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Adventures in Flight: I Know What You Were Doing

While you were dancing with sugar plums in your head, I was flying from London to San Francisco. I wore a gold and white Santa hat I bought in Japan. Working in business class I served passengers who loved the hat and were so thankful to me and the crew for working on the holiday. I love making people happy like that!
You were stuffing yourself with turkey, dressing and potatoes, while I was eating more meat than was on Noah’s Ark. I left on Thanksgiving for Sao Paolo, Brazil. At the two-for-one happy hour, we met up with a crew from D.C. Drunk on Caipirinha‘s, Brazil’s national (and very powerful drink)we all went to a Brazilian steak house. The salad bar would have been enough to eat, but then came the servers in national garb slicing off skewers of pork, beef, sausage, lamb, venison, duck, chicken and yes, turkey.
While you were opening presents on Christmas morning, I was walking around Diamond Head in Hawaii,

Hawaiian Santa

marveling at the numerous Santa displays in store windows and yards with him wearing colorful beach shorts instead of his furry red suit. Santa in a kayak, Santa on a surf board, Santa only in swim trunks. It was the first time in my life I spent a Christmas morning in such heat and humidity; no snow or snowmen. Finally, I knew what it must belike to celebrate Yule in the southern hemisphere, as, up to that point, I had not been in that part of the world during Christmas.

As you kissed your loved one at midnight withthe mirroredball dropping, I was watching the two magnificent pyrotechnicshowsput on over Sydney Harbor. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen more fireworks in one day in my life. The first show was as 9PM. I viewed it from a large hotel room obtained by a crew member from LAX for the purpose of hosting a party for all crew members. For the midnight show, we ventured to a park near Darling Harbor where we could see itfrom the watersideand viewthe bridge with the Opera House beyond.
While you were watching Thanksgiving Day football, I was at 36,000 feet sitting in first class eating Mother Airline’s version of a Thanksgiving meal. It was not bad for turkey and dressing, with green beans, mashed potatoes and a slice of pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. I wasn’t working, so I was able to wash it down with white wine.
Another Christmas in uniform
As the little ones gasped in excitement over Santa’s haul, I sat at home on call, waiting for Mother Airline to need me for a trip. I enjoy working on Christmas, bringing loved ones together, sharing in the joy and cheer and, just for fun, wearing my red holiday pin that reads, “Scrooge was right.” For some reason, people always ask what that means. But all I have to say for them to understand it is, “Bah-humbug.”
It’s not just the winter holidays. You were digesting hot dogs, potato salad and waving the US flag on the 4thof July, while I was in a 14thfloor hotel room in San Diego watching fireworks in all directions. It was time to get to sleep for my flights the next day. It was difficult to do, as people continued to shoot off firecrackers, poppers, zippers, zingers, bangers and gongs for hours.
Or I was alone, sitting along the river in Cleveland with the masses enjoying patriotic music, watching children play while their adults drank. Then the rockets red glare took off to bursting in air to thunderous applause and oohs and ahs.

Cleveland on the 4th of July

I know what you were doing on your holidays. I’ve done them before. Now I’m a first responder, responsible for safety and security on airliners going to and fro. Now I fly the skies circling the globe to watch others celebrate with customs not familiar to me, with foods not typically found in my pantry, with people I don’t know but enjoy the company of. We all have one thing in common, we love our celebrations, our family time, our cheer and goodwill toward others. We all love a good party!
I love working holidays. I don’t work them all; I tend to rotate…Thanksgiving this year, Christmas next. New Years only if I have to. I know what you were doing. In many cases, I, along with my many flying partners, helped make it happen.

One Christmas in Osaka, Japan

Happy Holidays!
I know what you were doing
I have done it too
Celebrating Christmas
Or were you playing Scrooge?
I know what you were doing
Eating with family and friends
Traveling to be together
Cheering the bygone trends
Each year the circle spirals
And brings us back around
Enjoying all the holidays
And getting out of town
Gather your things and presents
We all love a great surprise
Travel to see your loved ones
Travel through the skies
I know what you were doing
Spending time with those you love
I may not be with folk I know
But I’m as happy as a dove
I help bring people together
Encouragingsmiles and laughs
From takeoff to arrival
On a big ole jet aircraft
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My Favorite Things: It’s Hard to Stop!

