Does Starbucks Leave a Good Taste in Your Mouth?

Alaska Airlines announced that it will begin serving Starbucks Coffee on all of its flights starting today! Alaska has been very bullish about supporting other companies based in their hometown of Seattle and luckily for them they’ve got some good ones to choose from. May I suggest Fran’s Chocolates as their next partner please? I motion that each passenger receive a delectable piece of Fran with each cup of coffee! That’s right, I said “one-with-each”. You have to think big!

Actually, since I am being frank about it…the Fran’s Chocolate might help make that burnt coffee Starbucks taste more palatable! If I am assassinated on the street- send the police to Starbucks headquarters in Seattle.

Horizon Airlines Does Things Right

Alaska’s sister airline Horizon has been serving Starbucks on their flights for 22 years! I flew Horizon not too long ago from San Francisco to Portland and loved my flight aboard their Q400 turboprop. The flight attendants were spectacular and although I did not partake in the Starbucks, I sure had my fair share of Hefeweizen! Take a look at Horizon’s microbrewery offerings this month– you just have to love it!

Alaska Airlines/Starbucks Travel Tuesday Giveaways

Here are the details provided in the Alaska Airlines press release:

To celebrate this collaboration, Alaska Airlines will host a sponsored event in the afternoon at select West Coast Starbucks stores each Tuesday in February. For one hour, customers at each store can text-to-win* one of five pairs of roundtrip tickets anywhere the carrier flies and enjoy a tall drip coffee, compliments of Alaska Airlines. Store locations and time will be announced to customers on Alaska Airlines’ Facebook page and Twitter profile as part of #TravelTuesday, the day of the week thousands of people trade travel tips and stories over social media channels. One store location and the time will be revealed on Twitter and Facebook every Tuesday at 8 a.m. Pacific standard time in the following cities:

Feb. 7 in Seattle | Feb. 14 in Portland, Ore. |  Feb. 21 in San Diego |Feb. 28 in San Jose, Calif.

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Back with a Bang!

After a brief holiday, Pan Am made it’s return to ABC two weeks ago. Inside sources said the series went under a bit of a a much needed face lift and it shows. Luckily it’s like good plastic surgery- like when someone gets Restalin and you don’t even notice, but damn they look good! Speaking of plastic surgery, and I’m not saying she had any as anyone who knows me knows I would NEVER speak against Miss Ricci, Christina looks more beautiful then ever! Maybe it’s her bangs? Don’t get me wrong I love her big, round gorgeous haunted baby doll forehead- but I find the bangs uber chic.

Girl Can’t Help It

Speaking of Ricci, is girl on girl action a requirement in her contracts or does just seem to work out that way? Last week the copilot’s fiancee planted one on Maggie whom didn’t exactly resist it. She kissed a girl and didn’t mind it. Needless to say the wedding is kind of off. Also fitting her “girl from the wrong side of the runway” image she was offered the opportunity to be a smuggler for some smarm ball. (Apparently being a Pan Am Stewardess was tantamount to being in the KGB. Or at least a Bond Girl for the love of Daniel Craig!) As a kindred hooker with a heart of gold I am proud to say Maggie turned down the dirt ball.

Stewardesses Have Feelings Too

Colette was throwing her carry on bag around as usual moving on from the the all looks and a box of rocks captain to a traveling rogue prince that said captain mistakingly mistook for the suspected smuggler that was courting Maggie. Awkward!!!!!!

Two historically included moments included in this episode were Laura photographed by my legendary predecessor, Andy Warhol. In the buff no less. Her, not him. (Praise Jesus!) And Kennedy having his brains blown out. Which was made sadder because Maggie ( My fave) worshipped him- even worked on his campaign.

Keep This Show Flying!

Thankfully it seems Pan Am has gotten much better and seems to have found it’s footing. Or winging? Or flying, or whatever! Just watch the damn show Sundays on ABC

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Philadelphia to Los Angeles on April 4th and Philadelphia to San Francisco on April 10th.

