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flight attendant

Joy

Flight attendant sits on the floor the entire flight to comfort distressed passenger

“He explained every sound and bump.”

Courtesy of Molly Simonson Lee

Flight attendant sits on floor to comfort passenger

Not everyone enjoys flying. The level of non-enjoyment can range from mild discomfort to full blown Aerophobia, which is defined as an extreme fear of flying. While flying is the quickest way to get to far away destinations, for some people being that far off the ground is terrifying and they'd rather take their chances on the ground.

A passenger flying from Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in North Carolina to JFK International Airport in New York confronted that fear while flying with Delta. The woman, who is currently still unidentified expressed that she was nervous to fly according to Molly Simonson Lee, a passenger seated behind the woman who witnessed the encounter. Tight spaces don't make for much privacy, but in this case, the world is better for knowing this took place.

According to Lee, who posted about the exchange on Facebook, the Delta flight attendant, Floyd Dean-Shannon, took his time to give the nervous traveler his undivided attention. Lee told Upworthy the unidentified passenger, "was very nervous and even before the plane took off, she was visibly shaken by each sound."

Approximately 25 million people in the United States have Aerophobia according to the Clevland Clinic and most of them probably wish Dean-Shannon was on their flights. "He took notice and began explaining what each [sound] was, with the warmest, calmest tone," Lee said. That wasn't even the most amazingly sweet part of the story.

While the explanation of noises helped, Lee said about halfway through the flight the passenger was fighting back tears, which prompted Dean-Shannon to sit on the floor and hold the frightened passenger's hand. He comforted her for the rest of the flight while sitting on the floor. "His tone was so kind and soothing," according to Lee.

Dean-Shannon's kindness didn't stop there. Lee explained, "the woman next to me was celebrating a birthday and he sang to her and made her a 'cake' with all of the goodies he could round up."

I'm not sure what Delta pays him but he needs a raise immediately and it seems the people of the interwebs agree.

Commenter, Miranda Anderson, tagged Delta Airlines and wrote, "I hope you see this! These are the types of people that deserve raises and make your company worth flying with. This is what pits [sic] you above the others so show these employees this is what you want and what you need."

"I love this. This is what society is lacking. Empathy and kindness towards people in time[s] of need" wrote Diane Lawrence.

While Mary Beth Acker Ford, said, "I was on a flight with him today. He exudes joy and is intentional about making a connection with each person!"

This level of engagement with passengers is not a common experience but clearly people are happy to see this type of connection between humans. Flying anywhere can be stressful for any amount of reasons. From leaving the house late and having to participate in an involuntary 5k to catch your flight, to making your way through the devil's backyard, also known as Atlanta International Airport...just for them to change your gate 10 minutes before boarding.

So having a flight attendant like Dean-Shannon is just the breath of fresh air people need. "The way he's looking at her...letting her know she's safe!!! This is just one of the many reasons I will always fly Delta Air Lines," Liz Martin wrote in the comments.

"It was obvious he is just a good, kind soul who shares that generously with everyone he encounters. Such kindness is rare and a true gift when encountered," Lee remarked. That level of kindness is rare indeed and we sure are happy someone thought to capture it.

This article originally appeared on 01.19.23

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Pop Culture

Nervous flyer? Flight attendant reveals her top tips for calming down

Her viral TikTok video shares brilliant tips on how to calm yourself during airplane turbulence.

Photo credit: Canva

It can be hard not to panic when you're being rattled around thousand of feet in the air.

Next time you’re on a flight and experience turbulence, remember this solid advice from 23-year-old Rhia Kerr. She is, after all, a flight attendant.

Kerr, a flight attendant for Irish carrier group Ryanair (according to the New York Post) went viral on TikTok after sharing how you can calm yourself during turbulence.

The video shows Kerr seated mid-flight, as the words “Turbulence is a sudden shift in airflow and can be felt as jolts or vibrations inside the aircraft,” appear onscreen.

@rhizzlemynizzlee Mild turbulence, an everday occurrence! #fearofflying #turbulence ♬ Viva La Vida Coldplay sped up - Discord: olmac16

“When we experience turbulence, naturally our brains can’t comprehend being out of control and the sensation of falling can cause our brains’ fear response center to send a distress signal into our brain,” she continues.

