Top 5 Questions From Passengers

1. Is this your regular route?

Contrary to popular belief, flight crews do not have “routes”, truckers do.  I get asked so many times as we are departing a city if the crew flies back and forth all day.  That would be torture.  Although we may do some turns (roundtrip), its not 8 times a day! 

2. Are you sure my bag won’t fit in the overhead?

Ever since the airlines started to charge for bags, passengers have found a loop hole in carry on bags.  I have seen all kinds of bags of all sizes, but I assure you the Flight Attendant will know if your bag will fit in the overhead.  She knows that plane inside and out and isn’t trying to be mean to you or your big bag.  My advice is to Gate Valet your bag (leave it planeside).  Most airlines will have them waiting for you at the plane when you land.

3. Will I make my connection?

My usual response is we will do our best to get you to your next flight.  But, your connecting flight is out of my hands when we get on the ground.  The factors that could help get you there faster is when boarding the plane to find your seat and sit as quickly as possible.  The plane cannot leave until everyone is seated.  So, asking the flight attendant questions like these are holding her up from getting that door closed! Most of the time, its up to you and how fast you can high tail it to your connecting gate.  The biggest problem I am seeing lately is when passengers buy their tickets through an online discount site and not from the airline directly.  Those discounts sites DO NOT account for time between connections, especially if you connecting on a different airline.  Some airports require you to go back through security as the next airline could be on the other side of the airport.  I would suggest making sure you have at LEAST an hour between flights.  Don’t forget that the doors always close on flights ten minutes prior to the departure time.

4. Is this airplane safe?

I promise you, if the airplane wasn’t safe, the Flight Attendant would not be standing there having that conversation with you!  Your chances of being involved in a plane crash are around 1 in a million.  However, your chances of being involved in a car accident are 1 in 5000.  You’re at a greater risk of driving to the airport then you are stepping on that airplane.  So, take a deep breath and know that the pilots love their lives and wouldn’t do anything to harm themselves, let alone their passengers.  Also, the Flight Attendants are highly trained in emergency procedures should anything unexpected happen.  So, sit back and relax!

5. Does the Co-Pilot ever get to fly the plane?

YES! The co-pilot (known as the First Officer or FO) goes through the same training as the Captain does.  They usually fly every other leg, taking turns with the Captain.  The role of the Captain is to oversee the entire flight.  He or She is basically the boss of the entire crew and responsibility falls on the Captains shoulders.  They both have the same flying abilities and duties, and sometimes the FO has more hours in a particular aircraft than the Captain does.

Have any other questions about travel?   Email me at Lindsay_Durand@hotmail.com

Passion and the Truth

What makes a writer a writer?  Or a Flight Attendant a Flight Attendant?  I don’t think it’s the pen and paper, or the wings and beverage cart.  I think it’s the passion that comes from within.  Passion to do whatever you want, and not let fear hop into the jump seat, with a pen in hand, ready to take notes.

I recently got an email that offered advice on my blog and writing abilities from a fellow writer.  While helpful and honest, some of it stung like hell, and for a moment, I actually doubted myself and my passion for writing.  It stated that I am “a ways away from publication.”  I’m clear that if every author of our time listened to that advice, Barnes N Noble would merely be a vendor on the side of the road, and the New York Times Best Seller list would no longer be a list, but a one title statement. 

We all get criticism for everything we do in life.  Whether it’s what we wear, or how our hair looks.  How often we fall in love and with whom.  Our career choices or lack thereof. Or even who we pray to and why.  But, i've come to realize that none of that matters and none of it is even real. 

If you and I were both looking at a sunset, we can both agree that what is real is that the sun is setting.  That is truth.  But, I can look at that sunset and say, “That is a fiery ball of death”, and you can look at the sunset and say, “That is a beautiful ray of hope”.  What’s real is that the sun is setting; everything else is just our interpretation of what’s real.  The sun can choose to look at it, but the passion behind its setting will never change.

What’s real is I am a writer.  What’s real is I am a Flight Attendant.  And I now know, everything else is just someone’s interpretation of my reality.

So, I challenge you all to find out what’s real about you.  What’s your passion that fuels your reality?  And whose interpretations have you been accepting as reality?

Welcome!

As nerve racking as it is to expose all of my writings and thoughts, I'm excited to finally get it out there and get some feedback.
I plan to blog about the wonderful world of being a Flight Attendant, as well as any new writings that I am working on. 
You will be able to get great travel tips, read funny and interesting stories from 30,000 feet, and get a glimpse on what I am working on as a new writer.

So, let the Blogging, Writing, and Flying begin!