🚨 Behind the Galley Curtain: Flight Attendant Confessions & In-Flight Secrets ✈️

Looking back on my time as a flight attendant with American Airlines, I’m filled with stories, laughter, and hard-earned lessons. I’m excited to share those with you—but before we dive into the heart of the jumpseat journal, let’s start with something fun: the top five questions I got asked almost every day.

1. ✈️ “Is This Your Route?”

This is easily the most common question flight attendants get. And I get it—passengers assume we have regular routes, like bus drivers or train conductors.

But the reality? Far from it—especially for newer flight attendants. I didn’t have a consistent route. Instead, I bid for monthly schedules, and even then, they often changed. One month I’d fly to Chicago and back, the next I’d be working redeyes to Las Vegas.

When I was on reserve status, things got even more unpredictable. That meant being on call, sometimes waking up with only an hour’s notice to report for duty. Planning a life outside of flying? Nearly impossible.

2. 🧯 “You’re Just a Flight Attendant?”

Yes—I was a flight attendant. But no, that title never told the full story.

I hold a college degree. I worked in corporate marketing. And yes, I have my pilot ratings up to commercial level.

It’s shocking how often people—especially frequent flyers—assume flight attendants are “just” there to serve drinks. Let me be clear:
📌 If there’s smoke in the cabin, a heart attack mid-flight, an attempted breach of the cockpit, or a passenger trying to open the door at 39,000 feet—we are your first responders.

So no, flight attendants aren’t “just” anything. They are trained professionals ready to act in high-stakes emergencies with calm, precision, and heart.

3. 🎟️ “You Get to Fly for Free, Right? Can You Get Me Tickets?”

I always wanted to answer this with, “Sure! Let me call Oprah and ask her to sponsor us both!”

Yes, we have flight benefits. But flying “free” isn’t as glamorous as it sounds. Most of the time, I was riding the jumpseat—the fold-down crew seat near the exit—not exactly first class. We wait on standby, get bumped from overbooked flights, and juggle long delays. We invest time and flexibility in exchange for limited travel perks.

And no—we can’t hand out free tickets like candy. But I wish we could.

4. 🧳 “Where Do You Stay When You’re on a Layover?”

Ah yes—the glamorous layover myth. People picture luxury hotels, room service, and sightseeing in Paris. And while some layovers can be fun, the truth is often far less glamorous.

Most of the time, we stayed in airport-adjacent hotels, booked by the airline based on union contracts or negotiated rates. Sometimes we got nice spots downtown. Other times? You’re across from a gas station with one restaurant that closes at 8 PM.

Plus, your “layover” might only be 9 hours long, and 7 of that is spent trying to get enough sleep to feel human again. But yes, there were golden moments—sunsets in San Diego, dinner in Rome, or morning runs in Vancouver. You learn to make the most of your minutes, not your miles.

5. ⏰ “What’s the Schedule Like? Do You Get Weekends Off?”

Short answer? Not unless you have seniority—or a miracle happens.
Being a junior flight attendant means working weekends, holidays, red-eyes, and whatever the senior crew didn’t bid for. My “weekend” might be a Tuesday and Wednesday… unless I got called in.

Your schedule rotates monthly. You bid based on seniority, and when you’re low on the list, you take what’s left—meaning birthdays, Thanksgivings, and weddings are often missed or celebrated at 35,000 feet.

That said, the tradeoff is unique freedom. You might work four long days and then have three or four days off in a row. It’s a non-traditional lifestyle, but for those who love it, the skies are worth it.

✈️ So, What’s It Really Like Being a Flight Attendant?

You have to laugh—a lot. That’s what gets you through the turbulence, both in the sky and on the ground. From weather delays to irate passengers and industry shakeups, resilience and humor are your best tools in the galley.

Though I’ve since moved on to another chapter in my aviation journey, I’ll always carry those memories—and my respect for the flight attendants still out there every day.

Stay tuned as I open the pages of my flight attendant journal and share the behind-the-scenes stories you’ve never heard. From crew hotels to cockpit jumpseats, this is life at 35,000 feet—unfiltered.