747 landing at LAX

Well, folks, there you have it…this is the twelfth story in the series of some of my favorite things. These are no where near all of them. I love my job to the point where often I find that on my days off, I would rather be flying. There are many and numerous times I say out loud, “That’s my favorite!” In fact, it was having said this a few times within only a few minutes, just over a month ago, that led me to the idea to work on this series. I sure hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
In this final installment for “My Favorite Things” in 2015, I thought I would include a list of favorite things from around the world. Most were experienced in the course of doing my job. Some were discovered on personal travels. The world has become a much smaller place for me now that I travel around it as much as I do. There are still so many nooks and corners to discover, and there is hardly any place on the planet I would not love to see.
Penguin Claus

Thank you for going on this journey with me; my little holiday gift to you. And now, here are a few of my favorite things:

My favorite yogurt: In Sydney, Australia’s Circular Quay is a small, narrow restaurant selling salads, sandwiches and desserts. If you happen to go there, you’ll find it near the street under the overpass. They have a bin of fresh yogurt with fresh fruit. I get it by the pint and eat it during my 2 day layovers. It’s thick and creamy- delicious- and full of fresh fruit. If you’re nowhere near there, I’ve found yogurt almost as good in the grocery stores.
My favorite butter: Almost every country outside of the US has wonderful butter. I’m not sure why we don’t have dreamy butter in my home country. My first meal in Paris was in a dark, fancy restaurant. I was with fellow crew members from my SFO flight. On the table was a pail full of creamy delicious butter. I recall saying, “Just give me a spoon, I’ll eat the butter.” The sentiment was shared by others.
My favorite city: Untouched by war, Brugges, Belgium is a quaint town full of Gothic architecture, ornate church towers, waterways and a wonderful town square to enjoy. The closest you can get to Brugge without actually going there is to watch the movie, In Brugges, starring Colin Farrell.

A stormtrooper boards a 737???

About the best Mexican dinner I’ve ever had was in a small restaurant in Old Town San Diego. It upset me having been raised in Texas to find what I thought was better tortilla soup and carne asada out in California. It was also very hard to accept that the best steak of my life was found in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was so tender, you didn’t need a knife. It was flavorful, lean and simply to die for. Something about the amount of rich soil just under the grass eaten by the cows. Sorry Texas, you’re known for TexMex and steaks, but you will just have to share the stage on these two items in my book!
My favorite beer: I’ve always had a thing for light-colored wheat beer, such as Blue Moon. It all started in 1994 when I discovered Cellis White. The Cellis brewery went out of business a short time later, dammit. Then I found, while on vacation in Brussels and relaxing in the town square, cherry flavored Lambic beer; it was on special. It was equally refreshing when enjoying it on my day trip to Brugges.
My favorite airport layover hotel: The worst part about trips to Vancouver is having to deal with customs. The best part is staying at the airport hotel: The Fairmont. One of the best hotel chains in the world (and one I once worked for when in high school), it’s only a short walk from baggage claim, across the terminal. It has fantastic views of airport activity (my favorite), no matter what room you get. Wonderful location, friendly staff, fantastic rooms with comfortable beds, nice-smelling lotion and mint tea. I love the water pitcher that allows me to enjoy tea without that slight taste of coffee you get when making tea in the coffee maker.

View of the Sydney Opera House from door 5R.

My favorite layover: No longer a destination for me now that I’m based in Houston, I still loved my trips to Australia. Situated on a natural harbor, it’s one of the more beautiful cities in the world. The people are more laid back and their manners are much better than those found in other major cities. I once noticed that when people took cell phone calls while walking down the sidewalk, they stepped to the side to talk. It has a feel to it of what I expect the US was like in the 50’s. And with all the water, between the harbor and the ocean, there are so many walks one can take on the well constructed pathways that wind along the shores and above the cliffs. I enjoyed a different walk on each layover and never repeated the same one. It’s also home to the best fish dinner I’ve ever had.
My favorite Barbecue: While you can’t really beat the BBQ stuffed baked potato at Dickey’s at the DFW airport, I think the best BBQ I’ve had in my travels was in Kansas City. Thanks to a passenger who told me about Gates BBQ and their burnt ends sandwich, I found a piece of heaven between bread and smothered in tangy sauce. While maybe not the best BBQ I’ve had, it definitely made quite an impression on me.

