Angelstation

Not because of their fares, which are pretty good actually. I was a rampy there for a while (loading bags on the plane, driving that funky little tug around the airport, guiding the planes in etc) Hard work but I quite enjoyed it. Whoa.. I was FIT.. could lift one of those 50lb bags with one hand. No, it was the people I had to work with. Got sick of that eventually; the abuse, the laziness (the union there is like GOD) I was actually assaulted by some weirdo rampy. Didn't file an official complaint because I had applied for and been accepted into Flight Attendant Training.... yay my troubles are over... NOT

Flight Attendant Boot Camp in Dallas. 4 weeks. Psychologically demanding. Don't believe the hearts and smiles advertising for SWA. They employ some of the most immature and lazy people ever. But as long as you drink the SWA Kool-AID you'll get through. I felt I was in some kind of Chinese Re-education program. Lots of "us against them" mentality.

Don't believe the stories about glamour. It may have been true 40 years ago for "air hostesses" but these days, it's just a job, but you work with 22yr old airheads. (heads in their schedules, finessing their upcoming trips, bitching to each other)

Had the flight crew from hell one trip. I was the "A" Flight Attendant (the one at the front who does the announcements and the safety spiel) One of the other F/A's called a drug test on me at the end of our three day trip, because we'd had a disagreement about something or other along the way (Test was negative of course).

SWA have an unofficial "policy" amongst F/A's "Talk it out, don't write it up". Doesn't work that way in practise though! Got called into the managers office more than once for some cabin gossip. WTF?

Glad I'm out of there now. Being away from home for four days per week was not much fun and after a while every hotel room looks the same.

Good memories too? Yep. Worked with some lovely F/A's, handled a very stressful in-flight emergency (a baby stopped breathing and was actually BLUE while we were cruising at 30,000 ft), calming down drunks was always fun as was the ever present projectile vomit or kids who throw peanuts from Row 27 up to Row 15. Don't forget the obese redneck who demands free alcoholic drinks because the plane is delayed 15 minutes or the smartass who gives me a $100 bill at 7am and says "That's all I've got" so he gets free drinks too.

Always had fun at Burbank though. Plastic surgery central. Saw a few Barbie dolls with lips like a fish and skin like marble......(shiver) Oh yeah, the cowboy hat and the boots make you look like a star baby....


Ah......so much glamour indeed!

Zonie

So how do you like Bank of America?

Awesome Welles

Wow, what a wonderful endorsement. I am forced to use these bastards a lot more frequently than I'd like. The occasions where they have been busted for failing to carry out routine maintenance and their flight staff's liking of a few beers before work trouble me most.
It's nice to know that the cabin crew are at each other's throats too.

Angelstation

They're actually pretty good to work for, even if they are also guilty of the whole "US Corporate cult" thing ("we're all family, volunteer some time at our booth this week, show your pride with a BofA shirt" etc". My vacation just went up to three weeks and the pay is pretty good. Bloody stressful though. Get yelled at all day by angry mortgage holders wanting modifications or demanding we give them a 2% interest rate. Yeah right....keep yelling at me and I'm really gonna be convinced.

Angelstation

Oh boy, the things I saw while working there would scare you ( not sure if it's any worse than any other airlines) They actually have a team of people who are there SOLELY to ensure than any negative publicity about SWA doesn't make the news (or is minimized) I still keep in touch with friends in SWA who let me know what's going on. You 'll hear about blown tyres or security scares on other airlines, but they keep a tight lid on all that at SWA. I've seen their "Mission Control " at Dallas; it looks like something from Nasa or the Starship Enterprise!

To paraphrase John Cleese " Don't mention the problems with routine maintenance."

Angelstation

I see you had your fingerprints done recently. Having mine done (again) tomorrow. They lost my N400....in 2006. Just resurfaced. Whole 'nother story.

Michael

You want a good job in the airline industry, get a job as a Spanish air traffic controller with an average base pay of $300,000 per year and possibly $1.2 million per year with overtime.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle6991798.ece

Angelstation

One of the perks of the airline industry is being able to get free or heavily discounted flights. It's true, but there are catches.

First, the positives. in 2006, I flew from Las Vegas to Gatwick twice in 6 weeks. Just for grins. No other reason than I thought it would be fun (visiting my old home town, friends etc and showing my husband where I was born) Cost me a grand total of.... $75 each way. Cheaper than a night on the town here.

The negatives? You are the lowest priority passenger. You can get bumped at any time. The day we were to fly back to Vegas (via Virgin Atlantic), TWO US bound BA planes were taken out of service and they took the extra BA passengers on our Virgin flight. It was chaos. We only got on because there were a few seats left. It was touch and go for hours. Very squeezy on the plane.

