The time of the Unaccompanied Minor is near. All year long we see the little darlings. The Holidays, Spring Break, and now Summer time; the key season for our little flyers.

An Unaccompanied Minor is usually under the age of 15. The adult responsible for the child pays a little more for their ticket and in return the Airline takes care of the child until delivered to the responsible people at the end of the flight.

In Flight Attendant School we learn about the correct procedures and forms in regard to the Unaccompanied Minor.

What we don’t usually learn until our Flight Attendant Career has begun is that all Unaccompanied Minors are not created the same.

This principal is pretty simple. However, many Flight Attendants get shook up at the way some of our little one’s behave while on their trip.

All of these little guys and girls come from different backgrounds. Flight Attendants sometimes expect these children to act like their children, with good manners, and behavior. When a little darling does not meet the expected goal of the Flight Attendant, it can make a flight very interesting.

I once had a little girl named Hanna on my flight. Hanna was about eight years old, and was my unaccompanied minor. The flight was from coast to coast. I was given a preview of things to come as Hanna crayoned her tray table, and kept changing her seat while we were still on the ground.

The flight was full, I tried to explain to Hanna that she was going to have to stay in her seat until I was done with my Service, and then I could spend some time with her.

My spouse and I have eight children. We are a “yours, mine, and ours” family. Eight different personalities; eight different ways of looking at the world.

Hanna was a wild child. We were boarding the aircraft and Hanna was ringing a call button repeatedly. As your Flight Attendant Career flourishes you will relate to all non emergency call bells with some attitude. The double ding sound that it makes is compared only to the sound of long nails scratching the blackboard.

The Flight Crew looked at me with that what are you gonna do about this kid look. Hanna was about 17 rows from me, so I couldn’t try to reason with her right away. The bell kept ringing, and the passengers were backed up in the aisle.

I asked God for forgiveness as I grabbed the microphone and addressed Hanna through the PA.

I ducked behind the front bulkhead wall and said with a firm voice, “Hanna this is God, please sit down now, and behave yourself for this trip, I will be watching you from the clouds.”

That little girl must have had some religion. She sat right down and was an angel the whole flight.

I thanked God that evening for helping me out. I also asked him for forgiveness on that “This is God” bit.

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Looking from the outside of the Airline Industry into a possible Flight Attendant Career today, may look bleak.

However, all may not seem to be as gloomy as a winter day in Cleveland.

Some Airlines are hiring. The major players are cutting back. American, Delta, Us Air etc.  Some of the upstarts like, Alligante, Virgin, and the Mesa Group have been soliciting for Flight Attendants.

The good news with a carrier such as Allegiant is that this airline is new enough to the industry that your time on Reserve Status may not be real long. If Allegiant continues to maintain financial stability during these uncertain times, you may have a chance at a long senior career.

In the worst case scenario you will gain experience at the job, and if by chance one of the majors get hungry, you may find yourself as an employee of the big five.

Mesa Air Group flies Regional Jets. Maybe it isn’t the most glorious jobs in the industry. However, Mesa does serve cities like Phoenix, Los Angeles, Chicago, Honolulu, and many others.

The overnights in these places offer the same benefits as anyone else, with the exception, that one may stay at the Comfort Inn instead of the Marriott.

Heck, if the bed is free of critters and the shower can get to warm, who cares.

Mesa Air Group works in a contract situation with the major Airlines. For example, the relationship with US Air has the Mesa Group named US Air Express.

Pay is less, one probably doesn’t have the most detailed contract, but the health and flying benefits are comparable to the Big Boy’s, or Girls, depending on your view.

As the Industry fumbles through these times, there will be plenty of retirements, and Flight Attendants that get furloughed may not want to come back.

This may not be a bad time to go to Flight Attendant School. The cycle of the industry will turn in time; you may want to be prepared, and ready.

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There are some people in this world that just can’t be pleased. These people were possibly born angry and stayed angry. However, most of the time, our industry creates its own problems.

