20 Fights, 4 Days, Too Many Delays

DELAYED...Now there's a word you never want to see on the airport screen! Unfortunately, Mother Nature decided to have a nervous breakdown and someone decided mechanics needed more work to do...leaving me with a lot of unhappy people. My trip was going so well. Originally a two day with ten flights. The first day was great, all five flights with no major issues. A nice overnight in Winnipeg, and I was ready for day two.

Of course different day, different story. Arriving back in Minneapolis, we had an aircraft swap. We walked down to the gate, and our plane was still not there. Pretty soon we learned that the plane was actually still in Rapid City. It hadn't even left the gate yet. As I was sitting there waiting, another flight attendant joined us at the gate. She was there to do my line check (where an instructor rides on your flight and makes sure you are doing everything right). Because of the delay and other flights she had scheduled she was only able to do a spot check (they make sure you are compliant and have all of your required items). So I would still have to anticipate another line check...lucky me! The worse part of this delay is that the flight was just a short, 74 mile hop. The flight was eventually cancelled, 2 hours later, long enough that the passengers could have already been home (by car).

After flights two and three for the day were cancelled, I had about a three hour break before we had to leave again. More quality airport time. (I think I might hide a tent somewhere in the airport, and set up a little home) Pretty soon it was back to the gate for the next flight. Again...the plane was not there. This one was 45 minutes delayed. Eventually it made it there and we were on our way. The passengers were all pretty nice and understanding with me. I think it helped that I gave them cookies and peanuts on a technically non-service flight...shhhh. As soon as those passengers were off the plane, I went into turbo speed to get that plane out and hopefully make up some time. But then the Captain had some bad news, weather in Minneapolis had caused a ground delay. The airport was shut down. Seriously! As I sat there facing a very good possibility of being stuck in Sioux Falls, I was very glad that I had taken advice from other flight attendants and packed my bag for longer than my scheduled trip. It can happen people...be prepared! Luckily we were boarding and cleared to go 45 minutes later. Again, I had to bribe people with snacks, but hey, whatever it takes. When we finally touched down in Minneapolis, most of the passengers were very close or had already missed their connecting flights. I was just as ready as they were were to be done with this day, and not a fan of being delayed all day. But as we were taxing in to the gate more bad news...lightning strikes close to the airport had shut down all the gates. So 15 more minutes on the tarmac. By this time people really had to go to the bathroom, and I had some desperate requests to get out of their seat and use the lav. I called the pilots and begged for my passengers relief and they said it would be all right, just let them know when everyone was seated again. This is a moment when more than one bathroom is needed. I ended up having to cut off the lav line because the gates had opened again, and when those windows of opportunity open up on a day like this, you do not hesitate. We were finally home, and I was definitely ready to get back to my residence at the hotel!

After a day like that, I was pretty exhausted. I didn't really anticipate that I would get called out the next day, but sure enough, 6:22 a.m. my phone rang. I answered with a groggy hello, and a woman, with a voice that was way too happy for that time in the morning, informed me that I had another trip in two hours. Another two day with ten more flights. It was a pretty gloomy and raining morning, bad weather that meant the potential for more delays. Well they didn't start until the third flight. Another aircraft swap (they seem to be bad luck for me) and we were waiting for a motor on a windshield wiper. Two hours later, we were on our way. It was just a short flight to Duluth, and as we were nearing descent the passenger call button rang. I made my way down the aisle to a woman holding a sleeping baby. She asked if there was a bathroom where she could change the baby. I told her where the lav was and that it was really small and we were almost descending, but if it was really necessary she could get up and change the baby really quickly. She then informed me that the diaper was leaking, and it was acidy. Way too much information! Before I could say another word, she handed me the child. The poor baby was just dangling there in my arms (I am terrified of children, especially ones with overflowing diapers). The guy sitting next to the lady was like, "You don't have children do you?" "No," I said, "What was your first clue?" The lady then realized that she did not have any diapers. She looked at me and asked if we had them on the plane. "No ma'am we don't." She then went on to tell me that this was an emergency and she really needed to change the baby. There were no other babies onboard. I'm not quite sure where she wanted me to magically make a diaper appear from. I went through the plane trying to find anything that would work. I handed her maxi pads, wipes, paper towels, anything that would maybe help. She just looked at me and said, "Your delays suck!" So now it was my fault the plane was delayed, she didn't have extra diapers, and her baby was miserable. I was on a roll. She had the poor baby just sitting there in front of the lav as I was trying to find her something to use, so I also now had to ask another passenger to hold the poor child, she was definitely up for mother of the year! Finally she gave up and realized that since we were only 15 minutes from landing it would be better to wait than to somehow strap maxi pads to her baby. I wished her luck as she deplaned. Good thing the baby slept through this whole ordeal. She may have been traumatized for life!

