Announcements: Part Three.
Month Six. Reserve. #SEA.
This morning, I sent an e-mail to the recruitment team at US Airways and American Airlines, in response to their invitation to become a flight attendant for the largest airline in the world.
I turned them down.
It wasn't easy.
My fingers floated above that send button for a good ten minutes. I thought about the higher pay. The luxurious training center in Dallas, where I would take classes at the American Airlines Training & Conference Center campus with hundreds of other eager candidates. How I would train to work on the big, beautiful AirBus 330, the Boeing 767 and the Dreamliner. How I would travel to Paris, Tel Aviv, and Beijing. As my eyes looked over the offer of employment, I though about how the senior flight attendants hugged me when they offered me the job in Phoenix, how they told me how many hundreds of people I had beat out for the position, how lucky I was.
And then I thought about my goals. My dreams.
I want to have a real home, not in Charlotte or Philadelphia, but here in Seattle (where US/AA doesn't, and probably will never have a base). I want to get a set line, not sit on reserve for anywhere from three to ten years. I want to work for a company that I love and respect, not just the first big airline that hires me. I want to be 100% sure before I accept an offer that could change my life.
So I pressed send.
And I breathed. And I looked up from my screen, to the little Seattle coffee shop that I sat in. I texted my boyfriend and made dinner plans. This is my little life right now. It's small, and I might not be going to Tokyo for work yet or sitting in a fancy jumpseat on a jumbo jet, but that's okay.
I know that I made the right choice.
Happy flying!
This morning, I sent an e-mail to the recruitment team at US Airways and American Airlines, in response to their invitation to become a flight attendant for the largest airline in the world.
I turned them down.
It wasn't easy.
My fingers floated above that send button for a good ten minutes. I thought about the higher pay. The luxurious training center in Dallas, where I would take classes at the American Airlines Training & Conference Center campus with hundreds of other eager candidates. How I would train to work on the big, beautiful AirBus 330, the Boeing 767 and the Dreamliner. How I would travel to Paris, Tel Aviv, and Beijing. As my eyes looked over the offer of employment, I though about how the senior flight attendants hugged me when they offered me the job in Phoenix, how they told me how many hundreds of people I had beat out for the position, how lucky I was.
And then I thought about my goals. My dreams.
I want to have a real home, not in Charlotte or Philadelphia, but here in Seattle (where US/AA doesn't, and probably will never have a base). I want to get a set line, not sit on reserve for anywhere from three to ten years. I want to work for a company that I love and respect, not just the first big airline that hires me. I want to be 100% sure before I accept an offer that could change my life.
So I pressed send.
And I breathed. And I looked up from my screen, to the little Seattle coffee shop that I sat in. I texted my boyfriend and made dinner plans. This is my little life right now. It's small, and I might not be going to Tokyo for work yet or sitting in a fancy jumpseat on a jumbo jet, but that's okay.
I know that I made the right choice.
Happy flying!
Must have been hard to turn down that opportunity with one of the "big ones". As you know, they get thousands of apps from would-be FA's filled with the desire to travel the world on their networks. That said, I applaud you for sticking with your desires and goals and making a hard choice. You know what you want and are staying on course for what you want. Also, as a fellow Seattleite, I know how hard it would be to leave this amazing place where we live. Best of success to you and safe travels. Tom
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tom! Yep, Seattle is a tough place to leave. It always feels to good to come home to this amazing town :)
ReplyDeleteI myself have a dispatcher's license (if you've seen my Instagram or Twitter page) and want to do that rather than clean planes for DGS. However, it will most likely mean leaving here if want to work unless I can somehow parlay DGS into getting in with AS. We shall see, Anyway, thanks for the replay, enjoy your pics and blog and looking forward to more. Maybe we will bump into each other one of these days at Sea-Tac. Take care.
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