Even though our brains don’t know how to handle the situation, Kerr attests that—despite what horror stories show up on the news about random plane malfunctions—aircrafts are “designed to withstand worse conditions” than turbulence.

Breathing Exercises for Flight Anxiety

But if trying to reason with your amygdala proves unsuccessful, Kerr suggests breathing exercises. The Calm app apparently has an entire section dedicated to this, as well as a couple of different methods listed on its website you can do before the light, or whenever mid-flight anxiety pops up. Check those out below:

Deep breathing

Deep breathing encourages full oxygen exchange, helping to slow down your heart rate and stabilize blood pressure, thereby reducing stress and anxiety.

How to practice:

Sit or lie down in a comfortable position.
Place one hand on your chest and another on your abdomen.
Inhale deeply through your nose, allowing your diaphragm to expand (your abdomen should rise higher than your chest).
Exhale slowly through your mouth.

Breath focus

Breath focus combines the benefits of deep breathing with mental concentration, creating a focal point that helps draw your attention away from the anxiety and onto something positive.

How to practice:

Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths.
As you breathe, focus on a particular word or image that brings you calm.
Visualize that word or image as you inhale and exhale.

The 4-7-8 breathing technique

The 4-7-8 technique forces your mind to focus on counting and your breath, diverting your thoughts from anxious triggers. The longer exhale acts as a natural sedative.

How to practice:

Close your mouth and inhale through your nose for 4 seconds.
Hold your breath for 7 seconds.
Exhale completely through your mouth for 8 seconds.

Alternate nostril breathing

This technique promotes balance and unity of both sides of the brain, contributing to calmness and mental clarity.

How to practice:

Sit in a comfortable position and close your eyes.
Close off your right nostril with your right thumb.
Inhale through your left nostril.
Close off your left nostril with your right ring finger and release your right nostril.
Exhale through your right nostril.
Repeat, alternating nostrils.

Enhanced Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)

This method combines physical relaxation with deep breathing, helping to reduce muscular tension that might accompany anxiety.

How to practice:

Begin by tensing up a group of muscles as you breathe in, such as your toes or fists.
Hold for a count of 5.
Exhale and simultaneously release the tension in your chosen muscle group.
Work your way up (or down) your body, focusing on each muscle group on the way.

Kerr also advises listening to calming music (binaural beats can be great for this) fastening your seatbelt and closing your eyes.

And while trying to mitigate panic is important to avoid hyperventilating (“which will make you feel worse”) , she says that you should absolutely press the call bell to get help when needed. Don't suffer alone. And it’s probably wise to notify the staff before take-off that you might need some extra assistance.

Bottom line: Turbulence is normal. It doesn't mean that “the aircraft is going to fall out of the sky” and, perhaps most importantly, “the crew onboard are trained to handle it.”

“You are in very safe hands,” Kerr concludes.

So safe in fact, that it’s worth reminding yourself that as far as statistics are concerned, the safest travel possible is 30,000 feet in the air on a commercial airplane.

And if you need one more stress relieving tool up your sleeve, there’s a lot to be said about pretending you’re in jello.

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Joy

Flight attendant gets entire plane to write down bits of marriage advice for bride-to-be

She'll never forget this moment.

@southwestair/TikTok

Watch this and infuse some joy into your day.

A bride-to-be was recently en route to Austin with a few of her gal pals to celebrate her bachelorette party. But little did she know that she’d be getting a cherished memory long before she reached her destination.

A flight attendant for their Southwest flight announced over the PA system “we have royalty onboard,” and that this woman, Bri Kunkle, would soon be married.

“She is quite the princess,” the attendant said before asking the other passengers for a favor.

“I need a little help from every lady on the plane that is married or has been married. I’m going to walk up and down the aisle, and I’m going to give out a napkin,” she instructed.

“Get out a pen or something to write with, share amongst yourselves, if you would take a moment to write a little note of encouragement or piece of advice. What was something you would like to have known before you became a bride? If you could write that down so that I can pass that off to her, and she can hold on to those for a long time to remember this specific trip.”

In the clip, we see an emotional Bri receive her stack of sweet paper notes, along with a crown and snack sash.

