WestJet Christmas Miracle: real-time giving

This is how every company's PR must roll. :) By far, this is my favorite videos about companies doing it right for their customers and of course, for their branding, image and PR.

I will remember WestJet and hopefully, I get to fly with them to feel how they value their best assets, the customers and the staff.

Please watch and prepare to be teary eyed.

A Jamaican Holiday

I have been hoping for our company to add a flight in Florida so my family and I can have a side trip to Jamaica. I have heard so many nice things about the country and its pristine beaches. Not to mention the amiable people in the island.

Some of my colleagues have been to Jamaica and seeing their pictures made me list Jamaica in my one of the places I need to visit before I leave this plane. There are jamaica all inclusive packages available for airline staff so we can get good rates. Fortunately, I am an airline staff and I can find good rates if my family and I decide to visit Jamaica.

To Travel Soon

I was supposed to go to San Francisco with my hubby and daughter today for the long Eid holidays but due to lack of time and not to mention funds and leave credits; I had to bail out.

I just dropped my hubby to the airport an hour ago for his flight and I really, really wanted to go. Sometimes I ask myself, why I am always stuck here when I can go? The answer always boils down to lack of leave credits. I wish I had many!

One might wonder why at this time of recession, we can still have the opportunity to travel. Answer to that is because we get discount airfare being airline staff. We only pay minimal fee for the ticket price. Also, we get rebate tickets from other airlines and avail of their cheap flights too.

There is a downside to being a staff too. We get very low priority in check-in because of our ticket cost. Most of the time, we even get bumped-off in preference to a paying customer. Well, I have had my share of bump-offs and I am certainly used to it.

Working in the airline industry is probably the best for people who is on the go and likes to see the world like we do. We get many travel advisory from other countries and offers on various destinations guide. We may not be paid well as compared to other companies but combining all the free and discounted ticket fares and special airline staff rates on most destinations and hotels, I think it is really worth it!

So, I may just travel again this January to New York. I have always dreamed of seeing snow so that time will be the best time to travel during the cold season. Anyway, I love cold weather! Big Apple, here I come!

I Landed a B777

I just landed a B777 yesterday. I had a feel of what it was like to be in command, to give orders to my First Officer (who is my boss by the way *wink*) and flying a commercial B777 aircraft!

I love to be in the airline industry. I get to have nice perks like traveling, meeting pilots, giving orders to our pilots, and flying a B777. Wow! I never thought I would be on the Left Hand Seat (where the captain sits) tinkering on the buttons and levers, adjusting speed and altitude, maneuvering the aircraft until I got it leveled.

You must wonder how I got to fly and land a B777 huh? Well, it was not the real deal but I was given the chance to do it in a B777 simulator. My boss had fun giving me all kinds of weather impediments: snow, rain, thunder and lightning, fog, and the famous sandstorm of the Middle East. I even had to avoid mid-air collision because of traffic. There were too many of those big whales (A380) in the air. Whew! That's what you call pushing tins!

It was fun! I got to be a Captain of B777 for once in my life even if it was in the simulator. See the photo slideshow...

Travel Plan Ahead

Is it New York, Houston, San Francisco or Los Angeles? The reason I am asking this is because I am an airline staff and my family get discounted airline tickets with the least priority in check-in. We will be on stand-by status unless the flight is really open which in our case is not. Our company's network go to the above cities and only JFK and IAH (J. F. Kennedy Airport in NYC and Bush International Apt. in Houston - travel lingo!) are open on our preferred day of travel. So, I have a funny feeling that we'll end up buying domestic US tickets to fly from JFK or IAH to LAX.

I have been preoccupied lately with our travel plans to the US this Friday. I cannot stop feeling giddy about it because I have always dreamed of going there ever since I can remember. Hubby and princess are equally excited as I am because we keep drawing the itinerary plans and incessantly add places to visit in the list (which I even doubt if time can really permit). I am very pleased that my hubby is cooperating in the planning of this US trip. He used to give the reins to me before but he is being proactive now and that is good!

So, I will be on a blog leave again for 2 weeks on April (1st week of April until 15 April) to enjoy our vacation and enjoy the scenery (and outlet malls! hahahaha!). I will post photos of the trip once I am back.

Tuh-tah for now!

I have a Jet Lag!

8.5 hours of flying time is not a joke considering I just spent 2 1/2 days in Manila. Another 8.5 hours flying time going back is just too much to bear now. I don't understand how pilots and cabin crew can handle time changes and how their biological body-clock respond to this. Lately, I have been having major migraine attacks when I reach my destination. I guess I am just tired and the crossing of time zones make it all worse.

I don't know if there is ever a cure to jet lag but somehow, there are ways to manage it. Here are tips on how to manage your own jet lag.

1. Try traveling on an early morning flight (if the airline has several choices of flights to your destination). This is because it is still dark and you can still sleep few hours in the flight.

2. Drink lots of juices and water.

3. Walk a lot after taking a long nap. This helps in blood circulation.

4. When I arrive in a place where it's morning, I act like it's the normal time. I try my best to avoid coffee nor drink alcohol so I can crawl to bed BEFORE 9 p.m!

5. Avoid filling your tummy before the flight.

If you have other jet lag prevention tips, please share :)