Merry Christmas (finally)!

Yes...it is 12/27/09, and it is Christmas in the Moore household!

After arriving back in Denver, we found out that our CPT was being replaced with another - we were a little sad, because we (the FAs) were working on "setting him up" with our single FA. He did leave our trip with our phone numbers and email addresses...the ball is now in his court.

Our flight to Portland, OR was uneventful and our new CPT was really very nice. We did not do anything as a team for Christmas Eve - I think we were all trying to pretend that it was just another ordinary night. In the morning, however, you could see that the hotel staff was trying to make their guests feel like it was Christmas - there were Hershey's hugs, candy canes, fresh pastries and fresh fruit for us to take with us as we flew back to Denver (normally, there isn't any of these). And, I'm happy to report, the carpeting in my hotel room was not soaking wet (like it was in my previous two visits)!

When we arrived in Denver, I went to a "real lunch" with the CPT and the FO at the Denver Chop House - a "real restaurant," complete with tablecloths and waitstaff. Yay! We had artichoke dip for an appetizer and then prime rib sandwiches for lunch. Delicious! Merry Christmas! We also had a good talk - the CPT is the VP of FAPA (which I think stands for the Frontier Airline Pilots' Association). I told him that he had the entire lunch to convince me of the need for the flight attendants to unionize. And he did a good job. If we could manage to do what they have done, it'd be the same as our current "leadership council," but with legal protection. There's no need for Teamsters or AFA to represent us - we can speak for ourselves.

After lunch, we picked up our "Christmas Lunch" from Frontier (a delicious ham or turkey sandwich, snack bar, applesauce, brownie and tangerine) and headed to our Nashville turn. One of our FAs from the trip had dropped the turn, so we were joined by some "fresh blood." We also changed our positions, so I didn't have to deal with Christmas passengers' bags any longer!!! Woo hoo! By the time we finished the loooooonnnnnnnng turn, we were all ready to be home. We all agreed, however, that it was a great trip with a great team!

So I went ahead and drove home. Jen was home from college, the tree was decorated, the presents all wrapped, and we decided to wait and see what the morning held. I came downstairs at around 6:46AM on 12/26 and looked online at my schedule...bummer. I saw a turn to Orlando. A senior mama evidently had too much eggnog and called in sick. I was so upset. I really wanted to stay home and celebrate with my family. After throwing myself a pity party, I pulled myself together and moved on. (However, I do plan on using my voodoo doll to seek revenge on the unsuspecting slacker.)

The trip to Denver was horrific. Just as it was the night before, from the south edge of Denver to the airport, the roads were snow-covered and icy, and there was blowing snow everywhere. Not what I needed to get me into a holiday mood. Then, as I was exiting the highway onto the airport property, my car started fishtailing...fortunately, I seem to be pretty good in keeping cars going straight on snow/ice, and I made it safely to work.

But unfortunately, I did not enjoy my fellow FAs as much as I might have - I got an overwhelming sense of "having to defend myself" as to how I was doing my job. I do my job the way that I was trained. Period. No questions. But I was asked, "why do you do it this way?" and, "why do you do it that way?" when all I really needed to say was, "Ladies, just read your manual!" Sheesh. And I just read the latest weekly newsletter from the company and in it, it addressed one of the problems I had - hahahahahahaha! I am seeing that the company really DOES want us to do it the way that I've been doing it! Woo hoo! A sense of support and vindication! Yippee!

Anyway, that trip couldn't be over fast enough. Fortunately, the passengers were a lot less high maintenance than on Christmas Day - most of these people were either a) returning from Christmas vacation at Walt DisneyWorld or b) FL residents flying to the ski areas for a winter skiing vacation, so they were all pretty much in a very good mood. That was good. The CPT and FO were really nice and I enjoyed talking to them, but it sure was great to have the trip end.

As I was walking to the bus that would take me to the employee lot, I heard those magic words, "You are released to your days off..." Halleluiah! Let our Moore family Christmas celebration FINALLY begin!

Merry Christmas Eve!

I got the "dreaded call" on Tuesday evening, assigning me to a 3-day trip starting on Wednesday. That meant that I would not be home for Christmas Eve (again) and most of Christmas Day. I felt sorry for myself for awhile, and then decided to make the best of it.

I found out that I knew one of my fellow flight attendants, and she's really nice, so I was excited that I'd be around a friendly face during the holidays! Yay! Then I met the other flight attendant, and she's a hoot! It was going to be okay.

