The Moment We Knew We Wanted to Be Flight Attendants: Flight Attendant Firsts

Ever think about the firsts that shape a career? In this episode, we’re taking a nostalgic stroll down memory lane and talking about the moments that made us who we are as flight attendants. From first trips and first layovers to the early chaos, nerves, and excitement that come with being brand new, we’re reflecting on why—despite the complaining—we really do love this job.

Along the way, we get real about turbulence, crew bonding, passenger moments that stick with you forever, and those times when flying reminds you just how lucky we are to do what we do. If you’ve ever wondered what flight attendants actually think about their jobs—or you just want a heartfelt, funny look behind the galley curtain—this one’s for you. 

Watch this episode on YouTube!

Episode Highlights:

[0:21] Taking a stroll down memory lane and why we’re talking about flight attendant “firsts”
 [1:00] Catching up on recent flying, vacations, and the irony of jet lag
 [3:24] Drew’s very first flight as a flight attendant—and being thrown into the deep end
 [5:53] Rich’s IOE chaos and realizing this career might always be a little unhinged
 [7:44] First real working trips, baby buses, and why some airplanes feel like home
 [10:23] Our first truly scary turbulence stories and why we nag about seatbelts
 [15:58] Passenger interactions that remind us we’re part of something bigger
 [20:33] First “wow” hotel rooms…and the ones with way too many bunk beds
 [22:51] Crew scheduling disasters and saying “no thank you” to a 4 a.m. phone call
 [25:57] Using flight benefits to do the impossible—like flying to Japan for lunch
 [31:23] The first time we really had to rely on our training
 [37:19] The moments that make us think, “God, I love this job”
 [39:01] Advice we’d give our first-day flight attendant selves

Transcript

Rich: 0:02

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

Andrew: 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.

Andrew: 0:16

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

Rich: 0:21

Do you remember the first time you put your uniform on as a flight attendant? Or do you remember the moment that someone pinned your wings onto you, or your first layover, your first flight, any one of those firsts? Well, we are taking a stroll down memory lane today and revisiting some of our favorite first moments in our careers as flight attendants. People are always joking with us. You guys complain about your job. Do you even like your job? We really do. Apparently, we don't tell you enough, but we really do. We do. We're taking a little stroll down memory lane today, and we want you to come with us.

Andrew: 0:52

I am super excited about this stroll, but before we start going backwards, well, I guess we're still gonna go backwards. How has flying been recently for you,

Rich: 1:00

flying lately has been good. Now that the summer chaos has died down, things are a little more chill, way fewer flight delays because of weather. I mean, maintenance is always going to be maintenance, but you know, we've, we've kind of calmed down a little bit. On the storm forefront, loads are getting a little bit lighter, so it's been kind of calm lately. I actually don't have much to report on that. What about you?

Andrew: 1:22

Truth be told, I've been on vacation, so I haven't been on an airplane recently. So that's been really fun for me. It's really nice to, like, step out and not worry about it.

Rich: 1:31

I love how you say I've been on vacation. Like we didn't go on vacation together. Andrew went rogue. He went on vacation all by him.

Andrew: 1:38

Well, no, I just didn't go back to work. I am still off of work. I have not stepped on an airplane since we've been on vacation, so I'm on an extended sabbatical. So I haven't it's gone back and, like, touched an airplane since vacation, is really what I meant.

Rich: 1:50

And I'm not at all jealous. No, definitely not. I was like, I'm gonna go back to work and make a little extra money. I regret everything.

Andrew: 1:57

Yeah, Andrew said, No, thank you. I don't want any part of it. So here we sit. Well, what are you doing with your time off? Literally nothing. It's fantastic. Literally nothing. Okay.

Rich: 2:09

Leah from love Island, literally, literally no.

Andrew: 2:14

I laid on the couch and tried to survive jet lag, which I know we had a whole episode about and we felt like we mastered it, and I feel like I'm failing this week.

Rich: 2:24

Yeah, the irony of being like, Guys, here's some tips and tricks on jet lag, and we both apparently just really suck at it, like, worse than, worse than I think we've ever maybe done before.

Andrew: 2:35

I mean, we've only been home a few days, and I feel like we're mostly recovered, yeah, but going right back to work after coming home from vacation never helps you. Yeah, at

Rich: 2:44

least against that kind of decision. Yeah, you need a bed rot day for sure. Well, today, we are going to revisit some of our first moments as flight attendants and some of our favorite ones. Of course, we want to take you on a little nostalgic journey back in time. And so while we're doing this, we want you guys to really think back whether you're a flight attendant or not, on some of your first travel moments, your first take off, your first airplane rides, your first you know, cities you visited. And we kind of want you to go on this little nostalgic stroll with us. So we're going to kick it off way in the beginning. Andrew, what was your first flight? Was it an OE flight that you remember? Or your first actual working trip, or anything like that.