Although I am crushed that Virgin America is not making Miami their newest destination; I need to be realistic. They serve Fort Lauderdale which is only about 30 minutes away and well worth the drive to enjoy all that VA has to offer. Get ready Philly! You deserve the nonstop inflight entertainment on RED (their inflight entertainment system)- including live channels BRAVO TV- that you can begin watching the moment you take your seat plus music, movies and that is only the beginning. I bet US Airways has never offered you on-demand beverage and snack service in-flight! Virgin even let’s you run a tab. Try ordering drinks and sandwiches too many times on US, when the cart is not around, and you’ll end up being removed for obstructing crew-members duties.

Here are some other reasons my Philadelphia friends are going to love flying again:

Virgin’s got:

1. Super comfy leather seats with 32-inch seat pitch main cabin 
2. Complimentary drinks and snacks when you upgrade to Main Cabin Select and even more space 35-inch seat pitch
3. A menu that’s hip and healthy with a gourmet touch. No soggy school cafeteria style bites on VA!
4. Check-in experience that’s more Kimpton Hotel than roller coaster at Six Flags.
5. First Class that is definitely in “first place”. Amazing leather seats with footrests and even a massage feature! No, I am not kidding!
6. GoGo wireless connectivity on every plane

Yes, I may be a flight attendant for American Airlines (grounded for years now) but I’ve openly admitted that Virgin’s product flies high above AA’s! On the other hand I love the AAdvantage program at AA which keeps me flying them- unless of course VA flies the route Come back and tell me how much you love them, will you?

How can a product be so much better? I remember when I asked Lauri Curtis, Vice President of Onboard Services at the time in 2009, how American was able to justify offering a sub-standard coach product; allowing airlines like JetBlue and Virgin America to swoop in and take AA’s “golden routes”. I was told “that I did not understand the “BIG PICTURE”. I guess she was right! I could never have imagined how things would play out– American eventually falling from largest airline to number 3 and then going into Chapter 11 Bankruptcy– one thing that has not changed are the offerings in economy.

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You must have heard of a recent Wall Street Journal Article written about a journalist flying from Rome to New York, with her mother in tow, who was “mistreated” by a flight attendant while the passenger suffered unbearable abdominal pain. Well, I’ve found more holes in her story than the Aloha 737 that had a depressurization over the Hawaiian Islands in 1988!

Bobby Laurie and I discussed Ms. Marchetto’s experience on the latest version on “The Stew”

It seems that Ms. Marchetto was completely aware that she had a hiatal hernia, still chose to dine on spicy food the night before her flight and even began feeling pain before the door was closed; but rather than alert a crew-member that she was in trouble, she took her chances.  Eventually, she was in excruciating pain over the Atlantic and the airline made the decision to have the plane turn around and divert to Shannon, Ireland. Rather than thank the airline for taking whatever measures were necessary to see that she received the proper medical attention, she chose to run a story in the Wall Street Journal accusing the stewardess of being “The Flight Attendant From Hell” and comparing her to the deranged and evil Annie Wilkes character in the novel and film, Misery.

Honey, the only misery in this story is when you finally do meet the “Flight Attendant From Hell”. I know she’s waiting for you.

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The days of Hollywood royalty passing through JFK and LAX surrounded by a flurry of glitz and glamour have sadly passed only to be replaced by tantrums and meltdowns and in many cases, humiliating, forced removal from flights. No publicity is bad publicity they say; except of course when it centers around Whitney Houston!

Offender: Alec Baldwin
Jetiquette Faux Pas: Delaying flight for one’s own personal electronic pleasure 
Nonstop Super Bowl advertisements would not have come even close to delivering the type of publicity  the makers of “Words with Friends” received when Alex Baldwin refused to stop playing this game for “smart people”, as he puts it, on an American Airlines flight. Yes, I finally gave in and downloaded the app on my iPhone and have been playing incessantly ever since with family and friends. It’s actually become my top way of staying in touch. Note to everyone; don’t call, just start a “Words with Friends” game with me!

