The Daily Show: Ears Edition - How Flight Attendants Navigate the Not-So-Friendly Skies - Beyond the Scenes

Episode Date: August 15, 2022

Flight attendants function as first responders in the sky and have to deal with unruly passengers, staff shortages, and flight cancellations. Season 2 of Beyond the Scenes takes flight with host Roy Wood Jr., who chats with Daily Show writer and frequent flier, Kat Radley, and the International President of the Association of Flight Attendants, Sara Nelson. They discuss the drive to unionize Delta flight attendants, how the #MeToo movement impacted the airline industry, and their worst flying experiences. Follow Beyond the Scenes: https://podcasts.iheartradio.com/v0iKH3j7See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. Hey, it's Roywood Jr. Up next is a special episode of our original podcast Beyond the Scenes, hosted by yours truly. Today we're talking with union leaders Sarah Nelson and Daily Showwriter, Cat Ratley to talk about how flight attendants are dealing with unruly passengers, flight delays, staffing shortages, wage negotiations, all while keeping us safe at 30,000 feet. Have a listen. And we're back. Welcome to Beyond the Scene Season 2, baby. Look, we got a whole new batch of topics for you this season.

I'm Roywood, Jr. And if you don't know, this is the podcast that goes deeper into segments and topics that originally aired on the Daily Show with Trevor Noah. This is what you got to think about this is. This podcast is a companion piece to the Daily Show. It's the jelly to the peanut butter sandwich. Without us, you're just eating an old piece of bread with peanut butter that sticks to the roof through your mouth. Now your mouth's all dry, now you're struggling to put yourself a glass to the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the tho tho the the the tho tho tho the the tho tho tho tho the the tho thoes. I I thoes. I thoes. tho the. the. the. thoes is. tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho the. This is is is is is is. This is. This is is. This is. This is. This is. This is is. tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tie. tie. tie. tie. tie. tie. toylary. toylarylarylaryla. tttttttttttoda. ttoday isa. ttoday isa. today isa. today isa. today isa. today isa. t need the jelly. And we bring that sweet goodness to the sandwich. And frankly, I don't think you're ready for this jelly. No, no, I'm not going, I'm going to let you enjoy that joke just a second longer. I hope you all enjoyed your summer travel because today we're talking about the role of flight attendants and how they face turbulent times during the pandemic..... the pandemic. See. See. See. See. See. See. See. See. the pandemic. See. the pandemic. the the the the the their. their. their. their their their their their the. theateateateateathea. thi. thi. I. I thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. I'm their their their their. I their. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the thea. thea. tha. tha. tha. tha. te. toda. toda. te. toda. today. today. today. today. today. tha. tha. tha. ting about the role of flight attendants and how they face turbulent times during the pandemic.

See what I did that flight, turbulent, give me the clip. For years, flight attendants in America have complained about, well, two things. One idiots who press the call button when they meant to turn on the lights, and two, the way they get paid. Well now, finally, Delta Airlines is taking care of one of those issues. Flight attendants with Delta will soon be getting paid a little bit more money. The airline says it will now start paying cabin crews during boarding. Up until now, flight attendants did not start getting paid until the passengers were seated and the plane's doors closed. That was the moment that their pay started.

Delta says the change will start June 2nd as the company faces the possibility of its more than 20,000 flight attendants forming their own union. The change could increase some attendance wages by several thousand dollars every year. Yeah, believe it or not, flight attendants in America do not get paid during the boarding process, which is crazy.

Just think about, you're at work, doing work. But your bus is like, nah, this is your free time. What, I only pay you when the doors are closed? That's wild. It also sucks for flight attendants on Spirit Airlines, because they don't even have doors. What do they do? Do they work for free? How does that shit work? Today I'm joined by Emmy nominated Daily Showwriter Kat Ratley.

