Neither was Alleghany , but I decided that on my own when I got the letter to come for a preliminary interview at TF Green . They ’ d included a brochure that explained I would train and be based in Pittsburgh . The route map on the back was a series of lines radiating from Pittsburgh all through Pennsylvania and the Ohio Valley , up to Detroit and cities like Binghamton , Albany , and Buffalo in upstate New York . I studied that map and knew that this wasn ’ t what I wanted . Jumping into a fountain in Binghamton didn ’ t have quite the same pizzazz as jumping into a fountain in Paris .
I soon realized that for various reasons other airlines weren ’ t the right fit for me either . Midwest Airlines would have me based in Milwaukee and flying around the Midwest ; Air Florida had routes mostly around Florida ; Southwest flew predominantly in Texas ; and yet another , PSA , flew up and down California . Many of those smaller airlines eventually grew or merged with other airlines and today are still flying .
But in 1978 , I had my sights set on Pan Am and TWA . I wanted to see the world , and they were the airlines that could show it to me .
My father convinced me to interview with United too , because they were a solid company with plans for expansion internationally . Besides , he said , I needed a safe bet just in case TWA , Pan Am , or Eastern didn ’ t hire me . Didn ’ t hire me ? Despite my disastrous American Airlines interview , it hadn ’ t occurred to me that I might not actually get my dream job . My father must have seen the look of terror on my face because he quickly added , “ It ’ s always good to have a choice .” I decided he was right . I liked the idea of living in a big city like Miami , Eastern ’ s home base , or United ’ s home base of Chicago . Their routes , though not as far-reaching as Pan Am ’ s or TWA ’ s , were extensive nonetheless . I ’ d flown to Hawaii with my girlfriends on United the past summer , and the flight attendants , dressed in sarongs and wearing leis , served us Mai Tais and coconut chicken . Honolulu ? Buenos Aires ? Caracas ? I accepted interviews with all four airlines — Pan Am , TWA , Eastern , and United .
Although none of the preliminary interviews for these airlines asked me to walk across the room , they were pretty well all standard : one or two interviewers , often in their flight attendant uniforms , looked over my application and asked very few questions . In ten minutes or less , I was walking back out in my black polyester suit , scarf tied around my neck , and the next applicant was on his or her way in . Unlike the disastrous American Airlines interview , all four of these led to the next phase of hiring .
Eastern Airlines sent me a letter congratulating me on being invited to a final interview in Miami . Tucked inside was a round- trip ticket . If I had any doubts about pursuing a job as a flight attendant , that ticket sealed the deal . Free tickets were apparently going to fall in my lap once I worked for an airline ! I went back to Casual Corner and bought the exact same suit in white with a scarf in tropical colors . I was going to Miami , after all , and I wanted to look the part .
Eastern flight attendants wore bright blue or yellow polyester dresses decorated with a pattern of the airline logo . To me , they all seemed tanned , with peachy or pink lipstick , like girls who spent a lot of time at the beach . Lolling on a tropical beach on my days off sounded fine to me . With that ticket in hand , I knew I could be one of those girls , sipping cocktails under palm trees , driving a convertible , jetting off to South America . When I arrived in humid Miami , I went straight to the hotel — also paid for ! — and met up with other applicants in the lobby . A bus with Eastern Airlines written across it in huge letters whisked us off to corporate headquarters for physicals , height and weight measurements , and tons of forms to fill out .
Although this was my first experience at a final interview , it was consistent with all of my interviews to come — everyone traded stories and tips about who was hiring and how many flight attendants they needed , what different airlines were looking for , like “ All American ” or “ Sexy ” or “ Sophisticated ,” and the different interview practices each had . There was an immediate camaraderie with the other applicants . After all , not just one of us would get the job . Airlines were hiring hundreds or even thousands of new flight attendants . Plus , we had gotten this far because , in part , we were friendly . After just a couple interviews , I began to see the same faces , like seeing old friends .
The tone of the letter and the official business of the afternoon made me feel like the job was already mine . The next morning , we took the bus back to Eastern headquarters and one by one were invited into an impressively large office to have our final interview . “ I love people and I love to travel !” I said . I smiled big . I talked about how much I liked Eastern Airlines . Yes , I answered , I was happy to relocate to Miami or their new base in San Juan .
Then the interviewer leveled a serious gaze at me and said , “ Ann , what will you do if you don ’ t get this job ?”
Don ’ t get the job ? But they had flown me to Miami ! They asked me for my uniform size !
I stuttered and said um too many times . I didn ’ t think telling him that I wanted to write novels would go over very well , so I said , “ Um , I don ’ t know ? Maybe go to grad school ? In English ?” That surprised even me , as I had no desire at all to go to graduate school . I was going to be a flight attendant and have adventures and write novels .
“ That sounds like a good plan for you ,” he said , and I felt like I might throw up right there in that sunny office . Wasn ’ t my plan to be a flight attendant for Eastern Airlines ? On the flight home , I realized I should have said that if I didn ’ t get the job , I ’ d reapply . All I wanted to do was work for them !
Still , I held on to the hope that what had happened wasn ’ t what I thought had happened . I couldn ’ t have flubbed the interview , could I ? A month later my mother called me at college to tell me I had a letter from Eastern Airlines . Did I want her to open it ? Not really , but of course she had to . No airline ticket this time , just a form rejection letter . I remember sitting in the phone booth of the student union and crying .
“ Sweetie ,” my father told me , “ You ’ re just not the type they ’ re looking for . I just know United and the others will love you .”
By then I ’ d had other preliminary interviews and I was already getting second interviews for Pan Am and United and TWA . One of them had to take me , didn ’ t they ?
Excerpted from Fly Girl : A Memoir . Copyright ( c ) 2022 by Ann Hood . Used with permission of the publisher , W . W . Norton and Company , Inc . All rights reserved . �
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