In Flight Attendant School we are taught and coached on how to work with disturbed passengers. Listen and apologize is what we are taught.

As our Flight Attendant Careers go forward we begin to realize that most of the angry people that we have on our flights are angry because of something our airline was responsible for.

Unfortunately, the Flight Attendants are the last Airline Employees the angry passengers see. In most cases it is our job to comfort and calm them.

In the past few days American Airlines has stranded thousands and thousands of people. The Federal Aviation Administration has finally decided to enforce safety issues that in the past were not enforced. The Airline grounded most of its fleet.

The recent Safety events that have affected American Airlines and Southwest Airlines are not new. The story seems to revolve around the FAA having a “partner” relationship with the Airlines it is responsible for. Instead, the FAA should have been acting like a Regulation Agency to the Airlines it watches over. Basically the inmates have been running the prison, until this week.

The FAA finally shows its safety muscle. Southwest Airlines and American Airlines cancel thousands of flights and leave business people and vacationing families holding their bags, with nowhere to go.

Within the next few days we hope that all of these mishandled, mistreated, people will arrive to their destinations.

An American Airlines Spokesperson said, “We apologize, this is totally unacceptable.”

I say, ” No kidding, Dick Tracy, but what are you really gonna do about it?” Believe me when I tell you, they will do next to nothing for these poor stranded people.

So goes the Airline Industry.

We will see these angry, frustrated, and disappointed people eventually on our flights. Please, listen and apologize. Comp the booze, the headsets, and pass out those pillows. It will be up to the Flight Attendants to once again salvage some respect and dignity for the Airline it represents.

Do it for your passengers and yourself, your CEO and the other top notch knuckleheads that allowed this mess to happen.  We will still accept all performance bonuses and stock options as they come.

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While in Flight Attendant School you will have the opportunity to meet your Union Representative. When this occurs it may seem a little strange, and probably won’t register much.

After you graduate from Flight Attendant School, and begin your Flight Attendant Career, your meeting with the Union Representative will have much more perspective.

Each pay check you will be hit with Union Dues. To some people this may seem to be not fair, they may not have chosen to be a part of the Union. However, fair or unfair, if your in- flight group is represented by a Union, you will pay your dues; there isn’t an option.

The Union has many functions. The Union represents you when you may be in trouble. For example, some of us may blow a slide in our Flight Attendant Careers, and some of us may use too many sick days. Some of us may have a confrontation with a Supervisor or even a Passenger, and it may come down to “he said, she said”. These are some of the challenges your Union Representative may assist you with.

The main reason the Union is in place, is to represent you in relation to your Flight Attendant Contract. Many of your Union Representatives are Volunteers. These Volunteers help form and negotiate your Contract, your work rules. This same group of people is there to deter the Company from taking advantage of you, and allowing them to break the rules, stated in your Contact.

As a new Flight Attendant you will learn early and often on how unintentionally and intentionally this is done.

As a new Flight Attendant you are pretty much at the mercy of your Supervisors for the first 90 days.

During this time you will be on Reserve. You will be on call, sometimes with as little as a two hour notice.  Even while you are on Reserve there are Work Rules that you are covered by. These work rules are stated in your Contract.

Every once and a while you may have an overzealous Crew Scheduler, unintentionally or intentionally forget that you are entitled to something called rest. Sometimes, Schedulers don’t recognize you as a human being; instead, you are viewed as a digit, an ID number.

Know your Contract. As a new Flight Attendant, you have protection. Know your Union Representatives. These people can’t fix everything all of the time, but they will do everything within their power, and within the Contract to make sure you are being treated fairly.

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Every time turbulence hit I wondered if choosing a flight attendant career was a smart move. It’s always a similar situation: Flashes of flight attendant school come barreling into my mind making me very anxious. I force myself to remain calm, as I try remembering the things I learned in flight attendant school and during training at the airline.

