We Americans love to root for the underdog. I suppose it’s because the whole concept of the American Way and the American Dream started out as a small group of underdogs fighting against the status quo of what was then Mother England, and for all intents and purposes, the odds were against the rebel-rousers.

We are fascinated with stories of the ‘anti-hero:’ Bonnie and Clyde, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Thelma and Louise. I don’t know why that is, but it’s a fact of our culture today. Unfortunately, while we tend to glorify these folks in our minds, we forget the problems they either have caused, or had the potential to cause and that is what frustrates me the most.

Last summer, a flight attendant was at the end of their proverbial rope. He was unhappy with everything and everybody. No one around him knew how very fragile his breaking point was. During the course of his final flight, Steven Slater had allegedly been aggravated by a female passenger’s attitude and remarks made to him during the boarding process in Pittsburg regarding her carry-on bag. As the flight pulled away from the gate and the crew began their safety briefing, Slater allegedly threw down his demo oxygen mask and demo life vest, conveying an air of irritation to the passengers around him. Then during the beverage service, he simply stopped his service midway through the cabin and retired to the aft section of the plane. Passengers had later reported that Slater looked unkempt and unprofessional in his appearance and attitude.

Shortly after landing, but still taxiing to the gate, this same female passenger apparently got up from her seat to retrieve her bag, while the plane was still in motion. Mr. Slater got up to notify her that she had to return to her seat until the plane came to a stop. According to eye witnesses however, he had already had previous issues with this passenger at boarding and they commenced into a verbal altercation. He claims she smacked his head with the overhead bin door and that was what finally set him off. The rest is history.[1]

For days and weeks following that incident, there was a lot of talk (mostly adoration) for a guy who was so fed up with people, the system and the rules he was bound by, they he just snapped and let loose. The infamous resignation of dropping F-bombs over the PA system, grabbing some beer and deploying the emergency slide to exit the plane originally got him three felony charges, including reckless endangerment.

Courtesy Anthony Lanzilote - NY Daily News

Earlier this week, Slater stood before a NY Supreme Court Judge and received one year probation and, according to one reported, got a ‘standing ovation’ from the Judge and the gallery of the courtroom. The story goes on to quote him as saying, “I’ve been a divisive character in the airline industry but 95% of the crews are behind me.”[2]

Well Mr. Slater that is where we vehemently disagree.

I have discussed at length with my co-workers the incident that took place that day, and while most everyone agrees that they might secretly like to do the same thing were they as fed up and under as much duress as he, very few people admire or support his actions. From our perspective, not only was what he did irresponsible and “over-the-top” it was also quite potentially dangerous – not necessarily for him, but for the ramp and ground workers servicing the aircraft underneath it!

As an aside, emergency slides/rafts that are attached to an aircraft door are required by FAA regulations to be fullyoperational and usable within 6 seconds of the door actuating the deployment.[3] Unfortunately that is not nearly enough time for someone underneath on to react in time to move fully out of its way.

I am reminded of a customer service friend of mine who actually had a slide inadvertently deploy right on top of him while he was in the jetway of a recently arrived aircraft. When the door opened with the slide still engaged on the door, the force of that slide deployment was so great that it threw him up against the jetway ramp access door and injured him quite severely. He lost many months of work because of this incident. Would we in society be as gleeful and supportive of Slater had he injured or worse yet killed someone because he decided to give his passengers, his employers and the world the middle finger?

As I said, my colleagues and I did not support his choice to vacate the plane in that fashion in the least. And many of us feel that the reaction by the judge and courtroom the other day, as well as the adoration and apparent support he has gotten then and now from the media completely sends the wrong message. We may feel bad for him, perhaps empathetic to his frustrations at the time. And we are certainly glad that he successfully completed his required mental health and substance abuse programs.

But a “working class hero” he isn’t.

_____________________________

[1] ABC News: U.S. Section, “Angry JetBlue Flight Attendant Flees Plane at JFK Airport via Emergency Slide,” Scott Mayerowitz, August 9, 2010: http://abcn.ws/nws6i6

[2] NY Daily News, National Section, “Steven Slater, ex-JetBlue flight attendant, gets one year of probation after finishing treatment,” Thomas Zambito, October 19, 2011: http://nydn.us/qB1dY1

[3] Air & Space Smithsonian Magazine, Flight Today, “How Things Work: Evacuation Slides,” Mark Huber, November 1, 2007: http://bit.ly/nwIpZ6

I have been privileged to have seen many places in my travels around the world.  Some exotic; some historic; all of them a life experience I will cherish and be thankful I had the opportunity to see…

The Sydney Opera House

There is one place, however, that I am drawn to; I constantly find myself yearning to return to its land of marsupials and platypi; of “Vegimite” and didgeridoos: Australia!

This wonderful landmass is about as unique as the Galapagos; here you will find animals and vegetation unlike any other place on earth – and most of it is publically accessible.  Having just returned from there, I would like to share with you a little taste of what I know…

Australia is distinctive in many ways.  It’s the only country that, by itself, is one of the seven continents of earth.  The country itself consists of the continent of Australia, Tasmania, and several island groups off its coastline on the Pacific and Indian Oceans.  Established as an independent government in 1901, Australia has a parliamentary style democratic government, yet is ruled by its own self-styled constitution.  Although Australia was a dominion of the British Empire, it only recently gained its sovereign independence from England in 1986.

Aussies enjoy a free-market economy, and their economic market is currently ranked 13^th in the world, with the sixth highest per capita income and a stable, relaxed lifestyle.

The majority of its 22 million plus population is settled on the eastern coastline of the country, from Cairns to the north off the Coral Sea, down the coastline of the Gold Coast through Brisbane, around New South Wales past Sydney to Melbourne (Aussies pronounce it ‘Mel-bun’) and Adelaide to the south off the Great Australian Bight (that’s the name of the waterway between Australia and Antarctica).

Much like the United States, the capital of Australia (Canberra) is not the most populated city in the country.  Sydney is first with over 4.5 million, followed by Melbourne (4 million), Brisbane (pronounced ‘Briz-bin’ – 2 million), Perth (1.7 million) and Adelaide (1.2 million).  The climate of Australia’s largest city, Sydney, can be compared to Southern California, mostly temperate with a comfortable sea breeze blowing through it the majority of the year.

The country is easily accessible by rail and air transportation.  Within its borders, the Aussies are served by Qantas, JetStar, Tiger, Rex, V-Australia, Virgin Blue and Eastern Australia Airlines, just to name a few of the over 50 separate air carriers that serve the country.  Driving can be a challenge for Americans, since traffic moves forward on the left-side of the road.  Drivers are usually quite courteous (although the Aussies will tell you they are terrible drivers) and it’s not uncommon that drivers here use their turn signals for almost all movement on the roads.

There is much to do in Australia, let alone in Sydney or Melbourne.  In the harbor city, Sydney has become synonymous with such landmarks as the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  Transportation by ferry is a common mode used to get to the coast suburbs of Manly and Bondi Beaches.  Several large state parks are found within its precincts, including the world-famous Royal Botanic Gardens, location of the Queen’s Royal Rose garden and home to a swarm of over 22,000 flying foxes or giant fruit bats…tourists can see them sleeping in the high perches of the Botanic Gardens’ tallest trees during the day, or watch the spectacle of them leaving in droves as they fly off towards the Blue Mountains for their nocturnal hunt at dusk!

