Blog-TOWER OF BABEL

What to do about standbydays? How doth one get paid and come to an agreement with the vendor?

So, I was asked to do 14 standby days for a company out in CA, and they made iteasy for me. They faxed me a form. On this form, I promised to love, honor andobey my standby days for 400.00 per day. I flew 4 of the 14 days, and did nottake any work, did not drink, I just waited with my bag packed and uniform intow. I had to turn down other trips. I was unavailable.

 

So in anticipation ofthis situation coming your way, make out a form, with an agreement. You may aswell be loaded for bear, and fax it to the company as soon as possible. Youhave to protect yourself. There are a lot of companies out there who would lovefor you to wait and not pay you but needlessly hoping that you will fly. Thisis no Vegas; it is too much of a gamble to not get paid.

Just make out a form,with your name _____________ do agree to perform standby duties at a rate of________ per day for ___ days. The standby day should be the same as fly days.BUT if you are feeling vulnerable and giving, take it down a few notches towhat you are comfortable with. You have to get a relationship going with thevendor, but also feed yourself.

I used to grimace when I heard that. Now I embrace it. Our planet is in deep trouble and I do not want to contribute to a landfill. How can we on a corporate jet, help the environment?

Well, I know there is not a lot of space on a jet to recycle, but I have done it. But what I am talking about is, shopping and in and around the hangar. I do the stocking 2x per month, and I separate the cardboard boxes from the trash, and they are recycled. I buy local produce which cuts down on the long haul emissions of trucks. And fuel 4 to 17 times less.

If you spend locally, not using the chain stores, every dollar spent in your community adds about 2x as much value to the local economy as it would at a franchise. When I am not in the hangar, I turn the lights off. Before a flight, I wash all produce, but do not let the water run incessantly. The hot towels – I throw them in with the laundry, and reuse them after they are cleaned, for the big cleaning on the aircraft. I always bring my own cloth reusable bags to the supermarket and try to carpool to certain airports.

I opened a drawer in my kitchen and found I had 5 old cell phones there. I dropped them off at Verizon. There is always another use for the things we no longer use. All the cleaning products I use are green; Windex is a memory, 409 – long gone. As far as appliances go in the hangar, we have an energy star dishwasher that has an energy factor (the number of cycles per kilowatt hour of electricity of approximately 0.65)-40 percent better than federal standards.

The average fridge uses 14 percent of the hangars entire energy use. Pre 1993 models may be costing 140 dollars per year. It is best to have the freezer on the top, and the fridge on the bottom, and forgo the ice maker, it demands 10-20 percent more energy.

How many of us, at home, open the fridge, and stare for 5 minutes. This wastes energy and gets in humidity which takes more energy to cool the hot air I no longer use Ziplocs, more landfill, I use reusable plastic containers for storage. We have a Brita water filter for our sink for drinking water as well.

So if we are doing our part and use common sense, we will contribute to earth day every day.

Today I attended a catering class with “Executive Catering On Elm”. This catering company is owned by Molly Sprong, an all too talented ex-corporate flight attendant. Their phone number is 860-350-4884 fax is 860-354-0106, and website: www.executivecuisinect.com.

 

They were featuring new and exciting food selection to order for spring and summer. I think I died and went to flight attendant food heaven. We were fed and waited on for 4 full hours; the only aspect that was amiss was the absence of a chardonnay (too early in the day). The class was 10-2, and was a mere $100.00. The teaching and the cuisine was well worth 5 times that!

 

My personal favorites were truffle risotto in philo, spring vegetable soup, mango and radicchio Caprese salad, fig glazed beef kabobs, spiced salmon with glazed fennel, halibut with roasted beet greens and for dessert, I was torn between the sweet watermelon salsa served with sugar spice tortilla chips or the delirious coconut cream with fresh berries and chocolate. The class was taught by Phil and sandy, 2 very innovative chefs who truly love food and have infuse their own unique style from apps to entrees. I have used Executive Catering on Elm religiously fro the last 4 years, and I always get compliments, empty plates, second helping are always common on my jet. This was surely a day well spent.

I was in a restaurant in Midtown Manhattan last week. I could not tell the wait staff from the patrons. Their uniform was a black fitted Donna Karan tee and black tailored Calvin Klein pants. Half of New York wears this outfit, hairdressers, designers, gallery owners and all the rest of us who do not have time to color coordinate.

 

I was in the FBO in Teterboro, NJ, the week prior. I was in a basic black Ann Taylor suit, no wings, no name tag. I was mistaken for one of the customer service reps. I did not mind that. I just could not really be identified as aircrew.

 

I think it should be known what we do, even if it is a simple set of wings. I am not big on the sameness of scarf or necktie. I did attempt to wear the company scarf the other night, and after doing the bags, I had a big battle with a piece of hot silk around my neck. It was removed quickly.