It all helps a tremendous amount because it reminds me that I am prepared to do this. I look around and make sure everyone is calm, especially the people sitting next to the emergency exit. They seem capable enough but one can never really tell until the situation arises. The fasten seat belt sign blinks incessantly as the turbulence begins to pick up.

I say a little prayer in my head to help calm my nerves. The cabin pressure drops, causing the oxygen masks to spring down from above. The crew and I begin our mandatory safety procedures. In this moment, as I go around telling everyone to stay calm, I see who the true veterans of the sky are.

There is a clear distinction between those who sit calmly in their seats breathing into their masks and those who can’t seem to get enough air. I start to wonder if the pilot is going to be able to get us out of this one. He eventually does, but those fifteen minutes turn into a lifetime, and I can say first hand that I’ve lived quite a few lifetimes.

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Age old questions,” Who am I, and why am I here?” In today’s world of Airline mergers, many a Flight Attendant is asking those questions.

Northwest Airlines and Delta Airlines are in the process of merging into one Airline. This merger will create the largest airline in the world. Does that statement sound good to you?

Because of this merger as well as the most recent merger of US Airways and America West Airlines, seats and jobs will disappear.

Available seats will be reduced due to the reduction in competing flights. Jobs will be axed due to duplication of services each airline has with each other. We will see layoffs, buyouts, and hiring freezes, all as part of the mixture of this Airline cake mix.

In addition, the issues of seniority will occur. Flight Attendants and Pilots will be scurrying to keep their most important asset, their seniority. Employees will point their fingers at all of the problems ahead, and there will be squabbles between the two work groups.

Management will sing to the public, to their employees, and to Congress how much sense the merger makes. The only sense in it will be the cents and dollars that line Senior Management’s pockets.

Meanwhile, management will begin the process of buyouts, golden parachutes and awarding each other stock that is near useless but will grow large, in time. The recipients of these generous offers will be of course……………..  Senior Management.

One CEO will stay the other hangs around until he collects. Unions will fight with each other, and while all of this is happening, the New Delta Airlines will see short profits. These profits will be distributed, of course to the new Senior Management team.

Employee contracts will be split. There will be two sets of pay scales, two sets of work rules, with very little hope of a positive restructure into one contract. Yet, during this period of time the New Delta Airlines Marketing Department will be assuring the public, and it’s customers that everything is dandy.

These are the moments that we don’t see in Flight Attendant School. When we are in Flight Attendant School, we are in a cocoon; it’s like living in Scandinavia.

When we pick the profession of a Flight Attendant Career, we pick this profession for all of the right reasons.

Smell the coffee before you take a professional sip. If you have the pallet for mixed greens, choosing a Flight Attendant Career is like riding a roller coaster.

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Unaccompanied Minors are a very important part of a flight attendant’s day.  I always took extra time with them; kids go through so many rough emotions when they are alone.  This is not something you learn everything about in Flight Attendant School.

had one “UM” said to be 12, but presented himself more like a 16 or 17 year old, come onto my plane.  He was a pain in my neck; a very rude child.  Before landing, I instructed him like all of my UMs to stay on the plane till last so that I could make sure he made it to the right person.  The boy agreed.

As passengers were deplaning, I thought I saw the boy getting off out of the corner of my eye.  I glanced back to his seat and he was gone!  I stopped the flow of passengers and called to the boy.  At this point it was going to be impossible to get him back on the plane, so I instructed him to stay at the base of the stairs to the plane.

My Captain had asked me a question; I answered him quickly, but not quick enough.  By the time I looked back to check on the boy he was GONE!  I was never so scared in my entire Flight Attendant Career.  The boy’s parents were called, but were never reached.  No one to this day knows what actually happened.  And thank God, I didn’t get fired.