Yesterday afternoon our first flight was delayed due to weather (snow) and de-icing. So, of course, people weren't happy. This time we were heading from Denver to Las Vegas...I'm not sure what was going on in Vegas, but half the plane was filled with Hispanic people - none of whom spoke English. That, added to the fact that there were a zillion kids, made for an interesting flight. This was unlike any other Vegas flight I have ever worked...usually everyone is excited and happy. This time they were annoyed and grumpy. But I plugged along, wearing my Christmas lights light-up necklace and Santa hat, trying to spread Christmas cheer!

Next, we flew from Vegas to Milwaukee. We boarded the plane as fast as we could so that we could get to Milwaukee as fast as we could. The people were such that I had to make an impromptu announcement as I stood in the middle of the plane, "If you aren't going to be in a good mood, you need to get off the plane right now." I don't think I was taken seriously.

One man had an oversized bag that he was putting in the overhead - I told him that it was too large. He about threw a fit. He said that this would be the last time that he flew Midwest Express (to which I wanted to reply "HALLELUIAH!"), and that he would only fly Southwest in the future. But later in the flight, as we served warm chocolate chip cookies, this guy was singing a different tune. I reminded him that Southwest doesn't serve warm chocolate chip cookies...

We finally got to the hotel at around 2AM, after having to take a taxi to the hotel - there was a huge delay in van services. On the way to the hotel, we passed one rollover accident and one Jeep which was off the road. I'd say that the roads were a bit icy...

Today, we deadhead (we sit as passengers) back to Denver, sit in the crewroom for a couple hours, then we work the flight to Portland, OR, where we'll be spending Christmas Eve. The thing I'm not crazy about is that the Portland hotel is probably one of the worst ones that we stay at...there's a swimming pool in the lobby. Can you say "tacky?"

Anyway, it's time to shower and dress - and get ready to take a nap on the flight back to Denver. Merry Christmas Eve!!!

Ahhhhh...What a Great Trip!

Even though this most recent trip included a redeye flight from LAX to MKE, I actually had a great time! The redeye was at the start of the trip, and there were lots of long layovers with late show times that helped all of us to catch up on our sleep!

Fortunately, the three of us (flight attendants) got along famously, and there was no drama. The First Officer was a lot of fun to kid around with, and he added to our fun. And, as I mentioned in my last post, the only strangeness was our Captain. I asked him if he was from Aspen, but he was from Idaho. Hmmmm. When asked what he was giving his kids for Christmas, he said "family time" and "love." Well okay, then. Definitely a guy marching to the beat of his own drummer.

It turns out that everyone else had a DFW turn after we got to DEN, but that wasn't on the trip that I was assigned! So I was free to go...I got a hug from Sammy, a hug and kiss from Suzanne, a friendly smile from the First Officer, and a handshake from the Captain. I told him that he was going to miss working with me...

I am now on my one day off. I have to wrap presents, do laundry, do a mystery shop and then I have to "play the game" to see what I get assigned for tomorrow...I am hoping for the B couch so that I can be in Denver when Jen's flight arrives from NYC, and then hopefully be able to drive her home to Colorado Springs! I am scheduled to work through 12/26...I am looking forward to the day when I no longer have to pull holiday duty.

But, I do have 12/27-12/30 off from work, and then 1/2-1/5. So I will make the most of Jen's visit...it'll be good to hang out with her again, and I look forward to when her boyfriend, James, arrives on 12/30. Until then...I have to keep my fingers crossed that I either get to stay home on Christmas or, if I am sent out, that it's a nice hotel with a nice crew. My fingers are crossed!

What Day is it?

I am not really sure where I am, and I'm too lazy to get up and read the address on the stationery in the desk drawer...

Let's see...I started this trip on Friday night, I think. We flew from Denver to Los Angeles in the evening, and then we flew a redeye from Los Angeles to Milwaukee! We arrived in Milwaukee at 5AM. I haven't done one of those in a long, long time. (Mainly because we didn't have any!) Fortunately, our hotel is very comfortable and quiet, and I was able to sleep in until 3:30PM! Nice.

It was an easy flight, too - as soon as we did the two beverage services and served the warm chocolate chip cookies, most everyone fell asleep. My hardest job at the point was staying awake! But I did it.