If you’d care for a quick glimpse of Australia’s unique, indigenous wildlife, the Taronga Zoo Sydney is the place to get your fix.  For a land-based sea-life adventure, the newly renovated Sydney Aquarium, located near the heart of Sydney in Darling Harbour is a must-see.  And when you’re finished there, walk over the Darling Harbour Bridge and enjoy the sea-faring history of the city and Australia at the Australian National Maritime Museum.  You can also enjoy a bird’s eye, panoramic view of the entire city and its surrounding area from the Sydney Tower Eye, the tallest structure in Sydney.

Nightlife in Sydney is pretty much non-stop, especially on weekends.  Sydney has countless restaurants that cover the gamut of international cuisine.  From black-tie to informal sidewalk cafes, Sydney’s choices for food are reminiscent of New York City at night.  Aussie’s love to socialize and there is no shortage of pubs, social halls and nightclubs to satisfy your itch for fun.  And Sydney has a great selection of cultural events to please, from the symphony and opera, to pop concerts and Broadway musicals.

Blue Mountains National Park

For those with a more adventurous streak, there are no shortages of choices and are only limited by your own imagination: from hiking in the Blue Mountains to scuba diving off the Great Barrier Reef.  There’s something for everyone!

Australians are some of the most friendly and warmly welcoming people I have encountered.  Getting around in the country is made easier by their willingness to be of help when needed.  It’s a sure bet that when you make friends with an Aussie, it’s for life.  I encourage you to highly consider making Australia, one of your top priorities for vacation destinations.  At least put it on the top of your bucket list!

For further information about Australia, visit the official tourism website: www.Australia.com.

I’m really scratching my head on this one.  I know that we can all be a little forgetful when we travel.  I have a mental checklist when I get ready to leave home for a trip that will put me in several airport terminals in the space of three or four days.  I usually travel with two bags: my roller-board suitcase and a compact duffel-tote bag.  With these two bags, I can pack up to six days’ worth of clothing and sundries to meet just about any situation.

I pack my own bags.  I don’t have hired help, or even my mother to help me out the door with all that I need.  So I am well aware of every item that I carry with me when I head for the airport.

Image courtesy of The Orange County Register

The public demand for airline travel has grown exponentially over the last 30 years.  This fact alone indicates that there will be a much larger swath of the public who will travel because it is cheaper than bus, car or rail.  It also most assuredly guarantees that among that plethora of people and personalities, there will be those who have no idea what they are doing, or those who will try anything to bend or break the rules when it comes to air travel.

Still, I find it disturbing that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) continually discovers an interesting assortment of “contraband” in travelers’ luggage as they try to get through airport security lines across the country.  Their latest blog continues to reveal the items that are found around the system on a daily basis![1]  You’d be stunned to hear what exactly people are trying to bring aboard airplanes these days.  Here are a few recent highlights:

• In August of this year, a female passenger in Rochester, NY was detained at a TSA checkpoint when the screening agents thought they saw a knife concealed inside the woman’s cane.  It turned out to be a 19” double-sided sword![2] After questioning, she was allowed to continue on — minus the cane/sword, of course!
• An Egyptian man from Baltimore was arrested after a TSA screener found 13 knives concealed within the liner of his luggage.  The man, who has lived in the USA for seven years, claimed he was a knife collector, had just purchased the knives, and was booked on a flight to Minneapolis that day.  He faces a number of charges, including carrying a concealed dangerous weapon and interfering with airport security procedures.[3]
• A 22-year old man from Tennessee, on his way to Las Vegas, was slapped with federal misdemeanor charges for trying to bring knives, tactical and police batons, brass knuckles and four inert grenades in his tote bag.[4]

Image courtesy of TSA.gov

What puzzles me is that the two most common replies that TSA, ATF and the FBI get when questioning these folks is either “I didn’t know they were in my bags,” or “I forgot they were there.”  Seriously???

The truth of the matter is that in this day and age, after just recognizing the tenth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, why are these folks being given what appears to be a “pass” on these issues?  Misdemeanor charges?  Being questioned and then released with the banned items confiscated?  Am I sounding too alarmist here?

I work on an airplane.  It’s my job, and not only do I enjoy my work, but I have a reasonable expectation that I will get from one airport to the next without the need to call in the SWAT team simply because someone who left their wits back at the security checkpoint was lucky enough to slip one past the guardians!  And in one instance, they had help from an airline employee!!![5]

Personally, the logical part of my brain asks, “Where have these people been hiding?  Under what rock were they living?”  Unfortunately, as it IS the public we are dealing with here, I learned long ago that when it comes to the General Public, you’ll have to throw out logic just to get your mind wrapped around what these people were (or perhaps not) thinking when they got up that morning, knowing that they were going to the airport, needed to pack a bag or two for the journey, and would be subjected to an intensive search of their belongings at the security checkpoint!

The cynical side of me says that these people knew exactly what they were doing and were trying to circumvent the system to accommodate their own idea of civil freedoms.  I just can’t fathom how law enforcement can accept the “I didn’t know” excuse or the “I forgot it was there” defense.  Plato said “Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.”

As long as bad people continue trying, we’ll continue to need the security countermeasures that the TSA is continually trying to improve.

[1] The TSA Blog, “Sometimes The Airport Is Similar To A Gun And Knife Show,” Blogger Bob, September 28, 2011, http://bit.ly/oQYtUf

[2] Transportation Security Administration, TSA.gov, Media Room, “ROC Good Catch – Sword in Cane 8-23-11,” http://1.usa.gov/q3itSn

[3] The Baltimore Sun, Travel, “Man from Egypt held on BWI weapons charge,” Michael Dresser, July 14, 2011, http://bit.ly/qk098W

[4] TimesNews.net, Associated Press, “Screening finds grenades, knives, other weapons in luggage at Nashville airport; Tennessee man arrested,” January 8, 2011, http://bit.ly/q9ZjiY

[5] Thaindian.com, Newsportal-World, “Two people arrested on board U.S. Airways flight at Philadelphia International Airport,” BNO News, June 4, 2009, http://bit.ly/oIGyF5

I was witness to an increasingly unfortunate situation as I commuted home the other day – one that hits closer to home than most people may realize.

As I waited in the gate area of my flight home, the gate agent made the announcement that boarding would begin shortly, as soon as the less able passengers who were ticketed on this flight were accommodated onboard and situated. On this particular flight, there were nine wheelchairs waiting for boarding, one that was an electric wheelchair, which clearly meant that a little more time would be necessary to board this individual using the airline’s aisle chair on the plane.

While waiting in the boarding area, and quietly listening in on various conversations going on around me, I overheard a couple near me vocally protesting the extra accommodation by the airline and they were clearly upset that the extra time needed would cause them to arrive late to catch a connecting flight down the line. As they continued, a few people within earshot chimed in as well, all offering their own opinions about how the disabled and physically challenged passengers should be handled, one even going so far as to suggest that they should be restricted to certain aircraft types or even find themselves another method of travel. I was silently shocked at this conversation and began to wonder if these people were just unsympathetic idiots, or if this opinion was beginning to find traction among airline passengers in general.

