But as time went on, we melded into the system well. It was grueling working the very long hours required, due to shortages of flight crews. FAR's are bare bones rules that simply keep you from collapsing with exhaustion. That was all the protection we had from a company who was struggling to recover from the mad “fare wars” brought on by deregulation. For a mere $900 per month - we worked most everyday 12-14 hours a day. Unions weren't sounding too bad at this point in time.
Due to drastic infrastructure change in the airline industry - we rarely were on time, only most of the time went where we were originally scheduled, and lucky if we got home the same day our work schedule stated. We were flying out dated equipment, which frequently had “mechanical” delays to secure the flight for safety. I never did quite understand why people were so upset that we wouldn't take off until we ascertained the flight worthiness of the aircraft… Hmm... I was as inconvenienced as anyone and not getting paid any more for the delay - why take it out on me. I wanted to get home as much as they wanted to get to their destination. Tough to figure out the mentality of people sometimes.
One of the most vivid examples came on a “turn” we were scheduled to fly from Houston to Miami. A turn simply means you go out and back the same day. We were always advised to carry extra clothes and supplies, “just in case”. But this day I didn't heed that wise counsel and left home with only my flight manual, apron and in flight shoes.
We boarded the plane as usual and traveled to Miami on a DC-10 with roughly 250 passengers on board. Landing in Miami was uneventful and thus we rounded up the Houston bound crowd and took off on our one hour and 30 minute flight over the Gulf. Shortly after take off, while safely secured in my jumpseat, the plane started shaking and vibrating immensely. The four pink bell symbol went off indicating an emergency and my aft facing jumpseat became the target of all eyes on board. I just shook my head and shrugged my shoulders. I truly did not know what was happening. It was frightening as people's eyes were watery and fear was evident on their faces. I was no source of comfort or security as I was clueless as to the events taking place. Soon my jumpseat phone beeped and I answered. No need to fear - our starboard engine had just taken in a seagull and were going to be circling the Gulf to dump fuel and return to Miami.
Appropriate announcements were made to calm the passengers and we made preparations for an emergency landing back in Miami. All seemed to go well until we landed in Miami only to find that another DC-10 had the same problem we did, so roughly 500 passengers were now stranded in Miami and the Pam Am hub had an airline strike in progress.
As the priority is to get passengers out first, all rebookings were prioritized with their needs in mind. We got to stay with the plane until a new engine could be shipped from LAX to MIA. What ensued was utter chaos. They finally situated us in a hotel, realizing this wasn't going to be a “turn” any longer. Airline rules state that while on duty you must remain in uniform and technically we were still “on duty”. Besides most of us did not bring a change of clothing anyway. We were not to be seen out and about in uniform, so we were confined to our room. Thus, some with money went and bought clothing to wait out the storm, until our engine arrived. Most think it would be grand to be stranded in Miami! I guess it would have been except for those pesky rules that confined us to our rooms.
Three long days later, we were finally ready to leave. Most of our passengers had left days ago so the plane wasn't too full. To lighten the mood of all involved, the crew opted to throw caution to the wind and invest in some t-shirts to wear on board - an absolutely forbidden policy. Flight crews must be in FULL uniform at all times when the flight is in route. We just couldn't resist the colorful t-shirts splattered with bird dung stating “DAMN SEAGULLS”. It was too appropriate and certainly lifted the spirits of all.
Even though the flight didn't land in Houston until 2 am, we were all relieved to arrive at our destination, safe and sound. The passengers deplaned and as we were gathering our belongings to go home, the Captain announced that we would be taking another DC-10 to Acapulco as soon as we got off the plane. That plane had experienced some mechanical issues and in the delay the flight crew became “illegal” to fly as they had been on duty too long. Since we had three days to bask in the sun of Miami, we were legal and could thus escort this plane full of inebriated (they comp'ed liquor to pacify the angry crowd) to the pacific coast of Acapulco at 3 am.