On Saturday night, we had a van time of 8:30PM or so - this time we were flying from Milwaukee back to Los Angeles, arriving at around 1AM. This flight also went very well. We did all our services, served our warm cookies and milk, and everyone slept! We arrived at our Los Angeles hotel and settled in for a nice sleep - but I made the mistake of turning on the TV. I get sucked into that thing, and last night was no exception. HBO was showing Sex and the City - The Movie, and I watched it all. By the time it was done, it was 4:30AM. That's the second night in a row that I stayed up all night!

This morning I woke up at 10AM, and I actually feel pretty good! We had a busier day today - we had to fly to Denver, change planes and then fly to Dallas for the night. Today we were Frontier Airlines the entire day. Yay! That means no warm cookies...but that's ok. We get to fly back home tomorrow in the early afternoon.

This 4-day trip has been pretty good, even though it had a redeye and another late night arrival. I actually feel good and rested. The other flight attendants have been a lot of fun to work with, and we've all gotten along beautifully. I haven't heard any criticism from my co-workers. Yay!

In fact, the only problem that we seem to be having is with the captain. He's weird. Nice guy, but very different. Doesn't seem to be a team player with the rest of us kids. For example, he left us at the hotel this afternoon - he got on the shuttle bus before the "van time," and the next van wasn't coming for another 20 minutes or so. The rest of us ended up walking down to the street in front of the hotel, and we flagged down a shuttle van that happened to be driving by. That's kind of sad. But those drivers know we tip, and it's a quick way for them to make a few bucks. we must have looked pathetic.

Anyway, we got to the airport on time and an uneventful flight to Denver and then on to Dallas. But it sure felt like a long day. It's now midnight here in Dallas, and I'm not really tired at all. I have turned into a night owl!

I hope I'll be sent home tomorrow after we get back to Denver...I have one day off to finish up all my Christmas preparations. I just need to wrap some presents, purchase a few small gifts, and I think I'm done. I'd like to bake some Christmas cookies, too...stay tuned.

Josh's First Flight!

Yesterday, I got a call from Crew Scheduling which assigned me to a two-day trip. I spent last night in Chicago - we got in really late and left this morning...so I didn't get together with anyone while I was there - I used the time to SLEEP. After flying back to Denver, we had a Kansas City "victory lap." But this was not just an ordinary victory lap...

The CPT's 3 year old son, Josh (and his Mom) were going to fly with us! It was Josh's first airplane trip ever! He was so adorable! On the flight to MCI, they sat near the back and it was a really short flight, so I didn't get to go back and check on him (I was the A). On the return flight, I gave them seats in Row 1 - it was so much fun to watch the little guy. Some of the fun things that went on were:

- watching the CPT put his CPT's hat on his son's head and taking his picture sitting in the CPT's chair.
- watching Josh strut around with his flight jacket on.
- seeing Josh's face when I gave him a smiley face pin (instead of a set of wings, which I didn't have.
- watching Josh's reaction when Dwayne announced that Josh was onboard, and was the son of the CPT, and asked everyone to give Josh a round of applause for being on today's flight.
- being able to pamper Josh with tv, a special sippy cup, a snack, a coloring book & crayons, and a "Junior Flight Attendant" official certificate signed by the entire crew (including CPT Daddy).
- watching Josh tell the passengers "goodbye!" as they left the aircraft.

I am so glad that I got to witness Josh's trip today. It gave me goosebumps for the entire day and almost brought me to tears several times! Awesome. THIS is why I love my job.

Do You Mean What You Say?

We had an early van time of 5:30AM leaving Milwaukee, but at least we were eventually heading back to Denver. It was lightly snowing in Milwaukee and it was cold! Our flight to Phoenix was a little over half full - so it'd be a relatively easy morning for us. What we didn't expect, though, were the 130 mph headwinds! Yowza! It took us over FOUR HOURS to fly there. Fortunately, all our passengers were cool, calm and collected.

After a quick cleaning of the plane, we were on our way back to Denver. We were full to the gills, including an extra flight attendant, pilot, and FAA inspector. Fun fun! But the flight was a little over an hour...so it went by quickly. Thank goodness. I was ready to go home.

This trip really took it out of me. First off, it was the early show times - I had to get up at 3:30AM on Friday morning to sit the couch at 6AM at DIA, then 3:15AM on Saturday morning to get to DIA in time for my 5:40AM show time, 3:15AM (Denver time) on Sunday morning to catch the 5:00AM van (local time) to the Houston airport, and then 3:45AM (Denver time) on Monday morning to catch the 5:30AM van (local time) to the Milwaukee airport. Needless to say, I fell asleep last night on the sofa at 8PM and didn't wake up until 6AM. Woo hoo! It felt good to sleep in!