Offender: Whitney Houston
Jetiquette Faux Pas:  Becoming too inebriated “exhausted” to follow crew member instructions

Delta was ready, but Whitney Houston wasn’t when the seatbelt sign was illuminated! According to her publicity team, she was suffering from exhaustion. It took a flight attendant’s stern warning and a firm buckling up of her seatbelt for Ms. Houston’s eventual liftoff  to take place. Although I have been unable to obtain confirmation of any profanity being spewed by  the diva, rather than raspy lyrics, can we all just agree that an assumption would not be too much of a stretch in this case?

Offender: Leisha Hailey
Jetiquette Faux Pas: Engaging in public tongue tangling with another person (who happened to be female)

As is the case of most on-board scuffles; general air-travel anxiety causes even the most delicately handled customer service situations to escalate very quickly. Had I been a flight attendant on the flight and had passengers of any orientation been engaging in an ongoing PDA; I would have called for a cooling-off period. It’s really not attractive to watch; unless your taking part in it of course. When it comes to showing affection in public, a peck or two will not be noticed. Leisha, I know for a fact that Southwest Airlines has quite a few homosexuals happily employed and I would still suggest saving the heavy petting for the hotel room. Let’s just count ourselves as lucky that this particular couple was not breaking up on the flight instead!

Baggy Pants Billie

Offender: Billy Joe Armstrong
Jetiquette Faux Pas: Carrying on baggy-pants

“Pull up your pants”, Mr. Armstrong was told. As a flight attendant, I have been guilty of delivering requests in a snappy manner in my 25 years of service as well as a passenger on the receiving end of a poorly delivered crew-member request. I know how quickly a situation like this can get out of hand when words are the only things flying. Southwest apologized and this situation faded away pretty quickly. Any guesses as to who will be flying for free on Southwest?

Offender: Deshon Marman
Jetiquette Faux Pas: Inappropriate transport of “Crack”  via commercial airliner

Sagging pants that hang down below the underwear  and buttock line is clearly a violation of Jetiquette as everyone knows that skid marks are only acceptable on the runway or the curbside check-in! Unfortunately, this University of New Mexico football player wound up in jail for a day following an exchange with airline staff at Southwest over his low-hanging pants. Hopefully his low hanging pants were not as noticeable to his roomies in the slammer!

What do you feel is the most notable Jetiquette Faux Pas of 2011? Have we left one out? This is a living-list so it can grow; just let me know!

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Window or aisle?

Any good fanboy knows that hardcore fans of Marvel Comics proudly refer to themselves as Marvel Zombies. In the spirit of the holiday- yes I’m referring to Halloween, it’s almost holy here in West Hollywood- I proudly proclaim, ” I am a Pan Am Zombie!” (Speaking of Zombies- I hardly think it’s fair that Pan Am is up against AMC’s Walking Dead- I mean, that is some stiff competition.  ABC should seriously think of trying a new time slot to give Pan AM a fair shake.)

Pan Am’s New Stockholm Hub

With wavering ratings and mixed opinion on style over substance I almost did a cartwheel when Cristina Ricci announced on ABC’s “The View” that Pan Am had debuted in Sweden to the highest ratings ever. I knew I could count on my Swedish brethren! “Man berömmer för att bli berömd igen.”

Over not-so-easy

This week Maggie and that other chick fight over the hot Croatian guy (Goran Visnijic) from ER who was also in Madonna’s “Power of Goodbye video”. The chick kicks the guys ass in pool and flirts with him openly in front of Maggie. You can’t keep a good stewardess down. Maggie exacts her revenge on the junior stewardess by switching her from first class to economy-Relenting the man candy in exchange for egg duty. Looks like the slutty stewardess gets the ovum and the huevos. Ole.

With campy one liners like, “That is one heck of a dashboard you got there.” I for one will keep racking up more frequent flyer miles with ABC’s Pan Am, Sundays at 10 pm

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Small but extremely comfortable and tastefully decorated rooms at The Empire

Moving on up… to the West Side!

