The Rerouted Skytress

I usually am not a fan of flying to New York. However, on September, 1st, I had a little pep in my step as I headed towards our gate. You could almost say I was giddy. I was a little nervous, too. My crew was experiencing the same emotions. We weren’t nervous about the Chicago passengers flying with us to New York’s LaGuardia Airport. We got over that years ago. We weren’t giddy because most of the passengers were from Chicago and not New York. Although, it was a pleasant surprise. What was the reason for our mixed emotions? It was the Airbus A220. None of us had ever flown on this aircraft. However, we all heard great things about the airplane. Especially the aft lavatory. I’ll admit. Skytresses and Skyters are quite adaptable to many new situations. The Airbus A220 was just another perfect example that Skytresses and Skyters are never too old to learn a new aircraft.

We rarely see the small, but, mighty, Airbus A220 with our Atlanta rotations. Currently, the 220 flies to specific northeastern and southern cities. Amazingly, it does have the capabilities to fly non-stop from New York to the west coast….or from Los Angeles to Hawaii. To me, the Airbus A220 is basically a Boeing 717 on steroids. Unlike the Boeing 717, the Airbus A220 has an in-flight entertainment system. Woo-hoo and Alleluia for this feature! The flight tracker system graphics are exceptional. I was mesmerized by the graphics as I watched the passenger’s monitor from my Skytress jumpseat. The passenger in-flight seat monitors are also bigger than most in our fleet. My senior Skytress eyes truly appreciate this detail. We quickly learned the Skytress In-flight system panel likes to be touched softly to respond. As a New York Skyter told us….This is a Diva airplane. She likes to be caressed ever so gently. This is unlike most of our other aircraft. Those panels liked to be boldly poked….. similar to how the passengers poke us as we walk down the aisles. In addition, the 220’s chimes system has a very dainty bell. This is in strike contrast to the rest of our aircraft. Those airplanes have a very clunky pong sound. I’ll admit. When the 220’s bells rang to signify we were at 10,000 feet, well,… we had no idea what the charming sound was. Yessiree. We may not be too old to learn something new. But, sometimes we “seniors” do need a slight learning curve. Another unique feature of the Airbus A220 requires the pilots to set the flight plan into the Skytress- Skyter in-flight system. So, if you are looking at your seat monitor and it shows your aircraft is going to Boston instead of Dallas,…we’ll, don’t blame the Skytresses or Skyters…..it’s definitely a pilot problem. Egads!

Our Captain briefed us more in-depth than is typical for a pre-flight briefing. Not only did he have three Skytresses that had never flown on this type of equipment. He, also, had a First Officer that was new to the aircraft, too. We all listened intently to everything the Captain had to say about our flight and about the airplane. We three Skytresse all admitted that we had reviewed the A220 in our manuals prior to our flight. I’ll admit. I, also, watched a few YouTube videos. Ron used to tell me there is a YouTube video for everything you need to learn about. He was correct in this particular instance, too. Thankfully, we had a Skytress commuting from Chicago to New York. She taught us how to get the Safety Video to load in the Skytress-Skyter system. I’ll admit. I put notes in my cell phone for the next time I fly the Airbus A220. Yessiree. You are never too old to learn. But, there are definitely days I forget. Taking notes was my personal Skytress backup system for future flights on the 220.

Thankfully, the aisles on the Airbus 220 are much wider than the Boeing 717. Yessiree. I didn’t catch my flight bags on even one seat as I walked to the back of the plane. Crazy, I know! Shockingly, I was able to fit my suitcase into the two-seat side of the aircraft,….wheels in first. You can’t do this on the Boeing 717 aircraft….even though passengers definitely try on every flight!

The galley in the back of the Airbus A220 is fabulous. Why? Well, first of all, there is a galley! Second, the lavatories are not in the galley! They are actually located outside the galley. Some of you may not understand the magnitude of these features. However, my Skytress and Skyter friends will greatly appreciate these details. Additionally, the porthole window in the galley has a magnified insert that allows us to get a clear view of the ground below. It was wonderful to see the streets clearly below while we were in flight. More importantly, if we need to assess the conditions outside during an emergency, this added detail is a complete game-changer.

My crew and I played around with the phones system prior to the passengers boarding. Yessiree. Phone systems are different on many of our aircraft. Thankfully, most of the phones are user friendly. I guess the Airbus aircraft manufacturers don’t believe Skytresses and Skyters are capable of learning new tricks. They put an eye-friendly handy phone menu on the back of the Airbus A220 phones. Yessiree. It’s captivating reading when you are standing in the galley getting a shot of cool air from the air vent located right next to it. Ah, an air vent in the galley. We can never have enough of those. Yessiree. Every Skytress and Skyter will absolutely verify this fact!

The windows on the 220 are much wider than our other aircraft. I was tickled by how this little detail added to the flying experience. At least my flying experience. Everyone in the row can clearly see out the window. Even when the passenger sitting next to the window has their big head plastered up against it.

