Dan: 0:00

One of the obvious perks of being a flight attendant is going places you'd never otherwise go, and meeting people you'd never otherwise meet. Linda Beall was a new flight attendant. One day, she was flying back and forth between Las Vegas and Boise, Idaho.

Linda: 0:16

And so the first flight of the day, here comes this dude. He looked like a really small version of Elvis. He was maybe five foot four, but he had, like, the mutton chop, sideburns, and, you know, whatever. And I'm looking at him, I'm thinking, there's a story there. I gotta go sidle up and start a conversation with this dude, find out what his situation is.

Dan: 0:41

So she asked him what he's doing in Boise.

Linda: 0:44

Oh, yeah. I've got a bout tonight. And I said a bout? Like boxing? He goes, oh, yeah. I'm with the WWE. I'm a wrestler.

Dan: 0:52

He offers her tickets to the match that night, and she convinces another flight attendant to go with her.

Linda: 0:58

And so we get our tickets, and we have floor seats. And he was the very first, you know, whatever it was, wrestling. And so we're taking it in because neither one of us girls have been in this kind of a culture. And there's, like, people with mullets that are yelling, that was only two. And we're like, what does that mean? You know? So we're having this really great time.

Dan: 1:21

After the match, she goes back to the hotel where she's staying.

Linda: 1:24

And I get a phone call in my hotel room, and it's him. And he goes, did you see it? Did you see it? I said, yeah. We had a great time. Thank you so much. And so you could tell he just really thought it was cool that he could do that for somebody.

Dan: 1:39

Yeah.

Linda: 1:39

And so now he's got a story to tell. We got these flight attendants. They came that time. And so I was just thinking, wow. Is this gonna be my life?

Dan: 1:57

I'm Dan Heath, and this is What It's Like To Be. In every episode, we walk in the shoes of someone from a different profession, a summer camp director, a life insurance agent, a dog trainer. We wanna know what they do all day at work. Today, we'll ask Linda Beall what it's like to be a flight attendant. We'll talk about some of the incredibly sexist things that used to happen in the industry, why flight attendants are prone to skin cancer, and what the worst route you could get stuck on would be. Stay with us. Before I spoke with Linda, I got an email from a listener who used to be a flight attendant, and he told me that back in the seventies, there used to be a mandatory fanny pat. So the boss would come around and just lightly pat all the girls on their backsides to ensure they were wearing a girdle. Now, Linda doesn't go that far back, but I asked her if she'd heard of that practice.

Linda: 3:05

I have. I saw it in a movie once and I looked it up. Yep.

Dan: 3:08

It's, I mean, that's almost like you're reading about some other culture. Like, if that happened today, I can't imagine what the consequences would be for the fanny patter as a result of that. But just the the the fact that that happened, like, in our lifetime and that was a normal cultural thing.

Linda: 3:25

Yeah. Well, it was it was a simpler time, but...

Dan: 3:29

Was it though? I don't know.

Linda: 3:30

Yeah. Well, I mean, when I came through training, it had only been maybe three or four years, five years since they got rid of the weight requirement. So it used to be that you could only be within a certain range for your weight.

Dan: 3:46

Mm.

Linda: 3:47

It was a height weight thing. And when I came through training, we had a day they called it the day of beauty, but really, there was just somebody that came in as a makeup consultant, and they would pick out what color lipstick you were gonna be wearing and what color eyeshadow and things like that. And you had to wear that for six months during your probation period. You had to wear that color. And happily, mine was sort of a nice darker brick red that went with my coloring, but there were some girls that they had really really bright, like an orange-y, and it did not look good with their coloring, and I was like, wow.

Dan: 4:27

They picked your lipstick color. I assume that's no longer true. Right?