Having finally secured a room at The Empire Hotel, located across the street from Lincoln Center, Fergie and I wasted no time in getting settled. The Empire Hotel is extremely charming and tastefully decorated to the last centimeter. Our room was small but full of ever amenity one could want including the most comfortable hotel bathrobe I ‘ve ever borrowed. I am going to go back and get one online from them because I have not stopped thinking about it.

BTW, their TV channel line-up includes Bravo, home to The Real Housewives franchise of reality TV shows; just in case you’re interested. If you don’t know why I am talking about this

Splendor in the City

This day in New York could not have been more beautiful so we decided to enjoyed dinner at Épicerie Boulud at 64th and Broadway. We chose a sidewalk table and dined on an arugala and beet salad along with a country pate– delicious! Did I mention that Fergie does not care for pate? After my early dinner and two glasses of wine it was time to look for Fergie’s dinner. She normally looks forward to travel since she gets to eat cheeseburgers while on the road.

No McDonalds on the Upper West Side?

I know that there are some that will say I am a bad parent to feed my little Fergie McDonald’s cheeseburger meat, but that’s what she likes. However, I could not locate a McDonalds anywhere as I walked around the neighborhood. The idea popped into my head to download the McDonald’s app to my iPhone. After a quick search, there is was! I could not check locations, nutrition information and careers from my phone! The closest restaurant was .5 miles away! These UWS folks are sooo healthy in addition to being stylish– as we saw from our dinner table! Did you  know that their $1.29 cheeseburger has 300 calories? Well, Fergie and I think they’re worth it!

Fergie Enjoys a $21 Bacon Cheeseburger

When they mentioned my total at PJ Clarks, I just handed them a $20 bill and waited for them to hand me back some change. They were waiting for me to hand them some more money! Fergie’s cheeseburger was $21. I later discovered I was in a New York institution known for its great burgers among other things including the atmosphere. Turns out the burger was fantastic and I have never seen Fergie eat so much. She has a nose for prime beef! I enjoyed a bit of her burger along with some sweet potato fries for my late-night supper and breakfast.

The next morning we had to head out into a rainy city to attend meetings all day! I’ll tell you more about that in my next post.

Fergie loved the Bravo channel at The Empire Hotel

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Fergie and I have arrived in New York and are currently enjoying the most glorious morning in Central Park. Technically I am homeless and to tell you the truth, it puts a bit of a pit in my stomach; but I can’t tell you how much better it makes me feel to have Fergie with me…I am not alone.

Where will we sleep?

OK, it sounded fun at first but to land in a place like New York with no place to go really feels strange, but again at least I have Fergie. I checked in Priceline and they had three hotels to choose from at 11AM on their “Tonight-Only Deals”

Priceline Tonight-Only Deals

The Empire Hotel in New York and an amazing view!

The Millennium UN Plaza Hotel New York $145

Fergie and I stayed here before. Our room was fabulous, but it is a bit out of the way for us and they do not allow pets. We aren’t in the mood to pretend.

The Empire Hotel $169

This is so close to the area of Central Park where we are right now. I am really tempted to just book it, but I need to wait

The Strand Hotel $270 Over the Budget

Did not look into this any further since I want to stay on budget; for once!

It really is tempting, as I write this from a park bench in Central Park to just throw myself at the first nice attractively priced, yet tastefully decorated room the comes along—but this is work!

I just stopped typing to ask someone to snap a picture to prove it. Ahh, I was lucky enough to pick someone with an iPhone so I did not have to give a class in iPhotograpy! Here it is!

Back to the topic at hand; it just turned 12 noon and I opened up my Hotel Tonight app to check out the deals (HT posts them at 12 noon on the dot) and here is what I found that would keep me in my under-$200 budget.

The Sanctuary Hotel in New York City Allows Pets

Hotel Tonight: NYC-North

Stay Hotel $199 Nope

No pets at the Stay Hotel? Don’t they realize that Fergie is not really a pet? Don’t make me play the service-animal card!

The Kimberly Hotel $237 NO

Only offering 1 night and no-pets- screw them!

