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Galley Gossip: Do flight attendants hang out with pilots on layovers?
Dear Heather,
is it common that you associate with pilots when on layovers? Also after each leg of a trip, does everyone go to the bar? I can't imagine this is a great family lifestyle for those married.
Just My Thoughts
Dear Just My Thoughts,
Do pilots and flight attendants spend time together on layovers? Sometimes. Depends on the crew. Also depends on the length of the layover. At my airline, the majority of our domestic layovers average 10 hours. Add a delay or a mechanical into the mix (they happen!) and that 10 hour layover quickly becomes a nine hour layover. That's not enough time to do much other than sleep, eat and shower.
As for international flying, imagine you're in a foreign country far away from home with twenty four hours to kill and you don't speak the language. Now imagine yourself in a strange city several times a month - month after month, year after year after year. It's only natural for people with things in common to spend time together. Would you prefer to spend all that time away from home alone?
is it common that you associate with pilots when on layovers? Also after each leg of a trip, does everyone go to the bar? I can't imagine this is a great family lifestyle for those married.
Just My Thoughts
Dear Just My Thoughts,
Do pilots and flight attendants spend time together on layovers? Sometimes. Depends on the crew. Also depends on the length of the layover. At my airline, the majority of our domestic layovers average 10 hours. Add a delay or a mechanical into the mix (they happen!) and that 10 hour layover quickly becomes a nine hour layover. That's not enough time to do much other than sleep, eat and shower.
As for international flying, imagine you're in a foreign country far away from home with twenty four hours to kill and you don't speak the language. Now imagine yourself in a strange city several times a month - month after month, year after year after year. It's only natural for people with things in common to spend time together. Would you prefer to spend all that time away from home alone?
Now keep in mind that airline crews who do have time to meet up at a hotel bar for a quick drink are probably just too exhausted from jet lag to do anything other than take an elevator downstairs and sit on a stool. Not to mention, the majority of our layover hotels offer airline employees discounts on food and beverage. If there's one thing crew members have in common, its we're a frugal bunch.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, working for an airline is not just a job, it's a lifestyle, a very unusual one. Not many people can handle it. Our schedules are always changing, making it difficult to create long term plans. We work holidays and weekends and we're away from home for days at a time. A lot of that time is spent associating with coworkers - on the airplane and at hotels. This is why we need a significant other who is confident and loyal, a person who is independent and can deal with last minute changes. They also have to be able to make spur of the moment decisions that include back up plans A, B, & C - just in case something goes wrong, because when you work for an airline, something is bound to go wrong.
Because my husband is a frequent flier who travels over 100,000 miles a year for business, he knows what it's like, really like, to travel. That's why he doesn't get worked up if I find myself exploring the city with a colleague of the opposite sex. In fact, we encourage each other to to go out and enjoy ourselves. The time spent away from each other actually does our marriage good. We certainly don't take each other for granted and we always cherish the time we have together. If that doesn't make for a good marriage, I don't know what does.
Photo Courtesy of Gurms
I've said it before and I'll say it again, working for an airline is not just a job, it's a lifestyle, a very unusual one. Not many people can handle it. Our schedules are always changing, making it difficult to create long term plans. We work holidays and weekends and we're away from home for days at a time. A lot of that time is spent associating with coworkers - on the airplane and at hotels. This is why we need a significant other who is confident and loyal, a person who is independent and can deal with last minute changes. They also have to be able to make spur of the moment decisions that include back up plans A, B, & C - just in case something goes wrong, because when you work for an airline, something is bound to go wrong.
Because my husband is a frequent flier who travels over 100,000 miles a year for business, he knows what it's like, really like, to travel. That's why he doesn't get worked up if I find myself exploring the city with a colleague of the opposite sex. In fact, we encourage each other to to go out and enjoy ourselves. The time spent away from each other actually does our marriage good. We certainly don't take each other for granted and we always cherish the time we have together. If that doesn't make for a good marriage, I don't know what does.
Photo Courtesy of Gurms
Filed under: Airlines, Galley Gossip
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Maureen May 3rd 2010 2:09PM
You missed the one about "after each leg of a trip, does everyone go to the bar?" C'mon, would anyone ever fly again if, after EVERY leg of a trip, the entire crew went to "the bar"?
Chica May 3rd 2010 5:44PM
As much as I fly, I've never seen any flight crew members in an airport bar while they're in uniform. It's not allowed first hand. And, secondly, the overwhelming majority of airline crew would not put themselves or their passengers in any situation that may become dangerous due to a self-induced incapability to perform their duties.
frank96 May 3rd 2010 9:23PM
If there's one thing crew members have in common, its we're a frugal bunch.
@Heather,
You got that right, sister. I travel with the majority of my food on trips now. Just ended a four day trip and spent $20.00. Last week, I spent $5.00 on a three day trip. I'd rather bring that money home and have it for my days off. Plus, the less I spend, the less I'm pressured to fly to pay bills. LOL, I'd rather have a microwave, then internet access while staying in a hotel on a layover.
Hang out with pilots on layovers? I'd have to say, NEVER. We've all been flying long enough to know certain layovers, enjoy certain cities and venture out on our own. The ONLY time I really see the pilots is in the crewroom and on the van to the hotel, late at night.
Lifestyle for married? I'd have to say, most married female flight attendants LOVE getting away for a few days from their spouses and children. I've heard it for decades, they say, "I'm treating myself to a manicure in SFO". A bubble bath, a good book on their layover. It allows them to be an individual, not just Mommie or a wife for a couple of days. They say we all have jet fuel in our veins. I get antsy after a week off, ready to go, experience this unusual job which gives you a different experience, many times over.
Vegas Flygirl May 29th 2010 2:33PM
frugal bunch - ain't that the truth :o) I think I have the biggest lunch box you've ever seen. Thermos of all sizes & shapes! With my airline, we'll hangout with the crew for a quick bite, but you are right Frank96, we girls don't mind the short break from home, paying bills, cooking, etc.
dana May 4th 2010 5:22PM
we call it slam-clicking. you check-in at the hotel and say good-bye to your crew until the van the next morning. do you party every night after work? neither do we. we are just like everyone else. we have families to support and we don't have the money to blow on expensive hotel alcohol and food. the faa minnimum layover is 8 hours. the eight hours starts as you are deplaning and finishes when the door closes the next day. if we are lucky you may get 4 hours of sleep. some layovers are longer, but they are starting to disapear. most people want the most amount of working hours with the least amount of wasted layover time. i like a long layover so that i can take a mommy bath and watch mommy t.v. the quiet is splendid. normally i can't afford the long layovers.
AleciaBangBang May 5th 2010 3:22AM
I love your blog, Heather! :) I'm a former FA and will be starting training at a new airline in less than a week--I'm so excited!
Anyway I wanted to say that there are cheaters and honest people, barflies and "slam-clickers" (so to speak) in ANY industry. The people who want to cheat--whether they drink or not--will find a way to do so regardless of how much time they're away from home. Airlines--especially regionals, like the one I worked for--are sometimes so tightly-knit that I think people worry about being gossip fodder, which keeps a lot of folks out of trouble as well.
I'm probably the most introverted F/A ever. I was usually so tired of being social all day and looked forward to having time to stare at the wall in my hotel room and not have to make small-talk for a while. I usually brought my own food but when I did feel up to having dinner with the pilots, they were perfect gentlemen, and often shy/socially awkward like me. My boyfriend back home had nothing to worry about.
Plus, yeah, I was too broke to even think about buying alcohol anyway. :) Why am I going back to this job? lol