The best window on the Airbus A220 is in the aft lavatory. Yessiree. You read that right. It’s the most talked about…. and I’m positive…the most photographed place on the Airbus. This day the laboratory was inop. But, that didn’t stop us from unlocking the lavatory to take a look-see….and a photograph. It, also, didn’t stop me from unlocking it again during flight to take a look-see…..and a photograph. Many Skytresses and Skyters have posted their 220 lavatory selfies on Facebook and Instagram. It’s definitely a bragging photo-op for sure. Incredibly, this isn’t the first plane I have been on with a window in the lavatory. I remember when Comair was still flying. They had an aircraft with a window in the lavatory. Inevitably, passengers would use the restroom on the ground. Then they would come out and ask the Skytress if the people on the ground could see in the window. I always thought “Yes, they can. But, they prefer not too.” I’ll admit. This will now become my standard response on the 220.

I’ve actually been trained on the Airbus A220 for several years. So, I was thrilled to finally fly on the aircraft. I’ll admit. There have been several aircraft in my long Skytress career that I have been trained on, but, never flew a trip on. The MD-11 came and went without me ever stepping foot on it. The Boeing 777 had an evacuation command of “step, jump and slide”. Incredibly, the only stepping I did on the Boeing 777 was in the mock-up at the training center. Each year at training I would evacuate the upper deck on the Boeing 747. The only time I came in close proximity to the 747 upper deck was when I walked by it as the airplane sat at the gate.

I was fortunate to fly on one aircraft that most Skytresses and Skyters never stepped foot on. Yessiree. I was one of very few Skytresses and Skyters to fly In-Charge on the Airbus A310. Most Skytresses and Skyters these days have never heard of this aircraft. The Airbus A310 came with the acquisition of Pan Am. This aircraft mostly flew internationally out of New York. However, one winter the Cincinnati base had a trip that flew the A310 from Cincinnati to New York’s JFK airport. The aircraft then flew on to Moscow. I wasn’t trained on the A310 when I first got my schedule showing I would be the Skytress In-Charge. My friends on my trip had been trained on the A310. However, none of them had ever flown on it. I decided I wouldn’t bring it to anyone’s attention that I hadn’t been trained on it. I figured I would just….in aviation terms….wing-it! Heck, I wanted to fly with my friends! Scheduling did call me several days prior to my trip and ask me if I wanted to drop the trip, or go to Salt Lake City to be trained on the equipment. So, off to Salt Lake City I went. I’ll admit. It was a small price to pay to fly with my friends.

My friends and I laughed when we boarded the Airbus A310. We still had no idea where anything was on the aircraft. We opened every cart and carrier there was before the passengers boarded. Fortunately, all airplanes are basically the same when you get down to it. Especially, the beverage carts. Luckily for us, we only had to conduct a beverage service to JFK. We quickly learned most of our passengers were heading to Moscow. We, also, learned very quickly that they didn’t speak any English. They couldn’t care less if we were conducting a proper beverage service for this particular aircraft. They simply wanted Vodka. Or rather Vooooodka! Our beverage service couldn’t have been easier! The following week when we got on the aircraft to go to JFK, supervisors flooded through the boarding door. Each one was overly eager to help us become familiar with the Airbus A310. They were flabbergasted when I told them we had everything under control. Little did they know, we learned everything the week before when we were left to our own devises. Truthfully, this is how Skytresses and Skyters learn to work any new aircraft. This is definitely how we learned to work the Airbus A220 the other week!

Amazingly, I’ve learned to work on more types of aircraft in my 33 years of flying than I can count on my two hands. Yessiree. The airline industry is forever changing. Just when we get used to our favorite airplane it’s either reconfigured or replaced by another model. Needless to say, I’ve had several favorite aircraft in my many years of flying. However, none became my favorite aircraft overnight. This all changed with the Airbus A200. My trip from Chicago to New York set a new airplane standard for me. Heck. It’s set a new aircraft standard for many of us. I haven’t heard one Skytress or Skyter quip that they didn’t like the Airbus 220. Of course, I’m sure the naysayers are out there. You can bet, I’m sure I’ll fly with them sooner than later, too! Personally, I am looking forward to flying on the A220 again really soon. Yessiree. I’m going to enjoy all the fabulous aspects of this particular aircraft while I can. If history repeats itself, this aircraft will eventually be updated by someone who has never been a Skytress or Skyter. I can see it now. Some nincompoop will narrow the aisles. If possible they will make the windows smaller. They may even reconfigure the back galley. I fear that they will eventually take out the prized aft lavatory window. Egads! Yessiree. I’m positive some knucklehead will do something awful, awful, awful to warrant the window being replaced with a boring wall. Fear not, though. I’m equally positive there will be a new aircraft that comes down the pike that will quickly become the coveted aircraft of Skytresses and Skyters alike. Heck, it may be currently being built by Airbus or Boeing as I write this blog post. Bring it on, I say. Remember. I learned long ago,…. Skytresses and Skyters are never too old to learn a new aircraft. Heck. It’s part of our Skytress and Skyter DNA!