Linda: 4:32

It is no longer true. They have a preference of, like, what range. They do want more of a red. Don't please don't wear blue or orange, you know, things like that. But, yeah, it's not assigned to us anymore. Yeah. I think what they were telling us is that if they if you wore a bright red lip, then your lips would be seen by customers. So if you're yelling commands, like, come this way, they can see your lips.

Dan: 4:58

I'm a little skeptical of that.

Linda: 5:02

Yeah. It a it was a little suspect, but, you know, that's what they said. You know?

Dan: 5:07

So do you fly the same routes every week? Like, is it a pretty predictable schedule?

Linda: 5:15

That is the question that I get asked most often.

Dan: 5:18

Oh, good for me. Alright.

Linda: 5:20

I know. Ding ding. The short answer is no, but sometimes I might work the same I usually work three days, and I might work the same three day trip for the entire month, or I might work a different trip every week. And the schedule will change as to seasons and what the needs are for the airline. And so the, planning committee puts together all the different flights that are needed, and they turn them into working trips. And sometimes, the trips are four days. Some days, they're just one. Sometimes, they're one day, or two or three.

Dan: 5:59

And when you say, like, a three day trip, that means you're away for three days.

Linda: 6:04

Correct. So I would leave Monday, come back Wednesday.

Dan: 6:08

Okay.

Linda: 6:08

And in between, the airline arranges and pays for our travel to and from the airport to the hotel, and also our hotel stay. And then we handle everything else.

Dan: 6:21

Each month, flight attendants bid on a bundle of trips for the next month. And just like the airline pilot told us, the assignments are doled out based on seniority. After you've gotten your assignment though, you can swap.

Linda: 6:36

And it's kind of like you're playing cards. I look at my cards and I go, I've got this. Who has that? I'll trade you.

Dan: 6:43

That freedom and flexibility is part of what attracted Linda to the job. In her pre flight attendant days, she had traveled for over a year living out of a suitcase, as she told me. And when she came back, she tried a desk job. It did not work for her. She needed a change. And one night, her aunt Marilyn came over for dinner and

Linda: 7:06

She said, well, what's your favorite thing you've ever done and why? And I said, well, I lived out of a suitcase for a year. But I also worked at an amusement park, and I liked the uniform and the recognized happy brand memory of the amusement park, and I also loved being able to travel. And she said, flight attendant. Perfect. That's what you're gonna And so that's how I ended up doing this. Because I like a certain amount of structure, but I also like variability within the structure.

Dan: 7:40

Yeah.

Linda: 7:41

And so this works for me.

Dan: 7:44

And the variability in the job isn't just about where she goes. It's about seeing a plane full of new faces every day.

Linda: 7:52

I'm very curious about people, and maybe why they're there, or what they do all day. And I've had an opportunity to get to know a lot of people on a very quick basis, and it's interesting to me how much people really want to be seen and known, even if it's only for five minutes.

Dan: 8:13

Give me an example of that. What are you thinking about?

Linda: 8:16

Well, there are a lot of people that are traveling for happy reasons, and so they're happy to share all of their plans and, what their family's gonna do, or what their vacation's gonna be because they're very excited about it. There are also some people who are traveling for very sad reasons, or they're very uncomfortable. For instance, Thanksgiving and Christmas are really a neat thing in my mind, but some people have really uncomfortable families and situations. And so sometimes, you can tell that they're not thrilled, and they somehow feel that they can unburden and share because they'll never see me again.

Dan: 9:02

Yeah. It's like you're a safe person to confide in.

Linda: 9:06

Yeah. We joke among the flight attendants that when we sit on the jump seat, we call it jump seat confessional because you learn things about people. You're like, okay. That went pretty deep pretty quickly. You know? And then you never see that person again for, like, eight more years because your schedules don't align. And you're just kinda like, I wonder whatever happened with Gina. You know? Whatever.

Dan: 9:28

Wait. Are you talking about, like, a crew member or a passenger?

Linda: 9:30

Yeah. Or both? Yeah. And and passengers too. Like, you get part of their story, and you kinda never know this side of heaven what happens.

