Back at the office

That first flight after a holiday is probably much the same as going back to your office after some time off. Only our office is a plane and the job is to bring the flight to a successful conclusion.

I’m pretty sure that those first moments back at work are the same for almost everyone. On your way to work you’re still a little in that holiday mood, taking it easy and wondering why other people seem to be in such a hurry. Don’t they notice what a beautiful day it is?

After entering our crew centre, it’s a matter of only a few minutes before I return to reality. The bustle of colleagues reporting, greeting each other before rushing off to briefing rooms or heading back home after their flight overwhelms me for a moment. Until I realise that KLM’s business went on as usual while I was away: flights just left and returned as always, not bothered by my absence at all.

Heading to the gate, I wonder if it really was only two days ago that I was enjoying those lovely tapas on a terrace in the shadow of a pine tree in southern Spain.

That first flight after a holiday usually brings a little stress with it too. A holiday seems to make the routine of packing my suitcase disappear quite fast. Normally I pack it ‘on autopilot’, but today I had to actually think about what to bring, knowing I always forget something on these flights.

I still have a vivid memory of my first flight after my last winter leave. Having arrived in snow-covered, freezing Montreal, I realised I didn’t bring any suitable footwear. After struggling back from breakfast just one block away from the hotel in my working shoes, I had to ‘de-ice’ my feet in the bathtub. So I re-checked my suitcase carefully before leaving this morning.

Only then did I notice my handbag...I’d already locked my front door when I realised that my passport was still in the jacket I was wearing on the flight back from Spain. ‘Just in time’, I sighed, while I re-entered the house. Only then did I notice my handbag on a table in the hallway, containing all the other stuff I would most certainly need on this trip. I thanked my guardian angel while leaving the house again, wondering what I would discover that I’d forgotten this time when I arrived at my destination.

Caroline

Posted by:   Caroline  | 
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Crew84

Welcome back Caroline :)
I love to read your posts and to discover new things about being a flight attendant.

Greetings from Italy

MKTRAVEL1

CAN ANYONE HELP?  U.S. IMMIGRATIONS HAS ASKED THE STATION MANAGER AT JFK TO GIVE AN ACCURATE DEPARTURE MANIFEST FOR JUNE 18 2011 ON KL# 644. WHEN PRESENTED IS WAS WRONG TWICE!
WE HAD 3 MERCHANT MARINE WHO LEFT ON KLM#644 AND KLM STAFF CANNOT PROVE THAT THY LEFT.  THOUGH THEY ARE ALL AT THEIR DESTINATION. WHO DO WE CALL

KLM

Hello MKTRAVEL1,

We will dive into your question an will get back to you asap!

Brgds,
KLM

Crew84

Welcome back Caroline :)
I love to read your posts and to discover new things about being a flight attendant.

Greetings from Italy

MKTRAVEL1

CAN ANYONE HELP?  U.S. IMMIGRATIONS HAS ASKED THE STATION MANAGER AT JFK TO GIVE AN ACCURATE DEPARTURE MANIFEST FOR JUNE 18 2011 ON KL# 644. WHEN PRESENTED IS WAS WRONG TWICE!
WE HAD 3 MERCHANT MARINE WHO LEFT ON KLM#644 AND KLM STAFF CANNOT PROVE THAT THY LEFT.  THOUGH THEY ARE ALL AT THEIR DESTINATION. WHO DO WE CALL

KLM

Hello MKTRAVEL1,

We will dive into your question an will get back to you asap!

Brgds,
KLM

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