Sanctuary Hotel New York $ 199 Maybe

They allow pets and it is gorgeous, but it is not as close to the park as Fergie wants to be. The tempting part is that they will let you book this rate for 2 nights—but maybe tomorrow night…after all , I am living on the edge!

The Verdict is In!

Well, Fergie pressed “book room” with her paw and we’re staying at The Empire Hotel and it is so close to where we are. I got it on Priceline for $169

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Hopefully tomorrows New York trip will be as pleasant as this one in June

Tomorrow I am trying something I’ve never done. I’m flying with Fergie to New York with no room reservations and absolutely no idea where I’ll be staying. We arrive in the morning and I am just taking a Carmel car from JFK to some random place in the city and from there, who knows!

iPhone to the Rescue

I’ll be relying on my iPhone and the kindness of strangers to make sure that I do not have to set up housekeeping at the Port Authority Bus Terminal. If you don’t know, many people with nowhere to go sadly call this huge bus station home. The good part of that scenario is that it would allow Fergie to see how lucky she is.

Let’s talk about the weather

I wanted to also let everyone see my umbrella that was sent to me from The Weather Channel Social!In Miami, we have had torrential downpours for 24 hours and this little gift cheered Stephen right up as he left for work with it’s cute little clouds on the interior lining. I may need this in New York as The Weather Channel is forecasting showers in the city

Stephen with The Weather Channel Social Umbrella

How to get a room in NYC at the last minute?

I’ve been taking a look in the evenings,every now and then, at the Hotel Tonight app on my

iPhone for rooms in New York at the last minute. There have been rooms available at very fair prices even during extremely busy times in the city such as the United Nations General Assembly. I was scheduled to go to New York and then canceled my trip because I knew it would work my nerves too severely to be in the city with cab shortages and general mayhem.

For example, last night I checked and found 5 different hotel options for around $200 or less. Plus, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Priceline.com offers last minute deals on the night-of as well. I downloaded their nifty app to my iPhone and I am betting a good night’s sleep that I will come up with something!

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In my humble opinion, ABC’s Pan AM is one of the best shows on tv. I had my fears in the beginning that it may be more style over substance- not that there’s anything wrong with that.

A little short on character in the pilot ( the 1st episode, not the hunky blonde commanding the 333,600 lb bucket of bolts) subsequent episodes have shown character and story development and this week is no exception as the girl’s are rerouted to the Orient forcing them into all kinds of toil and trouble.

Maggie, magically played by Cristina Ricci continues to be my favorite character. What’s not to love about a gal that can order beer in fifteen different languages and explain the importance of bird size at a cockfight?

Throw in a banging bikini bod and a rebellious nature against Pan Am mandated girdles and I’ll be booking flights for the rest of the season. We get a little more C.I.A. intrigue and the sister’s sibling rivalry softens a little. Gorgeously shot and juicier then a foil bag of peanuts I’ll take the full pour of Pan Am, Sundays on ABC.

P.S.: What did you think of that white-knuckle landing in Hong Kong?

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I am a Fan, but this is business

Whitney Houston is being talked about all over the globe regarding an incident on a Delta Airlines flight in which she refused to fasten her seatbelt. In fact, part of the story is that she finally gave in and allowed the flight attendant to fasten her in. Her spokespeople have been responding to the news reports by stating that she was not under the influence of any drugs or alcohol and was just “exhausted”. I think the only thing Whitney was tired of was being sober and she was most likely enticed to board the airplane as way to get to her next “fix”.

Exhausted? Please!

If Whitney Houston was so exhausted, how and why would she be able to put up a fight over having her seat belt on?

Has Whitney Partied Hard? Watch this!

Her comeback tour shows a side of Whitney rarely seen during her movie scenes or Oprah appearances. Oh Whitney, we still love you but when are you going to straighten up and fly right again?

If that’s not enough…

Whitney’s radio interview with Wendy Williams is one of my all-time favorite guilty pleasures that is absolutely timeless. This will clear up any questions you may have about Ms. Houston’s ability to quickly become combative. Move to 3:48 on this video!

