Same Wings, Different Worlds: Life as a Regional Flight Attendant

In this episode, we’re diving headfirst into one of the biggest debates in the airline world: regional versus mainline flying. Rich has always flown mainline, while Drew brings a ton of insight from his years working at a regional airline. So we’re unpacking the real differences in schedules, pay, camaraderie, catering (or lack thereof), and what it truly means to fly solo on a 50-seater.

Whether you're in the industry, considering becoming a flight attendant, or just a curious traveler, this episode is packed with behind-the-scenes perspectives and brutally honest takes on the pros, cons, and culture of both worlds. Plus, we’ve got a cringe-worthy galley gossip story that will make you rethink in-flight proposals forever.

Episode Highlights:

[0:00] Kicking things off with flight attendant mood swings and summer flying chaos
 [4:05] Intro to today’s topic: the battle of regional vs. mainline
 [5:41] Drew breaks down what regional flying actually is—and how he stumbled into it
 [6:38] Flying solo: what it's really like to be the only flight attendant on board
 [10:13] The boarding pay debate and why regional FAs work way harder than they get credit for
 [13:24] DIY catering horror stories and building your own galley mid-flight
 [16:19] Mainline arrogance: why we need to stop looking down on regional crews
 [18:41] Seniority, choices, and finding the right airline “fit” for you
 [20:18] Why transferring airlines isn’t just a quick hop—it’s a full restart
 [23:25] Losing the camaraderie: how the industry has changed
 [26:19] Respecting everyone’s path in aviation—there is no one-size-fits-all
 [28:00] Travel benefits explained: how they differ between regionals and mainline
 [30:23] StaffTraveler shoutout and how it’s saved our non-rev lives
 [31:12] Galley Gossip: an in-flight proposal gone terribly, hilariously wrong
 [34:19] How to support us on Patreon and what’s coming next!

Transcript

Rich: 0:00

You ever wondered what your flight attendants are really talking about behind the galley curtain?

Unknown: 0:06

Welcome to Two guys on a plane. Your go to podcast for an insider look at flight attendant life.

Rich: 0:11

We're your hosts, rich and Drew, and we're here to tell you what really goes on at 35,000 feet.

Unknown: 0:16

So sit back, relax. We're ready for takeoff.

Rich: 0:19

Now, I don't know if people know this or not, but every airline has a personality. Wouldn't you agree? Andrew, wholeheartedly, yeah, and that's what we're going to talk about today, because every airline has a different personality. And on top of that, there's so many different kinds of airlines that people don't even realize I know. When I applied to be a flight attendant, I had no idea. Personally, there's legacy carriers, there's main line, there's regional, there's all sorts of things. So we're going to talk today a little bit about Main Line carriers versus regional carriers, which is kind of a hot topic in the flight attendant industry. There's definitely a lot of debate on is one better than the other. A lot of times there's certain perspectives that people have, but Andrew has a very unique perspective in that he has worked for both so we are going to start that off. But first, Andrew has flying been going lately. Oh man,

Andrew: 1:09

summer has been summering. It's awful out there. Yeah, I don't even have stories to tell. It's just been crap. It's so bad right now, I don't know the storms, the weather, the people, it's all just it's really makes me re evaluate my life choices. Every summer I do this. Every summer. I don't know if you do it too, or you all do it, but every summer, I get caught in, like, one too many storms, and I'm like, this is a no for me. I can't do it anymore.

Rich: 1:36

I definitely have the same problem. It's I question my career choice every summer, because I really have no idea, like I think it's gonna be better for some reason, and every year it's not better. I've had, I've been working a lot of one day trips, turns, as we call it, in the industry, and I feel like I thought, Okay, what could go wrong? It's just a one day. You go somewhere and you come right back. Turns out those can turn into two days and three days. Yeah, it's been a mess. I've had so many turns this summer just turn into, go figure turns. Maybe that's why we call them. That turning into two and three days. And it's like, god forbid we think we're gonna be home when we're supposed to be home. But that's my rant for today.

