Cruising Attitude: Tales of Crashpads, Crew Drama, and Crazy Passengers at 35,000 Feet

I will preface my review by saying that for the past decade I have flown more than 150 times each year as a passenger; and I have the highest elite frequent flyer status on more than one airline. THAT gives me a unique (and cynical) outlook of books by airline employees. Frankly, most are… less-than-interesting.Not the case here! “Cruising Attitude: Tales of Crashpads, Crew Drama, and Crazy Passengers at 35,000 Feet” is genuinely a well-written page-turner.It is both an interesting story AND incredible insight into the world of flight attendants and their lives. Of the many books by pilots, flight attendants, carrier CEO’s, and even hacking-passengers… this is the ONLY one that is readable AND has real information AND is a GREAT story.It easily could be either a movie OR a textbook OR just a great read.She did a good job of concealing which airline she flies with (though many will deduce it like I did). Nonetheless, the book is SO much more than a mere recollection of any meet-the-public job; because Flight Attendants are the safety personnel charged with protecting us if something goes wrong. The more we know about them, the better.Is there a takeaway from it? Oh yes: BE NICE TO THE FLIGHT ATTENDANTS. (and enjoy the read)

This book often reads like a novel but I leaned quite a bit about the commercial air travel industry. The stories are interesting and often funny. Not a great literary work by any means but definitely an easy, casual read for entertainment. Recommended as such.

The syntax is fairly easy to read and the chapters are a good length. Like most narratives, it has its ups and downs which will be more or less interesting to some readers. I liked the behind-the-scenes information about the professional which was shared--learning about travel tricks, the training, and lifestyle actually helped me understand my flight crew a little better (I fly a lot!).If you're looking for a "secrets revealed" type book or a "everything you don't want to know about air travel" this is not for you. This is really a narrative of the author's career as a flight attendant. It's chock full of tangents, side-stories, anecdotes, and surely some amount of embellishment, but it does give a good deal of insight into the trials and tribulations of a flight attendant. And it definitely is entertaining to read, especially because I've witnessed some of the types of episodes described first-hand. Reliving them from someone else's perspective is quite interesting.Three stars instead of four because some the stories and format are predictable (possibly because I travel so much?), the flow is monotonous. I also found it to be very author-centric; instead of sharing stories of/about others it felt like a one-sided conversations where you just can't escape. Definitely worth the Kindle price I paid, though.

Heather Poole does an incredible job truly conveying the challenges and real side (albeit funny at times) of the lives of those hard-working professionals in the sky. As someone who also flies as crew member professionally (part and full time for the past 13 years), I found her stories to be so hilarious, relatable and at the same time genuinely vulnerable in the manner in which she shared them. This story really was a quick read (I read it while flying as a passenger), it brought a smile to my face and I actually had a few laugh out loud moments.Flight crews regardless of who they work for, all have experienced many similar types of things. I found I could relate to quite a few of her examples including when she shared a story about sitting in the cockpit and listening to an air traffic controller with a heavy accident and she she couldn't understand at all what he was saying. When she asked the pilot how he understood them, he responded to her that he couldn't but flew this route so much that he just knew what to do. Having flown overseas and dealt with foreign controllers, I TOTALLY could relate. I've got my own share of stories involving the fingernails/toenails in the seat backs pockets, dealing with hung over fliers who vomit all over themselves, super phobic passengers and more. (The take away is it amazes me how gross & inconsiderate some folks are when they are on a plane.)So if you're considering a career in the 'glamourous' life in the sky and want the real inside scoop or you're a passenger who really wants to have a better understanding of what some of the 'professional flying nomads' deal with, I highly recommend you read this book!(Oh and sorry Heather if you're reading this, there's no such thing as "pilot tube", it's a "pitot tube", but I'll blame the publisher's for not catching that typo). :P

This book just looked like 'plane' fun (pun intended) and that's what it is - fun. Heather tells some very funny stories that have had me laughing out loud during my commute then she tells some other stories, and I'm kind of like, 'Really?!? That's horrible!'. NO, the editing on this book isn't perfect - she uses the work 'break' when the correct word would be 'brake' - that's what the pilot does when he is coming to a stop; we don't want to read about 'break's on an airplane, those usually mean delays or something worse. Whatever, she's not an English major, nor did I expect her to be - what she is, is funny, endearing, and probably pretty smokin', too. For a humorous read on something that many of us experience on this side of the aisle on a regular basis, this book is the worth the couple of bucks for your Kindle.

Very much enjoyed this book-love hearing about how flight attendants live, and commute. I’ve always thought it was a tough job-but would love the travel!

As a flight attendant, I just loved it!Well written, this book made me laugh and cry!

Love it

Some nice stories.

as a former stewardess, reading this this book gave me such a pleasure. It is written with wit, no self sorrow and describes situations that we probably have experienced as well. It is an eye opener for passengers and maybe this will help to have a bit more understanding about those working for us above the clouds. What does it cost to look somebody in the eye when served something. Who would imagine the hardship that these young idealistic people face, if they are based in such expensive cities as NYC or other big cities. Heather Poole always maintains a distance, never even mentions the company she worked (or maybe still works for) and if she mentions particular people it is still with dignity. It also made me realize how well off we were at the time. Working for a non U.S.A. International carrier, we did not have any of the hardship, like a sleeping pad, she describes and I can only say Bravo. If taken with the right attitude, indeed it is a wonderful profession and still bears many opportunities to widen your horizon.

So. You think the flying attendants are boring standing up front showing you the safety cards? There's so so so much more behind what makes a flight attendant, how they live for their work, how hard the life is even if we as members of the public think they just serve drinks, make announcements and amuse/bore us with their safety demos.I have nothing but admiration for the cabin crew of every flight (it helps that I have some friends who have been in this business for years). It is well worth the read. Heather has summed up some things beautifully.Two great movies that have been described as great companions are  Up In The Air [DVD ] and  View From the Top [DVD ], albeit on a slightly more passenger-central or romantic comedy aspect. Up In The Air [DVDView From the Top [DVD