Landing
Wonderful pizza: A few months after the tsunami that struck Thailand, I spent a week on the shore in Phuket. My hotel had a wood-fired pizza oven and I ate that pizza each night of my stay, but one. I regretted that one. (Not really.) It was hand tossed and thin crust, fired to perfection with melted cheese. I don’t know that Italy itself could make a pizza this good, and I’ve been to Italy! They even let me refresh my culinary background by allowing me to make my own pizza one night!
Best Cuban sandwich: I don’t know the name of the hotel, but at the Miami airport I once had an extended short layover. The ‘Cuban’, my first, was quite tasty and the fries were dusted in Parmesan cheese. Nothing like a hotel meal that surprises at how good it is. My favorite.
My favorite downtown hotel: A few years ago, I was holding red eyes from San Francisco to Boston for 30 hour layovers. I loved being able to explore Boston and the Freedom Trail. We stayed at the oldest continuously run hotel in the country, the Omni Parker House. It’s a notably haunted hotel, and I believe it! The experiences I had there will be the subject of its own story. The hotel is the birthplace of the Parker House rolls and the Boston Cream Pie. It has a great work out room and has fostered the inspiration for several stories that I have written, most notably being the history of Doctor Evil. (See my Fiction Blog…….)
Some of my favorite culinary finds: Street waffles in Brussels and street churros in Mexico City for their wonderful texture and perfect flavor. Clotted cream in London for its creaminess and divine when combined with warm scones. Seafood burrito in Puerto Vallarta full of grilled shrimp, octopus and seasonings in a grilled flour tortilla. Espiritu Santo Restaurant in Valparaiso, Chile, one of the better restaurants I’ve ever eaten in, dishing out garden fresh food with charm and warmth. These all had me melting.

London’s Battersea Power Station with a pig I found on the Tube.

It’s difficult to stop writing about my favorites; there are so many. This list isn’t so much about the job as it’s
about the perks of enjoying my job. The places I’ve seen, the places I get to visit, the cultures I am able to gain knowledge of and the wonders of the world I am able to explore. It’s true magic and I’d not trade this in for anything (except winning the lottery, in which case I’d still travel, but more often than not, in my own jet plane!). I’m a first responder, I’m a safety professional, I am a flight attendant. It’s my favorite!

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My Favorite Things: Ferrying a Flight

Takeoff from San Francisco International

Since my days in training I’ve heard the stories; zooming down the aisles on serving trays or standing at the back wall of the plane during take off, kicking back and watching movies in first class seats; singing songs over the PA system; party in the back, sleeping up front. The reasons vary for the need; mechanical issues, aircraft positioning, apparently it once happened after someone relieved themselves in the aisle – toxic land mine! It’s always been a dream of mine, and in 15 years, I’ve only had one incident of doing it… ferrying a flight.

A ferried flight is one in which there are no passengers; only crew. Often, aircraft are ferried with only pilots, but occasionally, flight attendants are also needed to accompany a ferried aircraft. I think all flight crew enjoy the chance to ferry a flight.
Many years ago a pilot told me a story about ferrying a flight. There were no other crew members other than the two pilots. There were carts installed in the galleys, but they were empty. During the flight, the pilots got a hankering for a hot cup of joe. The first officer went hunting but couldn’t find any coffee.
Upon entering the lav, he did find a pack, hanging on the hook. He decided to make a go of it and brewed a cup of coffee. Some flight attendants will hang a coffee pack in a lav that has particularly bad odor issues. He told me that once he tasted it, he realized how effective they were in doing so. He told me, “Every scent that was in that lavatory was now in that cup of coffee! I nearly lost my lunch!”
The morning I got the call that I was on a crew to ferry a flight, you’d have thought I won the lottery! I was a bit crest-fallen when learning that the flight was only from San Francisco to San Jose, which is only an hour drive…in traffic.
I showed up at the gate and met the rest of the crew. It was neat being able to board and just leave when we were ready; no passengers to board. We were to pick up our passengers in San Jose and then work to Denver. I was clearly the most excited of the five of us.
We completed our safety checks and briefed with the captain. He reminded us that we still had to arm the doors and then he said the magic words, “If anyone would like ride in the cockpit jumpseat, we’ll only have one available, just let us know. The others had no interest, but I was like a boy being told I could open Christmas presents two whole weeks before Christmas!
Beautiful Day in SF

