Things are Getting Weird…

Okay.

Hmm.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to write about this, but…things are getting weird, and a little writing therapy sounds comforting right now.

In April 2023, I spent $47 to fly from Tokyo to the US, and it was just so incredible. Can you imagine the high of getting to fly internationally for that cheap? I was able to do that because I’m a flight attendant. My family flew separately from me because they do have the same flight benefits on other carriers as I do as a flight attendant.

I returned home from that trip and told Saign that I kind of wanted to try again for another airline…one in which my family would also get to fly from Tokyo to the US for just the $47 taxes.

I thought Saign would say “absolutely not,” because training takes me away from the family, and because I wouldn’t be guaranteed a base in SEA, and because losing seniority will hurt, etc, etc, etc.

To my surprise, Saign didn’t tell me I was crazy! He said, “Do it!” He pointed out that the whole point of this job are the flight benefits, so I might as well get the best flight benefits that I can.

In October, I got a conditional job offer with a big airline.

There are many reasons I think this is the right choice. Here are a few: 1) International flight benefits for my family (as discussed above). 2) I truly believe that I will be working for the best carrier in the US; the airline that I am switching to offers a great product, and since I like to do things well, it will feel really really good to me to be able to feel that I’m offering the very best to my passengers. 3) Variety. One of my favorite parts of this job is that it changes every day. New passengers. New destinations. New crews. New experiences. With a bigger airline, I’ll get more variety, and that is very appealing to me. 4) I don’t have much faith that my current airline will be growing and thriving they way that I think it needs to to stay alive and relevant in the years to come.

Oh wait. Yesterday many of these factors got ROCKED. Yesterday, my airline announced that they are acquiring another airline. An airline that flies to Asia. An airline that flies widebodies.

OH.

Maybe my airline is going in a direction I like????

I’m a little…rocked…at this point. I still think my new airline is the right choice.

But I’m heartbroken about leaving my family for 7 weeks to go to traning.

I’m very legitimately worried that I won’t be based in SEA at first, which means more time away from my family as I would commute by airplane to work.

And now I’m wondering if my airline might be changing and growing in such a way that it might become the airline that I’d prefer to be with in 10 years.

Maybe?

Maybe not.

At this point, I’m fairly certain I am switching airlines, but…things are weird right now.

NOTE: Airlines have very strict social media policies, which is why I have never mentioned the name of my current nor future airline online, and I never will!