On The Runway
May 5, 2020
Welcome to our very first blog! We are very excited to have been given this opportunity to have a space to share our experiences about travel tips, general lifestyle, and being Flight Attendants and Makeup Artists. In case you have no idea who we are, we are Grace and Teresa. A quick blurb about us, we are Professors at Seneca College and we teach in the Flights Program. We are also Flight Attendants for Air Transat (for the last 19.5 years and still going…). We were initial training roommates and we formed a strong friendship through that experience. We have been best friends ever since... “Sisters from another mister”. LOL!
We are so fortunate to be able to work at both Seneca and Air Transat and share our experiences and crazy stories.
Back to our blog, we thought long and hard about what our first article would be about, and it dawned on us…people are most curious about what is in a Flight Attendants’ bag! Whether we do a turn or a layover, what’s our ‘ride or die’ items we keep with us at all times. Teresa volunteered to show us what is in her bag and we wanted to show what the guys bring, so we enlisted Professor Peter to show us what he carries in his bag.
Take a sneak peek into these bags and perhaps you can use some of these ideas in your bags or your future Flight Attendant bag!
Teresa (left) and Grace (right) - January 2001 During Initial Training - AC: Lockheed L-1011
Teresa’s Bag
Peter’s Bag
What’s in the Crew Bag?
Galley shoes: An absolute MUST! If you plan on being a Flight Attendant, FLAT shoes are a lifesaver. We change into these after take-off and work in them until landing. Don’t try to be a hero…get them and you will thank us later for this tip. True story: on our first flight, both of us thought we would work in our heels the whole flight no problem. WRONG!!! Next day we bought flat galley shoes.
Running Shoes: Once at destination, our feet are aching. We may have worked a 15hr duty day. Comfortable sneakers are the best shoes to travel with. They work with a variety of outfits, easy to walk around the city in, and most crew hotels have a workout room/gym. Runners are the choice closed shoe for most crew - most versatile.
Sharpie: It’s not a requirement, however when we are doing the galley position, we can write on the canister’s stickers. It just makes it easier to read vs. a pen. It also comes in handy when we have to write out luggage tags (the luggage handlers appreciate the bold marker).
Emergency Layover Clothes: There is nothing worse than an unexpected layover with NO CLOTHES! We always bring something to suit where we are flying to. Try to find clothes that do not take up much space in your carry-on luggage (example: jeans). If you don’t pack clothes, you might be wearing a bath towel to dinner with the crew. Happened to Grace - true story.
Toiletries/Makeup: We often refer to this as our SSK (Supplementary Survival Kit, LOL!). This rule follows with the unexpected layover situation and it also holds all our lipsticks for the flight. We try and find travel size or fill-up travel bottles. Nothing over 100ML!!! Don’t try to pack items larger than 100ML- security will find it and throw it away. Teresa lost a bottle of Chanel fragrance because it was over 100ML. But she made sure she got her last 50 sprays in before they threw it out. The whole airport smelled like Chanel, LOL!
Extra Nylons: Keeping nylons ‘run-free’ is a challenge on a flight. We can’t tell you how many times we have walked past shoes or a jacket with Velcro on it or got stuck on a canister door. Extra nylons will come in handy. Insider tip: nude nylons camouflage runs more effectively than darker nylons.
Extra Work Shirt: Keeping an extra fresh clean shirt in your bag will prevent you from doing the dreaded laundry in the hotel bathtub. There is nothing worse than being exhausted after a long day and hand-washing your shirt/clothes in the sink or tub of hotel because you only have the ONE shirt. We recommend packing white shirts in zip lock bags with a fabric sheet - it will keep it laundry fresh and white for months.
Laptops/iPad/Power bank/Adapters/Chargers: It’s 2020! We need to stay charged up and connected in every country. Or perhaps a quiet night in your room with Netflix and room service is more your style. PRO TIP 1: if you forget your charger/adapter, ask the hotel. They have a box of them from clients that have left theirs behind. FACT. Some hotels even have built in USB plugs by the bed. PRO TIP 2: When purchasing charger cords, buy the longest one. We have 20ft long cords in our bags. Sometimes the closest plug is on the other side of the room.
Swimsuit: Who wants to go swimming in your uniform? Not us! A swimsuit can pack up really small and takes up barely any space in your carry-on luggage. Always have one in case - you never know if you’ll get stuck in Mexico!
Sandals: Having a pair of flip flops in your carry-on will prevent you from buying a pair at the hotel gift shop for $50 USD! Another true story. LOL, smh.
Emergency Medication: Is there anything worse than a really bad headache at work? Or the onset of a cold during the flight? All Flight Attendants carry a baggie of (over-the-counter) pills to make sure they can make it through the flight pain-free. Recommended: Decongestant! Nothing worse than sinus/ear pain upon landing!!!
Flight Attendant Apron: We can honestly say after galley shoes, this is another ESSENTIAL item. The apron will save you from spills, drips, and explosions (especially from tomato juice cartons). The apron is also another layer of warmth on those cold aircrafts. The apron is machine washable; the uniform is NOT. So, the apron will keep your uniform clean longer, and fewer trips to the dry cleaners. The apron has also been used to cover up any uniform mishaps - uniforms tend to rip in the most ‘rated R’ places during the flight, LOL! Always good to have it on hand to keep you covered up.
We hope you have enjoyed reading our first blog! We look forward to writing about more fun topics! Stay tuned…
Stay positive and stay safe. XO ❤️ Grace and Teresa