Cat is a traveling comedian who's been on like, I don't know, 14 flights in the last few weeks. So you are an expert on air travel. Cat, how you're doing? Yeah, I would say expert slash survivor. It's a, I got PTSD from 14 flights and I think five weeks. Lord. So, yeah, it was, it was terrible. I don't know how you guys do it. You want to run.

That's just an average week, Cat. I know, I was like, should I just collect a paycheck and help out? Like, I'm here so much. Also joining us, the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants, Sarah, welcome to the show. Thanks so much. All right, Sarah, let's jump right in. What are the issues facing flight attendants and the airline industry right now? And how many of those challenges are because of the pandemic?

Well, look, the pandemic created problems for sure, and we're seeing the COVID effect right now. But a lot of the problems that you're seeing in the airline industry were created pre-pandemic. And it's really about greed. It's about corporate greed. After the bankruptcies, following on to 9-11, contracts were slashed, people were working harder for less, pensions were terminated. There were a lot of bad things that happened, but when the airline started making money again, 2016, 2017, and they were really cooking after the mergers and making a lot of money. All that the financiers wanted to do was to get more of those profits in their hands.

So even while they were making billions of dollars, the people on Wall Street were demanding that they give them even more in stock buybacks. And so you may have seen a lot of those headlines about all the stock buybacks the airlines gave going into the pandemic, which meant that they didn't have cash on hand to be able to handle this massive drop in demand. And the entire industry almost collapsed. So what we're seeing now is the effects of what they were doing

based on corporate greed prior to the pandemic. And that was cutting staffing levels to a bare minimum, counting on people with overtime hours to make the operation run. Now you have people who are getting sick because of COVID, and so they can't work those overtime hours. Or they're so tired out because it's become such a conflict on board. And everyone is essentially a first-time flyer today. So that makes the job of a flight attendant much, much harder, which is part of why we love that segment from the Daily Show so much about that boarding

process. I'm going to give these flights attendants a lot of credit, because let me tell you something, man. People fly all the time. You see these people working hard, but I didn't know that they weren't getting paid while the play. I don't the they. their their their their. their. their. their. their their, I. I. I's their, I's their, I'm their, I'm their, I'm their, I'm going. their, I'm going. their, I'm going. their, I'm going. their, I'm going. their, I'm going tooing, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their. their, their. their, their. their. their, their, their. their. their. their, their. their, I's is. their, I's is going going going going going. together. together. tease. teaseaseaseaseaseaseaseaseasehocea. tea. tea. tea. tea. tea. tea. tea. tea. tea. te. te. te. the play. You do, I don't know that. They're really patient people. If I was working for free during the whole boarding process, I would have been way less friendly than, yo, I would have been in that airport like, hey, all right, zone one, get the hell up on the plane right now. Hurry up. I'm trying to get paid. Move, move, move, move. Move. Move your dumb ass. Put the thing on the thing there, man. And I saw, you, I swear, I swear, if any of you broke ass zone four, my f-shunds even trying to get in line right now, I will have the TSA

water board your ass. Get back zone four. you know who you is. Every time we go to board a flight, it's questions from everybody. Nobody knows the plan. They don't have 30% of the population that used to fly, showing them how things are done and creating kind of a follow-the-leaer situation. And so it is really, really tough, because we don't have enough people. And that was really created pre-pandemic, but now we've got the COVID effect making it worse. In the airline's defense, those CEOs, they have a family of yachts to feed, so, you know, they do need the money.

