By Susan Friedenberg

As a flight attendant, I can honestly say that contract flying is the most difficult and most challenging aspect of flying. It is probably the most rewarding too. My journey to becoming a contract flight attendant for business aviation aircraft was not a direct one. I started flying for American Airlines based in San Francisco over 30 years ago, and I flew for them for seven years. Later, I flew for the supplemental carrier Capitol Air. While I was flying I would sit on my jump seat while taxiing and notice other small jets on the airport. I wondered, Who did these jets belong to? Who were their passengers? Did they utilize a flight attendant? Finding out became my new quest in life.

I was living in San Diego at the time Capitol went out of business, and I found myself quizzing pilots and talking to people about flying on business aircraft. My search was on, and I was sure that with all my experience with people and with my emergency and first-aid training over the last 15 years, this would be easy. I was very lucky to have met the chief pilot of a San Diego-based flight department that had a Gulfstream II. He introduced me to his chief flight attendant, Joy, who spent a few days with me on their aircraft. Before long they had connected me with a Falcon 50 operator out of Van Nuys and I was again living my flying dream.

I freelanced in California and then on to Atlanta as a full-time contract flight attendant with Coca-Cola Company. Later, I was hired by Dupont Aviation and moved to the north, where I enjoyed a great three years as a full-time flight attendant with a wonderful department. In 1994, I became a downsizing statistic, much to my dismay. I learned that no matter how secure you think your job / position is, at any point in time you can go from a full-time flying position to a contract person.

So, who is the contract flight attendant?

As a contract flight attendant, on a day-to-day basis I find myself interacting with the many specific corporate cultures and personalities of a corporation - the CEO, his corporate family and personal family, the aviation manager, chief pilot, chief flight attendant, dispatcher and maintenance chief. In any given month, I am on several aircraft, all configured differently with different amenities and systems. Some of the galleys are flight attendant friendly and some are not. While full-time flight attendants find themselves in the same environment each time they fly, the contract flight attendant is always acclimating and adjusting to a new workplace environment.

Each flight department has different SOPs and philosophies that one must adhere to, and various subtle roles for their third crewmember, so as a contract flight attendant I am routinely challenged in a career that has absolutely no routine. Therefore, when I am asked who the contract flight attendant is, I can only answer: A very brave person walking into an unknown variable who is innovative, extremely resourceful and resolute at best.

Why would a business aviation flight department use a contract flight attendant?

• Their full-time flight attendant is either on vacation, over crew duty limits, ill, on personal leave, or in emergency / first-aid training class.

• Their aviation department only uses contract flight attendants.

• Their department is flying on a Part 91 certificate without a flight attendant but also has a Part 135 certificate, and they must have a third crewmember in the cabin.

• They only use a flight attendant onboard for international trips or just for customer trips.

• Their department uses a contract flight attendant as part of an international crew change point as an augmented crew operation.

• Their company only uses a contract flight attendant when the passenger count is over a specifically stated amount.

What are some of the questions an aviation manager / chief pilot should ask a contract flight attendant prior to utilizing his or her service?

• When were you last through emergency and first aid / defibrillator training? (Obtain copies of all training certificates.)

• Are you experienced on our type aircraft?

• Do you have culinary skills and are you good with food presentation?

• What is your daily rate for international, domestic and stand-by days? Do you have a cancellation policy?

• Do you have a daily rate for extensive aircraft shopping / stocking prior to a trip of great length (international / road show)?

• Do you do aircraft consulting work for newly delivered equipment and what is your daily / weekly rate for this work?

• Do you have a current passport?

• Are your immunizations current for specific travel?

• Do you carry a paging device / cellular telephone?

• Do you have a current aviation ID card, such as Universal, Air Routing, or IBAC?

• Do you have reliable transportation to and from our facility?

• Do you have a "to go galley kit" equipped with galley amenities (if the company has just had its aircraft delivered)?

• Do you speak a foreign language (if applicable to the company's operation)?

• Do you have a credit card for travel expenses until reimbursement?

Other recommended requests or discussion topics during an interview include:

• Ask what the flight attendant feels his or her primary responsibility is as a third crewmember, and see if it is compatible with your aviation department's mission.

• Have the flight attendant go onboard your aircraft with you and give you an emergency briefing, pointing out the operation and usage of all emergency equipment, doors, window exits, etc.

• Request three to four references from the flight attendant's past employers in the aviation industry (flight departments for which he or she has worked).

• Discuss your department's in-flight dress code and preference.

Contract flight attendants enjoy contract flying for several reasons. I can say for myself that it is very much like a blind date. You hear about someone, you make the call and set up a date to meet. You meet, and there seems to be a chemistry, so you fly the trip. If it all goes well, you go out again and continue to explore the possibilities and develop a good strong professional relationship. It either works or it does not. If it works you have a long-standing client, and if it does not work out, you focus on the positives of the relationship, take responsibility and an honest assessment of what worked and what did not. You brush yourself off and find another date. It's like a box of chocolates. You never quite know what you are going to get!