Flight Attendant Stress: Keeping Cool on the Plane

Aug. 18, 2010 — -- What's with all the yelling and screaming on airplanes these days? Yes, I'm talking about the alleged extreme bad behavior by JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater -- the cursing of a passenger, that dramatic exit down an emergency slide, beer in hand -- but I'm also talking about nutty passengers, too (and more on that coming up).

Flight attendant John Safkow knows all about the craziness; he's been flying professionally for 20 years (though he'd prefer not to name the airline he works for). According to Safkow, air travel today "can be a miserable experience for everyone."

As for the JetBlue incident, the flight attendant says it gives the public a glimpse of the cabin crew's reality. "I'm not saying that we're all ready to grab two beers and do the Slater Slide, but we all have our stressors and limits," Safkow said. "Some handle them better than others."

He suggests this kind of stress can only be cured with "balance" in one's life, and Safkow finds his balance by working with gorillas.

That's right, gorillas. Safkow has another job, working a few days a week at the Gorilla Foundation outside San Francisco, where one of his charges is 39-year-old Koko, the female ape famous for sign language.

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Wait -- a flight attendant and a gorilla? Sure. "You'd be surprised how soothing and relaxing caring for gorillas can be," Safkow said. "We'll play 'chase' or I might sing a song for Koko and she 'signs' that she's listening."

Hey, whatever works. Clearly, flight attendants and passengers need something to soothe them. As one anonymous flight attendant who works for American Airlines recently told me, part of the problem is that flight attendants today are the "human face" of the airlines and it often seems as if that face is forever saying "no."