Any questions?

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The InFlight Team spoke about Transformational Travel on the nationally syndicated talk show “Daytime” as well as KPTV’s “MORE Good Day Oregon,” and they mentioned how a beach vacation can transform your psyche into a better, relaxed place. Now, a lucky viewer/reader has the chance to do just that!

The InFlight Team wants to know: If you could spend a day on the beach, with anyone, who would that person be and what would you be drinking?

The winning entry will receive a two night stay at Hotel Kura Hulanda as well as a two night stay at Lodge Kura Hulanda for two adults.

To enter the contest, Facebook “Like” the three pages below and leave a comment on this post with your response to the question above.

You can increase your chances of winning by commenting on the contest pages on DearSkySteward.com and UpUpAndAGay.com for a maximum of two entries. The entries received on DearSkySteward.com and UpUpAndAGay.com will be entered onto a spreadsheet and a random winner selected on November 16, 2011. Airfare is NOT included.

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What should you be reading? The Ladies Home Journal? (Probably). You’ll just have to settle for my latest commentary on ABC’s delicious new “Soap Opera in the Skies”, Pan Am.

JFK? Who Knew?

Kennedy is in town and he likes stewardesses: we’re going to a party. That could easily sum up the entire episode but I’d like to look a little closer at the extra smokehouse almonds we were treated to on this 707 flight to Germany.

Pan Am’s Berlin “Hub-bub”

Take my breath away is a Berlin song and the girl’s nonstop flight destination in this week’s opening sequence. Throw in the fact that John Fitzgerald (No relation…. Maybe!) Kennedy And you’ve got a whole fondue pot full of fun! I said it before and I’ll say it again- if not a million more times- I love Christina Ricci and her role as Maggie continues to intrigue me.

Stew Stories

A Pan Am Flight Attendant is tantamount to being Stewardess Barbie and there’s not a gosh darn thing wrong with that. Maggie is the Stepford stewardess with her perfect walk and wave but I suspect a very messed up background behind that veneer of perfection. The unmistakable appeal of the show may seem a bit style-over-substance perhaps, but it continues to develop without losing a drop of it’s style. It’s also revealed in this episode that my favorite French whore Colette was 3 years old when Nazi’s occupied France and isn’t too fond of Germany’s U. S. Atonement.

Coffee, Tea, DVR?

Throw in a little noir C.I.A. Intrigue and you have a T. V. Show. I came to fly and I think I will. Pan AM airs Sundays at 10 pm on ABC!

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On a flight from London to Rome, I had the very strange experience of sitting near an ill passenger that monopolized the crew’s time as well as generally disrupted the flight. The 60-ish woman was traveling with her two 20-something daughters.

We were all sick of this lady by the time we reached 30,000 feet

During the boarding process, the lady informed the flight attendant that she was in pain and the flight attendant suggested that she remain in London. The passenger scoffed at the suggestion and emphatically stated that she would be flying to Rome and asked to be left alone. Unfortunately she took back the request once the plane was airborne.

Fly healthy! Holidays are much more enjoyable!

Getting sick on an airplane

Throughout the flight, this lady rang her call light over and over again, demanding pain relievers which the flight attendants did not have (for dispensing to passengers). She moaned and groaned and made all of us in her immediate area miserable! Her daughters even created additional drama a la Shirley Maclain in Terms of Endearment (watch scene below) as they demanded the flight attendants do something!

My question– is it proper Jetiquette to fly ill?

Signed,

Hot Headed in Hollywood

Dear Hot Headed,

Flying ill is something that The Sky Steward frowns upon (so much so it has caused deep frown lines to form on his face which may require surgery). In many cases, traveling while sick can inflict illness on the many others sharing terminal and cabin spaces. Although something like a urinary tract infection is not a threat to others; this situation demonstrates how traveling ill has the potential to inconvenience others nonetheless. So, to answer your question, proper Jetiquette would call for postponing or canceling a trip in the event of illness; not only for one’s personal health but in consideration of others as well.

