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    Cruising Attitude: Tales of Crashpads, Crew Drama, and Crazy Passengers at 35,000 Feet
    Cruising Attitude: Tales of Crashpads, Crew Drama, and Crazy Passengers at 35,000 Feet
    Cruising Attitude: Tales of Crashpads, Crew Drama, and Crazy Passengers at 35,000 Feet
    Ebook309 pages6 hours

    Cruising Attitude: Tales of Crashpads, Crew Drama, and Crazy Passengers at 35,000 Feet

    By Heather Poole

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    “A veteran flight attendant’s hilarious take on what really happens behind the scenes at 35,000 feet.” —People

    In her more than fifteen years as an airline flight attendant, Heather Poole has seen it all. She’s witnessed all manner of bad behavior at 35,000 feet and knows what it takes for a traveler to become the most hated passenger onboard. She’s slept in flight attendant crashpads in “Crew Gardens,” Queens—sharing small bedrooms crammed with bunk beds with a parade of attractive women who come and go at all hours, prompting suspicious neighbors to jump to the very worst conclusions. She’s watched passengers and coworkers alike escorted off the planes by police. She can tell you why it’s a bad idea to fall for a pilot but can be a very good one (in her case) to date a business-class passenger. Heather knows everything about flying in a post-9/11 world—and she knows what goes on behind the scenes, things the passengers would never dream.

    Heather’s true stories in Cruising Attitude are surprising, hilarious, sometimes outrageously incredible—the very juiciest of “galley gossip” delightfully intermingled with the eye-opening, unforgettable chronicle of her fascinating life in the sky.

    “Whether you’re a frequent or once-a-year flier, there’s something for everyone in this witty tell-all.” —Publishers Weekly

    “Fun airplane reading.” —The Washington Post
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateMar 6, 2012
    ISBN9780062098849
    Cruising Attitude: Tales of Crashpads, Crew Drama, and Crazy Passengers at 35,000 Feet

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    Reviews for Cruising Attitude

    3.5/5

    126 ratings29 reviews

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    • 2/5
      Now I know the training it takes to be a flight attendant--and I know I'd never be able to do it. I also couldn't live in those "crash pads", which is their term for apartments housing 5 or more flight attendants, temporary sleeping quarters for those in between flights. And it's also comforting to know that she had to put up with (and be sweet as pie to) nasty, obnoxious, ignorant people masquerading as passengers. I, too, have a customer service oriented job, and I get a lot of, ahem, "challenges" also!
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this behind the scenes look at what it takes to be a flight attendant. I always admire these hard working individuals that have to multi-task at 35,000 feet while dealing with a variety of personalities in a very confined space. Really a great book to read if you've flown once or numerous times!
    • 3/5
      Cruising Attitude by Heather Poole is written in a similar fashion to Waiter Rant and The Nanny Diaries. It’s a behind the scenes look at airline travel from the perspective of a flight attendant. It was quite engaging at first but I lost interest in the stories about half way through. Some were interesting stories and you can certainly commiserate with the flight attendants after reading about some of the interactions. One question came to mind – why are people so rude these days? As a customer or client I know we should be waited on and have our concerns addressed but you don’t need to treat others rudely. The narrative about the hiring process and exhaustive training program for flight attendants is crazy. There are stories about people having sex in the bathrooms, dealing with people with motion sickness, rude people and many other odd things an attendant has to endure during a flight. The stories did jump around a bit and the author could have spent more time describing the characters and the individual situations more.
    • 3/5
      Certainly a very different read and an enjoyable one to read while on a plane - albeit a very different flying experience then the world Heather completed her training in. The pre/post 9/11 changes are stark. But sadly I don't think FAs are paid any better - the crash pads are just a sad reality.
    • 4/5
      I had no idea flight attendants had so much training. And that if they messed up once during schooling that they were out...Otherwise, pretty interesting read. There are a lot of things I didn't know about flight attendants. The glamorous life isn't quite as glamorous as we might think, but it still sounds like fun. If the pay wasn't so crappy. Should read if you like personal memoirs.
    • 3/5
      Nothing stands out particularly in this book about the trials and tribulations of Heather Poole's early career as a flight attendant. But added all together it is an easy and entertaining read. My interest in the book was through a recent acquaintance and colleague who was one. I found there was a lot I didn't know about what these people put up with in their chosen career. But for all the crap they take from demanding customers and relatively modest pay, the travel perks tend to offset.
    • 4/5
      If you're thinking about an exciting career in airborne customer service, this is the book for you! If, like me, you are not considering becoming a flight attendant, it is hard to explain why you would even pick this book up, much less read quickly through it in fascinated excitement, as I just did.

