Trip Tip: Generic Foods to Pack

I recently got tagged (called for a trip) by daily scheduling to work a trip. Easy one leg to JFK (New York), overnight, then work the leg back to CLT (Charlotte)/base the next day. Because I got 2.5 hour notice, I just packed some generic food. I recommend the following when you don’t have time to prep your meals: Cup O’ Noodles, Vienna sausages, and fruit.

 This is really great to pack when you’re in a hurry, and it can be eaten as 2 small meals! Of course, fruit and Vienna sausages are ready to eat as they need no refrigeration or cooking. With the Cup O’ Noodles, you can pretty much have access to hot water just about anywhere – including heating water through a coffee maker. In fact, I’ve heard people talk about cooking food using coffee makers. I’m not brave enough to try that, but I will try heating up foods wrapped in aluminum foil and setting it on the heating element. I’ll let you know how successful that is.

Anyhoo, when I arrived at the JFK gate, a pax asked me if it was the correct gate – as flights sometimes change gates due to many reasons. I confirmed it was to my knowledge, and he hesitated as if he wanted to tell me something else. I encouraged him by asking if there’s anything else I can help him with. He was visibly upset because his flight to CLT was canceled due to a maintenance problem, but they put him on the next flight. This caused him to be 3.5 hours late to a wedding in which he was the best man! He kept talking about how he was going to give US horrible reviews.

I informed the flight crew of his situation as we wanted to make our flight “extra special” just for him! We gave him a goody bag and wrote a note on a napkin that apologized for his inconvenience. We mentioned that we’re giving him a special gift in hopes it will ease his frustration. This put a huge smile on his face, and I even got a hug when he deplaned!

I realize that some pax could be upset, some could be hurting, and some could be having a bad day. Although I cannot fix their problems, I can brighten their day by treating each pax with lots of respect, care, and cheerfulness! I hope our special pax gave US good reviews! 🙂