Jetiquette | The Sky Steward » airline attendant

FEBRUARY 19: Big Passengers/Small Seats, A Peek into the Crew Lounge, and a visit from blogger Queen of the Sky

Margery — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:47:24 +0000

Director Kevin Smith was in the news, the latest in a string of passengers Southwest Airlines judged as too big for one of their seats. To help sort out the controversy and look at effective solutions we will be joined by Bill Fabrey from the Council on Size and Weight Discrimination, Inc. Bill helped found the Council in 1991, along with seven others, and has served as a director since that time. Bill has been an advocate for size acceptance since 1969 when he founded NAAFA (National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance). His interest in human factors engineering relates to the fact that as a retired biomedical engineer, he has a special interest in how people, especially larger people, can be helped (or hindered) by technology. Such information as increases in the size and weight limits on medical imaging devices (such as MRI’s), or mobility products such as scooters or wheelchairs, or the availability of office chairs and other furniture with higher size and weight limits, and so forth, always catches Bill’s attention.

FLIGHT ATTENDANTS. You’ve seen them chatting in the galley, you’ve seen them give each other knowing looks, you’ve had them tell you to put away your electronic devices and stow your tray tables. You know they perform a mysterious “cross check” at certain intervals. You’ve seen them flirt with the passenger in 3C, and reprimand the guy in 17D who hasn’t turned off his cell phone. You’ve seen them depart and arrive at the airport in vans. Here is your chance to find out about their glamorous and hidden lives. We are joined by Sara and Bobby, hosts of the hit podcast The Crew Lounge. Once you have had a taste for their wit, snark and inside information you will want to make sure to tune in each week to their shows.

We have the honor of hearing from Ellen Simonetti , aka “Queen of Sky” In 2003 Ellen started her blog: Queen of the Sky: Diary of a Dysfunctional Flight Attendant as a form of therapy after the loss of her mother to cancer. In addition to describing events of her life, Ellen also described travel abroad, mainly Europe and South America, while working for Delta Air Lines. With practical information on worldwide travel described in a quirky, irreverent tone, the blog developed a considerable following. In late 2004 she was suspended and then fired after Delta Air Lines objected to her posing for photographs on a company airplane and commentary on her blog. Ellen subsequently renamed her blog Diary of a Fired Flight Attendant.

These events became emblematic of the issue of employees’ rights to communicate their own views of their work and workplace versus employers’ rights to restrict them. There was considerable media coverage of Simonetti’s firing and the freedom of expression issues involved. Simonetti advocates:

1. that employers should have clear, unambiguous blogging policies, so that employees can foresee the potential for disciplinary action, and 2. that the penalty for a first offense should be a formal warning rather than dismissal. We will get an update from Ellen and find out how her life has changed since she left Delta.

Raymond, our European Correspondent, joins us live from his home in The Netherlands to give his take on this week’s topics, news and views. Follow Raymond on Twitter@Raymondstar.

JOIN US LIVE AT 1 PM EST. Call in with your questions and comments. When the show is on air you will see a “click to talk” button. You can also call the show by phone or Skype by dialing (917) 889-3203

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US Airways 1549, One Year Later & 1970′s ALM Ditching Near St. Croix

The Sky Steward — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 03:56:46 +0000

Emilio Corsetti appears on The Sky Steward Radio Show

January 15, 2010, marks the one-year anniversary of US Airways flight 1549 which was successfully ditched in the Hudson River after striking a flock of geese during its take-off climb. Although this is the most easily remembered airliner water landing, it is interesting to look back at a ditching that took place on May 2, 1970, involving an Overseas National Airlines DC-9 en-route from JFK to St. Maarten.