      I guess this book answered a question that we all must have asked, but never really pursued, as we are served a diet coke or commanded to take our seats. Who are these people? What are their lives like?

      Heather Poole provides the real deal, the inside scoop on the glamorous flight attendant life style. And, man, is it ever not glamorous. Who would do this work? And why?

      You know how much flying sucks? OK, now imagine that it's your job, and you do it for 30 or 40 hours a week, and have to smile and pretend you like it. Then imagine you get paid really badly, and have to hot bunk it (share a bed) in dingy flop houses spread around the country where fellow attendants come and go at all hours of the night. Now imagine the passengers, the whining, complaining, needy, rude mass of humanity, who hate flying as much as any sane person would, and who you must passify, calm, and herd. Then imagine the polyester uniform you must wear, and the hair and makeup codes you must conform to.

      If you do this kind of work, you do get travel benefits. Sort of. But they don't sound very generous, and of course every time you use them you have to do what? Get on another stinking aluminum tube and fly. No, ladies and gentlemen, this is a truly awful way to make a living, and we can only shake our heads in wonder at Ms. Poole's excited telling of adventures and misadventures over her 15 year career in the sky. Good on her, for creating a very readable memoir. She's got some real war stories. I loved the awfulness of the life she described. But I don't think she thinks her life is awful. I believe that she thinks it's been a rollicking good ride.

