Normally I do write this blog in German language about my life as a part time flight attendant and a part time start-up founder. Yesterday I had an on-board experience with an older lady who complained that affected me to write this article dedicated to all regional flight attendants in the world:
Dear passenger,
I know that one particular boarding announcement during your flight trip can really displease you: „Your aircraft is parked at an outside position and buses will bring you to your plane…“ Immediately you already know that your bus ride will be longer than the whole flight.
But the worst happens when this bus passes all the nice jets and stops in front of a small regional aircraft to get you out, right?
Probably your whole trip seems ruined at this moment, because you have to travel in a small, loud and oldish looking plane. If it rains you have to walk for a few meters getting wet, but thank god we are handing out newspapers at the gate, so you can put them to the right purpose over your head.
You cannot understand why the airline has chosen exactly this horrible aircraft for your trip and so you have to show the flight attendant during boarding that this plane is too small for you while not ducking your head. And please also inform your flight attendant that your newspaper isn’t usable anymore.
But let me tell you something:
- Regional jets bring you to spectacular cityairports, where you already get a free sightseeing tour before ever stepped one foot into the city.
- You will never get a middle seat in regional jets and sometime you have not even a neighbour seat (sorry, but at others airlines you have to book First class to get this kind of comfort)
- Regional jets will bring you to airports where your friends are waiting at a rooftop terrace waving and welcoming you, while you disembark the aircraft like a star in a private jet.
- On regional jet flights attendants often already know their frequent flyers by name and mostly they don’t have to ask you anymore how to prepare your coffee.
- You think that the crews of small planes are inexperienced and young, right? You are wrong. Most of us are flying for decades this exact type of plane, because regional jets offer us the opportunity to live where we feel at home and come home every evening. We don’t have to move to big hub airport cities and hence we are not fighting with jet leg.
- Most of us know each other for a long time and in a case of an emergency we are acting like friends and not like anonym colleagues.
- We take you to small islands where you booked a relaxing weekend where a gentle breeze blows during your long and beautiful beach walks. Please don’t complain about turbulences during the approach.
So please, dear passenger, don’t punish your flight attendants for small planes. We all appreciate that planes bring us to places where we feel at home – big planes in big cities and small ones in small cities.
Cheers! Your regional flight attendant!