Andrew: 3:24

I had flown before becoming a flight attendant. So like first flight I was a kid. I don't really remember it that much. First flight as a flight attendant was post OE. I was still in training base, waiting to be shipped out to my base, and they apparently had run out of reserves, so they called my hotel room and were like, you don't have to, but we could really, really use you to come work a trip for us. And I was like, you don't have to. Well, no, because you had just been released from training. I wasn't a base I wasn't on the roster yet, but they were like, in a in an emergency pinch. They were like, we really qualified. You finished your OE, you can come do this, but we could use your help. We could use your help. Do you mind? And I was like, No. And then one of my classmates came to my hotel room afterwards, and she was like, Did you just get assigned a trip, too? And I was like, yes. Are we working this together? And she was like, yeah. Oh, fun. Okay, yes, but my training had been on a single flight attendant aircraft. My OE had been on a single flight attendant aircraft, and now I'm being thrown to work. My very first flight on a double flight attendant aircraft, which I had never, I'd never even seen. Well, you have help, at least, right? Isn't that a good thing from a classmate who's also never seen the AirPlay? Good point. So I remember both of us, we called our trainer, and we were like, We are terrified. And she was like, it's fine. They found an airplane that was sitting on the ground, and we met them at the airport, and our trainer, like, walked us through the airplane, and was like, so here's the service car. It. I mean, we know how to do it here, right front, here's back. Like, let's walk through all of this so that you all are comfortable to go do this. We ended up doing an all nighter, stand up, whatever your airline calls them. But one of those, like, take the last flight out. Oh yes, continuous duty. Take the first flight back in, in the morning. People love them or hate them, yeah. Well, I didn't know first one, but we got on the plane, and it was just really super fun to be working with a classmate. Neither one of us had any idea what we were doing. I mean, we did. We had been through training, but putting it into practical experience, neither one of us really knew what we were doing, right? So neither one of us knew if we were messing up. And we just really had a beautiful time. We went to, I think San Luis Obispo, California, was our overnight. Oh, so we get there, you know, we have a quick nap and have breakfast and go back out in the morning. And that was our trip. It was so fun.

Rich: 5:48

I love those memories. Yeah.

Andrew: 5:50

What about you? What was your first trip? First? Oe,

Rich: 5:53

well, my, my IOE, in, like, during training. So for those of you that don't know, Mom, if you're listening, we go through, like, an initial operating experience during our flight attendant training where you're not really a working crew member, like there's already a working crew. You're kind of an additional supplemental flight attendant. And you go and you basically learn the ropes on a working flight. So you do the service, you do the safety demo, you do all these things to learn, learn your lessons. And when I was doing it with a classmate, and the two of us got assigned the same, same turn, and we get to the gate and there's no flight attendants, like, we're the only two there, and the flight is now delayed, and we're like, Well, this is an interesting start to our career in aviation.

Andrew: 6:38

And finally, in the foreshadowing, right?

Rich: 6:42

Seriously, like, hello. And so slowly, like, one by one, each flight attendant walks up, looking a little pissed off, to be honest. And we're like, must have been reserves that got called out last minute, and we get on the plane with them, and we're all bubbly and, like, excited, and we're like, hey, you know, I'm rich, I'm so and so we're going to be working the fight with you. We're new hires, and the four of them are like, Hey, hi. Like they were all somewhat Junior on reserve, clearly mad that they got to sign this trip. And then two of them were, like, bickering over what position they were going to work on the plane. It was like a whole cluster of events. I just remember that whole turn being a little chaotic, because there was like a meal service in first class, and one of us worked first class, one of us worked business. And I remember thinking like, is every flight going to be this chaotic? Turns out, yes, most of them will be, but not all of them are going to be like that. But then my first actual working trip, I remember the had the nicest it was like a baby bus. There were only three of us. It was probably why I still love the baby bus so much, is it's like, always gonna feel like

Andrew: 7:44

home, great, mom. The baby bus is the Airbus 319, it's the smallest of the Airbus fleet. Yeah, it's our favorite.

Rich: 7:51

We love it, yeah. But anyways, I was the lead flight attendant. I was so nervous about doing that. And the flight attendant I was working with, she was so helpful, so kind, so patient, but also she was like, you've got this, you know what you're doing. So it was a really good person to work with. The guy in the back didn't love me so much because I accidentally, like, crushed a bag of creamers in one of the like, Atlas carriers and, like, squirted creamer all over his uniform. So he didn't love me. And I gained hindsight, I can't say. I mean, would you love? I hire that did that to you? I would not love, yeah. So we had a fun layover. It was like a short layover in Minneapolis, into the Mall of America, and she turned me to Taco Bell, and we had a great time. Oh, fine. It was a magical little first trip. Who doesn't love Taco Bell? Exactly what's not to love about Taco Bell? So, yeah, first layover, first crew, magical.