      I guess that's what you'd want your flight attendant to feel - that this is a pretty good life, all things considered. So it's all good. Thank you Heather Poole for sharing your experience of work.
    • 3/5
      I have never ever wanted to be a flight attendant. Ever. However I do like reading about people who do things that I don't want to do so this book was fun.
    • 3/5
      Fun memoir of airline career
    • 4/5
      Heather Poole speaks in a friendly, positive way while detailing the sometimes bleak life of a flight attendant. Her stories are entertaining and informative. With no hint of self pity, she talks about rude passengers, awful living conditions and loneliness. The book is far from depressing though, it's light and fun to read. If you, a son or daughter or friend considers flight attending, this read is a must before sighing up. The most important come away from Cruising Attitude is this is a job that few could do well for long.
    • 4/5
      Truly behind the scenes. I really appreciate flight attendants more now and give them props. It's a tough job that you're not well rewarded for and many people could not make the grade.
    • 3/5
      You know, these days I read travel books with a whole different eye. One, I’m usually reading them in an airport or a hotel. Two, the situations and places in the books seem very familiar to me now. That’s one of the reasons I was so interested in Cruising Attitude: Tales of Crashpads, Crew Drama, and Crazy Passengers at 35,000 Feet – I see a lot of flight attendants in the course of a week’s work, and it looks like an interesting, exciting job. Like most jobs, though, it’s not quite what it seems.Author Heather Poole was encouraged by her mother to apply for a job as a flight attendant — the job her mother had always wanted. That first interview was a complete failure, but after college and a few years spent designing watches, she tried again. Her stories of flight attendant training school were really surprising — they are tough on those students! The whole thing seems designed to wear them down and weed out the weak. That’s probably a good thing because the job itself is not for delicate flowers. The hours are long, the schedule is unpredictable and the people you meet are crazy.Poole does a great job of working in stories about crazy passengers and other flight attendants without giving too much away:“I may not remember her name, but on the descent into New York she told me all about her ex-husband, a pilot who cheated on her numerous times with other flight attendants, and whose former mother-in-law is trying to get sole custody of the children using her job against her. There was another man who never told me his name, but I do know his first sexual encounter took place with a man twenty years his senior and now he only has a thing for older men — with red hair. Just like the man sitting in 22B. I couldn’t tell you their names, but I do know they’ll be spending the night in jail because he punched her after she scratched his face for daring to call his wife in her presence as soon as the flight touched ground.”It’s like a soap opera in the sky!And, of course, there are the celebrity encounters for the folks working in first class. That has to be one of the more interesting parts of the job. Poole talks about her time working on a private jet, the rich and powerful men that she met (and occasionally dated) as they were sitting in first class, and there are celebrity stories that read like gossip column blind items:“So, here’s the galley gossip. He was one of the biggest pop stars of our time, and while he wouldn’t breathe the air at 35,000 feet without wearing a face mask, he had no problem scarfing down two first class meals…This actor known for having a thing for supermodels fell asleep with his hand down his pants in first class…The comedian who got kicked off of one of daytime tv’s hottest talk shows asked the pilot not to make any more announcements because her baby was sleeping…A Canadian who shot to the top of the music charts for her scathing lyrics wouldn’t allow a passenger in the window seat to pass by her in order to use the lavatory until quietly meditating with her first.”I was really interested in the stories about the schedules and workload. As much as I travel now and the crazy schedule I keep, hers is so much worse! What they put flight attendants through ought to be criminal. The crazy hours, the backbiting, the competition for good flights — it’s all insane and one of those jobs you really have to love to put up with all of that.This is a fun read for anyone who travels a lot. It gives you a whole new respect for the people serving your beverages (although after what she says about Diet Coke, I’ll feel guilty about asking for it!) and pretzels. It’s certainly an enlightening read for anyone interested in a career in travel. I could have skipped a lot of the stories about her love life and personal life in favor of more travel anecdotes, but it’s generally a pretty good balance.
    • 5/5
      An honest, light-hearted, well-written first book. Easily one of my favorites :-)
    • 5/5
      Absolutely loved this book. Having been a passenger on many a flight I always wondered whether the flight attendants lives were as glamorous as a lot of people often think.I hope Heather Poole writes another book soon!
    • 2/5
      An interesting look at the life of a flight attendant. Could have been a lot shorter, there was a lot of details that were redundant. She had bad landlords and high expectations from here employers - who doesn't?
    • 4/5
