BOB

AUG 29, 2010
JFK-LAX

WHY ON THIS FLIGHT: Some business, some golf, some baseball.

FUN FACT: Gained access to a plane and sat in the cockpit of an oversold flight between Paris and Stockholm by telling the agent I was a pilot.....I am not (pre 9-11)

BUCKET LIST: Climb all 46 peaks in the Adirondack Mountains over 4,000 in height. I am at 21 now.

GUILTY PLEASURE: My three vices: Ice cream, cigars and beer.I won't ever have all 3 in a single day, but it's the rare day I won't have at least one of them.

PENNI'S TWO CENTS: What an amazing once in a life time situation to be able to sit in the cockpit.  It is one of the best views ever.  I have seen the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls many times and I am still in awe like it was the first time.  I have seen fireworks going off in 20 different locations simultaneously, meteor showers, comets and the most gorgeous sunrises and sunsets on both coasts.  I am so blessed with a breathtaking "office window".  No, I never tire of the excitement of taking off, landing, and the views along the way of each and every flight.

KARIN

AUG 8, 2010
SAN-DFW

WHY ON THIS FLIGHT: Going home to Austria from a vacation in San Diego.

FUN FACT: I attended the wedding of my brother.

BUCKET LIST: Left blank.

GUILTY PLEASURE: Left blank

*Side note: Even thought there was a slight language issue, she decided to participate.

WHY 11D?

WHY 11D?

Many of my readers, friends and pax ask why I picked 11D. I wanted a seat that wasn’t always in M/C. I wanted variety. On most A/C, 11D is in our M/C. However, on our larger widebody A/C, 11D is in the B/C. This way I get a better cross section and representation of my pax. I could have just as easily picked row 7-11 to meet my criteria. It was totally random that I picked 11D…..who’s next???

STEVE S. (of JETBLUE FAME)

PIT-JFK
AUG 9, 2010

Since the situation with Steven S. (Jetblue) is all over the news and FB, I felt I needed to add an entry. This is exactly why I am writing this blog. We all hear about the “crazies” (I am talking about the pax). They make national news. However, for every crazy, there are thousands of interesting, cool, great to meet and talk to “regulars”. I love my job, my office view is FANTASTIC and 99.99% of the time every pax I encounter is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!

Mark S.

JULY 17, 2010
LAX-JFK

WHY ON THIS FLIGHT: I travel for business between New York and Los Angeles and own Homes in both cities.

FACT: I was nominated for my first Emmy award last week.

BUCKET LIST: Various events I would like to attend

-Opening or closing ceremonies for the London Olympics

-A NY World Series game featuring the Yankees

-The Academy Awards
GUILTY PLEASURE: Films, TV shows and recordings from the 70’s (Disco era)

Just a little side note, once again it was the all-nighter departing at 1159pm. Mark was more than happy to fill out the form. He was also so humble about his nomination when I congratulated him. An Emmy nomination for “The Good Wife”…impressive. His company also casts for the shows “Medium” and “Numbers”, some of my favorite shows.

SAM

JULY 13, 2010

JFK-LAX

WHY ON THIS FLIGHT: Heading home from a business meeting with a new account

FACT: I have run a mile or more in at least 20 countries. (If that isn’t fun enough) He also has flown over 2 MILLION miles with my airline!!! (Thank you VERY much Sam!!!)

BUCKET LIST: * To see my kids grow up and get married. * To run a 100 mile race. * To travel with my wife and not be in a hurry.
GUILTY PLEASURE: Seeing my kids born and watching them evolve.

Just a little side note, our flight from JFK was delayed 3 hours. Sam filled out the questionnaire just before landing at LAX. It was approximately 215am CA time or 515am NY time. I am so happy I started this project. I am truly meeting the most amazing passengers. Everyone has been such a great sport!

MITCH K

JULY 8, 2010
LAX-JFK

WHY ON THIS FLIGHT: Business and Pleasure
FUN FACT: He plays the harmonica for the 70's band "WAR" (they are on tour this year)
BUCKET LIST: "hitting Sara Palin with a pie in the face"
GUILTY PLEASURE: Breyer's Chocolate.

