This weeks Crew Brief is with another flight attendant blogger you all know as Traytable. You can find out all about her shenanigans at her blog, “In Case of Emergency.” Here is yet another perspective as Traytable flies from down under! I love this pic of her in Bali…I’ve been reading her blog for so long it was great to finally put a face with the “voice.” You can also follow TT on Twitter.

FP: What is your story? How long have you been flying? What did you do prior?

TT: I’ve been flying now for just under 4 years now. I happened to get a lucky break into the airlines as a flight attendant, which came at the right time, as I had all but given up on becoming an FA. I was working as ground crew while in college, doing a variety of jobs for charter & regional carriers such as aircraft dispatching, ramp work & as a check-in agent. It was good all-round experience and I’m so glad I did this work before I started flying- it’s given me a great appreciation of how the airline teams work together to get the job done. Also, it means I know all the sneaky tricks which other departments might try to use on me 😉

FP: Wow, that is great that you know all the ins and outs…nobody can pull any tricks on you: )
I love the flexibility of our job what do you love about it? What keeps you flying?

TT: As someone who works predominantly reserve, I like the fact that every day on the job is different, the passengers will be different, and I never know what’s going to happen on any given day, even though I might think I do! It’s hard to explain exactly what it is that keeps me in this job; all I know is that since I can remember, I wanted to be up there in the sky, flying through the clouds, seeing new places & experiencing new things. I know it sounds a bit cliched, but flying really is something that gets in your blood & you can’t get rid of or squash down no matter how you might try. I can’t imagine doing anything else. I always knew that my career was in the skies.

FP: I agree with you, I love that every day is something new!
What kind of schedule do you hold, what kind of trips do you like to fly?

TT: I’m relatively junior in my airline, as such I tend to work mainly a reserve roster. The way reserve at my company might differ from yours is that we can get an entire reserve roster, or have a certain amount of pre-assigned trips. Basically, we get whatever trips the senior line-holders don’t want, or to cover sick leave,last minute crew changes or delays. Having said that, I’ve had some great trips which some seniors couldn’t get through bidding. I’ve done charter flights for celebrities & film crews, I had an awesome layover in Hong Kong, and I have got some really good 3 or 4 day trips to great holiday destinations. At the moment, I’m getting a mix of turns & layovers, which keeps things interesting. I prefer a mix, that way I don’t get too homesick or bored.

FP: What is your biggest passenger pet peeve? How about biggest crew pet peeve?

TT: Oh, that’s such a difficult question! There’s so many things, and honestly, it depends on the day which will annoy me more. For example, during school holidays, my biggest peeve is lazy parents letting kids run amok. On long flights, it’s the passenger who just won’t give us our personal space. And on short, crowded flights, it’s passengers bringing on heaps of luggage & getting annoyed when there’s nowhere to stow it. But like most passengers I’m sure, my all-time peeve is people who just don’t think about others. That applies to life in general though as well.

As for crew, the ones who annoy me the most are the ones who just don’t want to be there. You know the one. They mope into the crew centre, slouch through briefing, their uniform looks like it went through a garbage disposal, they argue about how the service is to be done and then spend most of the flight trying to avoid doing any work, or whining in the galley & stopping me from doing my work. I say, leave & let someone who wants to be here have your job!

FP: As you know I’ve had some strange happenings on my flights, what is the most bizarre thing you have seen on a flight?

TT: I’d have to say it’s a tie between the woman who took a liking to our first officer & did a striptease on the tarmac to ‘impress’ him, and the outback Aboriginal lady eating wichetty grubs out of a paper bag like they were crisps. (yes, really!)

FP: LOL, I remember asking you what a wichetty grub was! For those of you who don’t know here is a photo:
Yes, it is a bug!!

FP: What can we find in your carry on?

Everything! The major things are:

apron, spare stockings, cabin flats
crew manual (condensed booklet), roster, diary
pens, notepaper, postcards to give away
medical gloves, Purell, band aids, safety pins etc
umbrella, uniform-standard gloves
purse, phone, iPod, camera, perfume (currently Elle by YSL)
‘unsched kit’ (toothbrush, spare u/wear, toiletries etc) in case of breakdown
various magazines, snacks & water

FP: Can we find you at the hotel bar or are you a slam clicker? (slam clicker is someone who gets to his or her layover and heads straight to their room, slams the door shut, and clicks the locks never to be heard of or seen again until the crew van shows up to take us back to the airport)

TT: It very definitely depends on a) the crew and b) the trip we are flying. If it’s a “lean-over” (min rest) then I tend to slam-click, if we have time & the crew is good, I’m always up for a drink or two. Quite often it turns into a raging all-night shenanigans of epic proportions (Certain crew members at my airline are known for this- when you see them on the crew list you just KNOW there’ll be no slam-clicking)

FP: What is your favorite vacation destination?

TT: I took a vacation about two years ago to Exmouth, which is in Western Australia. It’s where the Ningaloo Reef Park is and you can swim with the whale sharks. It’s just beautiful. I’m shortly taking a vacation to London & Paris, which I’m really looking forward to. On my list of places to go next are Croatia & Japan.

FP: How does your spouse/partner feel about you flying? If you are single, how has dating been as a FA?

TT: At the moment I’m single, dating has been pretty much the same as it was before my life flying. Some guys have a bit of a problem with my job, they either don’t like me being away all the time or wonder what I’m doing when I’m away. In the early days that is kind of hard for them to deal with so it weeds out the players from the stayers, that’s for sure! I guess that might be why I’m single at the moment! Some guys also want to date me just because of my job, so I tend to say I work in hospitality until I know if they’re into me or only my job.

My last partner was also in the airlines, so he really understood what it was like for me to be away. We just had to make the most of the times when we were both home, and once or twice he specifically flew on my trips so we could spend time together. We both had goals in our careers & keeping our goals meant eventually going our separate ways. However being single at the moment is great, as I really have my own “me time” when I’m at home, and can do whatever I want! 🙂

FP: What is your best travel tip?

Be prepared for the worst, and hopefully you’ll get the best. Write your name, email, home country & destination on a sheet of paper. Photograph it with your digicam & copy it to every memory card you’re taking. That way, if your camera or cards are lost or stolen, hopefully at least some of your travel memories will find their way back to you. Offering a reward probably helps.

Thanks Tray, great interview! Love your blog and your tweets!