Clearly, most of us are tolerant of the special needs of those less fortunate in physical abilities – in virtually every aspect of our daily interactions. We gladly make way for them, and are glad to be of service when they ask. While there are some cultural anomalies in this world that look down upon the disabled and handicapped, in the United States we seem to have evolved far enough to warrant added patience and we find ourselves wanting to help those who require a bit more human touch than most. But as I observed here, there was definitely a different feeling brewing in this gate area.

In 1986, the United States Congress passed the “Air Carrier Access Act” which spelled out specific requirements the airlines must follow regarding the handling of disabled passengers, which in many ways mirrors the “Americans with Disabilities Act” to protect these passengers from blatant negligence or unintentional neglect from the airline carriers. Over the years, there have been many changes to this law, many of which went into effect in May 2009. You can find a complete list of these changes, along with the requirements for special accommodation by the airlines at the U.S. Department of Transportation’s “Civil Rights” page regarding passengers with disabilities.[1]

A recent survey by the Scope Foundation, a charity that supports disabled people and their families, revealed that over 47% of disabled people faced some sort of discrimination while traveling. Of that number, 15% claimed they faced “high-level” abuse.  And the Commission on Equality and Human Rights (CEHR), who later this fall, will be publishing a report on violence towards those with disabilities while traveling, says that travel is one of the “hot spots for violence and harassment targeted at disabled people.”[2]

The airlines have had their share of mishaps regarding physically and mentally challenged travelers, and have paid huge penalties for not being proactive enough.  In Feb. 2011, Delta Airlines was slapped with a $2 million fine by the DOT for violating 14CFR, especially after it had been investigated four years earlier for similar violations and no improvements had been determined.[3] The DOT also fined Atlantic Southeast Airlines $200,000 in June 2011 for similar violations.[4]

Thankfully, with the assistance of watchdog groups such as Scope and CEHR, airlines have been forced to devote some of their resources to make sure this sector of the public is not only seen, but also treated with respect and dignity when they travel.  As much as it excites me that progress has been made in this area, it’s frustrating to see the backlash (especially first hand) from the public at large when it comes to the handicapped.

With more people flying than ever before, and airlines facing huge push-back from travelers who feel they are being gouged with additional fees, but seemingly very little improvement in the airline travel experience, it’s not surprising that people in general have begun to transfer their frustrations on any small thing that causes them even a minute’s worth of delay. The problem seems to be growing, but is there a solution? Can we, as a society, condone a growing outrage towards those who have additional physical and mental challenges who need the additional time and resources of airline personnel to travel?

I said at the beginning of this topic that this hits close to home for me. My sister has been a paraplegic since she was three years old. Today, at 26, she is happily married with three children, and is quite able to get around (especially with three kids!). While she was growing up, she would crawl around on the floor using her arms to propel her from place to place. She may have been physically disabled, but she never quite seemed physically limited.

Hearing these people in the boarding area of my flight publicly voicing these kinds of ignorant remarks makes my blood boil, but traveling in an airline uniform limits my ability to speak my mind. Believe me; had I been an ordinary passenger in that boarding area, they would not have gotten off so easily!

Most customer service oriented positions, especially in the airline industry, require training in sensitivity and the proper protocol for dealing with passengers with disabilities.  While not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, it tends to improve the quality of service that the disabled need just to get from one place to another. Even if I weren’t in the position I hold, I would still never think to discriminate, especially against those less physically or mentally able than I.  I don’t park in handicapped spaces in parking lots, and I go out of my way to open doors, or assist when I see someone struggling, handicapped or not.

It’s pretty sad to think that the public in general is increasingly less tolerant and I hope that by shedding light on this subject, that trend may be reversed.

[1] U.S. Department of Transportation, Aviation Consumer Protection and Enforcement, Rules Guidance & Enforcement Orders, 14CFR Part 382 “Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel,” http://1.usa.gov/q5UwLf

[2] The Telegraph, UK News, “Disabled passengers face ‘rising level of abuse on public transport,’” Jun. 11, 2011, http://tgr.ph/r1r318

[3] ABCNews.com, Money, “DOT Fines Delta $2M for Disability Violations,” Associated Press, Feb. 17, 2011, http://abcn.ws/otQcdI

[4] U.S. Department of Transportation, Releases and Speeches, “Atlantic Southeast Airlines Fined for Violating Rules Protecting Air Travelers with Disabilities,” July 11, 2011, http://1.usa.gov/rk114G

One of the things that’s so great about my job is that, no matter where I am or what I am doing, I always seem to learn something new about our industry.

With so many rules and regulations already, and constant changes, it’s tough to keep track of it all…all one need do is look at the Operations Manual that I am required to carry with me when working and you can see for yourself how daunting that task can be.

Yesterday, I was privy to one of those “Ah, I didn’t know that” moments, albeit it might have been a disaster for the passenger had some of the circumstances been different.

There was a couple who approached the boarding area for their flight with twin newborns…we are talking 6-DAY OLD newborns. They were tiny and pink and one of them was quite vocal in that clear high-pitched cry that only a newborn can produce.  The Customer Service Agent who was assisting them fawned over them, like a proud grandmother.  During her conversation with them, she inquired about their age.  After learning they were less than a week old, she kindly handed the boarding cards to the parents and sent them on their way.  You could see they were excited to be getting the infants to their new home.  It was a precious sight.

The moment was soon diminished when a Customer Service Supervisor approached the parents in the gate area a few minutes later and declared, “I’ve been advised that your babies are less than seven days old.  I’m very sorry but I cannot allow you to travel with these infants today!”  The couple looked shocked and then angry, while the passengers around them produced in unison a hushed gasp. The supervisor proceeded to explain that since the babies were less than 7 days old, airline policy required a physician’s release and declaration of the babies’ health in order for them to travel unhindered.

As luck would have it, one of the parents was a licensed physician, and after producing his medical card and producing a statement of health for each child, the supervisor approved their travel. But what would have happened had neither parent been a doctor? The supervisor did try to find a way to get the matter resolved, offering to accept a fax from the children’s doctor if one could be sent in to the airport prior to departure. Being that it was Sunday, that may have proved next to impossible, had they not worked it out as they had.

Traveling with newborns is a challenge for a number of reasons. One of the most obvious is the exposure an infant this young has to the harsh environment of an airplane interior. A newborn’s immune system isn’t fully developed just after birth and it takes time for their body to adjust to the exposure of bacteria and viruses in the open air, especially in public places. Add to that the recycled air inside the airplane during flight, and then top it off with the pressurization of the fuselage that simulates conditions of altitude of between 5,000 and 7,000 feet at a gradual rate of pressurization. While we adults and most children can handle this pressure without complications, newborns are most vulnerable because their bodies haven’t learned how to equalize the pressure in their ears and sinus cavities. Also, newborns may still have large quantities of liquid in their sinus cavities after the transition from fetus to independence after birth.

Many physicians recommend that newborns don’t travel by air until they are 4 to 6 weeks old, especially if the baby has breathing complications, which can be exacerbated in a low-oxygen environment like a pressurized airplane cabin. Supplemental oxygen for the baby may be necessary (and must be ordered in advance by the physician through the airline prior to travel)[1].

Most every major airline has limited restrictions for flying with newborns less than 10 days old. Every airline has their own policy; even though the majority doesn’t charge additional fees to fly with your baby (he/she must be held, unless you purchase a ticket in order to accommodate the baby’s carrier) each carrier has specific rule regarding newborns flying under 10 days old, and almost every carrier requires a physician’s release and a certificate of health in order to allow them access to the plane. Check with your specific airline for details[2].