Andrew: 2:18

And I always think that I'm gonna fly less in the summer than I do in the winter. Because, you know what, what are you doing in the winter? There's no holidays, it's not busy, but anything like that. So you think I'm just gonna stack all my flying in the winter so that in the summer I can, like, only fly 50 hours, right? So I can go on vacation and do all the fun things that we do. Turns out, I'm still flying 100 hours a month. I just jam them into like, two six day periods, which for anyone that's had to fly with me this summer, I'm very sorry. I apologize immensely for my attitude. It's because I've had vacation and I needed to fly like, 12 days in a row. And so to the crew that fre with me on my last 12th day. I'm very sorry. You didn't deserve any of that.

Rich: 3:01

Yeah, yeah. I I feel like I have multiple personalities at work. And maybe this is not just me. It sounds like I'm not alone here, but I definitely it's like, what version of rich did you get? I feel like we're both this way, where it's like, we meet people that the other ones flown with, and they're like, Oh yeah, I know him. He's he's something. Or you get like, Oh, he's so much fun. He's like, one of the best people I've flown with. And I'm like, okay, so you got him on a good day. Oh, and

Andrew: 3:27

all of my flying partners will tell you that my personality changes throughout the day too. Did you catch me on the first leg, right? Because that's one flight attendant, and the second leg after 11am that's another flight attendant altogether.

Rich: 3:39

And I think whether you're on a turn or you're on a four day or two day, whatever the length trip is, that last leg doesn't matter. It's just that flight standing between you and going home. So always delayed. Yeah, it's

Andrew: 3:52

always or you're running everything on time, and you land in your home city and your base ready, and there's no rampers to marshal you in, so you sit for 65 minutes for no reason other than it was your last day. Good times.

Rich: 4:05

But anyways, today we're talking about regional flying versus mainline flying. Yeah, I have never had the pleasure of being a regional flight attendant, although, honestly, I think I would

Andrew: 4:14

like it. Oh, my God, you would have been the best regional flight attendant. I think if you would have known before you drunkenly started applying to places. I think you would have probably picked a regional. I had,

Rich: 4:25

like, one or two glasses of wine. Calm down. I did. Yeah. Fun fact, if you didn't know this, I applied to be a flight attendant while drinking, because I was, I was at my at my end, I was at my wit's end, and I just applied in a whim, and there we go. Then they called me up a couple days later, but you started in regional so tell us about that. Tell us first, what is regional flying for the people?

Andrew: 4:50

So regional flying is usually it can be a company that's owned by the legacy carrier, or it can be a separate company that, like leases the airplanes and the crew. Was to the larger company to fly shorter routes or to smaller airports. They'll fly smaller airplanes to smaller airports. So it you can sometimes work for that company, or sometimes you don't. It just depends on the regional carrier that you've picked. And when I started, I knew none of this. Yeah, I didn't. I answered an ad in a newspaper, as we may have talked about before, but I had no idea what I was doing. So I didn't know that I was applying for a regional airline. And I even through trading, you don't realize, I mean, you know, it's a smaller jet, but you don't fully comprehend what regional life is going to be exactly, until you get out, get out online, right? And at

Rich: 5:41

that point, I mean, you don't have anything to compare to, anyway. You don't know what being a mainline flight attendant is, or even what that life looks like, right?

Andrew: 5:49

You just know you are a flight attendant at this right? Um, so when I started with the regional that I was working for, we was single flight attendant airplanes. We flew 37 seat turbo props, and we flew 50 seat jets, and then as we progressed, we started getting into like 70 seat jets. So it ended up being two flighted airplanes. But most of my time at the regional that I worked for, I was on an airplane by myself.

Rich: 6:13

Yeah, I still can't tell if that would be amazing or if it would freak me out, like being the solo flight attendant on an aircraft, because part of me is like, okay, now I don't have to manage the personalities of fellow crew members. This is cool. I can set the tone of the cabin. I can do my own thing. But at the same time, when it comes to emergency situations or passengers kind of losing their minds on you, I'd be nervous about having no backup.

Andrew: 6:38

Truthfully, I have always felt like the passengers get more difficult. The more flight attendants you add to an airplane, like, I think they know they can pit us against each other.

Rich: 6:45

Funny, of course they do.

