The Rerouted Skytress

Last Tuesday I checked the flight status for my flight home more times than I would like to admit. I was going to have a close connection to make my earlier flight home. I was hoping either my arrival gate into Atlanta or my departure gate home to St. Louis would change. I was scheduled to run from the last gate on one concourse to the last gate on another concourse. I thought if I checked the flight status enough times one of my gates would miraculously change and I wouldn’t have to run so far. It worked. My arrival gate in Atlanta changed by one gate. Wooohoooo!! My crew and I were deadheading back to Atlanta. I proactively change my seat from the exit row to a row closer to the front of the plane. These days we are deplaning by rows. All passengers are to remain seated until the row ahead of them has retrieved their luggage and has started moving up the aisle. I was concerned if I was too far back in the cabin I would get slowed down by dilly-dallying passengers. Once again I have to worry about airplanes having too many passengers to slow me down. It’s a happy problem to have these days. Gratefully, many things have changed for the better these past few months since I have been back flying. So, I figure it is time to give you all a flight status update on my airline. I feel better flying these days. I want you all to feel better flying, too.

I am happy to report our planes are filling up with lots of face-mask wearing passengers. We have a 70% passenger load cap on on our planes right now. Many of our flights are reaching the cap. It’s true we have a lot less airplanes in the sky these days. However, it’s been necessary to bring more planes back into service these past few months because of the increasing passenger loads. We still have the center seats blocked until January 6, 2021. But, don’t be surprised if you are sitting next to someone on the two-seat sided aircraft. It’s only the middle seats that are blocked. Two- seat rows don’t have a middle seat. They are just two seats. (Some passengers are having a hard time this concept). Gate agents, Skytresses and Skyters have become magicians moving people around so they aren’t sitting next to someone they don’t know in the A-B side seats. Thankfully most of our airplanes have three seats on each side. Now you may remember a few weeks ago I told you about the millions of dollars our airline is burning each day. Yes, we are still burning through millions of dollars a day. However, instead of burning through 100 million dollars a day. We are now down to 10-12 million dollars a day. Our executives are cautiously optimistic we will be profitable again by next summer. We are all aware at my airline that things can change again in a heartbeat. Our international demand for flying is uncertain right now due to rising COVID cases and lockdowns in Europe. Our airline has had to cancel international flights due to lack of customer demand. International flights are averaging 74 passengers. I’m not a fan of international flying. But, I am less of a fan of empty airplanes to Europe. I’m going to think positive that passengers will soon be flocking to Europe after the holidays.

When I first came back flying in September the airport was still relatively quiet. The second week of October my crews and I noticed a considerable up-tick in the crowds at the airport. Many days the Altalnta airport almost looks like the Atlanta airport pre-COVID. Although we still have a ways to go, I now find myself zigging and zagging around people all the time in the concourses. My trip last week I actually had to ride the train in the Atlanta airport. It was the first time I have ridden the train since March. I have been basically flying out of two concourses in Atlanta. One of my last trips I flew out of our international concourses. My flight to Birmingham…Alabama, not England…went out of the last international gate on one of our concourses in Atlanta. It was wonderful to see some other parts of the airport. Sadly, one of the duty free stores is still closed. Numerous eateries are still closed on the international concourses, too. Other shops and eateries have limited business hours. Thankfully, not one passenger or crew has died of starvation due to the lack of food options or closed Starbucks. Well, at least I haven’t.

Just like the airports, many hotel restaurants and shops are either closed or are only open at certain hours. I’m being very conscious of what I eat these days. So, I pack my food for my layover meals. Many Skytresses and Skyters I have flown with have no qualms going out to eat or grab a drink either in the hotel or at a restaurant nearby. Interestingly, I’ve learned if you are going to grab a drink in New York, you also have to order food. This has become quite the joke amongst my fellow Skytresses and Skyters that live in New York. They have told us bars are selling carrots or a slice of pizza for a table-full of patrons to get around the Governor ‘s food purchase mandate. They also quip about the travelers coming into the state. Airline passengers are met by the military to fill out paperwork to make sure they quarantine for two weeks. However, if one drives into the state, there is no one there to meet them at the state’s border with a clipboard ensuring they quarantine. Go figure.