Back from Duluth was even more unpleasant. Already delayed by two hours, some connections were already gone, and others weren't looking good. This is the flight where I received my first negative encounter with a passenger. We will call her Betty. The first thing Betty did when she boarded the plane was hand me a coupon for a free drink and requested it NOW. On this particular aircraft we don't do pre-boarding drinks and this was also a non-service flight. I told her I could not get her drink. She then proceeded to yell at me for five minutes on how she couldn't use this coupon on her last flight and it expires so she was going to use it now, and that I was going to get her drink for her. I told her we were boarding and trying to get the flight out faster since it was already delayed. She then told me I could have gotten the drink while I had been there arguing with her. Then she wanted me just to give her the mini liquor bottle and she would just take it with her. I told her we can't allow passengers to take them off the plane. Still arguing/yelling at me I just gave up and turned around and walked away. I was able to get her drink to her during the flight (it was not as turbulent as anticipated). As I was walking down the aisle, the passenger sitting behind Betty motioned for me to come here. She whispered to me that Betty had taken my name and information and was probably going to file a complaint on me. She told me that she had witnessed the whole thing and that she would be willing to write a witness statement to support me and provide her  information if I needed any backup in case I got in trouble. I will probably keep this note forever! It was so great. She said that the lady was rude and scary, and that Betty had harassed me and was very insistent to get alcohol. Instantly she became one of my most favorite passengers! As the passengers were deplaning this amazingly nice lady stuck a good job star sticker on my hand. I stuck it to the note she wrote me. A permanent reminder that for every one rude passenger, there are hundreds of amazing ones willing to help you out. As I got to my hotel that night in Grand Forks, I filed a report about the altercation with Betty. So if you're out there Betty...you file a report on me I will go ahead and file one on you!

The rest of the trip went pretty smoothly. Just some funny passengers. There was the guy sitting in the front row who would sleep with one eye open. The whole time it creeped me out because I wasn't sure if he was looking at me or asleep. Then there was the cute old lady who I had to lift out of her seat. Generally this wouldn't have been difficult, but It was my last flight of the 20 and I was beat! And on the last flight there was a special assistance passenger who kept me busy and entertained as I rescued him from the lav, and gave him a safety briefing where he would repeat everything until I acknowledged him. I really do love every moment of this job, and all of the amazing people I meet!

After that long exhausting trip I was able to go home for a few days and relax. Glad to have survived 20 flights in 4 days!

Even More Reason to Avoid the Lav

On a quick trip to Fargo, Rapid City and La Crosse I wasn't anticipating too many exciting things to happen. Only 2 of the 6 flights would be service and they were all pretty quick trips...so no big deal right???

WRONG!

First off I had an FAA Retiree onboard. Scary, but no rules broken (sigh of relief). Then I had the luck of getting two different aircraft with the annoying plunger door (there are only 4 total). We had three different aircraft, so three preflights. I forgot my pilots name in one of my announcements, and had to pause and everyone laughed. So that was pretty funny. We were running on a delay because one of the planes from the first crew was late getting in, and it had also not been stocked by como. The trash was overflowing, there was no ice, trash bags or service items. And finally there was the puker...

I knew we were in trouble when the lovely lady boarded the plane, requesting a seat change closer to the bathroom and a bag. Now maybe I am just too simple minded, but if you are not feeling well I surmise that boarding an object moving through bumpy air at over 500 mph would not be the best of ideas, but she was not about to stay behind. So after begging some people in the back, a nice man, in the most perfect seat for this lady, agreed to change seats. Ready for takeoff...

Not five minutes after takeoff had gone by, when I look up from my jumpseat to see the lovely lady in the back row mad dash to the lav. Yes the seatbelt sign was still on, but I guess when you're desperate rules go out the window. I figured it was safe enough and better off for everyone if I just left her alone and let this one slide. Well poor lady became an occupant of the lav the entire flight.