Andrew: 6:50

I think they know they can pit us against each other because they do it all the time. Well, that the other flight attendant said, and I'm always like, no, they didn't. There's no way. But anyways, the more flight attendants you have on an airplane, I think it is more difficult to manage passengers. In my personal experience, I really feel like when I was by myself, there was a level of respect to the job that I was doing from the passengers, and also the passengers, kind of, I won't say, policed each other, but that was really what they did. Like they really, I mean, if someone was getting out of hand, someone was standing up to step in to help you where, I mean, the more flight attendants you have, the passengers expect your co workers to help you in these scenarios, like soliciting volunteers when you're by yourself, is right? It takes nothing to get somebody to get up to help you in a medical where, you know, in my job today, it takes a little bit to get people up.

Rich: 7:40

Yeah, I never thought about their perspective, because it's like people so often now in society anyways, think, like, well, that's not my job, right? So like, why would I help them? But if they see you alone, dealing with something, there's, you know, some empathy coming into the situation where they're like, Well, gosh, I kind of feel bad for this person. They look like they're struggling, like, maybe I can help them out or whatever, and people rally around you, so that's cool.

Andrew: 8:03

Yeah, I don't miss work. And you know, being a regional flight attendant, you work a lot more, right? Because your legs are shorter, so you are by yourself or with a single other flight attendant at this point. But even if you're on a dual flight attendant aircraft. You're not really working with the other person, right? You're not sharing a cart with them. Usually, one of them is working first remain, and the other one is working coach. And so you're still kind of working independent of each other, versus sharing a cart and, like, doing the job

Rich: 8:39

together, right, right? So it's like everybody's kind of got their own like, you do your job over here. Yeah, I'll do my job over here.

Andrew: 8:45

Take care of the front doors. You take care of the back doors. But, like, you're not really, you know,

Rich: 8:50

you don't have to interact with them if you don't

Unknown: 8:52

really want to. Yeah? I mean, you should, yeah, you should, but you don't really.

Rich: 8:55

I have worked at two person aircraft before, and I did appreciate that. It's like, okay, you've got your things there. I've got my things here, something otherwise you do see the

Andrew: 9:08

curtain, I'll say on this side of the curtain, everything will go just fine. I mean, I think, I mean, it's not a secret that I don't work for a regional anymore, but I do think that's the part that I miss the most. I would, I tell people all the time. I would go back in a heartbeat if we made more money. I, you know, I don't miss working eight legs a day. I don't miss catering my own airplane. I don't there are aspects to working in a main line that are, you know, easier, right? But I, I would go back to regional life in a heartbeat. So much more fun. You were the only person there for most of it. I was the only person on the airplane, my personality, my jokes. Like was my airplane if I wanted to show it right, it was my comedy show. Yes, I could do whatever I wanted during the announcements. I you know, as long as the far minimums were hit, I could raise my personality. I was in charge. What I said went there was no one. To come behind me and be like, were you nice enough about that? And I don't, right. No, we're here. Everyone seems to be happy now, but I miss, I miss being on that plane by myself, truthfully, yeah, go back in a heartbeat

Rich: 10:13

for regional flight attendants. I feel like the boarding pay discussion of, you know, debate that airlines are having with flight attendants. Like, gotta be the biggest thing of importance for them, because it's like, you're boarding eight times a day, if you're doing five to eight legs a day, right? And you're not getting paid for five to eight boarding, right? And, like, that's just asinine, right? And it's totally unfair. I mean, obviously every flight attendant deserves to get paid for boarding. It's the hardest part of our job, and I feel like that. That's one thing that I want for regional flight attendants more than anything, is like they deserve boarding pay because they work their asses off,

Andrew: 10:51

but honestly, they deserve the same pay. This like two tiered pay that we have going on, where regionals get paid less. That's the only reason I left is because I wasn't getting paid to do the job that everyone else was doing? Right? If we were making the same money, if it wasn't a two tiered system, I would have never left?