Yeah, yeah, no, I got to tell you. So I am really proud of something that our union did though and the rest of the aviation unions. And this happened only in the airline industry because we're 80% union, the the the the to do the the the to do the the their, their of the aviation unions. And this happened only in the airline industry because we're 80% union, and so we have the power to do it. But we cap their pay. So their pay is capped until March of 2023. And we ban stock buybacks until September 30th of this year. But it's about to get a lot worse. I'm, we're starting to talk about this. We're talking about this with lawmakers that if you're if you're complaining about the operation now it's about to get a lot worse when you have that stress from Wall Street saying that they want to take even more profits

out just at a time when they really need to be reinvesting in the frontline worker and in the infrastructure of the airlines. So I'm about to get real serious here but I'm also you know this this is this is a this is a this is a this is a this is a this is a this is a problem this is a problem this is a problem this is a problem this is a problem this is a problem the th, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. thr. thr. thr. thr. thr. thr. thr. true. true. true. true. true. thr. thr thr thro. thr thro. thr thr th greed, and it's certainly the CEOs and their family of yachts, but it's also much bigger pressure from hedge fund managers who are making billions of dollars. And the CEOs are kind of little fish in a big pond today. So during the pandemic, we saw almost half a million airline workers, either furloughed or let go or fired or forced into early retirement and now we need those

people because the demand is going up. Why can't we just go back and get the do we really need because I saw where the Delta pilots were protesting in in Atlanta in front of Hartsfield Jackson earlier this year and they like you're working us to the bone. We cannot cover all of these shifts. Can't we just go? This is what I'm saying, Sarah. I see the movies where they go find people in the mountains

and they go, the country needs you. Come on back. Why is the solution not as easy and just going back and getting the people who you let go? Well, look, first of all, not all those people were let go. One of the things that we talked about was you got to keep people in place because in the airline industry these are highly skilled jobs, they're certified safety positions and it takes a long time to have the training in place to be able to get people into these positions. So the Delta pilots are right. The airline industry was counting on incredible overtime hours from everyone, and people are worn out. They're worn out from this pandemic, they're

worn out from getting sick, they're worn out from all the effects on their families and their communities from the pandemic. We kept people in place except that Congress had a lapse in funding from October 2020 to December 2020. And guess what? That created a major backlog in the training departments to be able to get everybody back on the schedule and back in place. And in addition to that, like I said, they created this problem pre-pandemic by staffing levels, by cutting those staffing levels so low. So what the Delta pilots are saying is essentially what 700,000 workers across the airline industry are saying. We put contract negotiations on hold in 2020 because it wasn't a good time to be talking

about contract improvements. But today, guess what? We had inflation, go through the roof. We got to attract people to these jobs. We've got to get them into the pipeline, get them into the training center so that we can start that process of staffing up. And if we don't have, you know, good pay and benefits to attract people to these jobs, there's no way we're going to make that work either. So we have a short-term problem with not enough staff right now and not enough support

for the people in the operation to be able to do their jobs. And then a long-a-a-a-a-in long-in long-in long-in long-in long-inon-in, a long-in, a long-in, a long-in, their-in, their-in, their-in, tho-in, thi-in, tho-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-s, tho-s, tho, tho, tho, to-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a, to, to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to th. And, to, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, thin, th-s, th-s, th-s, thr. And, thr. And, thr. And, tho. And, thoa-s. And, thoa-s. And, the. And, the. And, to-a-a-a-a-a-s is just going to keep compounding the longer they wait to negotiate these contracts and make things better. So what we have is a labor crisis, which more often and not is not funny because at its core it is people not being given the opportunity to provide. So cat, how do you make that funny? You all did a segment. It was called, I think what was it the throwdown for air? Throw down air. Yeah, throw down air. The airline for assholes. Just explain that segment and what inspired that. It definitely came at that time. I want to say it was you know like one year ago, like mid-2021 when people were starting to fly again. And every time you went on Twitter, there was a new video of passengers going crazy, fighting like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like the their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their the air their the air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air air their their their their their their their their their air. their their. their. their. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th time you went on Twitter, there was a new video of passengers going crazy, fighting with each other, fighting over, fighting with a flight attendants.

