Cruising Attitude

December 19, 2011
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.

February 15, 2012
Flight attendant Poole serves up a frothy dish of the more mind-boggling aspects of the job in this insider's perspective on the friendly skies. Just don't expect a hard-hitting expose on crew fatigue or safety. She opens with a passenger who departs the restroom in flight while still pulling up his pants and then commences to steal her half-eaten sandwich. From there on, it's all duct-taped seats, broken food service carts, back-biting coworkers, and a new-hire training camp that seems to be an unholy combination of pageants, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, and the most boring college class ever. Discussion of flight crew seniority, mandatory rest periods, and scheduling chaos is trumped by tales of doomed romance and a description of sharing a crashpad with upwards of 60 fellow flight attendants, most of whom Poole never met. Based on Poole's popular blog, this entertaining, gonzo account has reality-television aspiration written all over it.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)