Working the Skies: The Fast-Paced, Disorienting World of the Flight Attendant (Paperback)

by Drew Whitelegg (Author)
Key Phrases: flight attendant mode, flight attendant moms, seat therapy, Safety Checks, In-Flight Entertainment, The Layover (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Using interviews with more than 60 flight attendents, Whitelegg puts together a highly readable study of the perils and perks of working the friendly skies. Structured around the typical flight sequence-departure, safety checks, in-flight entertainment, cruising altitude, etc.-Whitelegg highlights the dangers involved (from accidents to terrorism) as well as minor nuisances (disrespectful passengers, coworkers) and those persistent gremlins, fatigue and disorientation. Whitelegg's interviews reveal anecdotes funny and dramatic, as well as thought-provoking points of contention like the disconnect between attendants' actual roles as safety officers and airline honchos' insistence they adopt the role of a friendly host. Even more interesting is Whitelegg's look at the sexist "Coffee, Tea or Me?" stewardess stereotype in light of the immense freedom flight attending now provides working mothers and other women: "There is no other female-dominated profession in which women spend so much time away from home." Whitelegg occasionally overreaches with unnecessary fabric-of-the-universe commentary ("Our lives are shaped by space at the same time that we, in turn, shape space"); his study of a singular profession flies ably on its own.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
In his new history of flight attendants, Whitelegg, of the Emory Center for Myth and Ritual in American Life, seeks to provide a balanced inquiry into the lives of these long-overlooked professionals. Through copious oral histories gathered in personal interviews, readers learn of difficulties at home caused by airline work schedules and of attendants' endless struggle for respect. Whitelegg may overly sympathize with his subjects, leading to exaggerated comparisons between the safety duties of the cabin and flight crews, and his crediting the flight attendants' union with instigating fundamental changes made to the FAA seems a far reach. There is no need to inflate the significance of his subject. The flight attendants speak well for themselves, sharing a wealth of interesting, entertaining, and dramatic anecdotes. Their personal stories and the window Whitelegg opens onto women's lives in aviation, combined with analysis of specific acts of courage in accidents and crises, including 9/11, and a straight-ahead history of the profession are rich enough to satisfy the most curious reader. Mondor, Colleen --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 291 pages
• Publisher: NYU Press; annotated edition edition (June 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814794084
• ISBN-13: 978-0814794081
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #540,557 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Glimpse Into A Privileged Work Condition, April 26, 2008

By	Cathy L. Wood (Honolulu, HI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Whitelegg has written an accessible account of the fight attendant profession for those in the airline industry, travelers, and academics. As a flight attendant for nearly 22 years now, I know how airlines manage workers through fear and intimidation. The fact that Drew Whitelegg does not work in the industry and was still able to solicit candid responses from interviewees alone is a great feat. My labor contract states that a flight attendant can be terminated for talking disparagingly about the airline! It is understandable that some respondents had to size him up to determine his true intensions and for whom he actually works.

Most accurate in his portrayal of flight attendants is the cost-benefit decisions made daily, which often hold "lifestyle" over wages and benefits. I continue in this profession because I love my lifestyle--my job is my identity. This, however, doesn't mean that I accept continuing discriminatory practices, labor and management conflicts, abuse from passengers, and harm caused by extreme cuts to labor, but flight attendants are left with little choice when labor unions, in many ways, have a history of complicity in the commodification of labor.

Many books about or even by flight attendants are anecdotal at best, and a sociological perspective long overdue. I suspect that those who choose not to read this book do so because they wish to keep flight attendants firmly as a retro icon of servitude, rather than acknowledge us as safety professionals. No one should feel disposable in their job, yet soon after 9/11 a pilot told me just that: "Put your body between a hijacker and the flight deck door--you are disposable."

I hope those who read this book look differently at your cabin crew the next time you fly. We are human and have the right to make a living just like anyone else whether we are aging, overweight, married, or have children. This book is a must read and I also recommend "Femininity in Fight" by Kathleen M. Barry.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an easy read, and I really enjoyed it, September 4, 2007

By	Feminist Review blog "various writers" (worldwide) - See all my reviews

In Working the Skies, Drew Whitelegg takes the interviews and study of a multitude of flight attendants and creates a readable, enjoyable tale of the perils and possibilities flight attendants face. The book is part psychology, part history and part cultural study with plenty of personal tales from retired and active flight attendants. The majority of flight attendants are women, which places the job in a unique historical and social context.

