What makes a great airline?

As I reminisce the Amsterdam trip of 1999, and the Europe trip (centered around Germany) just a month ago, I have some thoughts worth reminiscing over, and it's something I must remember as I try to carry the proper attitude of a flight attendant into Sarah.

"Come fly the airline that's uniting the world.

Come fly the friendly skies."

- United Airlines slogan, early 1990s

When others see this photo, they see a United 777 taking off from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. But to me, it means more - the end of the worst international trip of my life, and the return of sanity. After putting up with the ethnic thugs of Amsterdam for a week, the mere sight of a United tail at the airport was a relief. I vastly preferred sitting in that plane, listening to some Melissa Etheridge, being served by a top-notch crew in a state-of-the-art plane, and knowing that I would never, ever have to deal with the Surinamese barbarians around Damrak ever again.

And it wasn't just this trip. Throughout the 1990s, United was my strongly preferred airline. It partly had to do with a few other key travel memories (for example, flying to Mariah Carey in New York, AND her huge fan base in Seoul, all on United, in 1994), but just as important was knowing that I was flying on an airline well known for quality service, professionalism, and a spirit of innovation. I was well aware of United being involved with the Boeing 777 development program, in particular, and when the 777 did come online, I made sure to get on one for my first Atlantic crossing. Flying United was more than about frequent flier miles; for me, it was a decision about pride and feeling good as well.

Unfortunately, the Amsterdam trip would be the last time I would truly get that proud feeling by flying United. The mismanagement since then, including the bankruptcy, has truly hammered the airline, and it will take a long time of consistently good management decisions before the glory is ever restored.

"There's no better way to fly."

- Lufthansa slogan 

However, I am happy to know that I have gotten that proud feeling back. The trip to Germany a month and a half ago was on Lufthansa, on an Airbus A340-600 like this. This was my first-ever journey on Lufthansa, and while Lufthansa is nowhere as posh as some of the top-notch airlines such as Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, or Asiana (my recent favorite), its level of professionalism is second to none. The Germanic obsession with order and professionalism carries straight into Lufthansa, its equipment, and its crew. The inflight announcements are designed so that I know exactly what to expect, when I land in Munich and try to enter Germany, or when I am coming back to Los Angeles. (Thanks, in particular, for letting me know that if I have a German name with an umlaut over a vowel, I must delete the umlaut and add an extra E after the vowel in question, otherwise the US immigration can't process my I-94 or I-94W.)

Lufthansa crew are also extremely well-trained and professional. Again, they are not as friendly as the Asian crews, but they know what they're doing VERY WELL. And as for the airline itself, it is a pioneer - it is well associated with the Boeing 737, the upcoming Boeing 747-8, and the Airbus A340 series - and its sound management and healthy balance sheets have enabled it to continually invest and innovate, including the expansion of Miles & More frequent flier program, investments in Swiss Air Lines, Austrian Airlines, and JetBlue Airways, and keeping the entire Star Alliance well managed. Choosing to fly an airline of this high caliber makes me feel good, and I surely felt good aboard Lufthansa. In fact, I had never felt so good about my airline choice since those United 777s of the 1990s. (Not even the posh Asiana service to Korea and China could quite bring back that proud feeling...)

I still hold the airline industry in high regard, considering its potential to bring different peoples and cultures together for a more harmonious world. And I know a quality airline when I see it. Most importantly, a quality airline can inspire a great sense of pride, both in customers and in employees. This is a feeling that I must carry into Sarah, as I certainly want her to be the kind of flight attendant that United needs in order to be that quality airline again. And for that matter, having this sense will help myself whenever I am sending notes of compliments, suggestions, or complaints to United, Lufthansa, or any other airline that I fly on.

Tenth anniversary!

Yesterday was the tenth anniversary of Sarah's first-ever service as an international flight attendant at United Airlines, and I did not let it go by unnoticed.

Sarah worked Flight 930, the midday nonstop from San Francisco to London Heathrow, on December 2, 1999. That also was the very flight that had started my third European journey, taking me to Amsterdam and Cologne, and that's why I made that very flight Sarah's first international stint. I have very warm memories of that flight, because it was the only chance for me to see the Northern Lights, and because it was the only good part of the most miserable international journey of my life. In particular, having one inflight audio channel play only Melissa Etheridge was priceless - I've since always referred to United Airlines as "the dyke-friendly United" even to this day.

I want Sarah to narrate her experiences on this flight in a way only a nervous transwoman, a baby dyke, a newly minted flight attendant, and an aviation fanatic ever can. Sarah will be receptive to the various sounds in the plane - and while I had her describe the drone of the Pratt & Whitney engines, I now want her to specifically identify the engines as the PW4090, the model used to power United's long-range 777s. She will also note that most of her Economy passengers are British and European rather than American. And of course, there must also be the apprehension over trying to enter the UK with a passport that correctly identifies her as Sarah, but still insists on identifying her as male.

Much of my plans for the novel slipped away due to long-term inactivity. I need to re-plot how I want to approach the novel. My intention to write this as a memoir of Sarah's flight attendant work, and womanhood, remains stronger than ever, but I need to constantly refine this approach, especially since I now have last month's European experiences to add to my cultural resources to draw from.

Hoping to resume writing sooner than later!

Trans developments

During and after my European tour, I was practically unable to blog at all - or write any new material for Sarah.

But I must now note some key developments in the trans community:

• Los Angeles Times sports commentator Mike Penner, who had changed his identity to Christine Daniels and started living as a woman, committed suicide last weekend. While Penner/Daniels was a top-notch, sharp-witted sports commentator and enjoyed full support of the Times management, the rampant level of machismo and hatred in the sports world was too much to handle - and even reverting to the male identity was not enough, and life became too overwhelming.
• I was in San Francisco, again, during the weekend as well - and ended up having some great time with local trans activists. One was San Jose-based Nori Herras-Castaneda, who works tirelessly to help LGBTs and HIV+ folks in Silicon Valley; she also has the greatest husband any woman can hope for, and the three of us had a great lunch. The others were longtime BFFs Paula Santos and Louise Kastro, whom I had first met during the Pride weekend. Louise is a nurse, while Paula works in the San Francisco city government and has done a lot to advance the trans cause in San Francisco. I value all three as friends, especially due to their high intelligence levels.
• Just last night, I attended a fundraiser for Dr. Dana Beyer, a distant Facebook friend of mine from Maryland who is running to become the first openly transgender state-level legislator nationwide. I loved her eloquence on Facebook, and again last night in person. Dr. Beyer also informed me that another transgender professional, Amanda Simpson of Tucson, Arizona, has also made history by being hired at the US Department of Commerce; having known of Amanda's public coming out at Raytheon and over the Tucson TV airwaves back in 2001 first-hand, I am very moved at her progress as well. In fact, Dr. Beyer is helping out with making arrangements for Amanda's move to the DC area.

While the death of Christine Daniels is a sad news, I am happy to be connecting with the community again - and that is an inspiration for me to resume my writing. If Dana Beyer and Amanda Simpson can advance the trans cause with politics and government service, I must pitch in with my own contributions - though that will be literary and linguistic rather than political, and that's the way I like it just fine.