The most important thing to remember about handling this new person’s venture into the world of air travel is to make them as comfortable and safe as possible in this strange, new environment. Be mindful of their exposure to other passengers and monitor their comfort levels on takeoff and landing to ensure they aren’t being caused discomfort from the change in cabin pressure.

Make sure you talk to your doctor if you have additional questions on topics that weren’t discussed here[3] [4]. Before you know it, he or she will become a seasoned world traveler in no time!

[1] MayoClinic.com, Health Information, Toddlers and Infants, “Air Travel with Infant: Is it Safe?” Jay L. Hoecker, M.D., http://bit.ly/rloB6v

[2] Babycenter.com, For You, “Flying with small children: Checklist of questions to ask your airline,” http://bit.ly/pvvcnt

[3]  iVillage.com, Pregnancy and Parenting, “Babies: Is it safe to travel by plane with a newborn?” Robert W. Steele, MD, January 1, 2010 http://bit.ly/mXYjZr

[4] BabiesToday.com, Pregnancy Today, Newborn Health, “Keeping Newborns Healthy When Traveling: On An Airplane with a Newborn,” Alex Powell, http://bit.ly/o381du

Ok, what **IS** in the water these days!?  In the air?  In people’s daydreams?

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about two high profile cases involving celebrities misbehaving on airplanes.  Now it seems that the general public is trying to get into the act…

This morning, it was reported that a passenger on a Delta Air Lines flight from SLC to LAS threatened to slit another passenger’s throat with a knife over an argument regarding the armrest.  When other passengers noticed that the culprit reached into his bag several times, and removed something as it was cupped in his hands, the flight attendants were notified and the SLC Police moved in, removed him from the flight, and after a search of the contents of his bag, discovered a 3 1/2 inch folding knife.  He then proceeded to threaten the FBI agent who had joined the investigation![1]

Last week, on a flight from Majorca to Newcastle, UK, a 26-year old passenger suddenly felt the urge to attempt at opening one of the emergency exits at 36,000 feet, causing the emergency lights to come on, flight attendants to begin shouting their emergency commands and creating a panic among the passengers aboard.  He had to be restrained with eight seat belt extensions before they diverted the flight to London’s Gatwick Airport.[2]

And, of course, there were several tense situations on September 11, 2011, with suspicious incidents being reported at several airports, including the removal of three passengers in handcuffs from a Frontier Airlines flight from San Diego to Detroit (a flight that was met by fighter jets and escorted until they landed safely) and the remaining 116 passengers being detained and questioned by the FBI.[3]

These are just the incidents that actually made the news.  I have heard from several colleagues that they were involved in other cases where passenger misbehavior or suspicious activity was reported, and authorities called to the airplane for further investigation.

As with my earlier entry about other crazy stunts being pulled on flights, it should come as no surprise that in-flight crews, pilots and customer service agents are still on “high-alert” as it were, from the recent 9/11 anniversary.  Still, whether or not that is relevant, the fact still remains that some people still don’t understand that a “higher standard” of behavior is still expected when traveling by air.  Most crews can discern between rudeness and suspicious, but for the most part, they cannot afford to take chances in allowing any incident to develop into something bigger or more serious, especially when hurling through the atmosphere at nearly the speed of sound.

At times, the general public forgets that dissatisfaction is better communicated through letters or phone calls to the airline, rather than escalating it in the air.  There are unintended consequences that might have to be faced should a tirade from a fed up traveler evolve into a higher level of emotion.  Believe me; it doesn’t take much to move from “frustrated” to “taking justice into one’s own hands.”

In a somewhat ‘tongue-in-cheek’ blog entry, world-renowned travel critic, Peter Greenberg conveyed five sure-fire ways to get kicked off a flight, including dropping ‘F-bombs’ towards your flight attendant, to trying to assault a Presidential candidate![4]  While some of it may seem humorous, this doesn’t even scratch the surface of other surefire methods of instant removal.

Several years ago, while working as a Purser from Los Angeles to New York City, I had the misfortune of dealing with a truly strange situation.

A female passenger approached me in the forward galley to inform me that a seemingly inebriated male passenger was making unwanted advances towards her.  While she conveyed the story to me, she was very quiet, barely whispering the details to me when she told me that when she finally told him to ‘get lost,’ her retorted by bragging to her that she needn’t worry since he had a ‘bomb’ in his bag!  Definite red flag!  For certain, a ‘yellow card’ penalty of the first degree!

We immediately contact airport security.  Our General Security Manager (GSM) arrived planeside and informed us that all passengers and their belongings, including all checked bags and cargo in the belly of the plane were going to be removed and rescreened.  Two FBI agents appeared at the airplane door, and we directed them to the culprit.

As he was being questioned by the agents onboard, while being handcuffed right there in front of the remaining passengers on board, he exclaimed that he had told the woman that he had a “BONG” in his bag.  The agents weren’t buying it.  He was escorted off, along with his traveling companion, who just happened to be his boss and the CEO of the company the suspect worked for.  I wonder if he was eligible for unemployment insurance under those circumstances???

The bottom-line is that there really IS an unwritten rule regarding behavior on board airplanes.  While the general quality of the public’s set of manners continues to deteriorate, at some point the limits have to be established.  Although Congress recently enacted the Airline Passengers’ Bill-of-Rights, that is certainly not a free pass for bad behavior on a plane.

It really boils down to patience, both from the passengers and the airline personnel that deals with the public.  But should you find yourself in a showdown on words and personalities with an airline employee, be very careful.  The majority of the time, you will end up with the ‘short straw’ in that contest, and the ramifications of removal from a flight may be too high a price for you to pay.

[1] KSL-TV News, KSL.com, Utah-Local News: “Airline passenger carried knife, threatened others, police say,” Dennis Romboy, September 21, 2011,  http://bit.ly/ohOOLY

[2] FoxNews.com, Europe-World: “Passenger Tries to Open Plane Door at 36,000 feet,” NewsCore, September 15, 2011, http://fxn.ws/ndy3fU

[3] The Detroit News, DetNews.com, Metro and State: “3 Passengers hauled off Frontier flight at Metro Airport,” Calvin Men & Mark Hicks, September 12, 2011, http://bit.ly/mRAXSz

[4] PeterGreenberg.com, “5 Ways To Get Kicked Off Flights,” June 17, 2011, http://bit.ly/njLe1o

It may seem like an antiquated topic, but there are still travelers out there who believe the best way to travel by air is with a paper ticket.

“E-ticketing” was introduced by ValuJet in 1994. Since then the International Airline Travel Association (IATA) instituted a goal to convert all worldwide airlines to E-ticketing. For the most part, the major worldwide air carriers have all converted over to E-ticketing; according to IATA, the 230 airlines that belong to this Association were to be 100% converted by June 2008. With the exception of many African air carriers who are members of IATA (only 4.2% of the entire African continent uses the Internet and electronic computer technology[1]), E-ticketing represents the lion’s share of issued airline tickets today.

There are still some travelers however that believe that they are better protected with a paper ticket. Of course, this all comes down to the almighty dollar with regards to the airline industry.  According to IATA, the issuance of E-tickets represents over $3 billion in savings annually, and estimates that it costs the airlines over $9 a ticket in additional costs as opposed to a single E-ticket.

