The Rerouted Skytress

One of the most important days of the month for Skytresses and Skyters is the day schedules come out for the next month. Everyone prays that the scheduling gods are smiling down upon them. Sometimes, the scheduling gods give us a trip we never asked for, but in the end, is a gift beyond anything we dreamed to fly. This happened to me when the scheduling gods gave me a trip that flew to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The day I got my November schedule I was shocked to see I had a 2-day trip thrown on my schedule. I had vacation that month and I figured I’d get a couple 3-day trips. My trip rotations have always been numbers. This 2-day trip rotation had letters attached to it. Back then we had paper bid packages. So I flipped through the pages and discovered I had a military charter on my schedule. I looked at the airport codes. NIP, NBW and NGU. I had no idea where I was going. I went on the computer and looked up the city codes. NIP…Jacksonville Naval Air Station. NBW…Guantanamo Bay Naval Station. NGU..Norfolk Naval Air Station. NBW….Guantanamo Bay? I was going to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Cuba was always on my bucket list. However, at that time, no American commercial airlines were flying into Cuba. Guantanamo Bay sounded extremely interesting. I was very excited to fly my trip.

I left St. Louis the morning of my military charter. I ran into one of my senior commuting Skytresses. She asked me where I was flying to. I told her about my trip. She didn’t know we had military charters flying to Cuba. I knew as soon as I spoke, I shouldn’t have. She was a huge fan of military flying. I knew she would definitely tell her senior friends about the military charter. My gut told me this would be the last time I held this trip. And I was right!

I flew to Jacksonville with one of the Skytresses on my crew. We knew our Skytress-in charge lived in Jacksonville. Our other crew member took an earlier flight out of Atlanta. When we got to our hotel in Jacksonville we asked about our transportation to the Naval Base. We weren’t staying at our normal layover hotel. This was all new to us. The young woman at the front desk wasn’t sure who was going to take us in the morning. My fellow Skytress and I looked at each. We shrugged our shoulders and laughed. We decided we wouldn’t worry about that detail until the morning. We had no idea what to expect doing this trip. We figured someone else on the crew would know the ins -and -outs of flying a military charter.

We met up with the rest of our crew the next morning in the lobby. Yes, there was a van to take us over to the base. The four of us talked on the way. Surprisingly, none of us had worked a military charter before. Our Skytress-in charge did fly sports charters. That was more than the rest of us. We figured it was a great call that she was the Skytress-in charge. The three of us decided, “some kind of charter flying” definitely trumped, “no charter flying”.

It was a short drive from the hotel to the Naval Base. As we pulled up, we saw there were two car lines to enter the base. A short line and a long line. As any good crew would do, we chose the short line. When we got to the guard booth, the guard asked if we had a military ID. Otherwise, we would have to go to the long line. Our Skytress-in charge said her husband was in the Navy. She had a military ID to get on base to go shopping. She asked if this ID would work. It did. This was another example of a Skytress having something you need in their flight bag to get you through an unusual situation.

Our pilots arrived at the terminal right before us. We all walked into the airport building together. It felt like all eyes were upon us. We were in uniforms. However, weren’t in military uniforms. We were the outsiders coming into their airport. It felt odd. Usually the passengers come into our airport. As we entered the building, I had so many thoughts rolling through my head. I was amazed. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. It was a miniature airport! To the right of the door, into the building, was the ticket counter and a sitting area. Right in front of us was the X-ray machine and the metal detector. Immediately past security, was the gate area. Immediately to the left, was the agents’ desk. Not surprisingly, we got through security in a matter of moments. As I pulled my luggage off the security belt, the Captain was standing in front of the agent inquiring about our plane. A soldier assigned to take us to the plane asked us which plane we were taking. We laughed. There were two of our airline planes parked outside. I thought having one of our planes at a military base was unusual. Having two of our planes there was mind boggling for me.

Once on board the plane, myself and one of my other Skytresses went to the back galley. Our regular catering truck had just pulled up to the galley door. I could tell the young man was trying to figure out how he was going to cater the flight. He didn’t have our regular catering carts. Plus, he had the food for coming back from Guantanamo. He said he was told he could put the return meals in the belly of the plane. We could tell he wasn’t sure how he was going to do that. Catering never puts food in the belly of the plane. The other Skytress and I decided we could get everything in the back galley. After a few, “Let’s try this”. “How about that”? “What if we did this”? , we got everything stowed for both flights.