Like every day there was like a new Tick-Tock video of a passenger losing their shit and being a total asshole on a plane. So I don't know who pitched the idea or if it kind of came as a group mentality, but to do an ad for like an airline where, hey, let's let's th let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's th let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their. their. their their their their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. the idea or if it kind of came as a group mentality, but to do an ad for like an airline where, hey, let's let all these assholes fly, but like put them on one plane, and just let them beat the shit out of each other. Do you want to travel and take out your pent-up pandemic aggression on customer service employees? Hell yeah, you do! But society won't let you punch a flight attendant. Until now. Throwdown air. Once the wheels are up, the shit goes down. It was super fun. It was a kind of thing, like one of our headwriters kind of wrote

the script up, but it was one of those things where all the writers got to then go into the script and just like punch up and add jokes wherever they wanted to kind of you know add the color to it. One thing I was proud of I did come up with the tagline when the wheels go up the shit goes down. That was that was my contribution to the piece. I gotta tell you cat we really appreciate that because we got a major relief at a time when to to to to to to to to th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th and th and th and th and th and thi thi thi thi thi. I thi thi. I thi. I the the the. I the. I the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. I th. I the. I the. I the. I the. I the. I the. I the an the an the an thean. thean. thean. thean. thean. thean. thean. the an that, because we got a major relief at a time when things were really stressful. I mean, it's scary for you guys. Those videos are your job is to keep everyone else safe

and now having to keep yourselves safe too. And these people are fucking assholes. Like, yeah. As someone has been in the airport and like seen, like, these assholes out in the wild, like I used to, like Roy and I have both been traveling for a while, but I, like, people have gotten worse. People have become worse human beings out in public over the past two years. I do think that part of it is, like, I have a theory is that anybody in a form of service industry, the job of flight attendant is not exclusively service, it is part of it.

So it falls to me in that same realm as a waiter or a fast food worker in a sense that, in my mind, you're here to do a service for me. And whatever stressors are happening to me outside of this moment, I could be having a bad boss. I, like, in those moments, I feel like that is that is the one that is the one that is the one the one the one that is the one the one the one the one the one the one the one the one that is the one the one the one the one the one the o' the o' thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thrusti, thirty, thi, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. I's, thi. I's, thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thri. I's, thri. I's, te te te tean. tean. tean. tean. tean. tea. tea. tea. te outside of this moment. I could be having a bad boss. Like in those moments, I feel like that is the one opportunity that the customer gets to be the boss, because someone else is bossing him or something is stressing him. So I'm gonna take it all out on you. And I would argue that a lot of those moments are not solely exclusive to, oh, the waiter gave me bad service, I got my order wrong. It's that you had a bad day, you have a chip on your shoulder,

you have bigger things, untherapied. You have all types of stuff going on in your life and you're taking it out on what amounts to, essentially is an innocent bystander. Sarah, what do you think are some of this unruly behavior. I know, I'm sure in-flight cocaine, you all probably need to take that up. Oh, y'all don't have enflat cocaine? We're gonna get to Denver real fast, guys. Some people might like that.

What do you think contributes to all of this? Well, I mean, I think, listen, the stressors of the pandemic were huge, and having people be be be be be be be be be be be be be the first their their their the pandemic were huge and having people be first-time flyers where nobody knows what the program is was a major problem. You're comparing this also to what people on the front lines were facing, whether they were in a grocery store, working a restaurant job or whatever else. And the only difference here is that for us, we're there primarily for your safety, let me be very clear. And so if you act out on a plane, it's a federal offense. And one of the things that we said over the last two years

is start prosecuting, make this a priority, prosecute, sit some butts in jail. And that finally started happening. Biden gave direction to Merrick Garland to make this a priority. They had an MOU with the FAA gave direction to Merrick Garland to make this a priority. They made it a priority. They had an MOU with the FAA about getting the reports over so that they could speed up the process of investigating and prosecuting. And we finally just got some people sent to jail.

And I got to tell you, it has a chilling effect. And so other people get the point. And Kat, I got to say, you know, putting all the assholes on one plane is great. Like it's funny and we love it and we got a huge release from that. But there's also some truth in it. There's thousands of flights that take off every single day. And frankly, this was a handful of people making a problem for everyone on board. And making it look like this is like everybody who's flying is out of control. And it's actually not true.