Rich: 11:08

Yeah, I understand that day. I think it's bullshit that they don't get paid the same because it's not like they're not doing the same things. They're dealing with the same passengers. They're dealing with the same right? You know,

Andrew: 11:19

bags minimums are one flight attendant for every 50 people. So if you think about it, we all technically are working for with 50 people. Yeah, absolutely. So like, if you're the only one there, I think you should be getting paid more. Perfectly honest with you, you're the only one on the airplane, you should be getting paid more because you're actually doing more work, particularly when they're not pulling catering trucks up to your like service door. They're not hauling carts out. They're throwing bags of like, that's something soda into the airplane you like, on landing, or, like, ticking off a catering for and telling them, I need, like, two cokes or three sprites or four vodkas, and then they just throw you on a trash bag. Or this how it was. I may have changed a long time since I've been a regional.

Rich: 12:05

I was watching that happen. I was dead heading, like a couple months ago on a regional, 12 years ago, and we're still doing it. We have better. It's insane. I was like wild. I think I told you about this because I was helping clean the plane. Because this is something Andrew always told me was in particular on a regional flight attendants, they always have to clean. So I clean the whole damn airplane. Last person off the plane, I get up, and the flight attendant goes, What are you doing? And I was like, I'm cleaning for you. I know you clean on these quick turns. And she goes, No, we don't anymore. So I ended up cleaning the entire freaking airplane

Andrew: 12:46

as a previous regionals do I really appreciate that you're respectful enough to stay behind and help. I try. We're all in this together. Well, that was the hardest part of being a regional fighter tonight, is that?

Rich: 12:57

Well, that what I was gonna say first. The point of me saying that was I saw the one our door open, and I saw a trash bag get thrown out by catering. And I was like, is what is? They're throwing trash at you, like, what is happening? And they were like, No, this is how they cater us. Like we give them a checklist. And I was like, It's 2025, we don't have better systems, like you have to build your own cart, do your own inventory. Anyways, they work way harder. Where are we gonna say

Andrew: 13:24

that's it? Well, and that that was the hardest part about being a regional flight attendant is that no one understood that part. Why? Like, no one understood the things that you were doing. Because that's not what happens on the airplane, right? Like, well, you don't just get catering. You don't just don't get trolleys. And I was like, what trolleys? I've got a bunch of drawers that I like, slide open and throw. Like, we didn't even have trolleys, right? We just had drawers that you like, yeah, built in galley, like, and you had, like, one half cart, maybe, maybe, if you were on a two person airplane, but on the single flight attendant aircraft, half of them, you didn't even have carts. It was just drawers that you like, built into the galley that you just pulled open and, like, stored all this stuff in so you were hand serving 50 people by yourself. Yeah, it's 12 rolls. Not that big of a deal. I don't know when you're doing it, if that's what you're used to. I don't know any different. But, yeah, it's like the lack of respect from other people, other like carriers, because we're doing the same job, we do it differently than you do, and just because we don't get the same things that you get doesn't mean that we're not doing the same job,

Rich: 14:26

and that I I'm so grateful that we met. First of all, obviously, because we're married, and that's great. But additionally, like your perspective as a regional flight attendant is like opened my eyes to so many different things, and I feel like there are so many ways that mainline flight attendants act superior to regional flight attendants, and it pisses me off to no end, and I'm not even a regional flight attendant, but like, I have, like, secondhand embarrassment and whatever for from these people that just make these comments like it. So ignorant and so rude. That same deadhead that I was telling you about the other day a couple months ago, and the flight attendant I was working with, she got on in front of me, and she was like, Oh, hi. Like, we're dead heading, you know, can I have a water? Can I have this? She starts like, rattling off things that she wants from this person. I'm like, first of all, that's rude on any aircraft, but especially a regional aircraft, where they have so little catering as it is. And then she goes, Oh, this plane is so small, it's so cute. And I'm like, this is just condescending at this point, like you're just, you think you're being funny or sweet. And it's like, first of all, they've heard this 1000 times a day, because passengers say that shit too. Second of all, you're also a flight attendant, like you're being rude at this point. And so she grabs her suitcase, and she goes, they gave me a tag, but, you know, I'm pretty sure that this, you know, I can just squeeze this in somewhere. And I'm like, this is a CRJ, like, there's no way you're getting your massive suitcase into these tiny overhead bins. Oh, yeah, I wanted to hit her. Honestly, I was so annoyed. And so I'm standing behind her, and her big blonde hair, as the flight attendant is that's working, is like, staring at her, and I'm just making eyes with her, and I'm like, I am so sorry. Like, I'm not like that. I don't know her. Like, I don't want any part of this. Like, how was that for you, that that attitude from mainland flight attendants must have driven you crazy?