 

I do not want to get political with this, 9/11 and going overseas. That would be another 2 pages. Between Catholic school, the military, and flying corporate, I have been wearing one for 30 years. I would not want a doctor walking out of surgery, wearing all black. If you are aircrew, you should dress the part.

So, I recently flew on a Challenger 604 out of Bedford MA. This aircraft flies 450 hours of charter and 150 hour part 91. This aircraft flies without a flight attendant for 91 trips so I showed up 2 hours prior to clear the aircraft of debris for an 8 passenger trip to Malaga, Spain.

I removed 23 baskets of various sizes, 15 silver trays, 43 small ramekins’, 40 plastic ware rollups from caterers, 30 sugar packets, 24 bottles of diet raspberry Snapple, 10 small cans of Clamato-juice (do they still sell that? and if so, where?), 13 bottles of Red Stripe Beer for Jamaica, 4 large bags of Beef Jerky (BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN YOU WILL NEED THAT MUCH SALT), 12 cans of Mountain Dew, 10 waters with Arabic writing, 25 little jams, 17 extra mayonnaise. You get the drift.

Unless my passengers are going to eat some really weird condiments, there is no need for all of this. It becomes a hindrance, and sometimes a safety hazard. Much of what I mentioned was near safety equipment. It is not the pilots fault; it is just a general "gunk of stock" from many cabin crews, getting on and off. If the 91 owner does not use this stuff, it would be best to take it off and put it in the hangar. Trying to work around all this excess can only slow down a meal service and hinder your sanity and need for order.

Corporate Air Crew giving back to the community makes an awful lot of sense to me. It is three fold.

When we fly, I think we feel sort of unattached, without a lifeline. We are in a sense, care givers and service personnel and we have to anchor ourselves and reconnect to the city or town we live in when we get home. So why not go down to the soup kitchen and help out? How about fundraising for a cause you are deeply moved by? How about road races to raise donation for your favorite charity? Or of you are pet prone, help out at the animal shelter and bring your kids, they could certainly learn from giving as well. The senior center is always looking for rides to and from. Volunteering has helped me develop a deeper sense of family and what I am really made of. I have been a Big Sister, aid for Meals on Wheels, volunteer for Life Haven, a homeless shelter for women and children, the Partnership Project (1993-95); a Yale funded program for the mentally ill, and Goodwill clothing drive.

We usually have a lot of downtime especially if we are freelance, and the dead months like January, April and August. Volunteer organizations will take whatever time you have to give, they do know care what you wear, who you know, or how much money you have. They are down home nice people. So pick up the phone and make a difference. Stop whining that your life is going nowhere, that you are bored, that you are getting fat, that you do not have a boyfriend/girlfriend as well that you have credit card debt, you have a pimple, you have car trouble, you do not like your family, and your pax are rude and cruel. Make all that go away by SHOWING UP AND NOT GETTING PAID BY MONEY, BUT BY THE SPIRIT THAT WILL DEVELOPE WITHIN YOU.

You make new friends that will take you to another level. You cannot talk shop with them, you have to talk about real life issues and become oriented for others who need all things. Volunteering can take you to new heights and areas of the world. We as crewmembers, make excuses to put off classes we want to take, church that we want to attend, and seminars that can give us insight. We are always waiting for the next flight, in a constant on call holding pattern.

Make a difference. Pick up the phone. The world needs you now.

This is something that I do not understand about myself as a corporate flight attendant, that I do over and over again. Sometimes, not very often, I get catering that totally (excuse my American) plain downright sucks. I fax, I call, and I discuss, I describe, sometimes plead and beg (especially if it is short notice).....To no avail, no apparent reason, they failed me BAD and BIGTIME.

I ordered Cole slaw, the American side and solution to a sandwich, I got cut cabbage. I ordered beef filets, it was pot roast (you know, that stuff your parents would give you on wed, because the money ran out). I needed jell-o, I got boxes of jell-o, (do I have 8 hours to make this red stuff and place it in my refrigerator)? I ordered dinner rolls and got hard rolls, I ordered roast beef on wheat, no condiments, and I got luncheon loaf on WONDER BREAD (ALABAMA). I ordered fresh cold seafood platter and got canned baby shrimp and canned salmon. Am I talking to the frigging walls here? Radio now here?

But what I do is get mad and disappointed, and I get so speechless, I cannot even call them back because I think they are just so clueless, I cannot teach the blind men to see. So I take them off my list, and move on.

I never say a word I think, because in the beginning of corporate flying 15 years ago (I would call, and get excuses or a big DUH). So I “86” them from my roster. I guess I do not like to discuss a huge mistake over the phone. I like the face to face. Do not get me wrong, the corporate catering I see out there now is brilliant, especially in the New York area, competition to outdo one another works in our favor. But, the smaller towns like Addison TX, Montgomery AL, Pahokee FL, so buyer beware!

