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

by Heather Poole

Overview

Real-life flight attendant Heather Poole has written a charming and funny insider’s account of life and work in the not-always-friendly skies. Cruising Attitude is a Coffee, Tea, or Me? for the 21st century, as the author parlays her fifteen years of flight experience into a delightful account of crazy airline passengers and crew drama, of overcrowded crashpads in “Crew Gardens” Queens and finding love at 35,000 feet. The popular author of “Galley Gossip,” a weekly column for AOL’s award-winning travel website Gadling.com, Poole not only shares great stories, but also explains the ins and outs of flying, as seen from the flight attendant’s jump seat.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061986468
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/06/2012
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	392,675
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Heather Poole has been published in The Best Women's Travel Writing 2010. Her regular online column, "Galley Gossip: Confessions from the Jumpseat with Heather Poole," has received more than two million views and is featured on AOL's award-winning travel website, Gadling.com.

Table of Contents

1 Plane Crazy 1

2 I Never Wanted to Be a Flight Attendant 12

3 Barbie Boot Camp 26

4 Welcome to New York 51

5 Prepare for Takeoff 67

6 Unhappy Holidays 85

7 Cruising Altitude 99

8 Love Is in the Air. Sort Of. 118

9 Life on the Ground 128

10 Flying Freak Show 148

11 Dating Pilots 164

12 Marry Me, Fly Free! 178

13 Turbulence 193

14 There's No Respect Flying Domestic 215

15 I'll Never Quit! 232

Acknowledgments 261

About the Author 263

Editorial Reviews

Much more goes into being a flight attendant than most people think and Poole, a flight attendant and popular blogger, gives readers the hilarious nitty-gritty details of a life spent in the sky. Starting out at the now defunct charter airline Sun Jet after college, Poole never considered being a flight attendant as a career option. But at her mother’s urging, she applied to a major airline, was hired, and has worked steadily ever since, surviving the rigorous training camp run with military precision (one false step could send you packing) and soon found herself at her first cabin service. Equally fascinating are Poole’s tales of what happens in the hours between flights, particularly in the cramped apartments known as “crash pads” that are more akin to dormitories than real living spaces, where the houses’ rosters are constantly in flux. Based out of New York, Poole describes a series of hilariously unappealing “pads” in Queens—chosen because of its proximity to JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark airports—and her fellow flight attendants, not to mention their often unscrupulous landlords. The snapshots of testy—or downright bizarre—travelers’ exploits ring particularly true because Poole doesn’t inundate the reader with so many that they all blur together. Whether you’re a frequent or once-a-year flier, there’s something for everyone in this witty tell-all. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

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

“[An] insider’s perspective on the friendly skies . . . [an] entertaining, gonzo account.” — Booklist

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

“Fun airplane reading.” — Washington Post

“Poole knows what her readers want[:] juicy tidbits about celebrities (she delivers, with no names but sometimes enough description that you can figure it out), to know if flight attendants ever date passengers (yes) and the dirt on whether pilots are as skeezy as they sometimes seem (yes and no).” — Denver Post

“Heather Poole is the fly-and-tell queen of the skies.” — Los Angeles Times

“A charming and funny insider’s account of life and work in the not-always-friendly skies.” — Huffington Post

From the Publisher

Poole knows what her readers want[:] juicy tidbits about celebrities (she delivers, with no names but sometimes enough description that you can figure it out), to know if flight attendants ever date passengers (yes) and the dirt on whether pilots are as skeezy as they sometimes seem (yes and no).

Denver Post

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

People

Fun airplane reading.

Washington Post

[An] insider’s perspective on the friendly skies . . . [an] entertaining, gonzo account.

Booklist

Heather Poole is the fly-and-tell queen of the skies.

|Los Angeles Times

A charming and funny insider’s account of life and work in the not-always-friendly skies.

Huffington Post

Fun airplane reading.

Washington Post

Heather Poole is the fly-and-tell queen of the skies.

Los Angeles Times

[An] insider’s perspective on the friendly skies . . . [an] entertaining, gonzo account.

Booklist

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

People Magazine