Airlines get upset if you punch a hole in the side of their multimillion-dollar
planes with a baggage loading truck. Terry Tiberghien has never done it himself,
but as a union shop steward for the International Association of Machinists,
he knows it's the type of mistake that will get you suspended. "You can't
be daydreaming."
As a lead station attendant, Tiberghien heads a crew of four people who
have to load baggage on and off a plane. But that's not all they do.
They are also responsible for cleaning the plane's cabin and preparing
the plane for takeoff. Sometimes that means de-icing the wings, other times
it means jump-starting the jet engine with a pneumatic air starter.
"You have to know which piece of equipment to use," he says. You also have
to be able to stand working outdoors in all kinds of weather, including the
harshest cold of winter.
Tiberghien knew in high school that he wanted to work with airplanes, so
he enrolled in a two-year aircraft electronics course. When he finished school,
he still liked planes but he wasn't so sure about electronics.
Tiberghien was offered a job as a station attendant. He took it. He's
never regretted it. "I've got a job most people want."
He says it's a good job with great benefits in an age when those things
are hard to find. "We don't have a lot of turnover in staff," he says.
As a station attendant, Tiberghien feels part of an important team. A broken
locking device in the cargo hold can allow cargo containers loaded with baggage
to shift during the flight. That could spell disaster. If that happens, he
calls the head office for guidance on reconfiguring the load so all the containers
are locked in place. "Safety is a big aspect."
Whatever happens, the station attendant has to act quickly and efficiently.
It's part of keeping flights on time.
The job also takes adaptability. Station attendants work a compressed workweek.
That means they may work 11-hour shifts for four days. They might have to
work six days straight with two days off. Tiberghien says you have to be able
to handle the stress of working changing hours.
Baggage agent Lisa Tedeschi handles stress of a different sort. She has
to face angry passengers who land in Atlanta and discover their luggage has
taken a different trip. Tedeschi has a degree in marketing and worked part
time for an airline for six years before ending up in the baggage service
area.
"I love being face to face with passengers," she explains.
Most people go with the flow when it comes to reporting lost baggage, but
she says she has had people get very angry.
"Out of every 100, maybe 10 get irate," she says. Getting irate means everything
from yelling obscenities to banging their fists on the counter. "I've
never had anyone come at me physically, but we've had to call security."
Tedeschi says she finds calming an angry passenger one of the most rewarding
things about her job, but she says not everyone can handle it. "You can't
take it personally."
Most of the time, a passenger's baggage is just where it's supposed
to be, but when the airlines are moving thousands of bags each day, things
are bound to get lost.
Tedeschi recalls a panic when a popular rock band discovered four of their
bags were missing and their sold-out concert was just four hours away. The
airline recovered three of the bags, even though it meant unloading a whole
aircraft. One bag was still missing with the band's matching shirts inside.
Tedeschi says the airline bought the band four matching shirts to wear
to open the concert.