Andrew: 8:43

Wait, and is this the crew that you were with that started your postcard venture

Rich: 8:47

to Yep, Suzanne is her name, and she bought me my first postcard. She said, souvenirs are expensive, you know, but you're, you're gonna want to get a little keepsake from each, each layover that you work and postcards are cheap, like get a postcard from each layover every time we go somewhere new, buy a postcard, go home, put it in a photo album, write a little note on each one. So now I know I still keep up with it 12 years later, and I have a an album of I don't even know I should go back and count how many postcards, but it's a lot. It's a lot, and it's a really cool honor memory. Yeah, I highly recommend that to any flight attendant starting out, get a postcard, get a photo album. It's the best way to kind of just keep a tangible history memory of your layovers. Let's see what's next.

Andrew: 10:27

First layover, and I think we both kind of talked about those already. I mean, mine wasn't that memorable, but it was just it sounded fun. St Louis was really fun. I mean, it was like five hours on the ground, so it wasn't, like super exciting. But there is something magical about that, like crew experience, and particularly coming from a regional airline, that like bonding with the crew, I don't know, like you just learn really quick with that first crew, how. Crew life is supposed to be, right? The pilots were really cool. I think we sat down. I mean, we weren't, we wouldn't have drank, but I think we sat in the lobby and had a soda and just kind of chit chatted before we went to bed, and then we came back down and met for breakfast. And, you know, just that crew bonding experience that you have on that first one, like that just kind of sets the tone for what your totally crew expectations are going to be for the rest

Rich: 11:17

of forever, if only they could all be that magical, right? Speaking of moments that are not so magical, do you have a first memory of like really bad turbulence on one of your flights?

Andrew: 11:29

I have a very distinct memory of turbulence. It wasn't a first, but it was a first at the airline that I currently work for. So going from the smaller turbo props, like, you're always in some sort of turbulence, because you fly to lower altitude, so you end up in, like, Storm weather more. So I remember turbulence always being a part of my job, but not, like, super bad. And it wasn't until I started flying on the air bus that I like, learned what turbulence is because you fly higher, you fly over water sometimes, or to wherever you're going. But there was this one time. So I was on a 320 we were in the back galley setting up the B or two or the back flight attendant, whatever you whatever your airline calls them, the back flight attendant was setting up the galley carts for us to take out, and we had the cart out, and we hit really severe turbulence, and so scary. I was between the bathroom doors, and the cart was like, ready to be pulled out into the aisle, so between the bathrooms, and then you have the cart there, and I'm standing on the front side of the cart, and we hit severe turbulence, like the airplane dropped. The cart came up. I came up. I went over the cart. Oh my god. And I don't know what possessed the other person in the back alley to do it, but she pulled down the double seat pan for some reason, and I just landed in the jump seat on the double seat pan. Well, thank God she did over her a galley cart and just landed sitting in a double seat pan, in the double seat pan, jump seat back there. And I was like, Oh my God, would have been so bad if I would have, like, fallen on the floor into the galley wall. Like, if anything else didn't happen exactly as it did, I would have been really hurt. But I just was like, sat down, and was like, Okay, I guess I need these now. I mean, they

Rich: 13:21

couldn't even choreograph it that well in a movie. No, they couldn't

Andrew: 13:24

have but, like, she was going to sit down, so she pulled the seat pan down, and I just happened to, like, I don't it was a wild day, and everybody just was like, in shock and awe that no one got hurt that day because the cart came up off the ground too. What about you?

Rich: 13:37

People don't realize that, though, like that, these turbulence moments can actually be scary. Like you think, okay, the plane's gonna jostle a little bit. You never know when it's gonna flip from, you know, just a little bit of light chop to the airplane is dropping and carts

Andrew: 13:52

are airborne. I mean, and if you're out in the aisle with the cart, thankfully, it was in the galley, so, like, no passengers got hurt. But if you're out in the aisle, like, that thing starts slinging soda water off of it, like, and there aren't any open seats. Like, our job is just to, like, lock a break and like, hold on, it's not it's not fun. No, it's not a fun experience.