Andrew: 16:19

I mean, I've been thinking about this a lot knowing that this episode was coming up, and I often wonder if I wanted to leave the regional or if I felt pressure from other people to, like, go get a real job in aviation, because it was so people are so demeaning about being a regional flight attendant. And truthfully, if it's the flying that you want to do, the type of cities that you want to go to, like, the camaraderie with the pilots, the cities that we flew to, like, I prefer the smaller cities. We've talked about this on the podcast before. I don't really love big cities. I prefer the cities that we were flying to when I was a regional flight attendant, the way our schedules worked. I really enjoyed staying with the pilots, and so I look back and I also I wonder if I feel I felt pressured by like, co workers or other people to, like, want something different. So I did. I mean, obviously I did, but yeah, I wonder if that level of respect would have, if I would have been met with the respect that I thought I deserved right being a regional flight attendant, if it would have been a different outcome for me, like, I really, I think I'd still be there.

Rich: 18:22

Yeah, I think there's this idea in aviation that, like you should, there's like, an end goal, like you should. I mean, think about that movie, view from the top. I know Gwyneth Paltrow complains about it, but it's a great movie. But when she's talking about Paris, first class International, like, there's this, like, Oh, you must want that. Like, you must want to work those trips. You must want this, like, perfect legacy carrier. Side note, there's no perfect airline. And, like, I think people just assume that, and they assume you should want that. And if you want something different, like, if you want to work for a low cost carrier, or regional or something like, You're crazy, and it's like the job is different at every airline, right?

Andrew: 19:01

They all have their own personality. I mean, I worked really hard to get out of the regional life. I am with a main line. Now, I still don't think it's the main line that people think I should be with, right? I mean, you know that? Because every time we go out to dinner with any of your friends, everyone's like, When are you coming to right? Stop doing that. Stop doing that shit. I'm happy. Leave me alone.

Rich: 19:24

It really shows luckily, I think most of our friends have figured it out by now that that's rude. But yeah, I still like, I fly with people, and they're like, Oh, your husband doesn't want to come here. No, I don't. Why? Why would he? Why do not? All we do is sit on the jump seat and bitch all day. Why does he want to come here?

Andrew: 19:42

I mean, that's all any flight attendant does, to be honest with you. But I just, I picked an airline, I picked a brand that resonated with me. I picked, you know, I enjoy my seniority. I enjoy the roots that I get to fly because of our seniority. And again, I still think there's pressure to be like first class Paris, you know. And I, truthfully, I don't think I want that. No, in my life, I I don't think I'm the flight attendant for that.

Rich: 20:09

I agree. I personally like having the option to do it. Oh, for sure. It's not like, Listen,

Andrew: 20:18

if I had the option to do it, I would exercise it, obviously, because we all love, you know, variety in our trips, but

Rich: 20:25

sometimes those trips just kick your ass, like changing of time zones and all this crazy multiple flight attendants all with different seniorities and different ideas of what should and shouldn't happen on the plane. Like it gets, it gets a little chaotic. Sometimes, don't get me wrong, layovers are great, but it can be a little chaotic working those trips. Sometimes I just really want everyone to, like, respect other people's choices. Like, I didn't just,

Andrew: 20:49

I'm not here, because this is the only thing I can do, right. Actually, really, like, the airline that I work for and the product that we offer, right?

Rich: 20:57

And you mentioned you, like, where you're at seniority wise, too. Like, that's such a huge. Huge factor, like my mom. I remember when you were switching to the airline you're at now, she was like, always transferring. And I was like, it's not like, it's not like a department store where it's like, transferring over to the makeup counter, like, so she kept thinking that you were just like, for

Andrew: 21:19

any of the CEOs listening, if you want to put in a makeup counter, I would work, yeah,

Rich: 21:24

oh, don't bring the don't bring the beauty.

