Monday, December 23, 2013

Confessions of a Hostie: True Stories of an International Flight Attendant by Danielle Hugh

Confessions of a Hostie: True Stories of an International Flight AttendantI liked some of this and didn't like some of it. It's about 50/50. The first half made me laugh or chuckle and was told in a witty manner. I appreciated some of the irritating passenger stories and learning a flight attendant's schedule and how easy it is to get sick and all that, but really, I'm disappointed to say, not much of it really takes place on the plane/s.

She goes on and on about shopping. I got so sick and tired of hearing about her shopping. To be honest, she came across as a snot, especially when she said stuff like this, "I've been to so many lavish and properly organised weddings that had a 50-50 meal choice and missed out on my choice. Yet, these people, with a ticket that costs less than what I paid for my last pair of shoes (Lady, just WTF kind of shoes are you buying? I can pay up to 600 bucks or more when I fly. Middle-class people don't find that cheap.), feel they have been personally victimized if we cannot offer them the beef choice."

I'd like to say that without those "cheap" passengers, you wouldn't have a job or a paycheck. 

She began to come across as rude, stuck-up, and patronizing, as though she looks down on those of us who cannot afford Manolo Blanicks, or whatever they are.

Then it was sex with a pilot and how horrible a dresser he is and how cheap, yet she calls him anyway?

I'd have preferred she stuck to airplane mishaps, passenger incidents, and kept her shopping and sex life to herself. And her clothes--it was like she constantly wanted to rub in what brands of clothing she was wearing. On and on about boots and D&G... I guess you could say this memoir came across as bragging.

I question some of this though. Having worked in the commercial airline industry, I'm familiar with the pay scale. Ten years ago, a brand-new pilot was fortunate to make 15 to 20k a year. Flight attendants can't do much better. Yet she acts as though they are rolling in dough. Um.... I'm confused.

Then she begins to go on and on about a married flight attendant she has a crush on. It felt like chapters were dedicated to this guy when all I wanted to do was get back to the in-flight dramatics. I almost abandoned ship at this point. But then it went to the flight to Hawaii and got interesting again. I had to laugh out loud at some of the things Damien said to passengers.

S0 some of it was good; some of it not so good. I don't consider it a total waste of time. I really enjoyed some parts, but really disliked others. I don't think I'll read book two because of this. 

I think Heather Poole's Cruising Attitude was a better telling of a flight attendant's life. It stuck more to the point.

My favorite part and LOL moment is about "crop dusting".

'You know, when you are out in the cabin and need to fart. Not by choice, but out of necessity. Well, if you let it all out in one go, that could be a problem. So what you do is crop-dusting, you know, just little quiet ones sprayed over a big area. That way even if they smell, the passengers don't know where it has come from and you are long gone by the time they can blame you for it.'

I received this via Netgalley.




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