As the plane started into its descent I had to do my cabin sweep. She was still in the lav so I just knocked on the door to let her know she needed to be back in her seat for landing. By the time I finished all of my other prelanding duties she was still locked up in the lav. Passengers are not allowed to be in the lav for takeoff or landing. I knew that this lady was in a tough situation, but I was concerned for safety reasons. So I spent the next five minutes banging on the door, yelling at the lady to get out of the bathroom. "Ma'am I need you in you're seat right now! I brought you back another bag, and I'm sorry that's uncomfortable, but you cannot be in the bathroom for landing." I have never been so stern with a complete stranger in my life. A lot of the other passengers kept looking back, wondering what in the world was going on. I considered opening the door from the outside, but definitely didn't want to witness what was going on in there, and wasn't exactly sure what I would do if I got the door open anyway. She yelled back at me, annoyed, "I'm throwing up!"..."Ma'am I understand that, but you cannot be in there, get in you're seat now!" I looked out passenger window and realized how close the ground was. Oh crap! We were minutes from landing, and I had to get up to the front to my seat as well. Then the signal for landing echoed through the cabin. Double crap! One final plea/demand, "Ma'am you really can't be in the bathroom for landing! I'm going up to my seat, but I left a bag on your seat, and you need to get out now!" I then raced down the aisle toward my jumpseat, which at an almost vertical down-facing position is very challenging. It felt kind of like I was just swimming over the seats. I finally made it to my seat got buckled in and looked up just as my lav occupant was finally getting to her seat. Just moments after we were landing. Now that's cutting it close.

As one passenger was getting off the plane, he said, "You did all you could do back there...good job!" I just laughed and apologized to pretty much everyone around the situation. The puker was the last to get off the plane. Though I was slightly upset with her I still had some sympathy and told her to feel better! She didn't look good at all...I guess spending an entire hour in an airplane lavatory will do that to you!

After everyone was off the plane, I informed my pilots about the situation. The first officer asked me if we needed a cleanup. So now was the time to face my fear and check. I walked back to the lav, and opened it just a crack. I already have a fear of using the bathroom on a plane...and this just may have made that impossible to get over. For some reason this lady found it appropriate to use the sink instead of the toilet, and it wasn't draining. The smell was awful. I slammed the door shut and jumped back, "Oh gosh, I'm not doing that!" The pilots just laughed and got the cleanup crew out there. They were also not impressed with her location decision, but at least it was all secluded in the lav! This wonderful event caused even more of a delay, but the passengers boarding for the next flight were pretty understanding.."I heard you had a situation on the last trip," one of them joked, "Rough flight?"

By the time we got to the hotel that night I was exhausted! The overnight was in La Crosse Wisconsin, and it was beautiful. The hotel sits right along the Mississippi River, the room was nice and I had a huge sleep number bed. It was a welcome relief from the long day.

The next day started early, but was an easy day. Just one short flight. When we were checking in with the gate agent she read my name, and then went on to tell us how she has a cat named Lexi, and when they say Lexi Cat Lexi Cat she gets all excited and rolls around. I told her I don't do that...the pilots thought this was hilarious, but I did not. The entire walk to the plane they would yell, "Lexi Cat Lexi Cat!" Lovely.

As always, I enjoyed meeting many new great and wonderful people. There was an adorable elderly couple on one flight who had been married for 67 years! I was amazed and honored to have them on my flight. I asked her what the secret was and her advice was to never be selfish. So there ya have it. I think their advice is qualified to be doctrine by now!

Well, another trip down and it just keeps getting better! Can't wait for more.

Off With the Training Wheels

As flight attendants, we go through weeks of intense training where we are closely monitored and instructed on everything that needs to be done. Obviously I knew that wouldn't be the case forever, but when you are the only flight attendant on the aircraft, it really hits you!

I began my first official trip by myself with butterflies going crazy in my stomach. Not only would I be the only flight attendant, but I was also going on an international flight...way to start slow eh??? I had four legs on the first day, an overnight in Canada and one leg on the second day. Only one was a no service flight (I prefer service flights, I feel useless when I don't have any).