On our flight we had military personnel, military families, defense contractors and even a rock band. They were the nicest passengers. Once airborne, went through with our meal and beverage service. Afterwards, one of our Skytresses loaded a meal cart with cakes, brownies, cookies and other sweets she had brought from home. She had patriotic plates and napkins, too. She thought it would be something special for the passengers. We asked if we could help her. She kindly declined. We watched her happily go down the aisle. She would ask each individual if they would like something from the cart. They all politely decline. She would smile at them and tell them they were being too nice. Then she would fill a plate with treats and hand it to them. We laughed as they all smiled and thanked her. We could tell they truly appreciated the sweets.

When we got to Guantanamo Bay the passengers were deplaned by rank. It was so orderly. I was completely tickled. After everyone deplaned, the pilots asked if we would like to get off the plane. They told us there was a gift shop on the base. Of course, when we heard that, we grabbed our wallets and followed the pilots. The charter coordinator and mechanic that would be with us the whole trip, stayed behind. The Captain told us for security purposes we could not take any pictures as we walked on the tarmac. He said if we did, we would have our phones confiscated. We giggled. But, we complied.

The gift shop was small. It was the size of a large walk-in closet. But, there where t-shirts, hats, bumper stickers, post cards… you name it… and a few military items. We were in the shop for only a few minutes when the first officer came by to tell us he was going to take us on a tour of the base. So we did some Skytress power shopping. I collect Christmas ornaments from cities I’ve traveled to. I was quickly looking for one. Sadly, I couldn’t find any. I came to the conclusion they didn’t have any in this small shop. As I was heading out the door for our tour, I asked one of the Navy servicemen what was in the box he was holding. He told me it was a Christmas ornament. Why I didn’t ask him to get me one and I would pay for both of them, still haunts me. I knew he would be on our flight back to Jacksonville. But, I was so astonished that the first officer had van keys dangling in his hands for our tour, I was completely caught off guard. To this day when I decorate my Christmas tree, I think about that ornament….the ornament I don’t have.

The first officer had once been stationed in Guantanamo Bay. That’s how he was able to procure the key and the van. Once in the van, we peppered him with questions. We wanted to know if we would go by the prison where the prisoners from the Middle East were being held. He told us it was on another part of the base. He explained you had to take a ferry over to it. Then we drove by empty barracks. We asked him where the personnel were housed. Come to find out, ……just about everything, ….was a ferry ride to the other side of the base. We learned only the airport was on this side of the base. Then the first officer took us over to the beach. We got out and walked down some rickety steps to the completely empty beach. The water was crystal clear. It was beautiful. There was coral everywhere on the sand. We all picked some up to take home with us. The first officer then drove us to the Guantanamo Bay sign so we could get our pictures taken. Before we knew it, we had to head back to the plane. I felt guilty when we got back and told the charter coordinator and mechanic we had taken a tour. But, they had been busy the whole time we were gone. Before we knew it, we were boarding the plane by rank. Minutes later, we were heading back to Jacksonville. The passengers were just as wonderful. Then we had a quick turn before we headed up to the Norfolk Naval Base. By the time we arrived there, it was dark. After we parked the plane and the passengers got off, I walked up to first class. I was shocked when I looked out the airplane door. I was expecting to see air stairs like there were in Jacksonville and Guantanamo Bay. Instead, there was a beautiful new jetway hooked up to the plane. Who knew a military base had jetways. Not me!

Before our trip, scheduling had called each of us. They asked us if we would like to forgo our layover in Norfolk and ferry the plane back to Atlanta that night. We all agreed. As we waited for our pilot’s paperwork, I was finally able to sit down and talk to our mechanic. I asked him if he got assigned to come with us. He told me that all the mechanics put in to work the military charters. They have a lottery system because it is so popular. He explained to me, a mechanic always goes on a military charter…just in case, they are needed. It was a fascinating conversation. Once the paperwork arrived, we all took a row in first class. We turned out all the lights and kept the cockpit door open on our way back to Atlanta. I tried to sleep. My mind was racing from all the wonderful experiences of the day. When we landed in Atlanta the taxiways were quiet. All the planes had been put to bed. The inside of the airport was quiet, too. I was tired, but, I was happy. I love walking through a quiet airport at night. I was going to stay with my friends in Atlanta for a few days, so I headed to the car rental building. When I got there, the gentleman at the desk asked me where I had flown that day. When I told him, he said airline people are so lucky. He said we get to go to the coolest places people can only dream of. I couldn’t agree with him more.