December is done. Twenty-Fourteen is done. The "How Much does a First Officer make" post is coming.
The last trip of the month was fun. I had my line Captain back and a senior Flight Attendant in the back.
The Flight Attendant was new to me. Throughout the week he kept asking about my diet. I mentioned once that I was a vegetarian. Over the first 3 days he asked if I ate eggs or fish or a number of other things. I eventually said if it has a face or brain I don't eat it.
The first two nights were in cold cities.
On the third day we were headed to the airport when the Flight Attendant made a funny observation. We were the anti-stereotype crew. The Captain was a woman, The Flight Attendant a man and myself a "black" pilot. He made a joke that "a woman, a black guy and a gay gay walk into a bar." We all started laughing.
The last night was ON the beach in Florida. I had hopes for warmth.....but I was let down. It was in the 50s. The Flight Attendant for the week lived there so he went home. The Captain and I headed to the hotel. She was tired so I went out solo in search of food.
Being Florida everything on the menu at the hotel restaurant had beef, chicken or most common was seafood.
I decided to make the trek to a cafe and bar that's popular with flight crews, but that I had never visited. They had one item on the menu that was ok with me....Nachos. I did order them without meat....got on odd look....I'm used to it.
The next morning was New Years Eve. Early morning 5:20AM van.
Left on time. Normal flight with my Captain flying while I was pilot monitoring.
About halfway into the flight the call button lights up. I answer.
"Are you two ready for breakfast? " ask the Flight Attendant.
"Um well we don't really want anything from the galley." I replied.
"I'm at the door, first up is the Captains meal, I will call back for yours." he replied.
I followed our flight deck access procedures.
I then handed the Captain a tray with a HOT apple turnover, banana, apple, orange juice and a yogurt.
He called back and then handed me a carrot. I was a little confused and started laughing. He then called again and gave me a tray with an apple, banana, bag of fresh granola and an orange juice.
All of the items were purchased at a grocery store the night before. We were in awe.
We ate up and arrived on time. I could not have ended the year with a better crew.
I think the male flight attendant would only be anti-stereotype if he were straight :)
ReplyDeleteBut that's awesome that he brought you special food. Glad the year ended on a high note.
One hilarious post, Geek! That week's FA get's my vote with both the anti-stereotype crew and having acquired some good snacks for the front-end folks, obviously in his own neighborhood. Female captain(a), FO of color and a FA who stays within... is amusing and likely funny if one was there. Beyond that, aaah, welcome to 2015! As long as everyone knows her/his role and performs professionally, *Who Gives a Twit?* As long as business remains first, there is no FAA reg that prevents crews (especially very small ones) from enjoying the day's work.
ReplyDeleteThe "FO's Salary Report," may be sad reading. Just for fun, you might include the First Year FO's take and the first year as captain (assuming not a DEC) for comparison. I tire of reading about junior FOs who easily qualify for Food Stamps and know that it is not rare. Something has to change. As for the (hefty) raise associated with a seat change, please share as much as makes you comfortable. Twenty-fifteen is likely to be your year to reside in a slightly cleaner seat! -Retired and grateful...
Straight male FAs? Perish the thought! As far as I know, the industry has only two and both are employed by a South Asian airline that likes to dress its male FAs as women, regardless. It is about safety, service and no more. Welcome to 2015.
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