I can't tell you...

[Doogie]

...how much this means to me:

From Kristie:

I'm understanding more and more just how this stuff goes and how hard it can get.

That's SO true. And that was after a four day trip, four of ten days I'm doing at work this week (four day Accra, Ghana coupled with a six day Moscow).

She had a great opportunity to learn about pickups, interpersonal problems between the flight attendants and the whole vibe of things. I'd HIGHLY SUGGEST doing this with your husband to learn the actual vibe and flow of layovers!

[Kristie]

at the moment.. i'm just thinking "YES, i have TWO weeks at home before i'm off on another journey".

It's not always an easy time.. the layover seemed a little too long, i did get sick which is hard to tackle when your not at home...the crew (some of the crew) didn't communicate or get along and you could hear bits of the arguements going on between them.

With the new service the girls have to do up front (DAL just recently changed the "way" they want things done), it's now harder for them to successfully do their jobs and if they're not communicating well, things can really go awry. I know my seatmate tonight didn't get his entree....and we both had to wait 20 minutes between appetizer and soup/salad (that's not normal). Now, i don't really care on my part, i'm just along for the journey.. but the folks that are paying?! totally different story.

whoever created that new service in biz elite has never flown the line....someone needs to get her/him/them out there working it so they can see for themselves just how it is NOT working.

little kids in the back pushing on call buttons prompted one F/A to get on the mic and tell everyone that pushing the call button is not a toy and if children are pushing it, their parents should stop it.

Another pax up front got angry cuz we had to wait on a taxiway for 15-20 minutes because the gate at jfk wasn't cleared yet...people just don't understand that the girls/guys working the rows don't know what the scoop is and can't do anything about it. There was even one guy on my phx flight home tonight that got all perturbed because it would be an hour + wait on the taxiway just to take off (JFK is just getting to be THAT bad now - word for the wise) and i literally spoke up and said "well, nobody can do anything about it. it's just the way it is" and he just snickered... whatever...

shoot, let the girls do their jobs!

oh and doug and I get to write up a gate agent and supervisor tonight because there were a few of us that came off international trips to get on the phx flight home and they were going to push EARLY without us... now granted, i myself don't care because i'm non-rev.. but the paying passengers deserve for Delta to WAIT for them esp if they've already checked in or have a connection to make. we got sooo pissed off about that. Doug got to the gate before i did (security and the broken escalators, which NEED to be fixed, at JFK are slow) so he ripped them a new one because it was the supervisor that decided to close and push early...oh, and then, we had a maintenance problem so we ended up pushing late. could you imagine if you walked up to the gate and the plane was still there.. you paid your ticket and they said they'd already closed the flight when it was BEFORE the actual departure time?! oh my word, i would be totally beside myself....so yes, a few people are going to be written up for that because that's just wrong - on too many levels.

[Bigsweetie]

Originally Posted by Doogie

...how much this means to me:

From Kristie:


That's SO true. And that was after a four day trip, four of ten days I'm doing at work this week (four day Accra, Ghana coupled with a six day Moscow).

She had a great opportunity to learn about pickups, interpersonal problems between the flight attendants and the whole vibe of things. I'd HIGHLY SUGGEST doing this with your husband to learn the actual vibe and flow of layovers!

Riding in the back of a cargo plane with no seats in it? Makes my ass hurt just thinkin' about it! LOL!

I've been in the plane Eric flys, it smells like a locker room... no thanks! hee hee

When he's flying pax again I might want to try it.... once in a while. With two kids it's not easy to get a sitter and say "well, I might be home in three days, but if I get bumped enough, it might be four". It'd be fun to do once with the kids in tow as long as loads look good. I'd like my kids to be well traveled.

ETA: I've heard enough stories about his day to appreciate what Eric does. I know it's not glamorous or always easy, I don't kid myself about that. But right now Eric sits in a hotel in YIP for most of his 18 day rotation, hanging out with the other pilots. If he gets one trip a month he's psyched! He gets to sleep in, eat w/o a toddler nagging, his room gets cleaned for him, etc. Aside from not sleeping in his own bed, he's got a pretty good deal. Some days I wish I could trade and go sit in a nice quiet hotel with no one bugging me or changing poopy diapers LOL!

[roz]

Originally Posted by Doogie

...how much this means to me:

From Kristie:


That's SO true. And that was after a four day trip, four of ten days I'm doing at work this week (four day Accra, Ghana coupled with a six day Moscow).

She had a great opportunity to learn about pickups, interpersonal problems between the flight attendants and the whole vibe of things. I'd HIGHLY SUGGEST doing this with your husband to learn the actual vibe and flow of layovers!

I've been on some trips, but DH prefers to tag along on my trips because I actually get to stay at a location for 4 days and it's space positive for me! And my hotels are a lot nicer and I get a car which he can use. Furthermore, he gets taken out for meals! And he gets to go diving the entire time (my company does not pay for that!)! It's a beautiful thing!

Interpersonal problems happen anywhere at work. We all know about them. It's more explosive when you are in a confined unit. But this is not unique to the airline industry.

So, again, it's what works best for each couple.

