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Celebrations:
As global celebrations welcomed in the year 2000, many of United’s nearly 25,000 flight attendants joined the festivities at home, in airplane workplaces, and at rest points in layover cities around the world. Fears of computer glitches were allayed when United’s extensive preparation for the switch to the year 2000 met the test without incident. The company’s 2,475 daily departures carried many passengers into the new millennium as they flew through all the world’s time zones. An optimistic new era had begun.
The new century brought a special celebration for flight attendants - their 70th anniversary of serving United’s customers and fellow employees. United predecessor company Boeing Air Transport hired the world’s first stewardesses in 1930 when it employed eight nurses to work onboard its flights on a trial basis. Other carriers followed suit, and a new profession was born. An exhibit of 70 years of flight attendant contributions was set up at United’s world headquarters in Chicago to commemorate the event.
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On April 6, 2001, United Airlines celebrated its 75th anniversary. The company published a special book, The Age of Flight, that highlighted the role of flight attendants over the years.
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Consolidation Experiments:
Mergers, acquisitions and bankruptcies within the airline industry followed the deregulation legislation of 1978. Consolidation was still occurring in 2000, the year United announced a merger plan with US Airways. Flight attendants, as front-line workers, spent a difficult summer that year as negotiations between United and the pilots’ and mechanics’ unions slowed operations. By the summer of 2001 the $4.3 billion merger deal between United and US Airways had fallen apart amid antitrust concerns.
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Advanced Emergency First Aid Training:
By 2001, United’s flight attendants had gained new qualifications for advanced emergency first aid procedures. Carriers had begun to equip their fleets with the Automated External Defibrillator (AED) for travelers who suffered from episodes of cardiac arrest. In January 2001, the life of passenger Orlando McFarland was saved on a United flight, thanks to an O’Hare-based flight attendant crew using AED equipment. Yearly recurrent emergency qualification training was expanded in 2001 to include AED training.
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Disaster Strikes:
Air rage within the airline industry was on the upswing by 2000 and security awareness, long part of the recurrent safety procedures at United, continued to be included in training. As part of their surveillance procedures, flight attendants were on the lookout for the possibility of a hijacking or a bomb on board. However, no one within the aviation community was prepared for the suicidal terrorists who took control of four flights on Sept. 11, 2001. Thousands lost their lives when the terrorists crashed three of the planes into occupied buildings in New York City and Washington, D.C., and one into the ground in a rural area of Pennsylvania. Twenty-five working flight attendants - twelve from United -died on those flights.
One United flight attendant and one at American managed to make phone calls to their corporate operations, using the final moments of their lives to serve their fellow workers and passengers.
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Sadness, uncertainty, and trauma were among the reactions of United flight attendants and other employees to the tragedy. Memorial services and vigils were conducted throughout the world to honor those who lost their lives.
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In the days following the catastrophe, flight attendants were stranded around the world, not knowing when and how they would return to their homes. With the enormous tasks at hand, United Airlines and the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) joined in providing critical services. Senior Vice President-Onboard Service Sara Fields and AFA president Linda Farrow sent a joint letter to all United flight attendants to reassure them and inform them of new security provisions.
The company’s and the AFA’s Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) launched a worldwide effort to assist all flight attendants touched directly or indirectly by the disaster. Support groups were set up with specialists available to provide meetings and counseling for flight attendants. Upon request, volunteers went to flight attendants’ homes to help with childcare and household needs.
United established an Employee Trust Fund to collect donations specifically for families of crewmembers and employees aboard Flights 93 and 175. The AFA established the Flight Attendant Disaster Relief Fund to provide help to the families of the flight attendants who lost their lives.
The attacks of Sept. 11 forever changed the personal and work lives of flight attendants and other airline employees, as well as air travelers worldwide.
For many flight attendants, the chaotic times created a need to bond with other flight attendants. Some current flight attendants discovered what they were looking for in Clipped Wings, a philanthropic group of current and former flight attendants established in 1941. The New Jersey chapter of Clipped Wings, United Airlines Stewardess Alumnae and Flight Attendants, Inc. was formed by current flight attendants and a new Clipped Wings chapter was formed in Iowa. Clipped Wings Ambassadors, wearing newly created uniforms, provided support by welcoming flight attendants returning to the training center in Chicago. The ambassadors celebrated the legacy of the flight attendant profession, while recruiting new members and supporting Special Olympics, their national philanthropy.
Facing the Future:
Heightened airline security became a priority after the terrorists attacks. Legislators, government regulators, and airport and airline management began the task of establishing security measures to meet 21st century needs.
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United, in November 2001, announced it soon would launch the first phase of specialized Cabin Defense Security Training for flight attendants to enhance cabin security. United was the first airline to initiate this training. By October 2002, the company had launched phase two of the training to further develop flight attendants’ skills in recognizing, evaluating and appropriately responding to threats on board an aircraft.
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Following the tragedy of Sept.11, the demand for air travel dropped significantly. United cut back its flight schedules and announced the largest furlough in its history. Effective October 31, 2001, 20,000 employees and more than 4,000 flight attendants were affected.
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Uncertainties continued in the flight attendants’ workplace through the first anniversary of the attacks. The economy, weak before Sept.11, fell into a recession. Many airlines were affected. United’s financial situation continued to deteriorate, forcing the company to apply to the U.S. government for a $1.8 billion loan guarantee, while simultaneously preparing for the possibility of filing for bankruptcy protection, which occurred on Dec. 9, 2002.
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Despite United’s and the industry’s challenges, the company’s flight attendants, along with the corps of around 300,000 flight attendants worldwide, continued their time-honored work. Three years into the new century they continued to provide safety, security and comfort to the traveling public and their fellow workers. United’s corps of professional flight attendants continued to be ever more essential and critical to the company’s success.
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About the Authors:
Georgia Panter Nielsen
Georgia Panter Nielsen is a flight attendant retiree living in San Jose, CA. She is the international historian for the Association of Flight Attendants, a board member of the United Airlines Historical Foundation, founder and publisher of a newspaper for the airport community and author of a book on the flight attendant profession. Nielsen joined United in 1960 as a flight attendant. During her career she led flight attendants in elected and appointed positions for their union and served as a member of the executive board of the San Mateo Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO.
Sara Dornacker
Sara Dornacker is a senior staff representative - Airport Operations at the airline’s world headquarters in suburban Chicago. She coordinates communications with 18,000 ground employees in customer service, ramp service, aircraft maintenance and dispatch operations at airports worldwide. Dornacker serves as a director on the United Airlines Historical Foundation board. She also travels extensively, lecturing international audiences on the benefits of the flight attendant profession. Dornacker joined United in 1967 as a flight attendant. She has held staff and operations positions, including manager-Cleveland Flight Attendant Domicile, manager-Inflight Safety and manager-Media Relations at world headquarters.
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