Dan: 9:40

Yeah. What was something that a passenger shared with you that surprised you? Maybe it was it was more confessional than you expected was coming.

Linda: 9:49

Oh, wow. So there was a woman who was traveling after 9/11, and she was going to go sing at I think it was a a memorial, but she knew someone who was part of the reason they were having the memorial.

Dan: 10:07

Yeah.

Linda: 10:07

And so it was sort of a dual thing. You know, it was a public mourning, but it was also a personal mourning. And so we had a chance to talk about who her loved one was and, why they'd been really important.

Dan: 10:24

Mhmm.

Linda: 10:25

There are other people that have told me that they're on their way to they're going in for, like, drug addiction. They're they're checking themselves in.

Dan: 10:34

Yeah.

Linda: 10:35

There are people that just found out that they're getting a divorce. People who are on the plane, and while they're on the plane, they find out that the loved one they were going to be by their deathbed had already passed. So, I mean, you just you know all these things about people. You've also found out that people just got engaged, or they just found out they're pregnant. So, you know, you kind of run the gamut of humankind and emotions. But I just get to be kind of on the seat next to these people for all of this.

Dan: 11:08

Of course, humanity is not all wonderful. And she's the person who has to respond when people are not acting the way they're supposed to.

Linda: 11:17

There are sometimes that they're watching something inappropriate. They're doing something where the they're not using headphones, and that's annoying some of the people around them.

Dan: 11:28

Yeah.

Linda: 11:29

They could be up while the seat belt sign is on and refusing to take their seat, or I've had issues where one customer decided that the other customer was taking too much space, and they started fighting amongst themselves, and I didn't realize it until it had escalated.

Dan: 11:49

Oh, boy.

Linda: 11:50

Yeah.

Dan: 11:50

And so what do you what did you do in that situation? Like, what was your role?

Linda: 11:54

I think more than anything, just paying attention to it, allowing the person to vent while I'm you know, you kind of you're almost like a police officer in a way. You're just like, alright. Why don't you tell me your story? And then you're observing everybody as they're telling the story, so you can try to gauge truthfulness and accuracy because, you know

Dan: 12:16

Yeah.

Linda: 12:17

There's always more than two sides to a story. There's always the truth too, because, you know, everybody's got their viewpoint. And, sometimes if you have an opportunity to move someone or what have you, then you can. But if it's a full flight, you can't move anybody, and then, you know, you sort of have to punt, you know, you have to figure out what to do.

Dan: 12:37

Yeah. Have you ever had to have someone, like, met at the gate by an officer because of their behavior?

Linda: 12:44

Yes. It's very uncommon. But, you know, you sometimes you have police meet the plane, or, we'll have medical personnel meet the plane occasionally too if we've had an in-flight medical situation. But we've had, somebody meet the plane, for abuse. They were being very vocal. They were using foul language, and they really didn't care. And so I said, we need you to comply with what we're asking you to do. And if not, then we will escalate. Is there anything that we can do right now in order to, you know, make this work? And they basically said, no. And so we're like, alright. Well, we'll see you on the ground.

Dan: 13:35

After the break, occupational hazards you might not expect, and the mystery of airplane ginger ale. Stay with us.

Hunter Prosper: 13:45

Everyone carries both profound experiences and untold stories worth exploring. Who is your greatest love and why did you fall in love with them? My greatest love was a man named Matt when I was 25 years old and the minute I saw him, I somehow knew that he was the love of my life. Hi. I'm Hunter Prosper and on my podcast, Stories from a Stranger. I believe in approaching strangers with genuine curiosity. Listen to Stories from a Stranger wherever you get your podcasts.

Dan: 14:17

Linda has been a flight attendant since 2001, long enough to remember when you could strike up a conversation just by glancing at someone's book.