While the international standard for paper tickets was developed in the 1930s, IATA realized that in order for the airlines to save huge amounts of money in administrative, materials and technology costs, they began to develop an international standard for issuing E-tickets, which they finalized in 1997. The goal of IATA was to reduce the consumer’s dependence on paper tickets, allowing the airlines to create huge databases, making it easier for each airline to identify its passengers, and re-issue lost tickets. Prior to the E-ticket, paper tickets not only had to meet IATA standards, but the airlines as well as travel agencies had to keep them under lock and key as these could be counterfeited (and have been in the past) just like paper currency.  In 2008, IATA stopped issuing paper ticket stock as the vast majority of member airlines had already converted over to the e-ticketing system.

With the advent of smart phones, the airlines have been able to realize additional savings through the issuance of electronic boarding passes. These E-boarding passes contain complex, hybridized “QR” or “digitized” barcodes that are nearly impossible to replicate. This new technology has allowed the airlines to issue travel itineraries and boarding passes without the need for paper at all. This new streamlined process has also made it easier for travelers to have their travel documents replicated should their paper records become lost or stolen.

Another advantage to E-ticketing is that the airlines can now tie your travel documents with bar-coded tags attached to your checked luggage, allowing for the ease of identification and locating misdirected bags. By tracking bags using this process, lost luggage can be reunited with its owner within hours or days rather than weeks or months.

Like any technological advances, however, there are some downsides.

Photo courtesy of Fox News, Inc.

In recent years, most of the legacy airlines in the United States have experienced one form or another of computer system malfunction: ticketing and reservation systems coming to a screeching halt with computer crashes and the threat of hackers accessing their systems. Previous system glitches have proved to be a little more than just challenging, especially to those who have to reissue lost airline tickets. Specific examples include localized problems, like the one experienced by American Airlines in July 2008 when a software glitch caused several cancellations, a myriad of delays and hundreds of checked bags being stranded in JFK’s Terminal 8.[2]  In June 2007, United Airlines’ computer systems failed for several hours, causing passengers to be stranded in massive flight delays and cancellations.[3]  Although the systems were only down for a few hours, it took the airline several days before their operations returned to normal.  And just this past summer, US Airways experienced a power failure at its computer center, causing systemwide cancellations and delays, and stranding passengers at airports nationwide.[4]

The drawback to having computer systems go down is very basic. Customer Service Agents (CSAs) cannot verify travel itineraries or reservations based on E-ticketing and E-reservations. They also cannot tie checked luggage to a customer’s seat assignment. In the American Airlines case, luggage had to be left behind in order to avoid further delays, and passengers were forced to follow-up on locating their checked bags on their own. While this scenario is rare, it can cause headaches for both airlines and passengers alike. Some travelers point to these examples in making the case for having paper tickets issued. But these aren’t the only hang-ups to E-ticketing.

There are times when the airlines need to accommodate passengers by transferring their reservation to a different air carrier. Unless the two the airlines are tied into the same computer system, or are in the same Airline Alliance (Star Alliance, OneWorld, SkyTeam, etc.)it is nearly impossible for the airline to transfer that reservation to the new airline without a paper ticket.  Since IATA ticket stock is no longer available, it is up to the individual air carriers to determine how they might re-accommodate you on a different carrier.  That reservation you hold is worth $$$ to the airline and transferring you to another airline is simply a loss of revenue to them.  If they serve the community to which you are flying, they will, in all likelihood, rebook you on themselves, rather than send you to a rival carrier.

There have also been examples of customer reservations being completely wiped out due to computer glitches. The airlines insist that redundancies are in place to prevent this from happening, so this kind of issue is rare indeed. Recently however, there have been examples of customers who have purchased their tickets through online vendors (Orbitz, Travelocity, Priceline, etc.). When trouble strikes these itineraries, the airlines are typically powerless to do anything about it without intervention from those vendors.

Nowadays, it is important to remember that paper tickets are more costly, time-consuming, and in some cases impossible (depending on the airport you are at) for the airlines to produce and process, which affect their bottom line.  Unless you insist on having a paper ticket issued, you will be automatically issued an E-ticket, and your reservation will be stored in the airline’s computer database, along with any ties to your luggage.  If you require a paper ticket, you can expect to spend additional time and resources in obtaining it, and most airlines have added a surcharge to the issuance of paper tickets, some adding as much at $100 USD to the cost of the fare.

Also, keep in mind that paper tickets are much like paper money…they have a face value and are worth the money you spent on the ticket.  Not all airports can replace paper tickets, especially those issued by a travel agent, so make sure to take great care in keeping these documents safe during your travels.

In today’s modern information world of airline travel, your best option is to shed the need for a paper ticket…you’ll get where you need to be faster, more efficiently, with less hassle and lower costs with an E-ticket.  And make sure to take advantage of the airlines various travel tools for issuing boarding cards and keeping up-to-date on your itinerary.

[1] Balancing act.com – Telecoms, Internet and Broadcast in Africa, Issue #256, “Many African Airlines Will Fail to Meet IATA’s E-Ticketing Deadline”, http://bit.ly/nlhNqb

[2] Fox News, Thursday, July 31, 2008: “American Airlines Cancels, Delays More Flights after Computer Glitch and Luggage Pileup” – Associated Press, http://fxn.ws/pWWZyr

[3]ABC News, U.S. News, Thursday, June 21, 2007:“United Airlines’ Tech Meltdown — It Could Happen Again” — John J. Nance, http://abcn.ws/n8a7KQ

[4] Overhead Bin on MSNBC.com, June 10, 2011: “Computer Glitch Grounds Flights at US Airways” – Joe Myxter, http://on.msnbc.com/pZE469

Before I begin this entry, I want to state for the record that my desire to post this doesn’t come from some inner need to have a spotlight pointed on me.  I realize that there are countless memorials and accounts of the attacks of September 11, 2001.  I wish not for this entry to be considered more important, or more poignant than those who were directly effected by the loss of a loved one or someone close to them on that fateful day.  I only hope that sharing my experiences of that day and the days that followed will serve as a testament to honor the fallen and the brave souls who fought to stop what was happening…

My recollection of those events actually began late in the evening of September 10, 2001.  My partner and I had just wrapped up a family visit on vacation, and we were heading back to New York City, where we were both stationed at our airline.  Our flight to La Guardia was the last of the night, coming from Denver.  Strangely, there were very few passengers on our flight that evening and we found ourselves occupying our own rows, one directly behind the other.

When we made our decent into the NYC area, the captain informed us that we’d be coming into LGA on a direct heading, and that anyone on the left-side of the airplane would have a perfect view of Manhattan as we landed.  We moved over to the windows to watch the spectacle that is always New York City at night, and that night was no exception.

We passed over the Statue of Liberty and then made our way past the twin monoliths of the World Trade Center.  As we passed by, I recall the conversation I had with my partner:  how we had lived in the area for four years up to then, and had still never made it to the observation deck of the Twin Towers.  I remember making sort of a pact that we would make an attempt to visit that vantage point in the very near future.  It was that last time he and I ever saw those buildings intact…

We lived in Richmond Hill, which is a small suburb of Queens, approximately 9 miles (as the crow flies) from the WTC.  Sometimes, on a good, clear day, you could make out the silhouette of the Towers from the elevated train, just a block from our building.  It was always fun to see them jutting out from the horizon, and we often commented on how far apart they were from the Empire State Building, something you could definitely make out from the La Guardia Airport.