Andrew: 21:29

But she really thought that you could just kind of switch over and keep your same benefits and seniority and stuff. And it's like, you really start over again when you're at an airline, like you go back to the bottom with pay seniority vacation, like you're back to work and holidays, you're back to original for almost 15 years before I left. So, like, I gave up, always a big jump to go, and then you have to go through a new training, which, while similar, because the Fars don't change company policies do. So like, you're still trying to relay. I still felt recurrent, not fail. I still have to, like, redo my drills every year at recurrent because I cannot lick the words. They just don't work for me. I can't do it. Your first set of commands, I mean, who release and open were that big of a deal, but they are a big deal. Those words are not interchangeable.

Rich: 22:13

And my first set still comes back too, because our airline has switched so many times at this point. And it's like that first set that you learn in training for six weeks, or however long earned in your brain, you will go to your grave saying those,

Andrew: 22:27

yeah, I've got reached that point in my career where I'm like, Wait, back in my day. We did it this way. I'm back in my day, or these,

Rich: 22:35

oh, I was, I just hit, what 12? I'm about to hit 12. Just hit 12, something like that. And I'm like, Oh, I'm definitely at that point in my career when I'm like, do you remember when we had and some little new hires, like, are you okay? Do you need to take a nap or something? Did you take your medicine? I'm in my 30s. Calm down.

Andrew: 22:56

Would you I mean, I know you would be a flight attendant, or you, I we joke about you being a regional flight attendant. If you knew now what you knew about airlines, then would you have done more research? Would you apply different places like, what do you think you'd still be at the airline that you're at?

Rich: 23:16

I think ultimately, I still would be where I am. I think I think the pay would have been a big issue for me. And then I think I also would have done a lot of research, like googling things and whatever. And I think the negative perspective that people have on social media about regional life, I think that would have deterred me anyway, had I done more research. So I think I still would have ended up where I am. But don't get me wrong, there's still days where I'm like, I'd be a great Regional student. I want to go to all these random ass little cities in the US where nobody goes to I want to be just me, myself and 50 people like, I want to do my own thing, like, you know, plus you get to talk to the pilots more. They're nicer to you. Like, the crew camaraderie is way more of a thing a regional than is at Main Line. And I mean, some days I don't even, I literally don't even see our pilots, like, I'll be in the back of the plane setting up the alley. If it's a quick turn, the pilots switch out. I don't know who went into the flight deck. Like they don't come back and say hi. There's no time they started boarding. Like, whatever the case may be, there's a number of reasons I might not even see them until we're walking off the plane together and it's like or doing a bathroom

Andrew: 24:26

break. Speaking of the crumb, the camaraderie was my favorite part. I was walking through the airport to the other day, and one of the pilots I used to work with, he works for my airline now, and we had worked together way back in the day, and I was walking through the terminal and he was screaming by my name, and I was like, wait, what? We were flying together that day, and I didn't even recognize his name until I got to his face. But it was really fun to, like, catch up. And then we were just on vacation recently, and we ran into a group of pilots. We shot them anywhere, yeah, literally, I happen to know a friend of mine and her husband were going to be in Croatia, but literally the first, first restaurant we walked into. There are his group of pilots and flight attendants and goes to show flight crew gravitate towards the same restaurants on vacation, off vacation, on layovers at home. I had said I left my new balances at home, or they would have picked me out faster.

Rich: 25:17

But it wasn't an Irish bar, believe it or not. We were not at an Irish bar. We were

Andrew: 25:22

not but it was fun because it was like four, four pilots and their spouses, spouses that were all there. Yeah, and it was really fun just to catch up with people like that. Camaraderie doesn't go away as well. I guess that, like regional life, camaraderie doesn't go away. It doesn't matter where you're in 10 years. Yeah, it was wild. I ran into one of them in an airport once in Nashville years ago. But that's the only interaction I really had with any of them. And it was like, we had just walked off an airplane. You were there for the whole interaction. It was like we just walked off. What I was going

Rich: 25:54

to say was the craziest part is you would think you'd just seen them two weeks ago, the way you were like, Oh, hey, so and so, blah, blah, blah. Like, how. Was blah, blah, blah. And I was like, when did you see them? Like, I kept having to ask you,

Andrew: 26:05

yeah, about regional trips, though. Like, we used to spend whole months together. Like, it wasn't like a four day trip. We would spend like, 30 days, right? This, like, same four people. So you really, you really got to know each other. You really built friendships with people.

