Tell me something good...

[SS255]

My father always talks to the FA's when he flies. Once an FA told him that the reason why she prefers the lifestyle of an FA at US vs. at another carrier is that the flight crews travel together, vs. on other airlines where the crew is scheduled on a per-flight basis. (I'm not sure what the exact industry lingo is to describe that.) The flip side of that, of course, is that if you don't like someone on your crew (or you had a relationship with them and it ended badly), you are stuck with them for the duration of the trip.

A certain (now retired) pilot once had me join him and his crew for an off-campus lunch during a layover at CLT. In addition to taking me onto the crew shuttle, we enjoyed a very hearty (and heart attack-inducing) lunch at Cracker Barrel, and I felt like one of the gang!

For all of the bickering on this forum, I will say that my flight crews always project the energy of being happy, and working well together. If the opposite is true, they are very professional about it in front of the customers.

 

[cactusboy53]

Welcome aboard. All really good advice from everyone. One poster spoke of staying with crew vs. not. PHX flight attendants split up on trips and will usually not fly with the same flight crews more than a day or two.

The reason for this is that flight attendants have less restrictive work rules than do pilots. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. It does mean that flight attendants can have more work credit in a give set of days, thereby have more time off in between.

Overnights of 12 hours (or less) is perhaps enough time to eat, prepare your clothes for the next day & sleep (get lots of it....it will come in handy).

Overnights of 14+ are a chance to see different places & people. There are lots of things to do and people to see. Many crews will take the time to do things together (I spoke with a crew that had 33 hours in Mexico City recently. The A spoke the local language and they all went on a bus ride to see the pyramids). If you like to shop & see shows, you'll love NYC (BOS too) long overnights.

Have a great time and enjoy!

 

[iheartairbus]

US Airways is a family for the good and the bad. I've been a F/A here at US Airways about 6 1/2yrs and I'm currently based in PHX. I very much still love my job. I do however see both sides of it(good & bad), I do a lot of AFA work and although I get frustrated with the Company at times I do my best job with professionalism and pride. You'll hear a lot of negative chatter regarding working at US Airways or the reputation, but the fact of the matter is US Airways is a great place to work because of the amazing people and the history that comes with our airline. As you may or may not know US Airways is made up of a slew of different legacy carriers through out the years. US Airways has many great people; rich with history and professionalism that run many many years back in commercial aviation.

I would like to say welcome! I help put together the "New Hire Buddy" program through our local council in PHX for the new hires which you'll hear more about in your base orientation. A new contract is coming, hopefully sooner rather than later and the quality of life will dramatically improve. The good news is, you won't have to wait as long as the rest of the 7,000+ Flight Attendants at US Airways have. On behalf of all the US Airways F/A's, I welcome you!! If you need anything please feel free to e-mail me, I have plenty of tips and advice if you'd like it.

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