We had gone to bed late that night since our arrival was just before midnight, and it was nearly 1:30 a.m. before we found ourselves nestled into our bed, with our two cats lying across us on top of the covers.  We both fell sound asleep and what we dreamt of that night, I’ll never know…

Our slumber was rudely awakened to the obnoxious sound of the house phone, ringing impatiently.  I got up to answer the call and my younger sister was on the other end of the line, panicked.  Since I was still trying to shake the sleep from my brain, I didn’t quite grasp what she was so upset over.  “I am soooo glad you picked up!  Are you watching the news?”

“No…are you crazy?  I just woke up!”

“Go turn on your TV!!!  NOW!”

Reluctantly, I walked into the living room and turned my set on…I have been a news junky all of my life, so not surprisingly, the television was already tuned to CNN.  There on the screen sat the WTC, with smoke billowing from one of the towers.  I didn’t know what to make of it.

“Wow, that looks like quite a fire,” I said to her.

“The news says they think an airplane crashed into it!  That’s why I was calling you to see if you two were okay!” she replied.

“Well, yeah, we just got in late last night.  What makes them think this is a commercial jet?”

“That’s just what they were saying…that’s all I know.  I’m gonna hang up now…I’ll let mom and dad know you guys are alright, ok?”

“Sure,” I said and unconsciously hung up the phone.  I quickly went back into the bedroom and awakened my partner.  “Hey, you need to come take a look at this.  The news is reporting that a commercial jet crashed into the World Trade Center!”  A muffled “huh?” is what I got in return as I headed back into the living room to watch the events unfold.

As I listened to the ‘talking heads’ make commentary and speculation about what had happened, and as my other half walked into the room to see what I was yammering on about, it happened.  The most horrific thing I had ever witnessed up to that point in my life, and the moment everything in our lives changed.  We sat in silent horror as we watched the end of United Airlines Flight 175 disintegrate into the side of #2 World Trade Center.

A sudden numbness fell upon me.  At that very moment, I found myself in a state of suspended animation…I know what I saw, but my brain wasn’t processing it the way it should have.  All I could do was hold myself and listen to the continuing conjecture and supposition that the news anchors were spewing, constantly updating and trying to disseminate information as the event unfolded and as news reporters around the area were checking in.

Within minutes of the attacks, the video of the crashes were being repeated over and again, each time the images burning hurtful and damaging memories into my subconscious.  As reports of an additional plane being crashed into the Pentagon and  a fourth one missing and presumed lost in the lower part of Pennsylvania came in, I felt paralyzed…I wouldn’t move and I couldn’t either…I was a dry sponge, absorbing every tidbit and scrap of new information that came over the air.

Before long, the FAA reported that all planes in U.S. airspace were being grounded.  There were planes coming in from Asia and Europe that were diverted to various airports in Canada.  Later, the word came down that all airline traffic was suspended for five days until these things could be sorted out.  My partner and I were scheduled to fly during those days…we were told to stay home.

Later in the afternoon, the telephone rang again.  This time, it was an unexpected and worrisome call:  it was my nine year old son, calling from California.  He was crying and yet happy that he had finally been able to reach me on the phone.  He said that he had been trying for hours to get through, but the phone systems across the country were jammed.  It felt good to reassure him that I was okay and that he and his younger sister could rest easy this night, knowing that daddy was home and safe.  Many others would not have the same fate as I that night.

For three solid days and nights, I sat electrified to the couch, eating very little and saying very little.  One peculiar thing happened during this time at home.  A year earlier, we had adopted a Short-haired domestic grey Tabby cat named Chloe.  It was evident early on that she suffered from anxiety and separation issues, and that she had been somehow abused as a kitten.  Afraid of her own shadow, she would rarely sit in a lap, or nuzzle up close to either of us.  On the afternoon of Sept. 11th, however, she started doing something she had never done before, but to this day, she still does:  she hopped up onto my partner’s lap and began to nuzzle and ‘paw dance’ on his arm, purring deeply.  Amazingly, 9-11 affected even our cat!

Near the end of the third day of non-stop news coverage, the flood gates opened in my mind.  I suddenly turned off the TV and began sobbing; my body heaved with fear and sorrow and I couldn’t control the tears.  The reality of a life-changing event crashed down upon and around me and I had trouble breathing…it was like this never before experienced anxiety swept over me and I, for the very first time in my life, felt real fear.

On the fifth day following the attacks on the US, I was asked to work a flight to London out of JFK…the first one to London my airline was able to operate after the events that shut down our nation’s transportation system.  It had been difficult for the airline to find crew members who were willing to fly then, but somehow, I mustered up the courage to say ‘yes’ and I headed to the airport.

The flight over was surreal.  The passengers were quiet and somber.  Many wept the entire flight.  I found myself handing out tissues all across the Atlantic, and I caught myself weeping in the lavatory on several occasions, not wanting my passengers to feel any further anxiety than they already had.  The flight attendants performed there duties, albeit we were staffed at the minimum allowed by the FAA because no one else was emotionally ready to return to work.  Meal services went by rapidly, and many refused to eat as most had lost their appetites.

When I arrived at Heathrow, I was met by an airline supervisor, who was desperate to find crew members willing to work the flight the next day to San Francisco.  I said ‘yes’ without hesitating, but I knew that I was doing so without thought or consideration of my own fears and anxieties.  I was literally mentally numb and it would take months to fully get back to my typical, jovial self on board the airplane.

That first trip back on the line ended up stretching into a seven-day stint for me, flying back and forth between LHR and SFO with minimum rest in-between flights, the airlines were all so desperate to get people where they needed to be.  The time past like a flash to me; somehow I just really don’t remember much of the trip or the crew I worked with at all.

In the weeks that followed, I worked on flights that brought in fire fighters, policemen and Search & Rescue teams from around the world to New York City.  I’ll never forget the day I worked the flight from Los Angeles to JFK when the fire brigade from Disneyland came to New York to help in the rescue efforts.  The leader of the group honored my crew with tee-shirts and lapel pins of Mickey Mouse in a fireman’s outfit with a crash axe in hand, the official pin of the Disneyland Fire Department.  In honor of all the volunteers who helped during those trying and extremely difficult days that followed, I continue to wear “Mickey in Uniform” on my own flight attendant uniform.

Tomorrow, it will have been ten years since the nightmare began.  I will never be able to relate to those who perished on the four flights of 9-11-01 nor can I comprehend the sense of loss that those who lost anyone in the Trade Center or the Pentagon or Shanksville, including the police, firemen, search & rescue volunteers and even the cadaver dogs.

As the coverage on this event ramp up, I’m sure that many of the old feelings will return.  As an example, the NBC Nightly News reported a couple of days ago that the audio tapes from the emergency 911 calls and the air traffic controller audio tapes had just been released and they played some of that audio on the news.  A chill went down my spine and I could feel a sickness develop in my stomach again.  Had the report lasted a further 30 seconds, I would have turned off the television.  To this day, I have never been able to watch the film “United 93″ and I doubt I ever will.

There are events which are so pivotal, that we humans tend to reference our timelines by them: Where were you when Kennedy was shot?  Do you remember watching the first man on the moon?  What were you doing when Challenger exploded?  It’s common for us to do this.