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“Parachute” here has nothing to do with a Flight Attendant Career.  Which is a good thing in this case.  It has to do with the famous book that guides career seekers into considering life experience and their best assets when choosing, or considering switching, careers.  Whether you’re looking into a Flight Attendant School for your initial career or this is your fifth career, here are a few things to consider which may help you expedite the choice of colors for your parachute.

Airlines are looking for candidates that are well spoken, well groomed and well presented.  If you have multiple tattoos or body piercings, they will be noticed, and not in a complimentary way.  If you don’t like people, this isn’t the career for you.  If you insist on wearing your hair in a ponytail (I mean you, David, not you, Jenny) you might want to consider a career path as a roadie instead.  If you prefer a 9 to 5 schedule, an office job may be more comparable.  If you insist on sleeping in the same bed every night, again, not for you.

But if you like adventure, visiting new cities, not having to cook for yourself the days you’re at work and meeting people from all over the world, a Flight Attendant Career may be something to consider – especially if you haven’t yet started a family and can be flexible in your work schedule.  Oh, I forgot to mention that you only work 50-90 hours a month.  That’s a month, not a week.  And, the benefits will make the haircut and piercing-removal a long, distant memory.

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In Flight Attendant School we learn the skills that will make us into productive and great Flight Attendants.

During our Flight Attendant Careers, we sometimes unlearn what we learned in Flight Attendant School. We learn the tricks of the trade.

Computer shortcuts, trip trade moves, and how to get the most out of a short term disability claim. Just when you think you know it all, somebody more senior will teach you a new way to get out of the Airport Parking Garage ….  for free.

We meet all different kinds of co-workers. Some of our co-workers have varying work principals.

A few years ago I met this character named Jamie. This guy put the slack in the term “Slacker.”

Jamie lived to not work. He had made a science of how to get paid, for doing almost nothing.

Jamie’s Flight Attendant philosophy went something like this, “This job promotes non-work.”

Jamie explained to me that every day that he comes to work he hopes for a mechanical problem that will lead to a cancellation. If the flight gets cancelled, he goes home with the same pay as if he had worked the flight.

Jamie always wished for bad weather in his arriving city. Same case, bad weather, potential cancellation, equates to non work, with pay.

Jamie was very senior. He could combine his 5 weeks vacation with his sick days and possibly work 4 days a month, all while getting paid for a full month with benefits.

The more seniority we have, the better trips we hold, the less we work, and the more we are paid.

When Jamie did work, he prayed for a misconnection situation, at the connecting airport. Same case, less work, same compensation.

The last thing on Jamie’s list was the downgrade. When an aircraft is downgraded the crew usually gets smaller, the most senior Flight Attendant goes home with pay. Jamie is a very senior Flight Attendant.

The last time I had seen Jamie, he was bidding Florida trips, during Hurricane season.

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My dad’s infamous words on every road trip (and there were a lot in my life) were always, “Learn to be bored!” My brother and I always felt that this was a poor suggestion seeing as how terrible boredom really was.

I never truly understood my dad’s suggestion until I embarked upon my flight attendant career. ON MY GOSH, was he right?! Between hot reserve duty, being fresh out of flight attendant school, and six hour lay-overs, boredom is inevitable. You have to learn to love to read, become very well aquatinted with the internet (if you have a laptop), watch the same movie in the crew room time after time for all eternity (if you’re blessed enough to have a TV and VCR/DVD player, and both working at the same time), or, do what I did – become addicted.

My addiction was not one of cigarettes, drugs, coffee, donuts, peanuts, or anything of that nature. My addiction was in the form of those Penny Press books… logic problems, brain teasers, crosswords and my all time favorite puzzle to hunt and play? Number boxes!!!

Oh number boxes, how I love thee? What are number boxes? Now, it is very popularly known as Sudoku! Praise Sudoku!! My savior from boredom. I do have to warn you of one thing however – people will commonly mistake the look of intense concentration as boredom. So, don’t be offended if no one realizes you are truly evading your torturer.

Popularity: 85% [?]

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