Last week I encountered the first hotel room without a hair dryer due to COVID . Luckily, guests could request a hairdryer at the front desk. The sign in my hotel room also stated if I needed an ironing board and iron, one would be provided if I called the front desk. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw an iron and ironing board in my hotel closet. I looked for the person in there to do the ironing, but, unfortunately, they were nowhere to be found! Our layover hotels have also changed in some cities because of the pandemic. Many hotels are hurting without the traveling business and leisure people. Hotel chains are trying to consolidate their hotel guests in one hotel to cut down on costs. I’m a true believer that change doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I’ve been pleasantly surprised with some of our new layover hotels.

The biggest question of friends and family…..and the biggest concern for Skytresses and Skyters coming back to fly….is about the passenger mask compliance. I am happy to report passengers have been incredible about wearing their masks. Even after all these months. Of course, there have been a few exceptions. We have now band over 550 passengers from flying because of non-compliant face mask issues. Thankfully, this is an extremely small percentage of our passengers. Passengers are not shy either about telling on their fellow passengers if their masks are not fully covering their nose and mouth. My unofficial observation has been young women in their 20’s are the most likely to stop a Skytress or Skyter to point out the offending person. This doesn’t surprise me. We all know women are keen observers. Young women usually have better eyesight, too. Well, at least better than my old Skytress eyes.

My airline is still working with the Mayo Clinic to help keep the employees and passengers safe. At their suggestion hand sanitizer stations are being installed on all our airplanes. This is in addition to the hand wipes we hand out as passengers board and the hand sanitizer in their snack bags. The Mayo Clinic has made more recommendations for our in-flight serving procedures, too. Specifically on our international flights. We are also being asked to take a monthly COVID-19 test. The Mayo Clinic is keeping statistics of our results to better understand how COVID is affecting our airline. The Mayo Clinic is also keeping tabs on cities where employees reside where COVID cases are increasing. I received an email alerting me to the rise in COVID cases in my area. It was recommended I do another at-home COVID test. I was one step ahead of them. My latest kit arrived the other day. We still have the option to take a rapid COVID test in our crew lounge. I have yet to witness anyone getting a positive result. And I’ve watched a lot of employees utilizing the rapid tests as I kill time in our crew lounge. In the ever changing world of combating this virus, Skytresses and Skyters have new accountable items. We have been issued thermometers to take our temperature daily. This is in addition to our required temperature checks for our trips. Our airline wants the Skytresses and Skyters to take their temperatures before coming to work. Especially, if we commute. They don’t want any employees getting on a plane if they have a temperature. We have another accountable item in clear goggles. The Mayo Clinic’s data shows people wearing eye protection are less susceptible to contracting the virus. We can wear the goggles at all times. However, we are to wear the googles if we have to sit next to another Skytress or Skyter on the jumpseat. Since our flights are at capacity, it is possible that commuter crewmembers and working crew may have to sit next to each other on the jumpseat. All employees now have a self-care app to utilize every day to ensure they are symptom free to come to work. Everyone has an incentive to use the app. Money! Yes, if we use the app 20 cumulative days we get extra money in our paychecks. Yippee! I love extra money in my paycheck!

As you can see, after months of horrific news, my airline flight status is more favorable these days. I know everyone at my airline is working hard to ensure the health and safety of passengers and employees. This knowledge, in addition to some very favorable vaccine test results, has me feeling more optimistic each day. In the coming weeks, I will give you another flight status update on my airline. Remember, I thought positively and I changed my gate in Atlanta one gate closer to my gate going home. I know if I think positively I can change things for the better with COVID-19 at my airline, too. Never underestimate the things a Skytress can do. Being a Skytress is a super power!