The truth is that most people come, they want to follow the rules, they want to have a safe, fun, eventful flight. And they want, and they looked to flight attendants for that leadership, and what happened for us, and what happened for us during this time was that a few people were making it really difficult for us to express that leadership, keep things in order, especially when everybody was essentially a first-time flyer and everybody needed instruction and there were fewer of us more passengers than ever before. How do we, how do we expedite that process? Because I know alcohol plays a role in it.

Oh yeah. Some airline bars like in shout out to New Orleans, Charles DeGahle, that air, oh my goodness, no Louis Armstrong in New Orleans. Like I know alcohol plays a role in curtailing access to alcohol before you board a flight, but why can't we just get a no-fly list? Why is it so hard to just establish it? If you act stupid on a plane, you can't fly anybody. You can't fly any. You know, this is, or just spirit. Because, yeah, I know you can't laugh at that. Listen, I represent the spirit, flight attendants. They would not be happy about that, even though they would go, oh, come on guys.

But it's rough flying spirit because they promote that, right? Come fly spirit for the first time, every time. Yeah, that's where the peak assholes go to fly. Yeah, yeah. So shout out to those flight attendants. They haven't actually, I think, harder than anybody else. But, you know, we worked really hard to get attention on this and to get a no-fly list. And the thing that is, was incredible to us.

You guys say probably just make it yourselves. You're like, I got Jerry on here. Jerry, Greg. We're done. Yeah. He's done. No more coming on the plane drink. Can't do that Jerry. And by the way, that is a federal regulation. Like some of this stuff was like airports, do your job. Put the signs up. Don't push alcohol on people.

We had a huge problem because airports were trying to make money and they figured out during the pandemic with to go alcohol. That oh wow, this is a way we can make money. So we're going to actually push this and tell people. the airport. We. We. We. We. We. We. We. We. the to. to. the to. the to. to. the the the to. to. the the the the to. the to. the the the to. the the the the the the the the to. the their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. t. t. t. t. tttt. t. t. t. t. ttt. t. t. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. the. the and tell people you can order alcohol of the gate I mean it was insane the robot JF King has a robot that brings you I mean yeah, this is not helpful This is not and it's not exactly sending the right message. So so anyway we here we tried to get this no-fly list. I mean if you act out on a plane if you punch somebody on a plane you don't get to go on another plane is that simple simple. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the th. the th. the th. th. the th. th. the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. they. they. to to to their their their their their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. th. th. th. to. to. to. te. te. te. try. to. try. try. to. try. try. I the the the the the the the the the don't get to go on another plane. It's that simple, right? And we had all these people who were so for the terrorist no-fly list, right? Like Ted Cruz, who's like, oh no, we don't want to do this, because he was really afraid that this was the people that he was representing who were a problem. He wouldn't be allowed to fly to Cancun. That was so their was their was their was their was their was their was their. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. to be to be to be to be to be to be their. to be to be their. to be to be to be to be to be to be to be their. their. to. to. the the the terrorist. the terrorist. the terrorist. the terrorist. the terrorist. the terrorist. the terrorist. the terrorist. the terrorist. the terrorist. the terrorist. the terrorist. the terrorist. the terrorist. the terrorist. the terrorist. the terrorist. the terrorist. the terrorist. the terrorist. the terrorist. the terrorist. the terrorist. the terrorist. the terrorist. the terrorist. the the their. their. their. their. their. their. terror. terror. terror. terror. terror. terrorist. terrorist. terrorist. terror. terrorist. terrorist. t. the. the. the. t. the. the. the the the the t. t Cancun. That was his fear. Yeah, so all the sudden, yeah, all of a sudden these people who are like, yeah, aviation, let's have a no-fly list and let's be really like strict