Linda: 14:25

I remember when the, people used to come on with actual newspapers and actual books. I remember when, people would come on with Harry Potter. We could tell what the newest book was because everybody had the the book under their arm. Everybody had the same book.

Dan: 14:42

Oh, that's wild.

Linda: 14:44

Yeah. And then I could have that conversation with them as I'm taking drink orders or as I'm handing out snacks. I'm like, oh, how are you liking your book? And, you know, those kinds of things. And then all of a sudden, the e-readers started to be very popular, especially when there were certain salacious books that

Dan: 15:02

Yeah. Everybody's reading 50 Shades of Grey.

Linda: 15:04

Yes. And so everybody I was like, oh, what book are you reading? And they would just kinda blush. No. I'm just like, forget I asked. You know? Moving on. Yeah. And it can be very quiet on the aircraft. And then, you know, I'm standing there with my pen and my piece of paper writing, like, hey. What would you like to drink? And they don't take their headphones out and, you know, those sorts of things. And I I'm just like, one of my coworkers joked just like after the third time, go, what's your favorite color? I just start asking, you know, insane questions because they're not listening to me anyway. So, I mean, we we kinda have fun with it, but I mean, the world could end and nobody would know sometimes.

Dan: 15:45

It reminds me of we we spoke to a a London taxi driver, and he was making a similar point that that basically everybody gets in now and they're immediately on their phones, and and I was asking, does that affect your satisfaction? And he had a real polite answer that, you know, if they don't wanna talk, he doesn't wanna force them to talk. But it seems like if you're in a job that has this social sphere to it, and then all of a sudden the social sphere starts to kind of wither, it seems like doesn't that have to affect your job satisfaction?

Linda: 16:18

Right. Yeah. It does. And, I used to say that I get a paycheck, but really what I value the most is the conversations that I have with people. I think that's the best way to put it. Because, you know, otherwise, your day always looks the same. You know? It's it's like being in a cubicle, you know? If you don't have a change in, what you're seeing, then it it just kinda all blends together. It's boring.

Dan: 16:49

Do any of those moments where you talked with the passenger, whether it was good news or bad news, kinda linger with you in your mind as you look back?

Linda: 16:58

There was a a woman recently who you know, you can look at a million people, and all of a sudden, you start noticing the one that looks like they're drowning. And so I stopped and I asked this woman, are you okay? And she sort of looked a combination of panicked, and her eyes were darting around, and she sort of didn't look like she felt well physically. So I wasn't sure what I was gonna have to do. But we still had the door open, and I was like, okay. If we need medical so my brain is doing all this stuff in the background about, okay. If she's gonna throw up, where's the airsick bag in this seat? You know? So I'm sort of trying to figure out which direction I need to go so I'm ready to pivot. And she was on an aisle seat, and right across the aisle from her were a couple of kids. They were probably, oh, eight and 10. And so it turned out that she was having an anxiety attack. And she was trying to hold it together and trying to be, like, stoic, trying to be okay for her kids. And so I knelt down next to her so she wouldn't have to, like, shout up at me or whatever. We could talk very quietly. And I started asking her a few questions, like, okay. Has this happened before to you? What have you done? What helps? You know, how can I help you? And so I brought her some water, and so we were talking a little bit. She was taking little sips, and I was just trying to talk calmly to her. And, at one point, I just looked at her and I said, would you like a hug? And she just started to cry. She says, yes. You know? So I just gave her a hug, and, and I thought, well, I'm not I'm not gonna be the one to let go first. So she held me for, I'd say, about five Mississippis. And after a little while, it seemed like it was gonna be okay. And and, I said, alright. If you need anything, here's the call light. Here's an airsick bag. You know, just let me know. And so she told me at the end of the the flight that that had made a difference. It sort of broke the cycle for her. And, I mean, it was so simple. I got her some water. I gave her a hug. I listened to her. But sometimes you just need to stop what you're doing, your agenda, and pay attention to what's right in front of you. Because sometimes people are they're flailing and drowning, and you just don't know.