Canceling a non-refundable ticket creates a credit with the airline that may be used later minus a change-fee of up to $150. Oh well, sickness happens and not everyday…so we must get over the money as well as the illness itself.

This scene illustrates how the daughters were acting perfectly: Click to play

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Why didn’t you tell me? I was invited to fly for the first time on the firm’s corporate jet with five others from my company including the CEO. I arrived on time, I did not idly chatter about how excited I was to fly on the private jet and I did not overpack. I felt I was following all of the rules you’ve mentioned before about being a guest on a private jet.

Tom Cruise at his private jet

Private jet owners always have a favorite seat

Once I boarded, I took a seat as we waited for the CEO to board the plane. I should have been tipped off when I heard some giggles and whispers from the others. Once the CEO stepped on board, she thanked me for “warming” her seat for her and then stood there until I realized she was waiting for me to get up. I was so embarrassed! She is not the kind of person you want to irritate and I had made myself all comfortable in her seat with my magazines, gadgets etc. , so moving was not such a quick process– especially with everyone watching.

Shouldn’t it be a rule of Jetiquette to inform newbies of which seats are “off-limits”? I think this may have been my first and last flight aboard “The Magic Carpet” as it is called within the firm:)

Yours truly,
Red-Faced in Rochester

Dear Red,

In your particular case, it is proper Jetiquette to ascertain which seat belongs to the CEO as one of the first tasks prior to boarding the aircraft; so add it to your list. A private jet is chock full of politics in many cases and you need to be prepared to play. Of course in your case; you also discovered who your friends are at the company. The Sky Steward suggests that you to proceed with caution as he is disappointed that one of your colleagues did not warn you.

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I was on 5 hour flight back from a holiday. As my flight descended, I decided to brush my hair before we landed so that I would not look like something the cat drug in when I walked off the plane. As I began stoking my hair with the brush, the lady behind me tapped my shoulder and informed me that it was disgusting that I would brush my long hair on the plane and get hair everywhere. Am I a Doberman, that sheds everywhere, or something? I did not know what she was talking about. I was just brushing my hair!

Brushing Hair at Seat on Plane is a No-No

Is it poor Jetiquette for me to brush my hair on a flight?

Thanks,
Feathered in Fargo

Dear Feathered,

The Sky Steward feels that brushing one’s hair while in an airplane seat on a commercial airliner is unacceptable. Excuse yourself to the lavatory for grooming or to primp. Your “Crystal Gayle” hair may have been pulled forcefully from your head had he been on this particular flight and witnessed such uncivilized conduct. Take my word; you’d much rather brush your hair in the privacy of the lavatory than risk the humiliation and embarrassment.

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Certain people felt the 1st week of Pan Am lacked substance. I, for one saw this as a bonus and knew full well that the characters would draw us in more as the weeks progressed. Week 2 did that with a vengeance.

This weeks Pan Am gave us a smorgasbord of juicy intrigue and satisfaction, voyeuristic peeks into the lives of the scandalous sixties’ stewardesses with hearts of gold.

We got runaway brides being confronted by their mothers using hot would-be husbands as bait to lure said daughter away from the uber glam life of a Pan Am stewardess to return to the mundane death sentence of being a 22 yr old wife gearing up to be a procreating puppy farm. We got sisterly bonding. We got a little espionage meeting Bridgette; the mysterious super stewardess who allegedly abandon the friendly skies in order to throw it all away for that thing called love and marriage ( which may go together like a horse and carriage although my guy and me have our eye on a new Fiat- thanks J-Lo!).

Can’t wait to see how Bridget’s C.I.A. Storyline plays out. Not to mention further development for my favorite French whore Colette. Most importantly, Maggie, portrayed by Christina Ricci (One of my main reasons for tuning in in the 1st place ) gets some teeth this week. Christina is one of those actresses who always draws you in to anything she does and it’s never as good as it is when she is on screen. My two favorite scenes this episode were la Ricci centric. The first when she went head to head with the snooty lady in charge of weighing all of the girls and making sure they mind their p’s and girdles- telling her to hop on the scale as she and the rest of the girls would love to know where she stands and how much of an impact on the gravity of the planet said stand makes.