For me, none of those events carved out such a deep knotch and such a deep emptiness like 9-11 did.  For many of you, I’m sure you feel the same.

My career was changed forever too.  Every year, new regulations, new restrictions and new warnings are passed down the pipeline for us.  We may never have the luxury of relaxed airline travel again, and perhaps an event such as this one should prevent us from letting our guard down, even for a second at this juncture.  As long as man continues to hate his fellow man, and use fear and death as a weapon against each other, our lives will never really find relief.

And that is something I wish we could all remember, and forget…

A recent report about a passenger being removed from a flight and arrested for not turning off their cell phone[1] got me to thinking this week.  Often times, I get this question from passengers wanting to know the “WHY” about phone and electronic device usage restrictions during a flight.  I dare say that many flight attendants know the basic knowledge of why, but I’ll wager that a good majority have probably not investigated this regulation much past the reply “it’s Federal law.”  It seems to me that this subject is rather vaguely reported in the media and the details of the reasons behind the regulations are often misquoted or completely misunderstood.

As a frequent traveler once tried to point out to me on this very issue, it is the Federal Communications Commission that dictates the ban of cellular device usage on-board an aircraft, not the FAA.  After referring the matter to my own airline, I was advised that the customer was right and to move on.  In my research, however, I discovered that this is only HALF TRUE!  I will address the FCC matter in a moment.

I suppose that the mystery of all of this is really centered around some of the broader language that is found in Title 14 of the Transportation Code of the United States, better known as the Federal Air Regulations or FARs.  I will try to sort these out for you in plain English here, however you can find the complete wording of all these FARs on the FAA’s website, http://www.faa.gov.

There are actually four separate FARs that address the issue of the use of “portable electronic devices” (PEDs) or “transmitting portable electronic devices” (T-PEDs): § 91.21 [Portable electronic devices], § 121.306 [Portable electronic devices], § 125.204 [Portable electronic devices], and § 135.144 [Portable electronic devices].  In all four cases, the language of these FARs is identical, with one exception in Part 91.  All four FARs state that “no person may operate or pilot in command (PIC) of an aircraft allow the operation of, any portable electronic device on any of the following U.S.-registered civil aircraft: (1) Aircraft operated by a holder of an air carrier operating certificate or an operating certificate; or (2) Any other aircraft while it it operated under IFR (Instrument Flight Rules).”

Since Part 91 concerns “General Operating and Flight Rules,” the exception mentioned earlier pertains to IFR operated flights; all the other Parts are specific to type or class of specific operations (i.e. Commercial Domestically Flagged aircraft, Regional Carriers or Aircraft rated at 20 or more passengers, but a maximum payload of 6,000 pounds).  Otherwise, the language is identical.

All four parts are also specific in its exceptions to this regulation.  There are FIVE exceptions to the prohibition of PEDs and T-PEDs, and quite frankly, this is where the broader language is located, thus making it a rule that is specific to the carriers themselves.  The first four exceptions in ALL Parts are (1) Portable voice recorders, (2) Hearing aids, (3) Heart pacemakers, and (4) Electric shavers (I personally found this exception somewhat humorous, since I have never actually witnessed a passenger using one on a flight!).

The fifth exception is what seems to cause the headaches.  It states, “Any other portable electronic device that the part 119 certificate holder has determined will not cause interference with the navigation or communication system of the aircraft on which it is to be used.“  Really?  And how does the average passenger determine this?

According to another FAA publication, known as Advisory Circular 91.21-1B[2], it is the responsibility of each individual air carrier to test their aircraft for interference using highly specialized instrumentation to determine which devices pose a safety threat to communications and navigation aboard each type of aircraft the carrier operates.  So the reality of it all is that, in order for each airline to allow or ban particular devices, they must have them tested to the aircraft configurations they operate.  And as is ALWAYS the case, the PIC has the final say on ANY device, if he/she determines that it is a safety hazard to the aircraft or the crew.  No exceptions there…

Where the confusion seems to lie with passengers (and it’s something few of us really think about) is that it is entirely possible that Airline “A” would allow the use of a particular device that Airline “B” will not.  This is tied directly to the testing that each individual airline is required to perform on their fleet.  Of course, this begs the question: “Well, if Airline “A” operates the Boeing 737-500 and they approve my Bluetooth device, why wouldn’t Airline “B” allow me to use it on their B-737-500′s.”  This boils down to logistics and consistency throughout a particular airline’s operation.

What AC 91.21-1B does state is that the individual carriers are responsible for educating its passengers on what devices may or may not be used at every stage of the flight (boarding, taxiing, at cruise, decent, etc.).  As far as I am aware, every airline has some sort of list they provide their passengers and this can usually be found on the Safety Information Card (most of the time these are vague, at best), the in-flight magazine (usually you can find the complete list of allowable devices here) or both.  And almost every airline I have flown on has this announcement in the safety briefing that flight attendants are required to perform at the beginning of every flight they work.

I also did some digging, and every major airline, along with most of the regionals and the low-cost carriers (LCCs) have a place on their corporate websites that spell these out for passengers (I will admit, however, that many of these policies online were not easily found and I had to call one airline to get “directions” to find that list.

The bottom-line on all of this is that the onus of determining what devices can be used on what planes rests with the carrier itself.  It would be safe to point out that as a passenger, if you have any reservations about whether or not it IS okay to use your device, the flight attendant is your best, fastest resource.  When in doubt: Ask!

So that’s the FAA’s reasoning for regulating PEDs and T-PEDs…so why is the FCC involved in this debate???  The answer was completely unknown to me until I researched this article, and the answer may astound you.

Turns out that most airlines quote the FCC Consumer Advisory “Using Wireless Devices on Airplanes”[3] which states, “Federal Communication Commission (FCC) rules prohibit the use of cellular phones using the 800 MHz frequency and other wireless devices on airborne aircraft.  This ban was put in place because of potential interference to wireless networks on the ground.”  Notice a subtle but important difference?

It turns out that although the FCC’s jurisdiction usually doesn’t include airline regulation, when it comes to communication on Terra Firma, the FCC is the ruler of the roost.  The FCC is the department of the US Goverment which oversees all things to do with electronic devices that transmit, receive or have the potential to interfere with communications within our boarders.  As such, you will note that on most every electronic device you own, you will usually find a seal of approval from the FCC somewhere on it, which tells anyone who wants to know that the device is safe to use and causes no threat to the communication system in the USA.

According to the FCC, there have been instances where trying to use a cell signal from the air has caused damage and service interruptions on the ground, and THAT is the main reason for its strict stance on the issue.  According to its own Advisory, “In March 2007, the FCC terminated a proceeding that it began in late 2004 to consider lifting this ban.  The FCC determined that the technical information provided by interested parties in response to the proposal was insufficient to determine whether in-flight use of wireless devices on aircraft could cause harmful interference to wireless networks on the ground.  Therefore, it decided at this time to make no changes in the rules prohibiting in-flight use of such devices.”

As flight attendants, it is our duty on every flight to inform and enforce the FARs as written in our Flight Attendant Operation Manual (FAOM).  Anything in that manual is considered by the FAA to be the rule of law when applied to the specific airline for which it was written.  Keep in mind that “sleep mode” or “airplane mode” on ANY device is not enough to satisfy the requirement to power the device off during taxi, take-off and landing.  And, as was the case of the passenger who refused to comply with those FARs, failure to do so in most cases is considered by most every airline as “interference of a flight crew” and that is punishable by arrest, fines and sometimes even jail time.  So please, just turn it off!