Dan: 19:36

I asked Linda about the physical wear and tear of the job, and whether there were certain injuries that are distinctive to flight attendants.

Linda: 19:44

Yes, actually. There are a lot of us that are talking about carpal tunnel nowadays, from holding the trays, or from making a pinching movement to pick up the cup and hand over the cup, and then opening and closing the overhead bins. Those can be shoulder injuries as well, especially now that we have the bins that push up. So if we try to do that with one arm, that's too much weight, apparently, because some people are having, like, shoulder surgeries or impingement injuries. And, we're up in the UVA. So we're up above the clouds, and you get a lot of UVA, the bad sunlight. And so, there are people that are having, skin cancer issues.

Dan: 20:33

This is something that had never occurred to me. It turns out flight crews have about double the rate of melanoma as the general population. So the issue is that at cruising altitude, you get about double the UV radiation that you get on the ground. There are two kinds of UV. There's UVB, that's the kind that gives you a sunburn, and most of that is blocked by the plane's windows. But those windows leave you exposed to UVA, the rays that lead to aging and cancer. And the pilots are the ones who have it the worst.

Linda: 21:07

The pilots forever have been putting on sunscreen because they're right there in the front and with the windows all around them. So they'll be slathering up with sunscreen, putting on baseball caps or what have you to kinda shield their vision and stuff. So but the flight attendants, apparently, we get it too. And so that's becoming a thing that people are starting to talk about is that they've been, going to dermatologists, and they've been having issues with getting skin cancer. SPF usually handles only UVB, and so you have to get a really different kind of sunscreen in order to block the UVA.

Dan: 21:44

Hey. I have one totally random question for you that doesn't really relate to anything, but I've just always been curious about this. I feel like the the thing that is most salient on a flight that is not salient in any other part of our life is ginger ale. Like in normal human life, nobody ever drinks or orders ginger ale. And then on a flight, it's like every other person has some kind of ginger ale thing. What what is that about?

Linda: 22:12

I I don't know. I did hear one customer say, hey. Do you have ginger ale or tonic water or any of those airplane drinks? And I started laughing. I'm like, you know, you're right. It's ginger ale, tonic water, and Bloody Mary mix. Those are the three things that nobody ever orders that unless you're on an aircraft. I know.

Dan: 22:35

Yeah. So weird.

Linda: 22:37

I know.

Dan: 22:37

It's we're gonna find out it's some, like, pressure induced taste sensation or something eventually. The neurologists will figure it out.

Linda: 22:45

Yeah. Well, honestly, if you're on an aircraft, there's a reason why the food that they do serve you is very salty because it does impact your ability to taste more of the subtle flavors. So I always add more salt to anything that I bring with me from home.

Dan: 23:01

So Linda, we always end our episodes with a quick lightning round of questions. Here we go. What is a word or phrase that only someone from your profession would be likely to know, and what does it mean?

Linda: 23:15

Bid or bidding.

Dan: 23:16

Okay.

Linda: 23:17

Yeah. We talked about that a little bit where you have to bid for your schedule, and it's awarded by your seniority in seniority order from highest to lowest.

Dan: 23:27

And what is like if you just joined as a flight attendant yesterday, and you're doing this, and so you have the worst possible seniority? Like, what's the dog of a root that you're gonna end up with?

Linda: 23:40

You're gonna end up with I think we're our maximum is seven flights a day. You're gonna end up with seven flights a day, and they're all really, really short flights. So you have almost no time. You feel like you're flinging things at people, and then picking them back up, and then landing, and doing it all over again all day ad nauseam. And then you're gonna have a really short overnight at an airport with a view of air conditioning units or a wall. And then you're going to go back and do another seven legs a day, and then you're going to have a really early start, and you're gonna have a really late end, and nothing's gonna be open on either end of that. That would be a dog of a trip.