Rich: 14:12

I remember I was working the 190 the Embry air 191 of my favorite little, cute little airplanes. And I was in the aisle with the cart by myself, because, you know, the flight attendant up front works first class, the flight attendant in the back works in economy. And then once they're done, they come and meet you and help out. But I'm otherwise alone in the aisle, and the captain called a guest, said it was gonna get bad. Take our seats. She failed to mention to me in the aisle that this was happening. And like normally, the flight attendant would come out and tell you I was nowhere near the phone. Make a PA sit down exactly, and I was nowhere near the phone. You're not supposed to leave a cart unattended in the aisle. So I just assumed it was something about a meal or a drink or whatever. That wasn't important. Yeah, all of a sudden, I felt it get really, really bad. She starts running into the aisle, and she goes, Oh, like, put the cart away. And she's waving at me. And I'm like, Okay, a little too late for that, because it feels terrible. So I'm like, trying my best to get the cart to the back, and I'm just like pinballing down the aisle. And of course, passengers like you hit me, and I'm like, I'm trying not to die here, but I'll be back to you in just a moment. And so I get to the back, and the plane drops, and the cart, like flips up in the air. I fell completely to the floor. No. Hands weren't even on the cart anymore. And luckily, thank God for small galleys. That's the only time in life I'll ever say, but this small galley, the way the cart fell, it like fell between where the galley wall is and where the other like carts are, and didn't fall on top of me, like it couldn't fall all the way to the floor. So I was, like, wedged underneath, like it barely was, like, this close to me, but it didn't. Hit me so catastrophic, yeah, and we didn't, I didn't have any coffee on it or anything. Thank God. So like, an orange juice fell on me and, like, some sugar and creamer. But otherwise, it wasn't that bad. I did hurt myself a little bit, falling down, like, on the hip, but it wasn't anything too crazy. But, yeah, you just never know when these things are gonna come at you. Like, passengers are always like, Oh, they're always nagging us about turbulence, and I'm like, because we've seen it go really wrong, and we don't want that to happen to you at all. Yeah, we actually do care about your

Andrew: 16:22

sitting there with your seat belt on, and I'm up moving 250 pound cart airplane, and it'll turn south really quick, and yours is a really good example of why crew communication is so important, not throwing anyone under the bus, but like, it's really important to, like, pass those messages along for that exact reason, because that could have turned really catastrophic for you. Yeah, I got really lucky. For sure. Have you ever had a passenger interaction that just really made your day?

Rich: 16:52

No, no, I'm totally kidding. It's actually kind of hard to pinpoint a few specific examples. But you know, there are those moments where you just feel like you're part of someone's journey, like in a bigger way. And it's so cool to experience that sort of thing. Like, I remember I had this one couple, they'd been together. There was an elderly couple, and they had been together for, like, I don't know, 75 years, or something. That doesn't even make sense. Mathematically, a million years they'd been married, and they were going to Hawaii to, like, celebrate their anniversary. And I was on whatever the first flight of that was, and they were just talking to me, and they were so sweet. And I was like, recently we had gotten married, and I was like, you know, I hope to get to that someday. And I remember the like, little the wife. She was so cute. She was so small, and she she like, waved me down, and she's like, Come Come closer. Like, come closer. And she put her hand on my arm, and she was like, you're gonna get there, you and your husband are gonna get there, yeah. And I was like, Oh, I never told her I was gay, as if it was somehow a secret, like she's like, I'm not an idiot. But it was just I felt so validated, a just I felt seen as a queer person, like for her to just respect that, you know, I had a husband without me having to say, it just felt really nice, and then to just witness that kind of long term love and being part of their celebration for it was probably 50 years, or whatever the anniversary was, but they were like, you know, we're we're getting older. We can barely walk these days, but we're gonna keep seeing the world until we can't like, that's what life is for that's what makes life worth living. And it was just one of those things where it was like, I'm so glad I got to be part of this journey. And then also it was validating for me. What about you? Any any amazing passenger moments?

Andrew: 18:45

There are so many, I mean, between celebrating anniversaries and birthdays and, you know, those sort of things, and honestly, I've had so many of them. We're like, there's celebratory ones, there's the ones where you're crying with a passenger who's lost someone, and they're telling you the story of, like, the father's funeral that they're going to and how that person meant to them, and so you're sitting there just bawling in an aisle with them. I recently had a repeat flyer come on the airplane, and it really made my day, because she was like, apparently they have been going on vacation for like, four years in a row, and I am always their flight attendant. Oh, wow. Her and her husband were sitting I was the mid cabin flight attendant, and she and her husband were sitting in the exit row with me. And she was like, I just love when you're on the airplane with us. And I was like, tell somebody else that I don't buy it, like it's not that I'm not a nice flight attendant. But I'm like, no nonsense. I'm no nonsense. You are no nonsense. I rub a lot of people the wrong way, because I really like rules. I feel really safe in them. Please don't make fun of my tism here. But I really, really like the rules, and I like for other people to like the rules, and that rubs most people the wrong way. But she was like, you've always been so kind and so friendly, and we always sit in the exit row, and we always hope that you're the flight attendant sitting here, and you normally are, and this is our fourth year being on your airplane, and we just really look forward to like you kicking off our vacation. You're no nonsense. You're really funny. I always really enjoy being on an airplane with you. And I was like, Are you sure it was me? I have a doppelganger. That's right, not really nice to people at all. And she was like, No, it's you. I know it's you. I love that. Yeah, it was like, two or three different vacation places out in so anyways, yeah, it's cool to be a part of those moments and to know people look forward to, like, seeing people on their airplanes. Like, I don't know I could recount so many, like, birthdays and anniversaries and things like that, but this one really kicked me, because sometimes I really, I really feel like I'm not right, the favorite flight attendant on the airplane most of the time, it

