One of the hardest things to do when you have a tough job like mine is to watch your coworkers go through a tough 9 Rounds and you’re not even in the ring.
2023 has been about as unusual as any year in the 2020’s. Total so far this year, I have only flown all of 3 months this year and we are already looking at fall square in the face. Knee injuries have kept me on the sidelines as my colleagues are trudging through what could only be described as entering No Man’s Land during the Battle of Somme, without a proper cease fire in place.
Now granted, I’ve gotten a lot of writing done and I’m making quite a few literary connections… but my flying colleagues have really been through the trenches. Summer flying is always challenging, but this year has been particularly tough. Major storms, computer system glitches, and employee shortages from all the airlines have made this summer in the aviation industry a total mess, across the board. Let’s take a quick look at those who show up every day, and somehow, by the grace of the aviation Gods, make it work.
We can start from the ground up, shall we? … Ramp personnel. Having started my aviation career on the ramp, I can tell you from experience that these are some of the hardest working employees an airline has. They are the bones of this business. They work in extreme weather conditions, lift heavy luggage and sometimes hazardous cargo (and do so in extremely tight spaces), as well as working under very stressful timelines. Ramp personnel consists not only of those who load and unload the baggage and cargo compartments.
But there are also those men and women who work in Catering. Caterers drive around in “airconditionless” trucks all day, and secure that each flight has the correct number of sodas, snacks, and/or food choices for any given flight.
Then there are the Fuelers who deal not only with strict time constraints, but also have to contend with hazardous and dangerous (Jet-A) fuel. The exact amount of fuel must be loaded onto the plane. If too much or too less fuel is loaded, it can be dangerous to the flight. Too much and the plane struggles to take off and/or land… too little and the flight won’t make it to its destination. Don’t even get me started on any fuel spills!
Lastly on the ground, are the Mechanics. These guys make good money… and for good reason, they earn every dime. Imagine if you will, its Sunday and your spouse tells you that the sink in the kitchen is clogged. You confidently tell yourself, ehhh no worries… I can take care of it after church. Yet, it’s going on 8pm (on said Sunday) and by now you have expelled enough swear words over the course of the day, to negate any sort of forgiveness you asked God for while sitting that hour in church earlier that same day. What seemed to be an easy little adjustment has now turned into an all-out war. Enter the Aircraft Mechanics. They get a call from our Operations office with a simple light switch issue… 4 hours later they have the entire overhead panel laid out in the flight deck and no closer to figuring out why that “no go” indicator switch just simply will not work! Then only to find 3 more all new issues while trying to fix that pesky switch. These are some of the most intelligent men and women in the business… but sometimes that quick fix is a project of Jurassic proportions and takes on an entire life of its own. Someone should catalogue all the faces a mechanic makes during any given repair ticket.
Let’s move on inside, or into our gate and operations, area…
There are the Cleaners who charge onto the aircraft the second it arrives at the gates in order for the plane to be cleaned and ready when the gate agents are ready to board. There are days these cleaners get more than they bargained for when they arrive. Days, for example, when flights are, shall we say, bumpier than usual. These cleaners get the exciting responsibility to clean up that which our system purges during turbulent flights. Not to mention, those seats where parents have allowed their children to leave crushed goldfish and cookies in the seats and on the floors. I have seen these cleaners have to scrub for fifteen minutes because a parent allowed their sweet angel to put stickers all over the walls, windows, seats, and tray tables. I remember clearly the look on one particular cleaners face when she walked through “first class” no less and found that one parent felt it would be a good idea to allow their child to play with glitter during the flight (for the record… GLITTER is NOT OK). Now please keep in mind that “children” are not the only culprits here… I have seen full grown adults show as much home training as animals in the zoo, and cleaners have come onboard, looked around at the mess, and asked how many kids were on the plane? … for us to look them squarely in the face and reply… “Umm, none.”
NEXT, are the Gate Agents… I have also had this job before and trust me when I say, the company I work for is one of the largest in the world and yet, it does not have enough corporate money to pay me to be a Gate Agent. Nope! No way!! Not only are they responsible for making sure each and every flight gets out “on time,” but heaven forbid that flight is delayed, or worse … cancelled! I have seen some of the worst of humanity in airport gate areas. I have told a few agents before that there is a special place in heaven for gate agents.
And then there are the Operations workers… Imagine, if you will, a bicycle wheel. The spokes are all the different areas of the daily aviation operation and that round center, which all those spokes are connected to, is Operations (Ops). Now… make everything roll along smoothly when several of those spoke’s break, bend, or heaven forbid, impact any of the other spokes. These “Big Picture” individuals are who make any airline function and are the ligaments to the Ramp’s bones.
*** Next, we look onboard the aircraft itself and those who endure getting those sometimes angry and hostile passengers from point A to point B. But … THAT is a an entirely different story and one worthy of its own post.
And with that said, I am going to simply say… TO BE CONTINUED, see you next Sunday.
Donna Fera
AuthorDonna Fera‘s writing invites readers to explore unknown worlds alongside courageous heroes as they face thrilling challenges and uncover hidden secrets. With a Bachelor of Arts in History and Anthropology from University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Donna is able to take her readers on amazing journeys that draw upon her background in research and learning practices. Combined with her experience in the airline industry and special projects, Donna creates stories that captivate readers with their combination of organizational detail and customer service resolution. Join Donna on this remarkable journey!