Doug, you have your settings set to not receive private emails. I wanted to send you one and emailed Kristie, but she told me to clear out my PM's. That didn't help as I still can't send you a message. But I have a message to send you from many of our members who have been sending me PM's about this. I know you want to hear from members, so let's figure out a way that I can communicate their feelings without violating their privacy.

[Kristie]

fixed

[Kristie]

Originally Posted by roz

So, again, it's what works best for each couple.

that's pretty obvious Roz. So what's wrong with pointing out information and trying to urge people to improve their relationships and/or change it up some using implementations that actually work?

of course, not everyone can or will or wants to do it but part of the reason i created this site was to give people an opportunity to learn how to better improve things vs just bitching about it. part of my job is teaching by my personal experiences...that is the best way I learn too. doesn't mean you have to do it "my" way whatsoever but it does give insight on how it works for us (being DINKS) and who knows, it might help someone else down the line and that's what i'm all about.

Doug's trying to make a point that by taking the wife and/or family on one of your trips you can improve communication skills, give the kids a thrill in seeing their daddy on the job and especially in understanding of what the job entails and how "aviation" life really is/works. After all, it is about survival in this tumultuous type of life. so why is that so bad?

obviously it doesn't fit everyone's mold...I totally understand that and I respect that, but if there ever is a time that it does - do it, enjoy it, love it, take it for all it's worth!

I kinda feel like i/we can no longer talk about our own personal experiences so others can use them as a learning tool and i see that as unacceptable to my standards. the site is not made up of people who are the same or should remain the same. there's no equality in anyone's lifestyle compared to any another on this board, we're all here for support and to learn something new and seek improvement (or so i hope?), so it's obvious that everything is based on what works for each family. I just don't understand why you keep pointing it out.

[patty@myflightsurgeon.com]

[quote=Kristie;43036 Doug's trying to make a point that by taking the wife and/or family on one of your trips you can improve communication skills, give the kids a thrill in seeing their daddy on the job and especially in understanding of what the job entails and how "aviation" life really is/works. After all, it is about survival in this tumultuous type of life. so why is that so bad?[/quote]

I am not in the aviation world so my opinion is probably worth ziltch.but here goes.
I really appreciate the way Doug involves you in his everyday activities, and I think that anyone would jump at the chance to spend more quality time with their SO.
My DH takes our kids with him on side jobs so that they can see what he does and why he has the opinions he does about certain things, and even if we as adults don't see the meaning of it, our children do.

Originally Posted by Kristie

I kinda feel like i/we can no longer talk about our own personal experiences so others can use them as a learning tool and i see that as unacceptable to my standards. the site is not made up of people who are the same or should remain the same. there's no equality in anyone's lifestyle compared to any another on this board, we're all here for support and to learn something new and seek improvement (or so i hope?), so it's obvious that everything is based on what works for each family. I just don't understand why you keep pointing it out.

I for one want to hear about your experiences because like I said I am not in the aviation field, so I can live and learn through all of your experiences, because I get to see different places and different people that I would never ever be able to see in my lifetime if it weren't for you and Doug.

[ccbegay]

Originally Posted by Kristie

obviously it doesn't fit everyone's mold...I totally understand that and I respect that, but if there ever is a time that it does - do it, enjoy it, love it, take it for all it's worth!

couldn't agree more...

Originally Posted by Kristie

I kinda feel like i/we can no longer talk about our own personal experiences so others can use them as a learning tool and i see that as unacceptable to my standards. the site is not made up of people who are the same or should remain the same. there's no equality in anyone's lifestyle compared to any another on this board, we're all here for support and to learn something new and seek improvement (or so i hope?), so it's obvious that everything is based on what works for each family. I just don't understand why you keep pointing it out.

this is the one place that i can really get good information and insight of how eahc persone handles this aviation lifestyle...and i'll be honest, there are some posts that seem to point fingers, or is written in a tone, that makes it seem condescending because of what they did/and or experience...overall, i enjoy reading what every woman has experienced, and really if we were all the same, i don't know if i'd used it(jetgirls) so much...

[Doogie]

Go travel with your man.

Seriously. It's easy, the hotel room's already paid for and you have LANGUAGE SPEAKERS so worse comes to worst, there's folks you can ask questions or even get a free tour of the town.

Moscow? Absolutely impossible without language speakers or someone's whose been there before.

The more often Kristie travels with me is the more she understands the pressures of what my job is and why:

1. I'm dismissive of when she asks, "I dunno, where do YOU want to eat?" when I get back home.
2. Why I throughly enjoy the "morning constitutional" in the mornings when I wake up and take a paper to the bathroom.
3. My strange obsession with bacon, eggs and orange juice during the mornings.
4. Why, no matter how nice the hotel is, if it's within 5000 miles of my home, why it's just "like a damned layover".
5. And, most importantly, when you bring you wife on a trip and she's looking hot, it keeps the frisky senior mammas at bay.

Travel, enjoy, explore. Life's freaking short and you only get one. Time's a wasting.

[Kristie]

yea...moscow's also really hard to get to/from on a visa standpoint

but Louisville is really nice AND there's always Kentucky Derby weekend that might not be as difficult to get into/out of!!