Patty Flanagan’s e-mail address says it all: belgianflygirl@, with a signature “Sent from the Friendly Skies.’’ The longtime United Airlines flight attendant — winging it for 21 years — got the travel bug as a child in Belgium. She’s not sure how many miles she’s logged but guesstimates around 23,000 hours of air time. The industry has turned into a 24/7 operation, demanding round-the-clock hours and hopping around time zones, making for deep fatigue that “I feel in my bones,’’ said Flanagan. She then spoke in detail about working above the clouds.
“Many passengers forget they are in a metal tube, hurtling 400 miles per hour at 30,000 feet. They look at a flight attendant as a hostess, there to serve them a drink and a snack. We get crazy requests like tomato juice mixed with beer, which always makes me laugh. But when we deal with medical emergencies or mechanical issues, there’s a shift in perception — like the time a diabetic patient went into a coma, and with the help of some clinicians on board, we literally brought him back. I can guarantee those passengers watching us no longer think of us as just a waitresses in the sky, trolley dollies, or, sky goddesses.
“The FAA just approved a digital version of the Flight Attendant Manual, but for years we had to carry around a hefty 4-pound bible that covered evacuations for land and water, equipment on board, security procedures, airplane configurations – you name it, it was in there. When I was hired, they interviewed 3,000 people for every one applicant who was finally accepted. Training further weeds out unsuitable candidates. My seven-week training was so intense — if I didn’t score 100 percent, my status was in jeopardy. I am now one of the senior flight attendants at United, but there are those who have been here as long as 40 or 50 years.
“Scheduling is based on seniority, so the more seniority you have, the more control of your schedule. I usually work domestic routes out of Logan, laying over for the second day, then flying back through a hub like Newark, Chicago, or Denver. We only get paid the moment the plane door is closed and the brake is released. I once had a 32-hour layover in Kansas City, which might sound awful, but I’m a huge airline buff and was able to visit an airline history museum because of this.
“My husband and two daughters are used to all my traveling, although the littlest one is feisty and said to me, ‘Mommy, how could you pick a job that takes you away from your children?’ It sounds like a cliche but it’s true: I love to fly, travel, and meet people.’’