Rich: 20:50

is cool the way we get to show up on people's journeys. Like, I think. About, you know, I've had, like, Make A Wish Foundation kids on the flight, and they're on this, like, incredible adventure. I've had Honor Flights, where you're taking veterans to DC to honor them in that way. And that's beautiful, like it's just, it's cool. All the different ways that we get to be part of passengers lives in a bigger way than just, here's your cookie and your and your diet

Andrew: 21:16

coke, correct? I think we take those moments for granted, but they are truly some of my favorite, yeah, for sure. Okay, first really nice hotel room that you remember.

Rich: 21:27

I feel like in my early days, I didn't have any nice one, no, oh, I remember one from your early my first few trips were like, oh, a la, Quinta. Cool, cool.

Andrew: 21:38

Okay, I think you forget, though, how early into your career that we met you for, do you remember that Salt Lake Hotel that you had with

Rich: 21:45

the bubble bath? Yes, that was actually the one I was gonna mention. That was, like, the only one that I was like, this has to be wrong, like, the company screwed up and put us in the wrong hotel. I think other airlines still stay there. I don't think we stay there anymore. But yeah, I mean, I had this, like, I've seen that bathtub recently, a glorious story, sweet with a big bathtub and a balcony. I was like, This is insane. Like, how, how is this real life? What about you? Any memorable hotels that stand out for you?

Andrew: 22:13

Um, I think the first time I walked into a Weston I thought I was in the four seasons. It was westerns are nice, so nice. The beds are so great. The comforters are so i So, I think I thought that I was in the nicest hotel ever. I was recently in Orlando, and I got put in the strangest hotel room I've ever been in, okay, like, this doesn't sound good, four room suite, and there were, like, so you walked into like a kitchen, living room, there was like a mat, like a primary suite with a bathroom on it, and then there were two rooms that just had, like, four bunk beds each in these rooms. And I was like, Who needs 76 beds?

Rich: 22:56

I mean, John and k plus eight, I don't know there,

Andrew: 23:00

but that was not me. And I didn't know how I got this room. And then I was texting a friend about it, and he was like, Oh yeah, I was in that room recently too. And I'm like, That's so funny. Please, please tell me, why? Why we have this many beds? Why? How we ended up? Well, you know, we're flight crew, so if it's not reserved, they put us in whatever right open, which is sometimes a blessing and sometimes a curse, sometimes a blessing and it hurts. Sometimes you get a boardroom suite on the top floor, and sometimes you get 76 bunk beds for no reason at all. Yep, yeah. Then, you know, I have to use all of them. Oh, yeah. I had to sleep it. I had to use all of them for sure.

Rich: 23:35

When you get a room like that, use all the amenities. Why not? Okay, first cruise scheduling disaster.

Andrew: 23:44

Oh god. It's been 23 years. There's been, okay, many tell

Rich: 23:48

me of a time that you had a

Andrew: 23:50

many of them. I don't, I don't have one truth.

Rich: 23:55

I So for me, I mean, there's 1000 disasters that I could talk about. One of my favorite moments, and I think you'll remember this one is scheduling. Called me at like, four o'clock in the morning for a Las Vegas turn out of Philly, Philly to Vegas and back. I was tired. I wasn't feeling 1,000% and I was half asleep, and they called, we have your, like, a Vegas turn for you, and it was in the lead position, and there were going to be meals in first class. And I was just like, No, thank you. And I hung up the phone, and I went back to sleep, like, half asleep doing this. And then they called back, like, five minutes later, and they were like, Hi. We tried calling you a few minutes ago and you said no, and that's not really an option that you have, so we're gonna need you to report to the airport. And I said no again, and hung up. And then I finally was like, oh my god, wake up. What are you doing? And I did call out sick, but I was like, I just I couldn't do it. It was like, a long month of reserve, and I was like, fed up, and I was like, No, leave me alone. I can't. I can't do this anymore.

Andrew: 25:01

Yeah, I do remember waking up to you saying, No thank you, and being like, Who are you talking to, right?

Rich: 25:07

Who's calling you at four o'clock in the morning that you're just like, No, thank you. Yeah. Turns out it's my job, and here I am 12 years later. Thankfully, I'm

Andrew: 25:15

really trying to rack my brain over here about scheduling disaster, other than, like, getting lost in a winter storm one time for like, days I don't really have any. I don't want to sound like a spoiled flight attendant, but I didn't say reserve for very long, either going to my airplanes or airlines. So I didn't, don't really have a lot of, like, right reserve, crazy, reserve stories,

Rich: 25:37

ads, yeah, that's good. That's really good. Yeah.