On the Sky Steward Radio Show, we’ll chat with Emilio Corsetti, author of “35 Miles From Shore”, which recounts the dramtic crash and rescue in the waters of the Caribbean and discover how this 1970′s crash changed airline safety forever. For some great information and images of the ALM (Overseas National Airways) crash are available at www.35milesfromshore.com

Listen to our show live at 1-2PM EST, January 8, 2010 and feel free to call in with questions to 917-889-3203. You may also listen to the show after it airs right on this page and you may also download it as a podcast on i Tunes.

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Jetiquette Podcast 2: Big Passengers, In-Flight WiFi, and More

The Sky Steward — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:49:09 +0000

On this episode of Jetiquette, we discuss the issue of large passengers and whether the situation could be handled better or at least with a little more compassion. Plus, have you used inflight WiFi on any of your airline flights? Have you wondered whether it could be come an airborne nuisance? Gailen and Margery discuss what limits are in place to keep the inflight surfing experience a pleasant one for everyone.

We’ll also revisit the Southwest Airlines “Crying Baby” incident and find out what some of your readers have to say. Gailen also lets Margery use his prized Kiro Travel Pillow!

We want to hear your comments, questions, travel complaints: Call 877-759-7839 (SKY-STEW), ext. 6

To subsribe to our podcasts, use this feed url:

http://www.dearskysteward.com/feed/podcast/

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Turning My Phone to Airplane Mode or Off on the Airplane

The Sky Steward — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:23:30 +0000

"Don't worry, I'm on airplane mode"

One of the biggest issues that I hear about from readers of Dear Sky Steward and from airline crew on is the electronic device policy debate between passengers and flight attendants. On a recent flight from San Francisco to Miami one of the flight attendants was given a lecture by a passenger about just what airplane mode is. The passenger informed the flight attendant that “airplane mode” is an acceptable alternative to turning the device off for take off and landing. It’s easy to get confused, so we’ll try to clear things up a little.

Before I go any further let me admit that I too hate turning my devices off as much as anyone else, but that is what the rules are. I think we’ve all landed at our destination and realized that we forgot to turn one or more of our electronic devices off, right? Obviously the plane did not nosedive into the Grand Canyon due to interference with the aircraft’s navigational equipment, correct? But until we are told otherwise we should all just play along to make things easy for everyone. Hmmm, I wonder if any unexplained crashes could have been caused by this? I’ll have to conduct my own investigation!

Here is a quick reference regarding electronics:

OFF: The mode the device should be in when the announcement is made to turn devices OFF

"This rule doesn't make sense!"

ON: The mode the device may be in when use of electronics is allowed before the door is closed and after landing in the US or other countries that allow use while on board

AIRPLANE: Some phone offer a shortcut to disable wireless transmissions and this is usually called “airplane” mode. Some phones require you to turn off the cellular signal and Bluetooth separately, but the concept is the same which is to stop the phone from transmitting.

Oblivious Mode: The mode that passengers are in when they refuse to turn off their devices and just blatantly disregard the announcements while other passengers comply. However, this mode also applies to flight attendants that begin barking the moment the last word of the “turn devices off” PA is spoken (Give the people a respectable amount time before they’re ripped a new…!)

So there you have it. BTW, I am guilty of letting my MP3 player stay in the ON mode when I’m a passenger. Take offs and landings are so much more fun to a good beat Luckily the flight did not overshoot the runway due to electronic interference!

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Video: Miss Universe Venezuela Returns to Flying!

The Sky Steward — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 22:54:13 +0000

You’ve heard of Pam Ann, but have you heard of Lucci? She’s Pam Ann’s flight attendant friend from below the Equator who is a former Miss Universe Venezuela, Television Talk Show Hostess (watch), and Mistress of many dictators of third world countries. Now, she’s back in the skies on Venezuela’s revived national carrier Viasa! She’ll be flying to all of Pam Ann’s shows throughout the country. Be sure to see Pam Ann’s schedule and purchase tickets before they are completely sold out. You should also register for Sky Level, follow Dear Sky Steward on Twitter, and become our a fan on Facebook. Each connection counts as a separate entry!

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