Albert asks: )

“What are your preferences? Domestic or International?“

I absolutely love International! I had my transfer in for international from the day I started as a FA. I sat three years domestic reserve and then stayed three years domestic after becoming a line holder. ( I wasn’t about to give up a “line” to go international) I finally transferred to international after six years and had the best time I ever had at this job. I would run around like a nut trying to see everything I could possibly see in the short thirty or so hours we had at each destination, and I saw a lot! I just wish digital photography was around then, I spent a small fortune on film and developing!

Places I’ve been:

• Paris, France
• London, England
• Lisbon, Portugal
• Manchester, England
• Stratford-upon-Avon, England
• Brighton Beach, England
• Milan, Italy
• Rome, Italy
• Dublin, Ireland
• Shannon, Ireland
• Glasgow, Scotland
• Frankfurt, Germany
• Stockholm, Sweden
• Copenhagen, Denmark
• Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Madrid, Spain
• Oslo, Norway
• Tel Aviv, Israel
• Tokyo, Japan
• Zurich, Switzerland

I have also been all over Mexico, Canada, and Costa Rica…..but these destinations are included in our domestic base. To answer your question, I prefer international. I do miss it but I fly domestically because Lucy is my priority right now. I would be home a lot less as my seniority would drop, international is a very senior base at my airline. Last time I checked, I would be on reserve!

“Any specific aircraft that you love? or hate?“

I love the larger aircraft, we have 777s and 767s. They’re just plain and simply more comfortable for crew and passengers alike. Domestically, we mostly use narrow body aircraft. I’m not complaining, my airline has pretty new equipment. When I first started we had old airbuses, MD-80s, DC-9s, 727s and 737-100 and 200 aircraft. It wasn’t a great fleet. We now have all Boeing Aircraft and they’re quite new and nice. I do hate the few 737-500s we have left, that aircraft has been reconfigured so many times that the forward galley is about the size of a small coat closet.

“Any position as FA in a flight that you love? or hate?“

My favorite position as a FA is First Class Galley. It is an easier cabin to work. I think people believe that FC passengers are all rich snobs but most of the passengers sitting in FC are upgrades. They are business people who are frequent fliers who usually fly more than me, which gives them an understanding of my job. They don’t give me a hard time about delays….it helps that they know they can have a cocktail while waiting: ) but seriously, they know what to expect when travelling by air so I find the energy is usually good in front.

I do not like the lead position. In fact, I have not worked as lead FA since 1999. My brain gets very jumbled when all that commotion is going on during boarding. I know this will be hard to believe (ha, ha) but I found I had a lot more confrontations with passengers working that position. There is a lot of pressure to get that door closed on time, and ultimately you’re the one responsible for any paperwork or calls at your hotel room by inflight asking why the delay? All for one more dollar per hour…no thanks……I prefer my “zen” in FC 😉

That’s it for this week, keep the questions coming!