Mitch was super cool and super nice. He was more than happy to participate. Did I happen to mention it was an allnighter that departed LAX at 12midnight? Also the fact that he wasn't even in the cabin I was working. He filled out the form before he went to sleep...a trooper!!!

ELLEN

June 27, 2010 ORD-LAX

ELLEN was returning from Chicago because her “daughter was on a business trip from LA to Chicago and wanted to stay the weekend. I’d never been to St. Louis and my husband has a sister in Springfield, so we decided to make a whole trip of it.” Her FUN FACT is that she “just started a new career as a neon and metal sculptress” On her BUCKET LIST…Venice, Italy. Her GUILTY PLEASURES include “Madmen” and chocolate.

Ellen was great, at first she seemed a little hesitant to do it, but in no time she had it filled out and ready for me. Neon & metal sculptress…how cool is that! I wish I would have had more time to talk to her, but there were 187 other pax onboard.

FRANK

June 26, 2010 LAX-ORD

Wouldn't you know it, my first post was actually sitting in 12D, because the pax in 11D didn't speak English well.
FRANK was traveling with his adorable twin daughters to Chicago to meet up with wife/Mom. She is working on a film in Chicago. His FUN FACT is that he gets to “stay home with his daughters about 75% of the time. I was impressed on how much fun he was having as a stay at home Dad. His BUCKET LIST item is “that one Alaskan fish trip for huge halibut…..with my girls of course” His GUILTY PLEASURE??? He “can not miss ‘Ghost Adventures’ every night”

At the bottom of the page there was an additional FUN FACT that said, “I love my Daddy very, very, very much!”

Frank is an amazing man that is working 75% of the time as a stay at home Dad and loves it! His girls were great, what a wonderful family. He seems to be doing a great job and enjoying it immensely.

Airport Standby

So here is the deal. I go to LAX and sit in the crew operations (Op's) for 6 hours and get paid for 5. I am there in case a Flight Attendant is needed at the very last minute to crew an aircraft. It is part of our reserve obligation. Not a crew member? I will explain the crazy world of reserve in a later post. Remember I live in San Diego, so I leave my house at 2pm and if I don't fly tonight I will get home at 130am. I will just be sitting in "Op's" waiting to be called. I can check on the computer to make sure people have signed in and that the flights have departed, however at anytime they could call me to fly. I have had to sit for 5 hours and 45 minutes...only 15 minutes to go, when I got called to fly an allnighter to NY. Yes it is completely legal from the FAA's point of view. My duty day (from sign-in to landing) was 11:45 hours. 50% of the time you don't go anywhere, you sit there, you go home and then you drive to the airport the following day for a trip. That is only one of the crazy things that happens on reserve. Like I stated earlier, I will give you more info on reserve in future posts.

Keep your fingers crossed for me to get a good trip, so I can post things about the interesting people I meet seated in 11D.

XOXO Penni

June 13, 2010

Welcome aboard!

My 19+years of flying have opened up a world of opportunities for me...literally. I have climbed Machu Pichu, met an astronaut, received free water delivery for a year, gone to private concerts of well known musicians, eaten my way across the country, saved a life or two, all in a blue polyester suit. I can visit a city for less than 12 hours and be able to tell a great little hidden gem to visit or a unique delicious place to eat. Everything from the Dr. Pepper museum in Waco, a taco trailer in Tulsa, the best ribs in Saint Louis and more. I have been to flea markets, craft fairs and estate sales...nation wide. I have been to my share of food fairs, earth day celebrations, Thanksgiving Day Parades and local celebrations, however obscure they may be. I have been able to swim & layout at beaches around the world.

I love my life and my job and can't really imagine not having these experiences. However, it isn't always fun & games. We lost 2 planes on 9/11 and have lost other crew members in other accidents & incidents. My job has such a large work group, up to 21,000 during the peak of the airlines in 2001, that we all suffer through many loses. I have lost airline friends due to cancer, suicide and life in general. This blog is about the passengers (pax) and their stories, but it is dedicated to those who lost their lives doing what they loved to do. I will always remember 9/11 and the sacrifices of the Flight Attendants and Pilots, that died that day.