After arming my door, I took my seat in the cockpit and strapped in. The captain had also said he’d leave the door open so the others, who were seated in the first class seats, could have a view. I’d been able to take off and land in the cockpit during training, but if you’ve been reading my stories, you know how much I love aviation, and being in the cockpit is the best!

It was a beautiful day in the Bay Area. We taxied and took off and as the plane’s nose arched upward, the cockpit door slammed shut. Unable to reach it, it remained closed until we were safely in the air, at which time the others offered their complaints of not being able to see the takeoff.

The sad thing about the short distance of our ferry flight was that we only reached an altitude of about 8,000 feet, but the aerial tour going down the coast was fantastic. The Pacific Ocean was on my right and the bay on my left, with the hills, the highway, Stanford University and Moffett Field, once the home of huge blimps and an airfield that still (at that time) housed their huge hangars.
In no time at all we were landing from the south at San Jose, and after taxiing to the gate, there was no wait for the passengers to board; scheduled departure had come and gone and we were coming to the rescue. It was sort of awkward going from such a fantastic experience to suddenly having to work!

High above San Francisco
I’ve not given up hope for the opportunity to ferry a flight longer than half an hour. A whole aircraft with nothing but crew, access to movies, cooking your own meal at your leisure, hanging out in the cockpit…ferrying a flight…it’s my favorite!

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Adventures in Flight: Ghost Flights

It’s a very rare occurrence, some flight attendants say they’ve never had it happen to them. In my 15 years with Mother Airline, I’ve only had it happen maybe four times, but what a treat it is, for both passengers and crew. I’m talking about ghost flights; or very light loads. Extremely light.
The first time it happened for me, there were 5 passengers on a 757. On this plane, there are 24 seats in first class. With 3 passengers in coach and the other 2 in first, the purser got permission to move everyone up. With four flight attendants, this gave me and my flying partner assigned to the back no work to do on our flight from Chicago to San Francisco. What was fortunate was that the woman I was working with was a friend who I’d not seen since a Caribbean cruise 2 years prior, so it was fun just catching up with her for a few hours.

The second time I worked a ghost flight, it was again on a 757, but this time I was purser. I didn’t move everyone up to first class, and no one wanted to, anyway. I mean, if you have an entire row, or three, to yourself, why move up. This flight had about 13 passengers, and even though those seated in economy didn’t move up, I did offer and serve first class breakfast to everyone back there who wanted to eat.
On the most recent flight from Dallas to San Francisco, there were 9 passengers on an Airbus 320. We had 3 in first and 6 in the back; a young man, his mother and grandmother, a man and his 5 year old son and a businessman wearing a Rotary Club pin. (If you’ve read my story, “The Rotarian”, you will know I have a special history with the Rotary Club.)
View of the Ghost Flight cabin with PAX seated up front.

I love ghost flights and the ability to give outstanding, personalized service to each customer; a chance to get to know them (the Rotarian was from Arlington, the young man with his family worked for Nordstroms’s in Dallas and were going on vacation, and the father slept, but the young boy was well behaved and loved orange juice). No cart was set up, my flying partner and I ran each drink out on a tray.

Each time I work a ghost flight, I always hear the same comment. It came from the nice woman in first class this time, “I’m surprised they didn’t cancel this flight, they’re not making any money with so few people.” The answer is always the same, “The plane is needed for the rest of the day, if they cancel this flight, they have to cancel 3 or more flights that this plane is scheduled to fly.”
The best service you can get on a plane is one with very few passengers. You receive personalized service on a ghost flight. The chance to chat up a flight attendant (and who doesn’t love that?), lots of room and peace and quiet is all so, very nice. Plus, the crew is happy to have a light work load and a fun change to the routine of the normally packed airplanes. They are quite rare, so if you have the pleasure of being on one, enjoy…and feel free to spread out.