Episode One: In the Beginning

I left for flight attendant training less than a week after graduating from college. It happened in a whirlwind, but it was entirely worth it! My airline hired me a month or so before I graduated school, so during the last few months at university, I kept thinking about training and what to expect. Scenes from the television program "Flight Attendant School"--which documented the lives of cabin crew trainees for Frontier Airlines--kept playing in my mind. Then came the emails with study materials: 50+ airport codes, 24 hour clock diagrams, aircraft terminology, and uniform/grooming guidelines. The few days before my flight to our Las Vegas training headquarters were spent studying and packing for a new adventure and new home.

When I was hired, our Fort Lauderdale base, where I live, did not have any openings. The closest and most convenient option, in my mind, was Orlando where the airline operates its biggest base. I had the ability to put in a base transfer after training graduation, so I kept that idea in the back of my mind. Living for five weeks in a hotel room with another trainee in Las Vegas was a huge adjustment. It was a bit like being back at college, but even there I had my own room and a somewhat regular schedule. My roommate was also from Orlando, but he was to be based in Las Vegas to start a new chapter in his life. Our class of over forty trainees was very diverse in age, race, background, and reasons as to why being a flight attendant was their goal. Some were retired, some had two jobs, and others had worked for previous airlines. For the most part, my fellow trainees were here with the goal of graduation in mind. Our instructors made it very clear that this time was not a vacation as Las Vegas will always be here after graduation. 

Training involved long twelve hour days filled with hands-on activities and class lectures. Our instructor was amazing and she really helped us all along the way. Other flight attendant classes before and after us did not have our instructor, but many of them told me they secretly wished they had. We had to abide by the airline's grooming policy during training, and even the slightest of slip-up resulted in a write-up. Punctuality was also of the utmost importance. Tardiness was not accepted, and if you were late, you were sent home. We also had to maintain 90 percent or better on all exams, written and oral, and sometimes there were two or more exams a week. 

We formed study groups to help each other tackle the massive amounts of information. My airline has three main types of aircraft: the MD-80, the Boeing 757, and the Airbus A319/A320. Training involved safety knowledge on all types. From aircraft layout to evacuation commands, cabin preparation for an emergency, and door operating procedures (as all varied based on the specific aircraft), afternoons and nights were spent drawing diagrams and inventing jingles or songs to make the information stick. 

Many people think being a flight attendant is being a "waitress/waiter in the sky." While service is indeed a part of my job, passenger safety is my priority and my career's raison d'être. In order to graduate, flight attendants are required to pass certain rigorous training exercises to prepare us to fight an on-board fire, perform CPR and AED life-saving aid to passengers, evacuate 177 or more passengers in less than 90 seconds on land and/or on water, and to protect the flight deck and other passengers through self-defense techniques. We also have to be familiar with hundreds of Federal Aviation Regulations and airline procedures. I wish training was just about serving cokes and collecting trash. If it were, our class would not have lost over ten trainees who could not compete with the tests, drills, and information. 

The day I had my wings pinned to my uniform was a momentous occasion. The hard work had paid off and I was excited to start flying. The next step was to move to Orlando where I had to report for my Initial Operating Experience (IOE) in less than a week. I didn't even have a secure place to stay! But for some reason, it didn't matter. I was ready to live in an airport hotel or crash on a friend's couch. I had good faith that something would work out, and something very much did. I stayed in a crashpad just minutes from the airport owned by a captain for the airline. Originally I was to live with two other guys, but the room wasn't then vacant. Instead, I lived with the captain, his wife, and his mother in their own house. I was treated more as a member of the family than a tenant, which made the transition so much easier.

After two and a half months in Orlando, I transferred back home to Fort Lauderdale. The FLL base is smaller and I enjoy that attribute. I know all of my fellow flight attendants and the twenty or so pilots we have based here, so flying together is more like a family trip than working with a series of complete strangers. 

Aviation has always been a passion of mine, and even when I was little, I would rearrange the dining room into an aircraft cabin and attend to my stuffed animal passengers; grandma would also play along and would be my first-class passenger. I truly love my career and the opportunities it has given me. It's so worth the 10 hour days, unexpected reroutes, late-night arrivals, delays, and disgruntled/insane passengers, more of whom you will encounter on this blog. 

Thanks for taking the time to read!

-EJ