Another factor that made this trip a bit harder were the other flight attendants. Very nice ladies and very good at their job. But brutally honest. One kept telling everyone that I was trying to be "Super Stew" (which is not a bad thing), but she put me to shame with all her highlighters, addressing passengers by their surnames (at least those that were identified on our paperwork), cleaning the coffeepots with a scrub brush, and always keeping busy. It was almost as if she could not sit still! She told me that I was very "opinionated" - very strong in my convictions and feelings. She also said that I had a very dry sense of humor. When I got yelled at by the passengers the previous day, all she said was "there, there...you've got to keep a positive attitude." That's true, but it was hurtful being the target of so many people on one flight.

The other flight attendant was nice enough, but bristled when I tried to "do things by the book." Things such as making the announcements according to the newest release, especially the safety demo one. I felt that they considered me stiff and unbending. Oh well. Near the end of the flight when they served a 2nd drink to a couple who I had just said no to, and then the woman got up at a time when the seatbelt light was on to go pee because of all the alcohol she had consumed, I made a reminder announcement about the seatbelt sign being lit. The comment I got from my co-worker was "you're not making sure that she's having a positive travel experience." Hmmm.

She later told me she was "just kidding," but serving two drinks to one person during an hourlong flight and then having the same person disregard FAA regulations because their bladder was now full, it seems to me that we contributed to her a) inebriatedness and b) breaking FAA rules. But I was overridden, yet again, because I am too stiff and unbending.

The entire trip was filled with little comments here and there from one or the other. Maybe I was just too touchy and wearing my feelings on my sleeve. I don't know. Maybe I was too touchy because I was so tired from the long flights and short nights' sleep. Who knows?

The moral of this story, I guess, is that having a crew with the same beliefs and practices as you can really help make it a positive experience. If we do our jobs the way we were trained, these kind of "conflicts" wouldn't arise as often, and we'd all be on the same page. Fortunately, this situation does not happen very often...

But now I've got THREE WHOLE DAYS off during which I need to put up all the indoor Christmas stuff. I'm not making very good headway...I keep getting drawn to the computer to check my email, Facebook, or do some online ordering for gifts. Focus...I need to focus.

A Love Note

I had one day off, which pretty much turned to two days off when crew scheduling did not call me on my first day of duty. Sweet! Then...of course, the good is followed by the not-so-good, and I got assigned to the "A" couch (6AM until Noon) on Friday morning.

For some reason, I had a real hard time sleeping on Thursday night - the weather wasn't the greatest, and I guess I was freaking myself out about how the roads would be bad...so, when I woke up at 2:30AM I decided to just go ahead and drive to the airport and sleep in the crewroom until it was time to report at 6AM. I got there at 4:30AM, cleaned up the crewroom a bit (flight attendants and pilots are PIGS), set my cell phone alarm, and laid down on one of the sofas and passed out. After awhile, the noise level got a little high so I opened my eyes, looked at my watch and FREAKED OUT. It was 6AM and I had not called yet! Crew scheduling knew I was there because of seeing where I had badged in at the parking lot, the bus depot, and at the terminal. But I still needed to call them...when I did, I must have been just under the wire, cause they did not give me a "late show." Whew! That was close!

Anyway, I served my six hours on the couch. Didn't do much of anything flying-wise, but did get to visit with another reserve, Judy. She was very sweet and a lot of fun to talk to. Well, it turns out that later that evening, Judy and I got assigned to the same 3-day trip which had an 0540 showtime on Saturday...she's at the front of the plane and I'm working the middle. We started yesterday with a turn to Vegas and then a Houston overnight. The Vegas flights were pretty full (there's a rodeo going on), but the Houston flights were less than half full. I was able to have dinner last night in Houston with my former classmate, Janel, who's now an air traffic controller trainee in Houston. It was so good to see her again and visit.

This morning, we left our Houston hotel at 5AM and flew back to Denver, and then we had a flight to Vegas that was delayed by an hour because of de-icing. We had already pulled away from the gate and were in line for de-icing, so it made for a long trip. And then there was a terrible headwind, as well as lots of air traffic in Vegas, and it made us that much later. Fortunately, the passengers were understanding, and no one had connecting flights...except for us!

But, when we left Vegas, we had a plane full of people that we were taking to Milwaukee, and let's just say that some of them were not in the greatest of moods. Unfortunately, I was the person they seemed to "take it out on" since I was working the middle of the plane. So...to help me "let go" of these bad memories, I am going to write a few messages to these people and say what I really wanted to say to them, but held my tongue, instead, since I am a professional.