Andrew: 25:40

I mean, I know everyone else is gonna be mad at me for hearing because everyone else is like I sat reserved for 37 and a half years.

Rich: 25:47

Well, someone out there is listening to this while on reserve, getting screwed over by crew scheduling going, dammit. True?

Andrew: 25:54

Yeah, they are sorry, friends, yeah, the worst thing that ever happened to me was I literally got lost. I was on an overnight snow storm hit, and they lost me for like, three days.

Rich: 26:05

But that does happen. People don't realize this. I'm like, crew scheduling. Job is to keep track of us. They don't always do a great job with that. Sometimes we literally get lost in the system.

Andrew: 26:15

In fairness to them, there's usually like five of them to like, the 1000s of us that are like on the road. So I'm sure it's crazy to lose us. I'm sure the fact that we all only have like one I got lost story was really commendable on their part. Truthfully, I have at least,

Rich: 26:35

maybe they're doing a little better your airline, I'm

Andrew: 26:37

not sure. I have no idea. I don't get stuck very many places that bad.

Rich: 26:41

So what about the first time you use your flight benefits to do something that you never thought you would be able to do, or something that otherwise just wouldn't have been possible?

Andrew: 26:51

So I know I alluded to it in another episode, but there was this one time I had like, three days off, and I didn't really know what to do with myself. And a friend who was a gate agent, was like, Hey, you want to go to lunch? And I was like, Sure. I mean, I don't have right home for a few hours, so like, where do you want to go? Right? And he was like, How about Japan? And I was like, I'm feeling No. He didn't say, somewhere close. He was like, No. He didn't say, How about Japan? He was like, I'm really feeling Japanese food. And I was like, okay, that's like, not something I really enjoy. But like, if you want to take me to your favorite Japanese restaurant, let's go. And he was like, Okay, well, there's a flight to Japan in a few hours. And I was like,

Rich: 27:29

so when you say Japanese food, do you mean Japanese food? Japanese food.

Andrew: 27:33

So we went to Okinawa for lunch, and I was like a little baby from Kentucky who had never like Japanese food was strange, right, let alone going to Japan to get the Japanese I love this. And this was just something he did on the regular. He would pick somewhere because, right, you know, he didn't live in the city that he was based in either so we'd like fly in to do his five days of gate agenting and then go home for a few days, or bounce around on an airplane. And so it was either get hotel rooms or fly somewhere for lunch and fly home. So we literally flew to Okinawa, had lunch in the airport and flew home. I love that, yeah.

Rich: 28:12

But how so you were only in Okinawa for like, how many hours, like, three, four,

Andrew: 28:17

maybe something like, that's crazy, because it was like a 12 to 18 hour flight over 12 to 18 hour flight

Rich: 28:23

back. I hope the flight was wide open.

Andrew: 28:26

We didn't have staff traveler at the time. I wish we had, but we we really just crossed our fingers and went, Yeah, I got first class. So lie flat seat maybe. I mean, if they were back then I do remember.

Rich: 28:40

You make it sound like this is just like centuries ago and the beginning of aviation, I was on this rickety plane. That's amazing. And seriously, thank God for staff traveler these days. Yes, now, because I honestly don't know how we would get anywhere. Otherwise, you just kind of have to go up to the gate and hope for the best. But at least with staff traveler. For those of you who don't have it, Mom, you should probably download it. Mom, you should definitely download it. If you have are an airline employee and have airline benefits, you can download this app and plug in where you want to go, you know, to and from. You can add connections. You can add non stop. You can look for all the different ways you want to try. Want to travel somewhere, and then you can request flight loads for specific flights that way. You know, okay, there's 30 open seats. I have a good chance of getting on this or this flight's oversold. Maybe think again. Staff traveler app has come in handy for us more times than I can count. So if you don't have it, you should definitely go ahead and check it out. Go to staff traveler.com/two, guys, and that's t, w, O, G, U, I, s, and you should download the app, because we use it religiously, like we swear by it,

Andrew: 29:48

swear by it. And I know we talk about the fact you can get loads and routing really easy. I think we leave out the like, recheck feature often too. Yeah, once you load in and ask for loads, you can click recheck to get a refresher on the update. And honestly, that's one of my favorite features. Yeah. The whole thing is being able to, like, get live updates on it, right?