My son brought home a lovely virus 2 weeks ago, which I caught, but remained in denial. Moms do not get sick, boy, was I dead wrong. It was a high tech virus with many faces of disturbing symptoms. One day, was bone chilling shivers, the next day headache, next day... stomach cramps and vomiting, the next day sore throat and mucus, just kill me people. So where did I go wrong? I had not been sick for 12 years like this. I used to do preventive maintenance while on the road and it worked.

In this viral climate of colds and flu, I will share what I know. I take 1000 mg Ester-C® daily, 500 mg Oil of Oregano-which boosts your immune system, (Astragalus and Echinacea never worked for me), Vitamin B12 for stress, A good women’s multivitamin that contains the daily FDA requirements, 500 mg of Omega-3 fish oil, and White Tea tablets, which is the best antioxidant to date.

Since I cannot stand the taste of red wine, I take red wine capsules for heart and to keep cholesterol low. I wash my hands as many times as possible. That is why my son keeps getting sick, grimy school buses, sneezing classrooms, limited time in the bathroom, Rush..Rush...Rush. Sometimes he comes home and his hands are sooty little paws!

I also try to sleep at least 6 hours per night and work out 3 times a week. I also take wheat grass tablets daily, I am NOT brave enough to do shots of it. This is great if you do not eat enough fruits and veggies.

But I have to say, I did not do all this before I got my sons evil virus. I am not sure airborne capsules work, but they cannot hurt.

I was talking to a few corporate flight attendants over the last few months, and there seems to be a trend presently, of serving corporate passengers on trays. In the Air Force we used trays, due to the large amount of passengers, but that is where "the tray" was happily ended and safely forgotten. I have an aversion to tray service for the following reasons:

1. When I was very poor and in college, almost sleeping in my car, I was taken to restaurants that greeted you with a tray. Sizzler, Mr. Steak, Bonanza, rest stops... it implied, no service, get your chewy grizzled leather like mock steak yourself, loser loser loser….
2. I worked, (was not a resident) in CT Valley State Mental Institution, in Middletown, CT. The 40 womens' in the locked ward all got trays. This style of service, even in Psychiatric hospitals, has changed.
3. My mom, who is in a rehab facility, gets a tray. A tray, for me, is a reminder of "you are sick" < "you may be mentally unbalanced" or "I am broke or poor". Even though I may have been all in the former sentence, I bristle at the fact of the tray. If I was a Lotto winner, there would be no tray service in my large expansive adobe home overlooking Caneel Bay in St John's, equipped with a handsome, trayless staff of 8 model types.
   When watching a movie about prison, what do you see? A lot of men with trays.
4. You drop and tray, you drop the 7 or 8 things on it. Plate service, you have lowered your chances of being a klutz. Table service is elegant. No contest.

So, why would a passenger on a corporate jet want tray service? Any thoughts?

Blog By Besty Dwyer, Flight Attendant, NE area


WHY DO WE MAKE 450.00 A DAY?  How about the day from hell of a corporate flight attendant.

G-V December 26, snowing Teterboro, 7 am go, it is now 930 am. pax are on the plane.....14 pax to Caribbean, 2 dogs , 4 children under the age of 5, there is one set of twins. You are a fill in. the plane CANNOT TAKEOFF due to inclement snow. They are meeting a yacht in St Thomas.

There are all sorts of catering for this trip breakfast and lunch, none of which makes any sense, also no lemons, no milk, caterer does not answer -- everything is in micro containers, you only have convection. The order was placed by the company.

Hotel rooms at final destination end with HUT.

The coffee maker is inop. There is a post it on it that say -- does not work!

Airplane has no coke, no diet coke, the pax are rifling thru the dvds, the dvd played is inop --there is no post it.

The mayo and mustard condiments are the same color.

There is no wine opener.

The per diem is 25.00 international

The only snacks aboard are potato chips for Russia circa 1998.

The CEO’s wife keeps leering at you -- calling you GIRL.

The a/c cabin is hot, 97 degrees, you are sweating bullets, there is an elderly pax who is deaf and yells, you wish you had ear plugs, you only have Evian water, and BTW -- they work for coca cola, and only drink Dasani.

The children have markers.

You have the wrong cabin shoes on and only one contact, the other one popped out, heavens know where, probably in the croissant tray.

Your belt has broken.

The pilots have had it with this day and they are starting to lose it.

The nanny hands you a hot diaper. The kids are chanting are we there yet? 20 times, the pressure is mounting.

One of the pax says the toilet does not flush.

They were told there was direct TV.

The dogs ate broccoli prior to boarding.

They were told there were beds on board.

They only way to get thru this is to know these 2 things --They will deplane and you will go into crew rest in the next 18 hours. Even a hut can be a home.