on these people and let's, you know, treat this like everybody's in the military, all of a sudden they were like, oh no, we can't do this, we're going to violate people's civil rights to be assholes. So anyway. they. they. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. to be. to be, to be, to be, to be. to be to be, to be, to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to have, to have, to have, to have, to have, to have, to have. to have, to have. to have, to have, to have, to have, to have, to have. to have, to have. to have. to have. to have. to have. to have. to have. to have. to have. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. the the the the the the the the toe. the the toe. the toe. toe. to the toe. toe. to to to to to have no fly list right now for these people is because those people stood in the way of getting it done. As an experienced drinker, I apologize on behalf of all of my fellow alcoholics because I can have my three beers before our flight, get on and be perfectly pleasant. So listen, if people out there, if you know you can't handle your booze, save it for when you land. Hey, and listen, Kat, I get that you are an experienced drinker. And you've been trying this out on the last 14 flights that you took, right?

Yes. I'm a pro-exa. Exactly. All right. So we're just going they think they're pro-drinkers, they get up in the air, it's a different story. In the year 2021, there were more than 7,000 incidents of this nature of varying degrees of severity in the air, according to the FAA.

Now, in Katz, Sarah, Kat is a former high school teacher. So I don't know if there's some sort of drink exemption clause. Yes. Teachers, former teachers, yeah, anything goes. Which oddly enough, you know, that's an industry that's also primarily made up of women who are doing jobs outside of their job description. Like, teachers have to do so much more than just teach. So on the flight attendant side of that, Sarah, what are some things about th th th th things th things th things th things th things th things th things th things th things th things th th things thingsers have to do so much more than just teach. So on the flight attendant side of that, Sarah, what are some things about that occupation that you wish more people just knew, that you don't think we know? Well I got to say, I mean, you're bringing up two professions that have been traditionally defined as women's work. And because of that, the professions have their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their that, the professions have been devalued. We make less than you might think. And there's a lot of flight tenants that because of that, here's something that

people should know. Most flight attendants commute by air to work because they cannot afford to live in the expensive hub cities where they're based. So when these flights are full, that means that probably a crew member is not getting on the flight that they need to get on so that they can get to work and crew your next flight. So yeah, it's... Do they get charged for that or do they get to fly for free to get to work? Well, you know, we get to fly for free if there's a seat available. And, you know, with all the automation and at the last minute selling seats, it's unbelievable. I mean, you can plan, like we have, for decades, on getting to work on time and be watching

these flights, and they'll be half empty. And you show up the next day at the gate, and it's like completely full. Not to mention the fact that the airlines have had to pull back some flights at the last minute because they over promised. They were trying to schedule all these flights so they can compete with each other and get that market share at each airport and they overpromised and couldn't deliver,

had to pull back. So there's a cascading effect not just for passengers, but then if crews can't get to work, that makes things even worse, right? So you have to do conflict de-escalation. You gotta be a first responder in case the conflict doesn't de-escalate. You've got to know how to get people off the plane. Then I would imagine at this point, are y'all taking combat training? Because the air marshal might not be able to get to you.

And from what I heard, the air marshal ain't on every flight. They're not on every flight. We're not supposed to tell you which flights they're on. But they- I always try to guess. I'm always like, it's you. It's you. It's always my baby. Those babies, man, you got to watch out. They are tough. So, no, we actually take training from the air marshals. We got this training just after 9-11. We were the first ones killed on 9-11, flight attendants were. And so we got this training and it was mandatory,

the airlines had to provide it. And Continental Airlines at the time complained to George Bush. And he found a way to to to to to to to to to to to the to the the the to their their their their their their their their their. We. We. Wea. Wea. Wea. Wea. Wea. Wea. We have their. We have their. Wea. Wea. Wea. We have their. We have their. We have their. Wea-train. Wea-train. Wea-a-a-airmarsh. Wea-airm. Wea-airm. Wea-air. Wea-air. Wea-air. Wea-air. Wea-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-s. Wea-s. Wea-s. We have their th. We have th. We have th. We have t. We have train. We have, traine. We have, th. We have t. We have th. We have th. We have the-s. Wea-s. Wea-s. We have the airlines had to provide it. And Continental Airlines at the time complained to George Bush. And he found a way to make it voluntary. And so then, of course, none of the airlines provided it because it was voluntary. So we got through TSA, the Air Marshal's to put together a program where we have crew member self-defense training. And it's voluntary for us to go get it but at least the training exists and I got to tell you over the last two years the sign-up on