      I had just finished Heather Poole's memoir, Cruising Attitude: Tales of Crashpads, Crew Drama, and Crazy Passengers at 35,000 Feet, when the news broke about the Jet Blue pilot who had a breakdown on his flight from New York to Las Vegas. After reading Heather's book, you kind of understood how this happened.Poole began her career on a regional airline, SunJet, that offered a $69 flight from Dallas to Newark, Ft. Lauerdale and Long Beach. The airline was often filled with unattended minors shuttling back and forth between parents and grandparents, and one flight Poole flew had 12 unattended minors. She joked that the planes were literally held together with duct tape on seats, in the galley, etc.She eventually moved on to a bigger airline, and she gives the reader a fascinating insight to the world of flight attendants. The first step was flight attendant school, or as Poole called it 'Barbie Boot Camp', which lasted for two months. Each day, fewer and fewer people would be at school; it reminded me of Demi Moore in the movie G.I. Jane, where recruits would disappear without a word.Poole made a good friend in Georgia, a gorgeous Southern belle who had always dreamed of being an flight attendant. Her roommate was a Texas gal named Linda, who was a grandmother. Heather had her doubts about Linda, but they became friends too.I learned many interesting facts about flight attendants. For example, they do not get paid until the plane backs away from the gate. While you're boarding and they are welcoming you and helping with your bags, they are not being paid. I think that is just plain wrong.They must find crashpads to stay in, usually rented rooms in homes near their base airport. Heather and Georgia lived in a home owned by a Russian cabbie, where they shared a room with four other women, and there were three other bedrooms set up in similar fashion upstairs. And only one bathroom. It sounds almost like living on a submarine to me. (In fact, some people did have a bed-sharing agreement, like a submarine.)There were even some flight attendants who lived in RVs in the employee parking lots at JFK airport.Poole attempts to explain the reserve system, which sounded like the equivalent of hospital residents on-call system, but I didn't quite understand all of the intricacies of it. It is very involved, and the first time Heather was called to work on reserve, she messed it up and almost got fired, as she was on probation and could be fired for any small infraction.In the 1970s, flight attendants averaged 18 months of employment, because they must be single and childless. Today, they last either a few months or an entire lifetime; there seems to be no middle ground.Most attendants take the job for the travel passes; the ability to fly for free or for a very reduced rate. They can also have a few family members or friends fly for free. For the low pay and sometime abusive conditions, I'm not sure it's worth it. (Some of her stories of horrible passengers made me cringe. How can human beings act like that?)Poole is a terrific writer; her book reads like a good novel. She tells her story with humor and pathos, and there's even some tension thrown in for good measure. I raced through the book, and it gave me a new appreciation for flight attendants.One thing she said that stuck with me is that flight attendants appreciate hearing a "please" or "thank you". I think that it is only fitting that I end by saying 'thank you' to Heather Poole for writing this informative and entertaining memoir.
    • 3/5
      Flight attendants - they do nothing, travel around the world and wear nice clothes, right? Maybe people that do not travel think so but the reality is very different and most frequent travelers can tell you so. Heather Poole takes this one step further and gives the story of what it really is to be a flight attendant. Training, the first years, the first flights, the problems, the laughs, the cries - they all are in this book. The life of a fight attendant is not really different from that of anyone else... except that their hours are a bit weird. For at least half the book the author manages to amuse and entertain. And then things go downhill. From the entertaining and funny book that you started reading it turns into a repetitious whine fest. Just how many times should the reader be told that seniority is the most important thing in the profession (after the first 3 times, I was getting annoyed), that international crews look better because they sleep more and wear better clothes (but she had never been part of an international carrier so is this really so or does she see only what everyone else sees), the company she works for and the systems are not very nice (it is called a job - you signed for it, you do it), the money are never enough (yes, anyone that works can say the same), how hard it is these days to get to your base with all the overbooked flights and so on and so on. The details are interesting - the first time they are told. After that it gets really annoying. It's a good glimpse in the life and a lot of the stories are hilarious (and I had seen similar ones occasionally). The inside stories were priceless -- there is so much that people do not even think about and I start wondering how the airline companies do not end up canceling even more flights. But the book could have been made a lot better than it is now.
    • 4/5
