A news piece I wrote for my travel writing class:
Take My Flight Please!
During the early days of air travel, only trained nurses qualified for flight attendant jobs. But judging from whats taking place in the air today, attendants are apparently spending more time at the Improv than any hospitals. Southwest Airlines flight attendants delivered these recent gems during a quick hop from Burbank to Las Vegas:
If you have a child seated next to you, or someone who is just acting like one, please secure your mask before assisting with theirs, and "There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only four ways out of this airplane."
While Southwest attendants routinely look for laughs, other airlines arent so quick to follow. Howard Aronin, a United Airlines flight attendant for 21 years, says although the trend began with Southwest, United has traditionally guarded against offending passengers and risking possible Federal Aviation Administration fines, especially during the safety demonstration. But Aronin acknowledges that the mood of commercial aviation changed with Southwest. When Southwest came into popularity, the profession became more like a T.G.I.F restaurant in the air - tennis shoes, shorts and no ties.
But with the rise of low-cost, no-frills airlines such as Southwest, JetBlue, and Uniteds offshoot TED, will more flight attendants be adopting the Southwest-style of humor on its flights? The flight attendants [on TED] are the same ones who have been drilled over the years to be non-controversial, Aronin says. We are not told to deliver jokes or be nutty. Humor at my airline is not encouraged; more bad than good things come from the light, flippant attitude.
So does Southwest Airlines insist its flight attendants keep delivering the punch lines? Not if theyre not good at it, says Senior Administrative Coordinator Brenda Prince. She says that Southwest strictly adheres to training guidelines administered by the FAA, but they always encourage their crewmembers to be themselves. According to Prince, the funny in-flight experiences begin with the kinds of people who work for Southwest - they tend to be humorous people in the first place, so when crewmembers are being themselves, it often means passengers wind up feeling more like theyre in a comedy club and less like theyre on a plane. But Prince also concedes that the attempt at humor is not always successful, admitting that Southwest has received numerous complaints on this humor non-policy: Weve had crew members make up funny songs for the flight, but sometimes people who have bad days dont want to hear a joke.
Prince acknowledges that Southwests humorous flight phenomenon is spreading, with crewmembers who fly together picking it up from one another, taking it onboard other planes and possibly to other airlines. But she firmly denies any official policy governing humor on Southwests behalf. Training is very serious, she says. If crewmembers are funny, its just because thats the type of people we hire.
Aronin, meantime, says hes heard fellow attendants try to be funny or entertaining over the years, but winds up cringing at their unprofessional attempts. I have my own one-liners (that never miss) but they are non-offensive and or controversial. Now as I head to work my goal is to make 'em not laugh too much. Let Southwest ask which kid the mother would prefer saving if given the choice.
We are not amused at United. I am, but don't tell them.
Take My Flight Please!
During the early days of air travel, only trained nurses qualified for flight attendant jobs. But judging from whats taking place in the air today, attendants are apparently spending more time at the Improv than any hospitals. Southwest Airlines flight attendants delivered these recent gems during a quick hop from Burbank to Las Vegas:
If you have a child seated next to you, or someone who is just acting like one, please secure your mask before assisting with theirs, and "There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only four ways out of this airplane."
While Southwest attendants routinely look for laughs, other airlines arent so quick to follow. Howard Aronin, a United Airlines flight attendant for 21 years, says although the trend began with Southwest, United has traditionally guarded against offending passengers and risking possible Federal Aviation Administration fines, especially during the safety demonstration. But Aronin acknowledges that the mood of commercial aviation changed with Southwest. When Southwest came into popularity, the profession became more like a T.G.I.F restaurant in the air - tennis shoes, shorts and no ties.
But with the rise of low-cost, no-frills airlines such as Southwest, JetBlue, and Uniteds offshoot TED, will more flight attendants be adopting the Southwest-style of humor on its flights? The flight attendants [on TED] are the same ones who have been drilled over the years to be non-controversial, Aronin says. We are not told to deliver jokes or be nutty. Humor at my airline is not encouraged; more bad than good things come from the light, flippant attitude.
So does Southwest Airlines insist its flight attendants keep delivering the punch lines? Not if theyre not good at it, says Senior Administrative Coordinator Brenda Prince. She says that Southwest strictly adheres to training guidelines administered by the FAA, but they always encourage their crewmembers to be themselves. According to Prince, the funny in-flight experiences begin with the kinds of people who work for Southwest - they tend to be humorous people in the first place, so when crewmembers are being themselves, it often means passengers wind up feeling more like theyre in a comedy club and less like theyre on a plane. But Prince also concedes that the attempt at humor is not always successful, admitting that Southwest has received numerous complaints on this humor non-policy: Weve had crew members make up funny songs for the flight, but sometimes people who have bad days dont want to hear a joke.
Prince acknowledges that Southwests humorous flight phenomenon is spreading, with crewmembers who fly together picking it up from one another, taking it onboard other planes and possibly to other airlines. But she firmly denies any official policy governing humor on Southwests behalf. Training is very serious, she says. If crewmembers are funny, its just because thats the type of people we hire.
Aronin, meantime, says hes heard fellow attendants try to be funny or entertaining over the years, but winds up cringing at their unprofessional attempts. I have my own one-liners (that never miss) but they are non-offensive and or controversial. Now as I head to work my goal is to make 'em not laugh too much. Let Southwest ask which kid the mother would prefer saving if given the choice.
We are not amused at United. I am, but don't tell them.
VIEW 9 of 9 COMMENTS
acidevangelist:
howyadoin'? 
cest_la_mae:
There's never not an all plane sing-a-long when we fly SW to Vegas - which is everytime.