those classes went through the roof because flight assistants were like yeah I need a little self-defense training here to be able to do my job every day. So now can you use a seatbelt like a nun chuck? Listen the stuff that we learn in these classes is awesome. And they also, the air marshals will say, you know, rules of engagement and combat are off here. Like flight attendants, look around your surroundings, what can you use to destroy someone?

Wow. You don't have any time and you don't have any space and it's you or them. Yeah, and the duct taping thing is legit, right? You guys can duct tape people to seats? Like, I've seen those videos. Here's what's amazing about this. So it's not actually duct tape, the airlines would argue, it is restraint tape, so let's be really clear, okay? It's restraint tape. But some of the airlines have tough cuffs on board, but I have to tell you everything goes down to a cost item. So they have to have some sort of restraint device for

the crew members and the restraint tape is the cheapest. So the airlines that only have the restraint tape basically we're making a decision to have the lowest cost item for restraining someone when they get out of control and so that's why you saw in Frontier that the the passenger was taped to a seat because that's what the Flatton's had. I could have used duct tape in my classroom once or twice, duct tape a kid to a chair. they frown on the the the th. T th. T th. T th. T th. T th. T, th. T, th. T, th th. T, th. T, th th th th th th. T, th. T, thu, thu, thu-tha, thui, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the the, the the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thin, thin, thin, the is thean, thean, tooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. the, the or twice, duct tape a kid to a chair, but they frown on that. You said you were an ex-teacher, right? And that's why she's out of education. After the break, I want to talk a little bit about union-busting because I know that having a union is going to be one important piece of the puzzle. I also want to talk about how the role of the flight attendant has evolved. This this this is this is this is this is th th th th th th is th th is th is the the the the thi the of the thi thi the thi thi thi te of flight attendant has evolved te at teateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateate. to to to to to tape. tape. tape. tape. tape. tape. tape. tape. tape. I. I. I. I te. I te. I te. I te. I t. I t. I te. I te. I te. I'm te. I'm te. I'maaa. I'ma. I'ma. I'ma. I'ma. I'ma. I'ma. I'ma. I'ma. I'm te. I'm te. the puzzle. I also want to talk about how the role of the flight attendant has evolved. This is beyond the scenes. We'll be right back.

The role of flight attendant, it's evolved over the years, but there's been a history of sexism within your industry. And you know, Kat, you're in entertainment. It's perfectly fine. There's no sexism over there. No, it's very healthy. Yeah, you can't relate to this. I'm only talking about Sarah's industry. Nah, I'll put this one out. Is the sexism and gender discrimination, is that still prevalent today in that industry, Sarah? Yeah, absolutely. We're still breaking through. I mean, when the MeToo movement broke, I said to our Comps people, I said, get ready, the phone's going to ring and they're like, what do you mean? And I said, because media is gonna look around and say, who can we talk to who maybe has experienced sexual harassment on the job? And they're gonna, the first thing they're gonna say, let's call the flight attendants, because everybody knows.

