Looney Toons.

TSA apparently didn't do such a great job in preventing the nutjobs from getting on our planes this week.  We got all the crazies.

I was super excited for this trip because we were doing a Tennessee turn to a city I've never been to yet for my company. (it's the little things in life really)  AND I was working with one of my friends Sally Stew (I revealed to her I keep a blog and that's the name she requested.....ok? sure...anyways).  That should've been my first indication- Flying Bachelorette + Sally Stew = Crazy.  It never fails- we always get nutjobs when we're working together.

Day 1: The flight going TO our Tenn city wasn't so bad- 1/3 full of passengers, quiet, boring morning flight.  coming FROM.........Cheese & Rice it was rediculous.


First we have our Air Marshall (who we were not informed about prior to closing up) on his phone during taxi-out (for those of you reading who have never been on an airplane before- that's not allowed, by the way) and Sally Stew tells him to turn it off and to her surprise he gives her the 'one minute please' finger and then flashes his badge. 

There's several problems with this. First of all- No. Just because you have an Air Marshall badge doesn't make you exempt from the regulations that the FAA (your bosses) require us to enforce.  Second. Is that duct tape on your badge? hmmm. Third- were were supposed to have any FAM's onboard this flight? Fourth- is he armed?  Sally comes back and tells me this & picks up the phone and tells the Captain what's going on.  Apparently the Gate Agent told her there "might" be a few LEO's (Law Enforcement Officers) boarding- but didn't confirm this information so Sally assumed that there were none.  Also- duct tape? ummm what?

Sooo I spoke to the guy and asked to see his credentials other than his badge. With the knowledge of what the agent had told Sally prior to boarding. I let it go & told him that obviously there was a breakdown in communication that will be fixed in order to prevent their cover being blown in the future.  I also suggested he NOT show his broken badge while on the phone when he's not supposed to.....just continue the conversation if it's with your Director about your assignment and act as if you are just one of those jerk-face passengers who can't follow a simple rule.....then apologize after because we really don't want to compromise what Air Marshalls are here to do. It was just an overall bad situation that we were in- if we hadn't been told about a possible LEO passenger, then we wouldn't have taken off without verification of their credentials from the airline.....because I personally would have questioned the duct taped badge.

Oh Babies- none were terribly unruly.  We had one little Asian toddler (the fact that he was Asian is irrelevant to me but I wanted to use an adjective) who was a bit rambunctious during boarding and takeoff. He was fine though once I gave him 6 plastic cups to make towers with his mom.....works- every time!! Well.........apparently the woman sitting next the little Asian duo was not at all happy about her situation of being trapped in a row with the child.  Sally was working in the front and during deplaning the "trapped lady" came up to her and said "Who do I speak to for compensation for being forced to sit next to that devil child who was kicking me and all over the place ans crying and making me miserable?"...ummm seriously? you appeared to be sleeping the whole flight...."Ma'am I am really sorry- I wish I had known of your discomfort during the flight, because we had 10 empty seats and one full empty row that I would have been happy to have moved you to."......"I thought it was a full flight. This was the worst flight ever & I'll never fly this airline again.".....um okay we'll see. "Ma'am I am very sorry and again if I had been made aware we would have been able to make your flight more comfortable."........."You know. I've been on flights with engine failures with emergency landings that I almost died in....and this flight was the worst ever. Who do I speak to since you were of no help at all."...really lady? "I would be happy to direct you to our Customer Service Agent at the top of the jetbridge."

I may have elaborated a bit because she told the story a few times to me, the pilots, another flight attendant and a gate agent......but really?!

Day2 Flight #1 involved an oversold flight and passenger who was given a seat that he shouldn't have been given.  A family purchased a seat for their infant.......which had to be held anyways- essentially freeing up the seat. BUT they paid for the seat...so it couldn't be freed up without a voucher.  They volunteered it prior to boarding but were told it wouldn't be needed.  So this gentleman goes on back to his seat and discovers the situation.  We tell him to just stand by and we'll take care of it for him.  "I'm just frustrated because you cancelled my earlier flight and I've been waiting around for 3 hours for this one."..........here we go......"Sir Just so we're clear. I did not cancel your flight.  I was enjoying the rest of my overnight & my free breakfast at the hotel. The airline canceled your flight."........."Well you know what I mean. I'm sorry. I know it's not your fault."....."Okay. Now. We're going to have this sorted out and Sally & I are here to ensure that any bad experiences you've had up to this point are forgotten by the time you arrive in your next city okay?"....He kinda looked at me as if to say "Wow. I was an a-hole and you're so nice trying to help me."

There's ONE more situation but its 2am and i'll blog about it another time.........because its something that happens ALL the time..........texting/talking while taxiing................Turn Off to Take Off............that's my new slogan.... actually I've been substituting "powered off" in all our announcements that say "turned off" so there's no "airplane mode" crap to deal with.  I'm sure I'll get a job performance warning for deviating from the written announcements printed in my manual......whatever- I'm a rebel to get the job done efficiently & professionally without compromising safety, passenger comfort or on-time performance. (geeeze that wasn't a dead giveaway was it?)