The Rerouted Skytress

I thought I would share a Skytress story to start this post today. After all, ….I am a Skytress.

One day we were boarding the plane. I was in the galley making drinks for our on-ground beverage service for the first-class passengers. My fellow Skytress was taking the drinks out into the cabin. I had placed a beer next to the silver tray that held other drinks I had made to take out. Well, there was a break in the boarding process. A much coveted occurrence in the boarding process when you have to take the drinks out. So my fellow Skytress told me she was going to run the beer out to the passenger while I was making the last drink. Fortunately for me, when I finished making the last drink there was still no passengers at the boarding door. So, out I flew into the cabin. There was a female passenger standing at the last row in first-class heading to the main cabin. The last row was where my fellow Skytress was heading. I know my fellow Skytress wanted to get the drinks delivered before the next wave of passengers started boarding. So she reached around the female passenger to hand the beer to the gentlemen sitting on the aisle in the last row. As the Skytress reached around the woman, her bracelet got caught in the woman’s hair. The woman yelled, “Oh, my hair!”. Oh horror of horrors. My fellow Skytress was pulling the woman’s wig off!! The first-class passengers went silent. My fellow Skytress backed up into me as I stood with the tray full of drinks. I instantly broke out in a nervous sweat. Not because the liquids were sloshing out of the cups. No, I got a bad case of the giggles. My brain was shouting…”Retreat to the galley! Retreat to the galley!”. So, I retreated to the galley. And I started praying for the well-being of my fellow Skytress. Seconds later my fellow Skytress was in the gallery. She said, “Thanks for leaving me alone out there”. I apologized as sincerely as I could. Then she put her hand on my shoulder and said, “Girl, can you believe I did that?”. We looked at each other and doubled over in laughter. Not loud laughter. Silent laughter. The kind where you cover you mouth and plug your nose so no sound comes out. Our bodies shook. We feared the first-class passengers were listening. And although we were in the galley, I believe the passengers were silently laughing in their seats, too. Eventually my fellow Skytress told me the lady was really cool about the situation. The lady told her not to worry…she would just put her wig back in place. And she did.

I hope you liked that story. My Skytress stories will come from the Skytress vault for awhile. I will not fly again until August. I decided, like so many of my fellow Skytresses, Skyters and fellow airline family members, to take an unpaid company leave. As you know, airline bookings are down dramatically. My last day I flew was March 9th. I was about to start several weeks of vacation. At that time my flights were three-fourths full. Passengers were wiping down their seat areas and themselves so thoroughly one would think they were about to perform surgery on their tray tables. I could see the writing on the airplane fuselage. Things were going to get worse soon. And they did.

I was planing on picking up a trip at the end of March. But, I had a feeling I should wait. I’m glad I did. Passengers were canceling their trips. My company started losing 60 million dollars a day. So to slow the money hemorrhage, my company started canceling flights. They offered leaves for April to try to save money. I had great intentions to fly in April. Then I saw most of my commuter flights canceling. My trip rotations for the month were showing most of my flights cancelled. In 30 years I have never seen anything like it. So, I put my trips in the computer for another Skytress or Skyter to pick them up. Thankfully some beautiful souls did.

I decided before the end of March to take a three- month leave. It was a hard decision. I flew after 9-11. It was one of the best experiences of my flying career. I was determined to fly these next few months to be there not only for my company, but, for my fellow crew members. Then our CEO said the best thing we could do to help the company was to take a leave. We have almost 25,500 Skytresses and Skyters . Almost 16,000 volunteered to take unpaid leaves to help save our company. Many more in the company took leaves, too. I know the last thing we all wanted to do was to step away for awhile. We are dedicated to our passengers, to our company and to each other. But to say I am so proud of everyone, is an understatement. My thoughts and prayers are with those who are still working. They are our warriors on the front-line. Not enough praise can bestowed on them, in my opinion.

Today I put my crew bags away. I haven’t done that in years. Airline people never put their bags away. Their bags are usually like mine, in their bedrooms or in their guest rooms waiting to be zipped up to head to the airport. Stowing my crew bags was more emotional than I expected. I closed the guest room closet door knowing I will peek in there a few times before August. It’s hard to say goodbye to something that has faithfully followed you for years. These bags and I have been through a lot these past few years.

Funny, I did leave a lot of things in my crew bags. After all, it has taken me 30 years to pack the perfect items for the “just in case” situations. I can’t tell you how many times I have taken down my stowed crew bags from the overhead bins to grab something to help “fix” a situation. My running joke is, “What is the one thing you bring to a deserted island?”….. a flight attendant with their crew bags! You could survive a very long time with the stuff they have in their crew bags.

I know in a few months I will be joining my airline family again. I will drag my crew bags out of the closet and throw a few more things in them. A few extra hand wipes for the hotel layovers. A few extra snacks until restaurants open up again. A few extra pens and paper, too. I always say Skytresses and Skyters show up everyday to work just to see what crazy thing will happen next. I need to be ready to write in case another Skytress accidentally pulls a passenger’s wig off her head. I will absolutely report it back to you all.