Fall 2013
If you love to travel, working for an airline is to one of the best ways to do it. Employees put on a uniform and a smile to greet a revolving planeload of passengers, but off-duty, they and their families travel at generous discounts or with passes. The opportunities and flexibility of a flight crew job offer domestic and international horizons far overreaching those of a 9-5 office job.
“If you want to fly a lot or a little, and have seniority with the airline, you can job-share your monthly schedule,” says Renee Kirkes. A flight attendant for 14 years with Continental Airlines, who merged with United Airlines, Kirkes is married with two young daughters. She is generally gone one or two nights week, working a circuit that takes her from Houston to Chicago to Seattle and home again. “The job keeps me sane. Moms don’t get enough credit for being at home, but with a 10-hour layover, I get to recharge,” Kirkes says. “I feel appreciated and have the best of both worlds.”
Work, Family, and Travel
Kirkes occasionally orchestrates her schedule to work a round-trip flight from a destination, while enjoying the weekend layover with her family. About a recent trip to Washington, D.C., she says, “The girls could travel and see exactly where the president lives.” United Airlines schedules a month in advance, so employees can trade or give away trips to keep preferred hours. Still, leaving her family is hard and a typical day is long.
As part of a flight crew, Kirkes’ job is first and foremost about people. When a customer is cranky, Kirkes hopes to turn it around. “I enjoy putting on my uniform and going to work in customer service,” she says.
Caring for Others
Yvonne Mathews is also in her 14th year with United Airlines. As a former police officer, she thought becoming a flight attendant would be a big career change. But it is still about caring for others. “This job truly taught me how to treat people,” Mathews says. “You can’t judge them; you don’t know why they’re on the plane. It’s not always for fun or business.”
Mathews also delights in the flexibility of her job because she was able to take time off to care for her father, who had a stroke last year. She works one or two times a week on turnaround flights, but prefers two- to three-day trips, where she can explore a city. “Hotels and other airlines offer great discounts, and you meet hundreds of people a day from all walks of life,” says Mathews.
“People think we’re just pouring cups of coffee or playing Tetris with their bags to make them fit in the overhead bins. We’re trained extensively in medical and other emergencies,” Matthews adds.
Safety Trumps All
As a corporate pilot for a private company, Karl Sheltz, Jr. agrees the passengers’ safety is paramount. “It’s always our first consideration,” Sheltz says.
He was born and raised in Cy-Fair and became a professionally licensed pilot in 2008. Sheltz finds balancing time away from his home life easier through technology – like FaceTime, email, and Skype. His love of flying makes work seem more like play. “The best part is not having to work for a living,” Sheltz laughs. “Flying for a living is the perk.”
In private aviation, his responsibilities include last minute travel. Sometimes, it begins with a cell phone call and a few days’ notice. To prepare for a trip, Sheltz says, “I do the flight planning, perform calculations and review the weather.” He may fly a turnaround to Colorado or Wyoming or a junket to Boston or New York City, making sure to have a few days of downtime to visit a new place.
Full of Possibilities
Sheltz says training and planning is involved in his work with yearly intensives for emergencies. Though passengers are focused on their destinations, pilots and flight attendants are focused on passenger needs and preparations for that journey, to ensure all arrive safely. For the customers and the crew, flying is most often fast, fun and full of unlimited adventures.