Rich: 30:07

And you can do the auto updates too, so that, like, you don't even have to manually do it. It's like, okay, I want an update every two hours about this flight. It's so helpful, because when you're out and about on a layover, I mean, not a layover, but on a trip somewhere, you don't really want to be thinking about it, but you'll get the updates from them, and it's it comes in clutch. I remember one trip I had back to the the original question I flew out there. As you all probably know by now, I'm a die hard Kelly Clarkson fan, and she was doing a fans only concert on the voice and this is back when she was a coach on The Voice. And it wasn't an episode for the voice or anything like that, although I've been to those, it was specifically like a fans only concert on the voice stage. And. And there were only, there was such a limited number of tickets, but it was free. I put in for a ticket. I think I had a trip. I was like, I'm never gonna get this. Like, what are the odds? And then all of a sudden I get an email that's like, oh, congrats. You're going to see Kelly Clarkson on The Voice for her fans only concert, and when she's gonna do her greatest hits. And I was like, Well, shit, I better get on an airplane. And yeah, I flew out to LA, landed really early in the morning, went and hung out at a hotel for the day, and then flight loads looked terrible. So once the concert was over, I just took the red eye back like I was in LA for not even that long. But I was like, free Kelly Clarkson concert, I have to go right? I'm a flight attendant with flight benefits. Why wouldn't I do this correct? Have the time of my life, and it was so cool. It was one of those moments where I had to pinch myself and be like, how cool is it that I have this job that allows me to do things like this that people without fight benefits would never dream of in a million years. I'm so grateful.

Andrew: 31:49

Yeah, same and we do crazy things like that all the time, because why not? What's the point of doing the job if you're not going to use your fringe benefits

Rich: 31:58

like that? Exactly, exactly? People that catch us at home, fair enough at all, people that don't go places. What are you doing? Go somewhere. Yeah, get on a plane right now. Travel somewhere.

Andrew: 32:07

Yeah. Tell me about a time when you had to put your training to you. Like, the first time you, like, really had to put your training to use.

Rich: 32:17

Oh, I mean, I don't know that I necessarily had to put my training to use, fortunately, because the situation didn't call for it, but I had to run through my procedures pretty intensely in my mind. And this was right when I started back in 2013 maybe early 2014 actually, it was early 2014 because it was January. It was the same month that the Miracle on the Hudson flight happened a few years prior, and I was the lead flight attendant. We were leaving LaGuardia, which is where JFK one of those where Miracle on the Hudson happened. Same aircraft type, same everything. And we had a bird strike, and I remember you could hear it like we're taking off. You know, we're me and this flight attendant sitting next to each other, and you hear kind of a thud, and then you're like, that was an odd noise. I don't really know that noise, but I'm also kind of new, so I don't know that I know all the noises yet. And then you could just it went quiet, like eerily quiet, and the flight attendant next to me was even more new, I think he was like, on a second trip, and he was like, Is Is this normal? And I was like, No, not exactly, but I can't tell you what it is, so I don't know how to help here. And he goes, okay. And passengers are staring at us from first class. And we're like, it's cool. It's fine. Yeah, no, should we call a captain? I don't know. While this is happening, Captain calls. He goes, Hey, just letting you know we had a bird strike. It's in the left engine, right engine still. Okay. We're gonna try to go back to LaGuardia. And he said, try. And I was like, try. And he goes, sorry. Don't have time to explain. We're busy up here. Please make an announcement to the passengers. I'll let you know. If there's any updates, click and again. New Hire flight attendant brain is like, okay, or how are we doing this thing? Like, are we evacuating? Are we ditching? Are we you know, am I prepping the cabin? There's no time for that. Like, so I'm just winging this announcement. I have no idea what came out of my mouth, but passengers were just nodding at me, and I was like, well, whatever I'm saying must be somewhat reassuring. And then it was, I think, we were in the air for a total of, like, six and a half minutes or something, and it felt like we were there for days and days and days, and we finally land. You can't even see the runway. You just felt us hit really hard. And, I mean, we sold one engine, so we were fine, and in the end, at the end of the day, but like, fire trucks are racing down. They're like, spraying us just in case, and EMTs, like, meet us at the gate, and when they open the aircraft door, there's all these people on the jet bridge asking if we're okay. And I'm like, I don't know what you all thought was happening, but it wasn't. It was way more serious than what I thought was happening. So I'm really glad that I didn't know about all this, because I probably would have been even more panick than I actually was. But yeah, they were like, Oh, just, just come here. Just look at the engine. And you could see, like, the slats, like the in the turbine, or whatever, like, they're like bent and broken, and there's like blood scattered all over the engine. And I'm like, Yeah, I'm really glad I didn't know about right, so I didn't have to use my training, fortunately, but I I was reminded of it for sure. What about you?

Andrew: 35:26

I had a decompression once, which that's terrifying a little bit. Yes, and you know, you run through all of those checklist of things, but sitting my jump seat on takeoff and the inside of my bones started to feel cold. I don't know how to describe this any other way, but like, that's the fog and all of those things started coming later, but like, literally, my marrow started feeling cold. Cold. And I was like, This is odd. And then, like, I got really cold, and then a big fog, like, couldn't see your hand in front of your face, right? Came over the airplane. I remember the captain called and was like, the pressurization is off. And I was like, you think?

Rich: 36:11

Yeah, I gathered some of that myself. Thanks.