To the family in Row 1, Seats A, B and C - if you check in closer to 24 hours in advance, you can get a seat assignment somewhere else in the plane that doesn't require all your carry-ons be stowed in an overhead. Plus, if you have something that is very breakable, it's best not to sit in the bulkhead, where that item will be squashed in with all the other bags. Also,to the young adult in seat 1B - your baggy, droopy sweatpants were on inside out.

To the woman in Row 3, Seat C - you were asked to move out of the aisle because your behind was blocking 100 other people trying to get onto the plane. It is just as easy to "move your damn seatbelt" out of the way once you sit down, as it is before you sit down. And giving lip to your flight attendant is not a nice thing to do when your fat butt is causing the flight to take off even later.

To the grumpy old man in Row 18, Seat D - when I tell you that I cannot give you a can of Sierra Mist because we are running low, it means that I don't have any full cans to give you. Saying "Quit arguing with me and just bring me what I want" is not going to get you anywhere. In fact, had I found a full can of Sierra Mist at this point, I would not have given it to you just because you were so rude to me. And stopping me moments after I gave you a cup of Sierra Mist to demand the can didn't help things...I poured the rest of the can into the toilet.

To the couple in Row 19, Seats A and B - yes...I know that you paid for your tickets and paid for your overhead space for your folded up jacket and that you checked your large bags and that you are entitled to that space above your seat. Wah, wah, wah. When I tell you to hold onto your jacket until the larger bags are in the overheads, I'm saying this for your own good, as well as to expedite the already-delayed boarding process. I didn't want your jacket damaged by the dirty wheels of the roller bags. I promised to put your jacket back in the overhead and I did - but you saying "that's all we asked for in the first place" in a snide and demeaning voice was not necessary. Looking back, I should have moved your jacket to another overhead bin so that you could play "Jacket, Jacket, Which Bin's Got the Jacket?" when we arrived in Milwaukee. (Note to Self: remember to do this next time someone is nasty.)

And finally, to all those passengers who applauded when we announced that they were getting free DirectTV, all those who smiled and said hello when we welcomed them aboard, and all those who were polite and kind when we served beverages, picked up their trash, served snacks, served another round of beverages, picked up their trash, served warm chocolate chip cookies, served water and picked up more trash...Thank you! Your smiles and kind words are priceless!

A Day Off...

Since I got back from Vegas, life has been pretty quiet. I had to sit the couch at DIA from Noon until 6PM on Friday, the same day that Jen left to go back to NYC. So I just went to work early! I saw her off, and then hung around the concourse until it was time to report to work. On Saturday, I was awarded an RNF - a term for a day off without pay. That was nice. And on Sunday, I got assigned to the 6AM until Noon shift on the couch...and at 11AM I was pulled off the couch to help board a flight to Indianapolis. The flight attendant assigned to the trip had not shown up! Crew scheduling then called me and told me that I was going on the trip.

It was a good trip - I was the B flight attendant in the back of the plane, and that was good since I had no notice to get my act together! When we got to IND, I had planned on doing a bit of shopping, but it was 5PM and most of the stores closed at 6PM on Sundays. So I stopped at a local restaurant, got a bit of take-out, and headed back to my room in the rain. Of course, I had left my umbrella in my bag in the room!

When we returned to Denver on Monday morning, I was released for 10 hours. THAT was nice. I don't remember a whole lot, since I took a nice nap...but during the evening, I got a call from Crew Scheduling assigning me to a LaGuardia turn on Tuesday.

I'm really good about being happy and accepting my fate with a smile on my face...but getting an LGA turn is a tough one. Only 45 minutes on the ground, and my daughter is only 45 minutes away. It just KILLS me. Especially since the CPT and FO get to get off and spend the night there, and we get a new CPT and FO. Not fair, huh?

I start five days on duty tomorrow, and am patiently awaiting my fate. Some of my co-workers got only 40 hours for last month - I ended up working 62 hours, but I got paid for 75. I think it's better than working only 40 hours, spending the rest of those hours wondering and waiting by the phone.

Out of the 13 furloughed flight attendants who were invited to return in late December, six have accepted the invitation. I haven't heard which ones. The next wave will return early next year, so that they can be ready to fly the new aircraft that we are getting in February, March and April! I also heard that we're planning on growing 10%. Yippee!!!