      MY THOUGHTSLOVED ITI have always thought that being a flight attendant would be extremely glamorous, with decent pay, but Heather Poole points out that the starting pay is not great, the hours are weird, you never know where you will end up and you pretty much learn to sleep anywhere. I adored the chatty style of the book and the stories are pretty hilarious. She recounts her training which is pretty impressive. The first job she gets is for a discount airline that has since vanished and I couldn't believe some of the details about unsafe the airplanes were for that carrier. Well, that was until my brother showed me a picture taken back in the 70's where there is a piece of plywood blocking the cockpit and the beverage service was an ice chest pushed though the aisle. She recounts how every flight attendant wanted to get that golden ticket for free airfare and just how difficult it was to achieve.I was really impressed that in all the times she has flown, there never was an major disasters except for the passengers. You will never take your seat belt off again after reading about turbulence and how many attended get hurt on the job this way. And then, there is the abuse by the airlines themselves towards their employees. That part was just dreadful. My favorite tale of hers when when the lead singer for her favorite rock band was on board. She didn't recognize him at all and triple checked the passenger list since the guy sitting in the seat was past his prime and looked nothing like her hero. I adore these inside tales so much. If you have read any of the Babylon books, you will truly love this one, even though Poole doesn't name names. Be sure to always be polite to your flight attendants, they have a rough job.
    • 3/5
      Once upon a time, I thought being a flight attendant was a glamorous job. See the world for free and all that jazz. And then I met some flight attendants who, while they love their jobs (most of the time), quickly disabused me of that particular fantasy. Heather Poole's insider memoir Cruising Attitude: Tales of Crashpads, Crew Drama, and Crazy Passengers at 35,000 Feet serves the same function. Like many jobs, being a flight attendant is only glamorous from the outside looking in.Poole started as a flight attendant at a cut rate carrier (now out of business) but quickly interviewed for the same position with a major airline and was hired. She gives the reader a glimpse into the extensive training involved in the job and the ways in which different aircraft require different protocols in terms of safety and also in terms of service. She discusses her fellow new recruits and what they faced as they joined the ranks of the more experienced flight attendants. Large portions of the book detail the expensive and cramped living conditions flight attendants endure living in "Crew Gardens" (Kew Gardens), New York, the abyssmally poor pay, and the stress of being the lowest person on the totem pole and having to consistently work the unpredictable reserve slot. Certainly not an easy lifestyle and one destined to be very hard on a social or personal life. Poole does dish on ill-behaved passengers and the unrealistic expectations placed on flight attendants by some of the more egregious fliers but these stories are short and anecdotal compared to the tales of a flight attendant's lifestyle.The memoir is breezy and conversational and it is clear that it evolved from blog posts as it reads like a string of stories one friend would tell another one about her job rather than a tightly threaded narrative. The chapters jump around from tales in the air to training and back again so it's definitely not a chronological story and the anecdotes contained in the same chapters are sometimes only very tangentially connected. Some of the more technical aspects of bidding trips or seniority or being on reserve were a bit convoluted and not particularly necessary for a layman's audience as they were just confusing (and to be fair, probably every bit equally as confusing for the new flight attendant). But overall the book was humorous and offered cynical-about-the-public me more affirmation that people are demanding, selfish, and generally not nice, especially to anyone working in a service industry. That Poole and her fellow co-workers can keep their tempers in the face of some of the worst ingratitude and unpleasantness is a credit to them. And I'm glad that she can laugh about it in hindsight and that she invites us to laugh about it with her.
    • 4/5
      For someone who “doesn’t read memoirs”, I’ve picked up more than a few this year. This one drew my eye because I enjoy flying, and had absolutely no idea what a flight attendant’s job was like.After finishing the book, I’m fairly certain that I would never want to be a flight attendant. I never would have imagined a super-strict book camp, or the fact that for a long time, an attendant makes so little money they are lucky if they can afford to rent a room of their own, let alone an entire apartment. And we’re not talking about the 70s or the 80s here — when Poole became a flight attendant in 1995 she made $18,000. That number is even lower now, because attendants took a pay cut following 9/11.And it was the lifestyle that I found most intriguing about this book. We also get plenty of stories of crazy behavior, by both passengers and crew, but most of them are nothing we haven’t already imagined for ourselves. The real meat is the life of the flight attendant. She does a pretty good job of explaining the system, but I’m still not sure I completely understand it. The concept of being “on reserve” is ridiculously complicated. Being a commuting flight attendant also seems a bit complex.Overall, I found this to be not only interesting but very entertaining. Poole has a nice easy tone, and she seems like someone who would be fun to hang out with. The one pick I have about the book is that I think it could have been a little better organized. She goes off on a lot of tangents. Entertaining as they are, I think sometimes the reader can lose the theme of the chapter.If you like humorous memoirs, this is definitely one to pick up. I know I’ll never look at a flight attendant quite the same way again.
    • 4/5
