I really enjoyed Richard Turen's column on the old days of flying and old days of flight attendants [Reality Check, Oct. 31: "Pan Am flies again"]. I am an ex-Eastern Air Lines flight attendant, and only "ex" because of their demise. I loved my job and would still be flying if they were.
As you probably know, there are no lateral moves in the airline industry, so going to another airline would have meant starting at the bottom again with a huge pay cut.
I also love travel, so the logical next step was to become a travel agent. I had two small children at home, so in 1993 I began my new career.
The travel agent industry has changed much faster than the flight attendant industry, though the agent's role is different now, too. I was fortunate to start when I did. I have been home-based for the past 12 years, and I'm as busy as ever. It still disturbs me that when I say I am a travel agent, people are still saying, "I didn't know there were travel agents anymore."
We really need to hire a good public relations firm to get the word out that we are still here, and, more than ever in this confusing online travel world, a valuable resource.
Half of my business is corporate, so the businesses know about us, but the rest of the country does not. Fortunately, I have great clients who refer me to their friends and colleagues. Still, I miss the old days of travel (just not the paper ticketing).
Noel Reitz
Uniglobe Love to Travel
Cumming, Ga.
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