Rich: 26:19

Yeah, that's nice. That's the that's the one thing I feel like we're losing in this industry overall. Like, even when I started, it was more like that than it is now. And it's, it's disappointing, because those few moments when you have those layovers where crew hang out, you know, pilots are there, like, everybody's there, it just kind of reminds you of what you really love about crew life. And it, I feel like we're losing a little bit of that. Anything else you think people should know about regional life versus mainline life?

Andrew: 26:47

No, I think that we should all respect each other's choices. And I think instead of assuming someone wants to go somewhere else or be a different flight attendant, I think we should approach each other with the fact that they've chosen the job that they are working for whatever reason, base family time, however they may came to make this choice, I feel like we should stop assuming that people want something different, and we should respect that we all do the same job, no matter what kind of airplane that we're on, and be respectful of of that. And this might be my end goal,

Rich: 27:20

right? And that's okay. Yeah, I think be respectful is a good way to just live your life. But also, yeah, don't judge other people's choices and mainline people from one main line to the other. Don't be condescending to regional flight attendants. There's no reason we all work the same job. You know,

Andrew: 27:39

it's not a baby plane. It's not the littlest thing we've seen today. It's not the first time we've heard that joke. I almost got fired. Did I ever tell you this story? I almost got fired once this man walked on the like I was on a CRJ 200 the 50 seater, and he walked on and he was like, this is the littlest thing I've ever seen. And I was like, I bet it's weird saying that his wife was behind him, and just started laughing. She like, doubled over, and he looked at me, and he was like, Huh? He didn't get it? No, not at all. And I said, Well, sir, if you don't get it, you can go find your little seat. You can go find a little seat on this tiny, little plane with your tiny little self. His wife got on. She was like, he deserved that. And I was like, Well, I'm sorry, I don't think you do. And she didn't find that. No, I thought we were bantering. And she was like, too far, Andrew. And I was like, fair. This is

Rich: 28:32

when I wish this podcast was more of like a reality show, and we could have, like, a little clip that we cut to now where it's like, where are they now? Like, divorce corps, couples therapy. One question I did have for you about regional life is travel benefits. Like, what was that different, though? How did that work with because sometimes, as a regional flight attendant, you fly for different airlines. So do you get benefits on different airlines, or do you just get how does all that

Andrew: 29:01

work? So, because I wasn't wholly owned, like I was a the airline that I worked for was not owned by the legacy carrier that we worked for, so we worked for multiple airlines. So yes, you get different benefits depending on what who your airline works for. Sometimes you get the benefits in the base that you're in whatever airline you're flying for. Sometimes, if you're not a wholly owned you'll just get benefits on all the airlines that they work for. The problem with being a regional flight attendant that does that, though not being wholly owned, you get put at a lower priority level. So, like, it was great that I could fly anybody, but it was more difficult because you're never going to be the top of the list. No, yeah, zero. Like you've i, we even fell below retirees. So it was like, employees, employees, families, retirees, and then the regional flight attendants. And that was a big argument when I worked at the regionals, because, I mean, we are active flight attendants. We are actively doing the job. And, like, I commuted the whole time I was working there. So I was trying to, like, I'm trying to get to work. This isn't a leisurely thing for

Rich: 30:00

right? The stress of bouncing around must have been crazy. Oh, my God, you must have been using staff traveler like all the time.

Andrew: 30:07

He acts like I had staff traveler. No, I applied on a newspaper. We didn't even have cell phones back in, the day was spent with a pager in my pocket.

Rich: 30:17

I thought staff traveler was around. Well, no, I think it might have been. Yeah, it was just later, but I do

Andrew: 30:24

wish we had it. It would have made it all a lot easier. It's a combiner routes on every for those of you who

Rich: 30:30

don't know what staff traveler is. Staff Traveler is a an app you can download and use for non rev travel. So whether you're, you know, flying on your own airline, or flying on other airlines, you can check loads for flights for anybody, which is so great, because we've had so many moments where this has come in handy, because you think you have a non rev plan, turns out flights, full flights, cancel flights, whatever, and you don't have a plan. So staff traveler is free to download, free to use, and the way you earn credits is by. Answering flight loads for your airline for other people. So keep you know, the more people that use it, the better it works, which is great. So if you don't have it, download staff traveler, you can go to staff traveler.com/two, guys, and download it for free. It's a fantastic app, and they help make our show possible. So we're so grateful for them. But yeah, that would have come in handy for you, I think big time, majorly