      Heather Poole is a very easy to read author. Her light and breezy style takes her reader through the rigors of flight attendant training school and then into the (not so) friendly skies. The book was a lovely diversion from some of the heavier books I have been reading lately and it certainly brought a few chuckles to my day as I read it. Ms. Poole's experiences with discontented travelers are certainly entertaining but I certainly can feel for her as she is mistreated by overbearing and entitled fliers.Having flown in the good times (pre-9/11) and the bad (post 9/11) and in First Class and coach I have seen some of the behaviors she writes about although I have never been so obnoxious as to expect a flight attendant to wait on me hand and foot as some of her stories relate. Anyone with experience in the customer service industry will appreciate the people profiled as Ms. Poole's worst cases.Some of the explanations of how the industry works as to scheduling and the like gets a bit convoluted - I do feel for flight attendants in a way I did not before - and confusing. The break downs are necessary to the subsequent stories but I wonder if the reader confusion is worth the short tale after? I am sure that readers in the industry will be nodding their heads knowingly over the tales of bad living arrangements and questionable co-workers.All in all this was an enjoyable, light read to take my mind from meatier reads. Ms. Poole has an easy writing style and even when she is sharing tales of the worst of her customers she does it with generous warmth. It would be a great book to read, erm while flying. heh
    • 3/5
      Brief DescriptionHeather Poole has been a flight attendant for 15 years (for an unnamed airline) and she's ready to give us the inside scoop on crazy passengers, the disjointed life of a flight attendant, the realities of a crashpad, and what its like to fly the "friendly skies" for a living.My ThoughtsI enjoy books that give you an insider's look at various professions, and the life of a flight attendant is one that was particularly appealing. Poole does a good job of conveying the weirdness and stress that is the life of a flight attendant ... so much so that it made me wonder why anyone would want to have this job. (Free flights, baby!) If you've ever thought that being a flight attendant was a glamourous job, think again. Not only does it make having a relationship next to impossible, but flight attendants seem to barely make a living wage. In addition, the job requires dealing with difficult people in a closed environment under a lot of stress. Still, Poole makes a good case for the career, which provides a host of unique experiences (both good and bad) that give flight attendants a life that is anything but normal and boring. Although the writing is bit clunky at times, the book moves along at a fast clip and focuses squarely on Poole's flight attendant experiences. I guarantee you'll never look at a flight attendant the same way again. Also, If you're considering pursuing a career as a flight attendant, I'd recommend reading this book first as it is very possible you will change your mind.
    • 5/5
      This book was a good read, I didn’t want to put it down, but it’s not a book like Three Cups of Tea where you want to tell everyone you meet that they have to read the book, but still quite the page turner.I give her credit for talking about her co-workers but not in such a way that you would be wondering if the next flight attendant you say was ‘the one that . . . “I must say that hope that I am a person who appreciates people who serve me. I look the busboy in the eye and thank him when he picks up my plate. We tip well, because as one of my sister-in-law says the extra couple of bucks means nothing to her, but probably means a lot to a server (not just monetary.) Servers remember us and that makes the experience even better. You really do learn a lot of stuff about being a flight attendant that you didn’t know previously and if you don’t respect them more after reading this book then I don’t know what to say.
    • 4/5
      If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to be a flight attendant, this is the book for you. The author hooked me right away with her friendly, chatty style. I loved hearing all the details of her career and personal life down to what she wore and where she slept. Although glamorous in some ways, this job is really tough, especially for the newbies. Sometimes I felt the author was far too whiny (which is understandable), but overall, I do recommend the book.
    • 4/5
      I smiled and rolled my eyes at the goings-on of the crew and passengers. The insights into the "backstage" of flight attendants were fascinating. While a breezy read, it was a bit too episodic for me, perhaps because the author was a blogger first. Also, it is obvious this is a new author as the book needed tightening up. There were a lot of tangents. Recommended for those that like reading behind the scenes memoirs.
    • 3/5
      Working in the aviation industry I can sympathize with the working stiffs of the sky. This is an insider’s look at the gritty and glorious world of the flight attendant. Weird things happen in the sky and people are often at the worst when fear and alcohol meet. It’s easy to observe and analyze passengers when you are cooped up together for hours on end. Although the narrative bounces around a bit (dare we say flighty?), it’s in keeping with the energy level that flight attendants have to maintain and project. This is a good read for seasoned travelers, those considering an airline career and those who want to chuckle at or with the sky folks.
    • 5/5