Once I got onboard the plane, the butterflies began to ease up, and I felt pretty good about knowing what I needed to do. The boarding went smoothly with a correct passenger count and everything. I got out my liquor paperwork before service and filled it out and counted the liquor...I was sure I had everything Ineeded. Service went well (didn't spill any drinks) and I had gotten the cart all cleaned out (as a preface, this means that I had dumped out all of the leftover drinks, juices, coffee and ice in the trash...remember that small detail). Now it was time to add my liquor sales to the paperwork...as I read over the sheet a small, terrible detail became apparent. I had forgotten to get the number off of the previous paperwork before I threw it away. I looked over at my full trash cart, the paperwork was sure to be at the bottom...crap! Solution, dumpster diving! I looked back at the passengers and made sure that none of them were paying too much attention to me, pushed the trash cart as far as I could into the galley, put on some gloves and dove in. Diggingthrough cans of soda, ice, tomato juice and trash in a confined space is not the easiest thing, especially when you are trying to keep your white, long sleeved shirt clean and hide your embarrassing moment from passengers. Finally I found a soaking wet piece of paper. Relief...but once I unrolled it from the soaked ball it had become I was devastated to see that it was just the provisions paperwork...back to the trash. I was beginning to feel hopeless and panicked at what was going to happen to me when finally I found another wad of soaked paper. JACKPOT!!! Crisis #1 averted, and as an added bonus a deplaning passenger told me he was very impressed, he'd never seen a flight attendant work so hard...oh if he only knew.

Crisis #2 was fun. We were nearing landing, and I had all of my duties complete. I had done my sweep and made sure all of the passengers were set for landing. I had finished cleaning up the galley, so I was sitting in my jumpseat making sure I had done everything. When I looked up, to my horror, I noticed that one overhead bin was open. Someone had gotten something out after my sweep and forgot to close the bin. I knew I didn't have much time before I was supposed to be in my seat for landing, so I threw off my seatbelt, ran down the aisle, shut the bin, gave the passengers around it a dirty glare and raced back to my seat all amid some pretty rough turbulence. I sat back in my seat and buckled up just in time for the landing signal. PHEW!

I had a lot of really great and fun passengers. A lot of them would ask me how long I'd been flying...my response...look at my watch and say "You really wanna know". But they were all so nice and full of compliments. I also had a military guy onboard and as he was deplaning he turned to me and was like "don't worry, it's my first day too." There is also this man that I sat next to on my flight moving here, well he ended up being on two of my flights and I also saw him at the airport the next day. Small world!

My final major crisis happened at the end of my trip. We landed in G gate and I had to go through customs and back through security to get to the crew lounge, by C gates, to turn in my liquor paperwork and money. When I got to the crew lounge, it had almost been an hour since we landed I pulled out my paperwork, and another sickening feeling hit me. Instead of the liquor paperwork I had the provisions form. AHHHH! I raced out of the lounge back to G. I flagged down a cart driver and begged him to get me to G. He was sooo nice, and was instantly my favorite person of the day. When I got to my gate, the plane was gone. I raced to the next gate that had an agent. Out of breath, I explained the situation to her and asked her is she knew where that plane was. She put it into her little system and told me that the plane was at C gate about to go to Nashville. She was nice enough to call the gate and let me talk to them. The gate agent told me the plane was about to leave but she would go on and try and get my paperwork. I told her I had the como form and wasn't sure if they had done it or not, but she told me it was already done. Apologies to all the people dealing with my paperwork issues! So once again I raced back to the C concourse. I was sprinting through the airport, in full uniform, on the moving walkways. I'm sure I looked so great sweating to death and out of breath, but I got to the gate just as they were pulling the jetbridge from the plane. Holding my breath (what little was left in me) I waited for the agent to come back. Lights of heavenly rays glowed through that gate as I realized that she had my liquor paperwork form in her hands. Obviously liquor paperwork is not my strong point, but I will be double checking everything from now on!

As far as my travels go, I went to Nashville, Cincinnati and Regina. When I opened the door upon arrival in Nashville I immediately wanted to shut it. Hot and humid!! On top of that heat (bad day to wear long sleeves) there were tons of these huge bugs. As I was freaking out and trying to keep them off the plane the gate agent started laughing. Apparently they're "just cicadas" and they don't bite. They do hiss though, and really they are huge,  but it a way kind of pretty for bugs. Nature also got crazy in Cincinnati where we were delayed because there was a turtle on the runway...no lie, literally a turtle! No real nature issues in Canada except for the fact that when you travel internationally you kind of feel like a zoo animal yourself staying in special areas behind gates and walls and stuff. Of course I ended up going to Regina. In class we had learned how to properly say it, and attempted to do so many times without getting pre-teen giggles...good thing. My captain told me they get mad when you say it wrong, and they also have a slogan that says the city that rhymes with fun...really, I saw a t-shirt!