Andrew: 31:24

from Nashville, but like, to anywhere I was based at the time, okay? I mean, I was in my 20s, and I didn't have any responsibility, so I changed my base, like I changed my uniform. Truthfully, I couldn't do that. That would stress me out. Oh, my God, it was so fun. I mean, how did you know I was in train wreck I would be on this. I was based everywhere, DC, Charlotte, Louisville, Cincinnati, Nashville, Hawaii, Denver, Grand Junction, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston. I literally just, I would change bases for like a month, just for funsies.

Rich: 32:01

Huh? Interesting. Well, for the regional mainline conversation, should we do a little story time before we wrap up this episode?

Andrew: 32:13

We should? We should we don't know if you guys know this or not, but I hear them blind with you, so I'm always really excited for this segment. Because, I mean, I don't know if you heard a few of our stories recently, but between the throw up and the hookers this,

Unknown: 32:24

yeah, this session has gotten really fun for me. Please keep sending

Rich: 32:29

us your stories. We're rebranding this a little bit. We were calling it, what would two guys do? But turns out, we don't have a lot of answers for you guys, because you're leaving us speechless with these insane stories. So we're just going to switch the title over to galley gossip, because who doesn't love a good story when you're sitting around the galley? So keep sending us your stories. Go to two guys on a plane.com/podcast, and send us your stories. You can be anonymous, but you don't have to be. So this story today is from Sarah in Chicago. She was going from Chicago to Cancun, a guy once asked us to help him propose to his girlfriend mid

Andrew: 33:06

flight, no immediate No. If you can't figure out how to do this on your own, you don't deserve

Rich: 33:12

her. I mean, you can probably finish the story, but we love a good rom com moment, so we made an announcement and gave him the mic. He got down on one knee, and the entire cabin watched in anticipation until she just wait.

Andrew: 33:26

Is she standing there too, or should he just propose to the airplane? She's there? Okay, let me finish the story.

Rich: 33:34

He got down on one knee, and the entire cabin watched in anticipation until she just sat there staring at him. Silence, nothing. Then she shook her head. The collective gasp from the passengers was louder than the entrance. The guy awkwardly shuffled back to his seat, and for the next two hours, we all had to pretend that that did not just happen. Even worse, they were seated together in a middle and window seat, trapped at 36,000 feet with nowhere to go. Sarah, that's a great story.

Unknown: 34:05

I love that you did it for them. I love that you made all of that happen

Rich: 34:10

for this is why I say no to stuff like that. When people ask us to make certain announcements or be part of some plan, nine times out of 10, I'm like, I need to, I don't

Andrew: 34:21

come. So now I'm gonna say yes to things more often, because you want to watch the train wreck too. Absolutely I do. I want to take the bubbly over and be like, wait not for

Rich: 34:33

you, right? Like, have it ready. And then when, when they say no, be like, Oh no, only for engaged couples. And then I was taking her back a lot of vodka. Yeah, me in the galley. We're getting you drunk. Yeah, keep sending us your stories. These are highly entertaining, and we love them so much. But that's it for today. Thank you guys for tuning in, and if you haven't already, make sure to join us on Patreon. Go to patreon.com/two guys on a plane. This helps support our podcast, every little bit helps, and as a thank you, you'll get lots of behind the scenes content, extra bonus episodes, blooper reels, Q and A's with us, live happy hours. We're doing all sorts of things, fun merch, so go to patreon.com/two, guys on a plane and join the Patreon community, and we will see you next time.

Unknown: 35:20

Join us for more humor, heart and stories from our beverage card.

Rich: 35:24

This episode was brought to you by staff traveler, the number one non rev app if you travel on standby tickets and are looking to make your journey easy and stress free, check out the staff traveler app in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Visit staff traveler.com/two guys to learn more and sign up

Buzz Burbank: 35:42

an ironic media production. Visit us at I R O N, I C, K, media.com you.