      I don't know how I came upon Heather Poole and her blog. I think I must have stumbled upon it when I was starting to use Twitter. She wrote about air travel and I traveled by air quite a bit, so I figured I can get some cool tidbits. Over time I came to appreciate her sense of humor and the earnestness she put into her work. And I did enjoy peekeing behind the curtains a bit, much as I did with Tony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential.The book is structured chronologically, it is essentially her Flight Attendant career in sequence, from initial training to where she is now, well, actually to where she was a couple of years ago. I think she may have written the book in that sequence as well. The early chapters were a little hard to follow because the writing comes at you fast and furious. The book has a very breathless and immediate quality to it, like your BFF telling everything that you wanted to know. That breathlessness eased and the book got better and better as the later chapters came around. By the end of the book I was riveted to the apges because of the stories she was telling. Believe me, they were pretty juicy stories.Even though I am fully cognizant of the fact that I am getting the Flight Attendant side of the story with regard to the airline industry, pilots, and passengers, it made me very much more aware of the inequities that exists in the airline industry and how little the flight attendants have in their control. the training, advancement, and pre-historic compensation and seniority system is a real shock to the system. The stories of their working condition is on a par with Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. The main difference being that we, the general public has some very unrealistic ideas about the glamour life that the airline employees lead. In addition, the stories about the people that she came in contact with in her daily exposure to the flying public gave me pause to think about all the times that I was irate or short with a flight attendant. I am now sheepishly regretting all the times that I was cross with them. After all, the ethos in the present commercial travel ethos is nothing like that portrayed in Pan Am series. In the post 9/11 world, things changed, some due to the terrorist threats, some due to the economic travails that the airlines were forced to endure post 9/11. Travel conditions now are what traveling by bus was like during the heyday of air travel.But most of the interesting stories come from the pilots, passengers, and other flight attendants that populate her universe. I did not realize that it was such a flying freak show up in the air, but it is. Bad behavior all around, but mostly on the part of the flying public. For some reason, bad behavior seem to be fine with otherwise sane and civilized human being. Perhaps it is the whole ritual of driving to the airport and having to go through that elaborate sequence of security checks before you pass muster to achieve the anointed status of being a passenger. Or it might be the previously exalted status of being able to afford to fly, but bad behavior seems to abound on the airplane. I have even noticed this in my own travels. But the stories in the book are far more interesting than mine.There are also points in the book where the author begin to go down some interesting paths for reflection and rumination. I particularly enjoyed her short reflection on the connections and disconnections that seem to come in great bunches in her line of work, and how easily broken those tenuous threads of connection are for her. I also really enjoyed reading about her thought about her own emotions as well as the forced retrenchment of the airline industry after 9/11. I would have liked to have read more of her own thoughts and opinions, but alas, the stories can't wait. Maybe in her next book.I really enjoyed the book, even though the pace seemed a bit hectic, but then again, that is a pace that one asosciates with air travel these days, so it felt familiar and apropos to the topic. I would recommend this book highly if you needed a laugh and if you wanted to really understand why the great American flying experience is the way it is.
    • 4/5
      Due to the nature of my work and being in a long distance relationship, I travel often. Poole’s storytelling is an enjoyable glimpse into an often mysterious lifestyle for the average passenger. It elicits sympathy and envy at the same time. It is one thing to be in the customer service industry and something wholly different when you are locked in an aluminum bus at 25,000 ft. with the consumer. It was definitely worth the read.
    • 4/5
      When I first picked up Cruising Attitude I did so remembering (with fondness) the male flight attendant who admonished smokers with this, "You are welcome to smoke on this flight. Please do so in the fresh air. There's a spot for you on the right wing."Was this something I just couldn't put down? I thought the writing was uncomplicated and easy and definitely entertaining, but I wasn't obsessed with getting to the next chapter. Was this something that had me spellbound through each and every sentence? Not really. I found it cute, but even snarky at times so it had bite to it. I didn't laugh out loud, but I did giggle on occasion. Did I believe every story? I guess so. There really wasn't a reason to doubt her...or really care if I was duped by a good yarn spinner. I did have a few ah-ha moments as if Poole cleared up a few great mysteries for me. Mysteries I never knew confounded me. Those ah-ha moments were mostly related to airline stewardess behavior - like when they insist on greeting (or saying goodbye) to every passenger using a different phrase. It's like they spent the last hour of the flight reading the slang thesaurus in the bathroom "(buh-bye, so long, see ya, g'bye, so long).My only real "complaint" (and this is a tiny one) is the lack of flow and organization of stories. It's as if Poole is thinking outloud, trying to cram in as much as possible, and as a result her writing jumps around from thought to thought. The best example of this is when Poole dishes on famous and/or wealthy people's behavior in flight. It's two pages of "see if you can guess which celebrity did this obnoxious thing."All in all I liked Cruising Attitude and if Poole's motive for writing it was to enlighten passengers who fly the friendly skies, it worked. I will never look at flight attendants the same way again.

    Book preview

    Cruising Attitude - Heather Poole

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