So there it is in black and white (with a few color photos intermingled) about the WHY regarding cellphone usage (and any other electronic device) during various stages of airline travel.  This information certainly won’t stop those on-board airplanes from ignoring the flight attendant briefing or the safety card or the in-flight magazine.  But there are indeed U.S. Federal laws and regulations from two separate agencies that are quite specific about it, and the reasons behind the rules.  I am also feign to point out that when the flight attendant requests that a device be turned off, this is not a power trip for us crew mates.  We are simply doing what we were hired to do…it’s not a difficult request, but it IS the law!

“Deltalina” photo courtesy of Delta Air Lines, Inc.

——————————————–
[1]The Hill: Transportation Blog,“Airline passenger arrested for not turning off cellphone in flight”, Keith Laing, September 6, 2011

[2]FAA.gov: Document Library: Advisory Circulars, “AC #91.21-1B”, Dated 08-25-2006.

[3]FCC.gov: Guides: FCC Consumer Facts, “Using Wireless Devices on Airplanes.”

As the world prepares for the tenth anniversary of what most American’s consider history’s most horrific act of terrorism ever, it’s no wonder that the media circus is ramping-up with pretty much every angle and facet of analysis on what went wrong, what has happened since then and what continues happen in and around the airline industry. Speculation will run rampant and so-called expert ‘talking heads’ and pundits will raise the spectre of renewed rumblings of terrorist activity against the United States and the free enterprise world of commerce, one of the founding pillars of the freedoms that we now enjoy.

Since September 11, 2011, the world of airline travel has remained a focal point of safety and security. Last year, IATA (the International Air Transport Association) reported that over TWO and a HALF BILLION people were transported via airline travel alone. [1] In that time, there have been scattered breeches of security throughout the world, mostly due to ignorance on the part of the traveling public, or the lapse of judgement among a handful of those who are charged with maintaining that barrier of defense at airports worldwide. The human element of the equation in regards to personal safety and protections against acts of terror makes it impossible for 100% accuracy.

Anti-terror tactics that have been employed over the past ten years continue to evolve and many hard-working people spend countless hours and billions of dollars in resources to keep that high-level of security at our airports and on our aircraft daily. Yet for all the ingenuity and strategies that have and continue to be engaged and developed, the traveling public seems to take these efforts in stride. The security checkpoints and airport facilities of the United States have been on a high state of alert since the weeks following 9/11, and there has been no adjustment of that alert status, up or down, from their current levels to date. As is typical of all things “human,” when something becomes routine and tolerated to the point that little changes, we tend to ignore the signs and tell ourselves that nothing is wrong. We marginalize the discomfort and sometimes even cast disdain towards those whose job it is to keep those alert levels high and enforce the rules at the slightest infraction.

As one of those safety professionals aboard our aircraft, it is my duty to maintain order and remain vigilant, even though it may seem that my primary duties are more inline with serving beverages or seeing to the comfort of my passengers. On every flight, I witness how the majority of today’s airline travelers pay little or no attention to the safety demo at the beginning of the flight. They rarely take out the Safety Information Card and perform, what we in the business like to refer to as “the silent review” — simply taking a moment to orient oneself to their relative position in the plane, determine how far from the nearest exit they are, or how the emergency exit is opened and/or operated. Yet there are those among the media who continue to denigrate and marginalize our effectiveness or our methods to stay focused on protecting the public aboard our aircraft daily.

Earlier today, The Atlantic published an article, written by a Journalism student at Northwestern University, that was highly critical of those methods and those who are charged with enforcement of protecting the cockpit door in-flight. Entitled “How to Hijack an Airplane in 3 Seconds” by Abraham Tekippe [2], the piece comes off as an alarmist rant about the in-flight crew’s inability to protect the cockpit, were the door to be opened during a flight. Citing that would-be terrorists would seat themselves in the first few rows of the aircraft in order to over-power and over-take an open cockpit door in-flight due to the pilots’ need to use lavatory facilities or be served meals from the galley, Tekippe uses two reports of passenger complaints filed with the TSA (one in 2007 and one in 2010) to make his case (he fails to reference his source material or where he gained access to these complaints). He also blames the FAA’s lack of secondary barrier requirements by the airlines to defend the cockpit door, stating that the FAA’s reluctance to mandate these barriers is due to their restrictive cost factors (he alleges that each barrier costs between $5,000-$10,000 per aircraft, yet again citing no references).

He also blames the industry for minimizing the need for such access deterrents, and states that IATA believes that secondary barriers provide no enhancement to securing the cockpit door in-flight. In my own research on this topic, however, IATA seems to be concentrating their security efforts on keeping those who would bring down aircraft in the air off the planes completely, by enhancing and improving the secure checkpoints throughout the industry. Ken Dunlap, Global Director of Security and Travel Facilitation for IATA, contends that “passengers should be screened to a degree commensurate with what is known about them. The threat has become more dynamic. It’s not just bad objects that need detecting now.” [3]

While Federal Air Marshals (FAMs) are still in play around the system (the exact number of FAMs is classified), it would be nearly impossible to employ them on every single flight that launches daily in the US alone, let alone the world. For many travelers, just knowing that the possibility that Air Marshals could be on board their flight is enough to give them just the slightest peace-of-mind. The Federal Government and the Airline Industry have a complicated task on their hands, trying to balance the appropriate level of security with over-restrictive in-flight rules and regulations that make questionable their violation of personal civil rights . Somewhere in the middle of it all, the crew must maintain vigilance on every flight they work to ensure that everyone aboard arrives at their destination with the minimum amount of physical discomfort and emotional distress as can be achieved.

There are going to be those out there that are hyper-critical of the airlines’ role in this topic. I can assure readers of this column that most airlines consider in-flight safety and security to be their most important and crucial component. My co-workers strive to maintain that goal and take their roles as safety directors on-board quite seriously. Most of us realize that the constant barrage ‘Do’s and Don’ts’ aboard a flight is exhaustive to the average traveler. And for us, we are witness to the traveling public’s ever growing apathy toward these rules and regulations. It’s pointless to argue with the crew when it comes to these FARs (Federal Air Regulations) because it’s our responsibility to inform and enforce them.

In a few weeks, the world will remember what happened in the skies above Manhattan ten years ago. The question of security in airline travel will be discussed ‘ad nauseum.’ While discussing the topic of the possibility of a future terrorist attack is inevitable on almost any news source who chooses to cover it, one wonders if it will give travelers pause enough to understand the need for compliance with FARs when traveling? Who knows…but we will all be subject to the coverage of the event, and it will be up to us to take heed of those messages…or to ignore them.

_____________________________________________
[1]Air Transport Association, Data & Analysis, “Annual Report: World Airlines,” June 29, 2011: http://tinyurl.com/3r8bvkh

[2]The Atlantic, “How to Hijack an Airplane in 3 Seconds,” Abraham Tekippe, Aug. 16, 2011: http://tinyurl.com/3bb7cd4

[3]IATA: “Security – Tunnel of Technology,” ‘Airlines International: Dec. 2010,’ http://tinyurl.com/3j9jlmx