My other fave moment is when an unruly 1st class passenger makes advances towards Maggie. After keeping her head and trying to handle the situation in a professional manner that follows protocol- she promptly stabs him with a fork! Apparently 1st class doesn’t get 1st ass. (Let’s see the Jet Blue Diva muster that kind of moxie! )

Still amazingly gorgeous and beautifully shot! While the show certainly beefed up the characterization and intrigue, it still lacked enough substance to satisfy my Deeply Superficial sensibilities, but I am holding steady.

Next week the gals may or may not meet JFK and I am all ready getting my smoked almonds and half a can of Diet Coke ready for the extravaganza. Book me a seat in business as I still love the show.

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The 22 passengers were charged $375 for a one way ticket, or $675 for a round trip. The passenger manifest listed Southern Railway executive William J. Eck, who received a silver cigarette case for being the first paying passenger on the route; the famous Clara Adams, who was on the first leg of a record breaking, round-the-world flight; Juan Trippe’s wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Stettinius Trippe; United States Lines president John M. Franklin;  and interestingly, Texas Corp. (Texaco) chairman Torkild Rieber, who was forced to resign from his position months later for his suspicious relations with Nazi Germany. Another passenger on board was banker Harold Leonard Stuart; and American-Hawaiian Steamship Company president Roger Lapham.

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There is nothing more wonderful then settling back in an airplane seat at the beginning of a well-deserved holiday.   It’s not until the headphone go on and I become completely isolated from the outside world that my entire being is convinced that it is really happening–that I am finally getting away!

I love the sound and style of these wood-chamber earbuds!

Ear Pollution

I thought this would be a great time to review some headphones that I received. I had been using the Sony sport earphones that attach to the ear and are great for working out, but they are not the best for regular listening since the allow so much outside noise in. The ones that I chose to try on my first flight from Miami to Atlanta were the Timbre Earbuds with a built in microphone; perfect for my iPhone too! Another feature that I love is the no-tangle cord!

Besides being impressed with the aesthetically pleasing wood design I was wowed by the blockage of outside noise and the rich sound of these earbuds. They’re also very comfortable, easy to insert and they stay put! I would wear these any day over noise canceling headsets since they are so small, yet do such a great job of providing a complete sense of isolation from the aircraft cabin sounds.

I am still surprised by the price of what I would say are some of the best earbuds for iPhone I’ve tried; only $49.99. Check them out as well as some of their other models at iFrogz.com. 

You’ll see me using these on each and every flight!

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Was it an “air-kiss” or something more?

We’ve all heard of the latest incident involving a passenger being thrown from a plane. Actress Leisha Hailey and her designer girlfriend of 5 years, Nina Garduno were removed from a Southwest Airlines flight following a “heavy petting” session with her girlfriend that obviously just couldn’t wait. May I just make an observation that Southwest Airlines seems to be the airline of choice for those wishing to buy tickets yet not fly? Last year, actor-director Kevin Smith was asked to leave because of his full-physique and singer Billie Joe Armstrong because of his saggy pants that exposed his tail cleavage.

Is public kissing proper Jetiquette?

A short peck or two or even three is acceptable, but French kissing and groping on an airplane is clearly inappropriate. Quick rule of thumb: If saliva is being exchanged or if there is a risk of bodily fluids being expelled; the activity should not be occurring in public.

Here are 3 signs that you may be at risk of
crossing the line regarding public displays of affection:

1. You forget you are on an airplane and mistake your seat-back pocket for the drawer of your nightstand
2. You are unable to stand up out of your seat without clearly “showing” your level of excitement
3. In all the passion, you mistakenly invite the flight attendant to join you for a menage a trois

If Ms. Hailey was singled out for kissing her girlfriend simply because they are of the same-sex, this is clearly wrong. There must be more to this story. What do you think about public displays of affection on planes and how far they should go?

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