Wardrobe Changes — Scuttles With Pilots and the Mile High Club

Living the life as a non-rev passenger — part 2

Contrary to popular belief, running an airline takes more than pilots and flight attendants. Operations, Finance, Procurement, Sales, Marketing — all these and more work at an airline’s corporate headquarters. I was one of those people. This is Austrian Airlines’ corporate headquarters at Vienna International Airport. Photo by Gabriel Psarras from Piraeus, Greece — 035_1117_P1000567, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7741253

No matter what kind of work you do for an airline, you have flight benefits for yourself and your family as long as you work for them. Retirees are entitled to these as well.

In Part 1, I discussed the nature of the benefits and the processes to get on board. If you want to play catch up, that story is posted at the end of this one and also here.

Today, I’ll share some of my experiences as a “non-rev” (non-revenue) passenger. And fasten your seatbelt, for in the unlikely event of a water landing…

First flight — wardrobe failure

About two weeks after I started working for the airline, when I was still in training mode, I made my first non-rev trip from Chicago to Washington, D.C., to visit a friend on a weekend.

We had already been informed of the dress code. Now, back in the old days, one had to dress as a business passenger might dress — for men, suits, and ties. For women, dresses and skirts. But not too short! In the 90s, the dress code evolved into “business casual.” So men could wear slacks or pants, but no less dressy than khakis. Women were finally able to wear slacks, but still no open-toes shoes! This…