, I will be responding
diligently after this recording.
And while you're there on YouTube,make sure that you're subscribed.
Did you know most people who listento this podcast are not subscribed?
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(01:04:04):
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(01:04:27):
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(01:04:49):
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(01:05:10):
Well, that's all we'vegot for this episode.
I think it's been superfascinating, Betty.
Thank you so much for taking thetime to tell us all about this.
And, that's it.
We'll see you in the next one.
Yes.
all so much for being here andlistening to all the ins and outs
of my life as a flight attendant.
I hope you enjoyed the showand we will see you next time.