Dan: 24:27

What is the most insulting thing you could say about a flight attendant's work?

Linda: 24:32

I think someone called me a sky waitress once. Well, we kinda call ourselves sky waitresses as a joke. What do you do for a living? I'm a sky waitress, but if you rattle your glass with the empty you know, with just the ice and the empty cup, that that's kinda irritating.

Dan: 24:49

Oh.

Linda: 24:49

You know?

Dan: 24:49

But I can't believe people actually do that. That is so

Linda: 24:53

They have a few times. Yeah. It's it's been a while. So to our credit That's hard to as a culture Yeah. I think we may have grown out of that. That may be a nineteen seventies or sixties experience that has gone by the wayside. I'm okay with that.

Dan: 25:08

What is a sound specific to your profession that you're likely to hear?

Linda: 25:13

Lots of bells.

Dan: 25:14

Yeah.

Linda: 25:15

The, the call bells, they mean something. So a single bell and a light combination or a double bell, the ding dong and light combination tells us who's calling us, where they're calling from, and what it might mean.

Dan: 25:33

Oh.

Linda: 25:33

So, like, a single bell in the cabin means something, and a double bell in the cabin means something. But if you get to three or four, that means that there's something kind of a this is a 911 situation.

Dan: 25:48

Oh, really?

Linda: 25:49

Yeah. It's like, okay, get on the phone now. We've got a situation happening.

Dan: 25:52

Three or four?

Linda: 25:54

Mhmm. Yeah. It just depends on what the situation is. So if you hear more than two bells, there might be an announcement coming.

Dan: 26:03

Get worried. Yeah.

Linda: 26:04

Yeah. Well, not worried. But, I mean, sometimes it's like there's a medical emergency or there's, you know, something like that. So they'll do that so we know not to just keep handing out the rest of our drinks before we answer or something. You're like, get on right now. We need to talk to you.

Dan: 26:19

What can we tell our listeners in the vein of a public service announcement? What can we do to be good flight passengers? What's one thing that would cause less annoyance, trouble, nuisance, etcetera, for the flight attendants of the world?

Linda: 26:35

I'd say situational awareness and kindness go a long way. You know, if you if you have no idea what's happening around you, then it makes you an obstacle sometimes. We have to get around you to get to somebody who's struggling or, you know, just help us to help each other or help your your fellow customer be kind to them and to us.

Dan: 27:06

Linda Beall is a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines. As a flight attendant, you've got a 100 people in a metal tube in the sky and whatever needs or problems they have, they come to you. A clog up in the overhead bins, it's on you. A crying kid in need of distraction, it's on you. A fist fight breaks out between passengers, you. Someone has a heart attack, they call you. Another diet coke, that's you, too. Always you. For anything they need, they're stuck with you and you with them. You're a caretaker for captives. It reminds me a little of the elementary school teacher. Remember how she described all the roles she has to play?

Yaronda: 27:55

I am a nurse. I am a counselor. I am a food nutritionist. I am all the things a parent at sometimes, a comforter, a supporter, a leader, a learner.

Dan: 28:08

Or think about the summer camp director we talked to and how for two months a year, everything a kid needs is on him. Their lodging, their health care, their recreation, their mental health, their sewage, a caretaker for a captive population. Whatever that population needs, you're in charge, and that makes you one part boss, one part servant, and one part fellow captive. Living out of a suitcase, trading trips like cards before the month begins, serving drinks while scanning for distress, and practicing hospitality in a place no one can leave. Folks, that's what it's like to be a flight attendant. Thanks to Regina Leake for suggesting we talk with Linda. And if you know somebody we should talk to, encourage them to leave us a voicemail. The number to call is always in the show notes. This episode was produced by Matt Purdy. I'm Dan Heath, and next week, we continue our airport series with a profession we have been chasing for three years, and we finally found someone who is terrific, an air traffic controller. See you soon.