Commercial flight became popular and accessible during the 1950s and 1960s. Originally, flight attendants were registered nurses to allay any health and safety concerns by fliers. It also became a respectable way for women to "escape" the house and have jobs.

As flight became safer in the 1960s, with pressurized cabins and other improvements, airlines began using the attraction and sex appeal of their flight attendants. The exotic destinations and glamour of air travel was celebrated. The author makes the case that there is currently nostalgia for this glamorous ideal of the flight attendant's world that is at odds with the demands and hazards of the job.

"Space-out" was an often-repeated phrase/concept used by the author. Flight attendants in the capacity of their job are able to create a separate world from their home world. This gives them a particular freedom of autonomy and self-expression not as available to other women, working or not. The excitement and freedom that the job allows flight attendants in the "space-out" is countered by the guilt that many flight attendants with children and those in a relationship. It's a complex issue combining cultural and social norms of what a woman should be for her children and partner with the affects of the job on the psyche along with the enjoyment of being able to "get away."

The airlines are painted as worried more about bottom-line then the lives and concerns of flight attendants: shorter layovers, less staff, a return to the "sexy" flight attendant imagery of the past that causes a "squeeze-in" where freedom becomes restricted. It's worth noting that most upper management staff are male, compared to the female-dominated flight attendant staff.

Working the Skies is an easy read, and I really enjoyed it. After reading this book, on my next flight I will be paying more attention and respect to the flight attendants I see.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sociology of the Sky Workers, February 11, 2008

By	Dr Cathy Goodwin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This book intrigued me because of my lifelong fascination with careers, career choice and career change. I am also a fan of Arlie Hochschild, the sociologist who drew our attention to emotional labor. And I used to travel extensively and talk to the flight attendants. (More than once I've been asked, "Are you sure you didn't fly? I can't believe you know this!")

So I was predisposed to like this book and mostly I did. I like the author's sociological approach, placing the attendants' work in a broader context of managing space and time. The book reads like a novel. If I were still teaching I can imagine assigning the book for a "sociology of work" or "work life balance" class.

However, after awhile I felt the author needs to introduce a healthy dose of economic reality. The book emphasizes the negativity of the job: low pay, long hours, health-threatening (and sometimes life-threatening working conditions) and more. But let's get real: ever since the jobs opened up to women, the airlines have gotten so many applicants they can afford to be demanding, selective and even unreasonable. When demand exceeds supply it's a buyer's market, i.e., the airlines are buyers and flight attendants (like all workers) sell their labor.

For some reason, most of us have no trouble understanding this idea in the real estate market but we resist applying the idea to the labor market. To be sure, as a society we want to protect workers against unsafe conditions. But whether we're talking about entry level editorial assistants, movie production assistants, adjunct professors of liberal arts or flight attendants, we need to recognize that people get paid more when their skills are scarce and/or in high demand. That's why janitors and house cleaners often earn a higher hourly wage than, say, preschool teachers and yoga instructors.

Second, many flight attendants loved (and continue to love) their jobs. Read Elliott Hester's book, Plane Insanity. I remember talking to one attendant: after complaining about her job, she said, "I have too many neat privileges to give up flying."

Back in the early days of the 40s, 50s and 60s, flight attendants did conform to stereotypes and fantasies. But you have to compare their careers to the available alternatives. Watch the video The Best of Everything to get a reality check down Memory Lane. Southwest began as the Love Airline. But the author fails to note that today's Southwest attendants wear khaki slacks or hiking-style shorts with sneakers and socks. They wear letter sweaters during football season. Not exactly seductive!

True, media often glamorize the flight attendant profession. True, the "Coffee Tea or Me" series seems bizarre, especially today. But the Gwyneth Paltrow movie actually is a very funny satire (anybody else notice the uncanny resemblance to the Cinderella story, dwarf and all)? The book and movie Catch Me If You Can depicts "stewardesses" very respectfully: many came from strict religious backgrounds and most resisted the pseudo-pilot's charms.

Finally, as in many studies of occupations, unions are presented as heroes and saviors. True, unions may have helped remove weight and other petty restrictions. However, one flight attendant told me, "They don't always help. Sometimes they make deals, where they'll help one person and not another." I have no idea if that's common or accurate perspective. But I have heard first-hand stories (mostly from management) in other fields, describing some pretty amazig deals with the unions.

In the end, the book comes across as an insightful glimpse into a profession that has fascinated outsiders since the early years of passenger flying. I would like to see a more balanced view but this book will be a welcome addition to the publications on the sociology of work.