Up Up & A Gay: A Flight Attendant Blog (travel, humor)

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Up Up & A Gay: A Flight Attendant Blog , by Bobby Laurie.

WEB ADDRESS: http://upupandagay.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Travel the country through the eyes of a Flight Attendant. UpUp&AGay takes you along for the ride through turbulent skies, rude passengers, funny situations and anything else that happens a long the way.

MY REVIEW: I enjoyed this blog. It's written by a flight attendant, and I think all flight attendants will be able to relate to it and enjoy it. Travelers can enjoy it too, because you get a glimpse into the world of the flight attendant and some idea of what goes on behind the scenes.

Despite the title, the author doesn't focus on his sexuality - to date what I've read is all about the trials and travails of being a flight attendant only. He's out and proud, but it's his work that's the focus of the blog.

(If you visit the website itself, you can check out a book he's written, called Planely Speaking. Looks like fun, also)

Sample post

Perk of being a Flight Attendant: Bags

Trying to get home from work today was such a hassle. I landed in San Francisco at 10:45am, but there was no way for me to get home. All of the non-stop flights from SFO to Phoenix were sold out, as were the flights from Oakland but there was one flight from San Jose that might get me out of the Bay area.

Now, usually, when I non-rev in uniform I don’t have to adhere to the “1+1″ carry-on rule that the TSA put in place. For those not in the US, all passengers are allotted one personal item (laptop bag, purse, etc) and one carry-on (rollerboard, duffel bag).. this is supposed to apply to off duty crew as well, but no airline enforces it.

When I got to San Jose, I got to the gate and asked for a jumpseat form. The agent looked at her computer and said “well, stranger things have happened” shaking her head no, conveying the message that I wasn’t going to make it. I filled out the form and stood close by anyway.

I got called. Just as they called my name they announced the overhead bins were full and they had to start checking bags. As crew, I hate checking bags. I need my things to go to work and if they get lost.. I’m headed up the creek without a paddle. As she handed me my boarding pass, another agent was printing out checked bag tags for about 20 people. She told me to board and the agent there would “tag your bag.”

So, I walk over to board, and hear “uh uh uh uh.. You didn’t listen to me! I said, no more bags!” As I turned around, she saw my wings.. and quickly said “Oh! I’m so sorry! Let me get you a gate claim tag.” She tagged my bag to be delivered back to me in the jetbridge. Oh course some passengers saw this, and were upset.. to which the agent who issued me my boarding pass said “well, he’s crew — he’s treated differently.” She then turned to me, winked, and said “have a good flight.”

Thanks US Airways for taking care of me today.. and my luggage. With the condition of the airline industry and how our companies are treating us lately, every small perk and “act of kindness” to each other really counts and goes a long way.

RECENT POSTS:
--People Watching at the Airport
--Flying as a Passenger
--Day 5 of 6
--Non-Rev Jinx
--Perk of being a Flight Attendant: Bags

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Ms. Cairo writes several blogs including:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space SciencesTopical Murder and Dated Death