@southwestair Its giving ✨princess bride✨ @bri kunk #feelgood #goodnews #bride #bridetok #bachelorette #southwest #celebrate ♬ Positive background music such as play and games(1251730) - earbrojp

Then the video ends with a look at the insightful messages she received.

“Before you say ‘I do’ make sure you know who you are as an individual, so you can grow together as patterns in life, in a healthy way. Congrats and enjoy the ride,” one note read.

Someone else wrote, “Marrying your best friend is such a special moment. Congrats! Remember to enjoy the little things with your partner! It’s you both against anything, and as long as you attack life together with kindness and honesty you’ll succeed. I wish you a lifetime of happiness. Now go have fun!”

Many spoke to the importance of appreciating the little things and communicating openly…but also remembering to avoid difficult conversations until hunger, anger, loneliness, or tiredness have subsided. As one person put it, “it’s okay to go to bed angry.”

There were even a few bits of pragmatic advice for the big wedding day, like this one:

“Have you MOH hold a tissue for you during the ceremony so you can gesture for it if you need to wipe away tears. And plan all you can beforehand, but on the day, just relax, enjoy, and bask in marrying your person! Congrats!”

The wholesome video was originally posted to Southwest Airlines TikTok account, and reposted by Kunk herself, who wrote in her caption “my heart is full and now I have to go make a scrapbook of these.” Over in the comments section of her accounts, many viewers swooned over how this special moment encapsulated the magic of “girlhood.”

“Something about all these women's handwriting makes me feel so emotional. The young, the old, the way the old women all added the date. I love women. What a special moment with a bunch of strangers,” one person shared.

Well said. Kudos to the flight attendant who gave this future bride a memory she’ll cherish forever.

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Democracy

How fed-up flight attendants paved the way for women in the workplace

The Stewardess Rebellion changed way more than just the airline industry.

Wikipedia

Stewardesses from the 60s

Of course there are more glass ceilings to be shattered, but a ton of notable progress has been made for women in the workplace—from actively addressing sexual harassment, to lessening the gender pay gap, to providing better maternity support and access for women to start their own businesses.

And to think, we can largely thank a mass stewardess rebellion for that.

Back in the 1930s, when the few career options available to women were domestic in nature—like teaching or secretarial roles—working as a flight attendant, aka stewardess, promised a more glamorous and exciting life. A chance to see the world, one flight at a time.

However, the job wasn’t all perks. Airlines capitalized on advertising the stewardesses as sex objects, even using highly suggestive marketing campaigns where stewardesses would all but outright say they were available for sex work. Companies would also exclusively hire young (we’re talking 27 as the cut-off limit), unmarried, white women with specific body measurements to promote their elite luxury image.

The strategy worked—by the 1970s, there was a huge increase in ticket sales. But stewardesses were fed-up with discriminatory labor practices, and became one of the first groups to band together to push for change. Using Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, these women were able to not only transform the airline industry, but help women in other fields take-off as well.

Gleaning from books “Femininity in Flight: A History of Flight Attendants” and “The Great Stewardess Rebellion,” as well as personal accounts from the revolt, the video created by Vox below gives a quick overview of this often overlooked chapter in feminist history.

Please buckle your seatbelts.

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equality

flight attendant

Flight attendant sits on the floor the entire flight to comfort distressed passenger

“He explained every sound and bump.”

Nervous flyer? Flight attendant reveals her top tips for calming down

Her viral TikTok video shares brilliant tips on how to calm yourself during airplane turbulence.

Breathing Exercises for Flight Anxiety

Deep breathing

Breath focus

The 4-7-8 breathing technique

Alternate nostril breathing

Enhanced Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)

Flight attendant gets entire plane to write down bits of marriage advice for bride-to-be

She'll never forget this moment.

How fed-up flight attendants paved the way for women in the workplace

The Stewardess Rebellion changed way more than just the airline industry.

A story about two pairs of boots illustrates how rich people get richer in ways poor people can't

Psychologist shares 15-second trick to make kids of any age less rude and more cooperative

Surprising 16-year-long ADHD study reveals opposite of what researchers expected

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This researcher asked kids what's wrong with U.S. schools. Here are their ideas.

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