Another negative; When you fly in planes for a living, the last thing you want to do on your holiday is be on another aeroplane. Flying sure loses its magic!

You can get on any domestic flight here in the US for nothing. Sounds great but anybody who has spent any time in a US airport will know it's a damn hassle with the overbearing TSA (Acronym for "Thousands standing around") and the restrictions.

Oh forgot to mention. I'm also a licensed Private Pilot (SEL) and with flying my own plane on my days off as well, I was getting REALLY "aeroplaned" out. My husband would happily say " Let's fly to Utah or California on the weekend " and I'd just give him the evil eye.. I just wanted to sleep.

scrubbedexpat097

Actually I kind of like Southwest. The trips we have made with them have been great, the workers are always courteous and they always seem like they enjoy their jobs..


When we landed in Houston 2 weeks ago, we were serenaded by one of the guys. It was cool

Angelstation

That's what you see on the surface. Don't get me wrong, there are some genuinely lovely people on there too. But it's kinda like a shiny apple; it looks great from the outside, but take one bite and you'll find a bad spot or two.

I've actually done the joke telling and singing and even the dancing myself and it was a lot of fun. Used to get loads of video cameras and cell phones when we did that. And applause. In-flight crew are encouraged to do it. ( I should check Youtube one day. I might even be there) The accent was very popular. A number of folks commented they felt like they felt they were about to fly international when they heard me on the PA.

When I was with the "flight crew from hell" we didn't let the passengers know we couldn't stand each other. You couldn't tell from the way we interacted or our announcements. But it's like being on stage when you're a Flight attendant. You've got a job to do and you want to do it right. (and you NEVER know if an FAA inspector is on board watching you) If you can, listen to them interact in the galley; that's where they say what they really think. You might be shocked at some of the comments about certain passengers. And yes, I did that too. Serving drinks and peanuts at 30,000ft gets a bit boring so you look for ways to entertain yourself.

Most of their jollity isn't spontaneous and they don't do it because they love their jobs; most of the time it provides a break from the mundane rather that an attempt to entertain the passengers. And SWA know that it appeals to the passengers and makes it appear that every employee is a happy and contented employee. Fly enough times and you'll hear the same tired jokes. I was with one F/A (lovely gal one of my best friends in SWA) who told the same jokes on EVERY one of our six legs each day !!! I wanted to strangle her by the end of the trip. There are "joke books" and suggestions for humorous inflight announcements. But they keep them hidden!

I really realised how petty they can be when I was reported for.. get this....picking up the trash from the forward section of the plane when I was the "B" Flight Attendant (the one at the back) This F/A (who had seniority to me) reported me to my supervisor. After I was summoned to the supervisors office he sat me down and read out the report. It was for ""showing" her up and Paula shouldn't be picking up MY trash. That's my section and my responsibility. Paula should have asked first if she could pick up the trash there."

What she neglected to mention was she was busy reading "US" magazine when I did this and she was embarrassed and thought she'd be reported for not doing her job. Me? I was trying to help clean the plane before landing. So that was marked a "negative assessment" on my personal report. Get enough of those and you're out.

So much for LUV.

lifehouse51

It's interesting to hear your side of the story. I think a lot of "workplace secrets" out there for every other industry and the stark contrasts between the surface and the deeper reality are even greater for big U.S. corporations that have managed to maintain healthy public images.

I have worked in some academic hospitals in L.A. and Houston before, and have certainly seen my share of ugly things...won't digress and go into those, but you get the point.

Brit3964

Hey you need to be a freightdog for a while and get to see the other side of the airport...at night...all night long. Talk about lack of sleep! I've always maintained that flight safety issues and the commercial world of flying don't mix well. It's the FAA's job to ground you and the company want you flying all the time.

tonrob

Were you also responsible for the up-keep of the bogs at your respective ends of the plane? I'd have curled out a huge, pan-blocking turd in her's.

Angelstation

*Now* you tell me !

I've had to clear some pretty gross stuff from there; amazing how people can't manage to drop a turd straight down when they're sitting on the damn bog. How difficult is that folks ?

The "C" F/A and I were chatting once as we were strapped into our seats for takeoff. (That's the two fold down seats to the left of the front cabin door when you walk in). It was a bad day I guess and we were looking at the SWA motto there in front of us on the forward bulkhead " WE GIVE AMERICA THE FREEDOM TO FLY" I was idly saying to myself. "Yeah.." she whispered "but unfortunately they're always the WRONG people who fly with us" How true that was!!

Deedee13

WELL THIS is all i needed to read before my trip to florida!!! i will be thinking of the floating poo in the loo everytime i walk past it.. !!! great.. You could apply to us..... its just a job ... go home and kill the kids..!! of the hubby or kick the dog.. Ok here i go .. wonderful orlando in april.. for a grand total of 50 minutes