Andrew: 36:14

Guy, right? He was like, so hold on, because we have to get because, you know, there's that altitude that's safe. And we had just crossed above the safe altitude, which is where the fog came from. But we weren't high enough that the oxygen mask dropped. So I remember, you know, because I was on an RJ so the one flight attendant front, one flight attend at the back, right where the emergency equipments located and stuff. I called to the back fighter, and I said, Turn your oxygen bottle on and put your mask on. Yeah. And he was like, why? And I was like, so that one of us is conscious. And he was like, Oh, that's a really smart idea. And I was like, right, so, and then that's scary. It was, it all happened so quickly. Yeah, the oxygen mask never even dropped, other than, like, it looked like we were inside a cloud and we were all freezing, but like, we weren't up there long enough for anything to happen. The captain nosedived to get us back down below 10,000 feet so that we were, like, safe as they're trained to do, as they're trying to do. And then we went to the but that was the first time I really had to, like, other than, like, standard medical stuff. What happens that was the really, the first, like, wild, that's really the only time I've ever had an issue. That's the only one knock on wood. Yes, there it is. That's really the only time I've ever had to use my training. But it was, it was one of those moments where I was a few years in to flying at that point. And I was like, I really, really do know how to do this. I really am qualified and cut out to do this.

Rich: 37:42

Yeah, it's really funny how that is with our job though. You know, you go to recurrent every year, you think about your safety procedures, and you think, Yeah, I'm pretty familiar with this stuff. And then you get put in those situations, and you're like, No, I'm trained really well. Really know this stuff. Really know this stuff. Yeah, people underestimate probably why

Andrew: 37:59

they make us do so much training. Yeah, definitely, yeah. Okay, one last question so we can close out the episode, what was that one moment in flying that really made you think,

Rich: 38:13

God, I love this? That's a really good question for me. It's not a specific moment. It's a kind of a recurring moment. And I think it's any time I have, like a window seat and it's sunset time roughly, and I just have a moment to really look out the window and see the beauty that is flying, see the beauty that is aviation, and really reminded of how cool our job is and how amazing this career is. And so it's it doesn't happen all the time, but when those moments arise, it's really such a nice way to think, Wow, this is incredible.

Andrew: 38:58

Talking about you. Well, I don't want to say you stole my answer, but I have a similar one. I think it's when you're like, tightening your the belts on your jump seat, like every time the airplane goes to take off, you know, you like, sit back. You get in your brakes, position for sure, start doing your 32nd or 62nd review, and like, you sit your head back, and you just feel the power of the airplane as you go to take off. And I just, we're so lucky, yeah, we're so lucky that this is what we get to do every day for sure. Can take the flight benefits. You can take the flexibility of our schedules. But there is something magical, magical about getting that airplane in the air that is just indescribable.

Rich: 39:45

If you could go back and tell first day flight attendant Andrew, one piece of advice. What would you say?

Andrew: 39:54

Don't listen to anyone else about what this job is supposed to be. I love that. Why? Well, because there's so many aviation is filled with so many rumors. And you know, you have flight attendants who love their job. You have flight attendants who are kind of jaded to all of it. And I just feel like, don't listen to anyone else. This job is so fun, and you get to make it exactly what you want it to be. I remember base hopping for years because I didn't know where I wanted to live. I remember bidding red eyes and stand ups and turns and trips and like it's all exactly what you want it to be all the time. So once you get that seniority, and once you get to that place where you can make this job what you want it to be, don't listen to other people. Go have the best time of your life. Make that. Make the aisle your runway. Make it your stage. Be the comedian if you want to be, be the serious flight attendant. Write a book. There's so. Many things we can do as fight attendants that like just stop listening to other people and enjoy yourself.

Rich: 41:00

You just one piece of advice, enjoy yourself. No, I love that. I love I love everything you said because it's so true. Like this job is what you personally make of it. And it can be so many things for so different people, which I think is one of my favorite things. For me, it's to use your flight benefits totally sure. I feel like anytime I'm jaded or feeling down or burnt out, when I go somewhere and I get to travel somewhere new, anywhere in the world, or, you know, the next state over, it doesn't matter. I'm just reminded of how lucky I am and how cool this job is, and I'll never give it up. I love it. I love hearing that. Anyways, that was a little stroll back down memory lane of some of our favorite first moments as flight attendants, and we want to hear from you. Drop a note in the comments one of your favorite first moments, favorite first trip that you've been on, if you're not a crew member or or just shoot us a DM on Instagram. We always love hearing your stories. Thank you guys so much for supporting the show. A special shout out to our Patreon subscribers. We could not make this podcast without you. So continue supporting us and getting behind the scenes content. We've got more coming your way very soon. Go to patreon.com/two, guys on a plane for more, and we will see you next time.

Andrew: 42:15

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

Rich: 42:20

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Buzz Burbank: 42:37

an ironic media production visit us at i r, O N, I C, K, media.com, you.