Because we were not just objectified in our workplace, in a normal way. I mean, much like the entertainment industry, we were sold. We were sold as sex objects. We were totally objectified. So people think that they can own us. They think that they can treat us a certain way. I've been a flight attendant for 26 years. And I know what it's like to just do my job all day long and have people get my

taping me on the rear end. Or come up to me in the the tap and their tap and tap and their tap andtapping me on the rear end, or come up to me in the galley and start asking me about my hottest layover, or come up and start trying to massage me or touch me in a real real way. Oh, God, that's terrible. Yeah, they think they can do it. They think, they think, it's frankly really hard because our job is to de-escalate all these issues in the air. I mean, you can't pull the plane aside

and tell someone to get off. You got to keep the temperatures down. So a lot of times, we did a big survey in our union, and the response that we got from flight attendants was, well, yeah, I don't have time even to be able to deal with this. So there's a lot of problems there and we've made some huge strides in the last several years and I want to really thank the women who broke the MeToo movement because that gave us some

space to push forward. Prior to that, frankly, the women who were my mentors and who built this union knew that no one was ever going to make space for us at the table, that management held us in contempt. In fact, my very first week on the job, I was told, listen, management thinks of us, oh, and from a raspy voice of a flight attendant, who had been around smoking her entire career because we had just gotten rid of smoking, right? And so she said, listen, management thinks th thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thinks thi is thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that no, that no, that no, that no, that no, that no, that no, that that that that th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, the their their their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their the, the, the, the, thei, thei. thei. thei. thei. that the, the, the, right? And so she said, listen, management thinks of us as their wives or their mistresses, and in either case they hold us in contempt. Your only place of worth is with your fellow flying partners, and if we stick together, there's nothing we can't accomplish. And I got to say, you know, my union was filled with a bunch of bad-ass women who cut a path for us, but we never expected to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to to their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, th. thi, thi, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi. thi. thi. And, thi. And, thi, their, their, their, to get that respect from the public, from

management, from anyone else. We were just going to take it for ourselves for what we could. And so when the MeToo movement broke, that opened up space for us to be able to push farther and say to management, this is unacceptable. In fact, I wrote a letter to CEOs and said, you need to take this moment and denounce the sexist past of this industry, say that there is a zero tolerance policy and hold up flight attendants as safety professionals. And three of them did it. So we made some progress there and we got some legislation through too. But we got a long ways to go.

It's interesting that like your job is to like deescalateateateateateateateateate their of their of their of to too. But we got a long ways to go. It's interesting that like your job is to like de-escalate on the plane so like if you get sexually harassed you just want to like kind of calm the temperature and move on which is interesting because that's kind of like what women are just trained to do in every scenario like is usually it's you know a man harassing a woman so usually it's you know they have the physical size or strength advantage in most cases. So like, we're just kind of, women are in general just trained to usually just kind of deescalate, not make a big deal about it, because you don't want it to become worse than maybe just an ass tap or something like that.

So it makes sense that you guys are deescalating for your safety and for everyone on the plane, where I feel like that's just such an innate thing for a woman to do anyway. You guys are probably like, oh yeah, we're used to having to do that anyway, because I feel like women are always having to do that. Absolutely, but I have to tell you, I mean, we're try to change that. When we talk about the sex. I'm a child of an educator. My mother has been in education for 30 years. But it's it always seemed to me like flight attendants also had some level of regulation from the bosses on

appearance. Has that changed from the past until the present? You know like Hooters, like there was a Hooters airline. I'm like, that was weird. But how was the regulation on women's outfits? How was that evolved over time? Oh my God. I mean, it used to be that every single flight attendant was handed the same pair of three-inch heels that they had to wear, for example. And there were paper uniforms and marketing ads with uniforms where you take off different pieces of clothing

throughout the flight. It was called the airstrip. And so there were all these uniforms. Oh, and girdle checks, like there used to be, you used to have to come and get girdle checks before you could go fly and it was another way that you could sort of legally get harassed by management and put aside and then weight checks. I mean, we had to step on a weight scale until 1993.

Oh my gosh. So, I'm sorry. So if they wanted to humiliate someone, they would be like, step on to the scale in front of everyone, weigh you in front of everyone. They just have you get on the baggage scale, They're like, jump on, we'll do you next. Yeah, yeah, sorry, you're over the limit. You're going to have to pay 50 bucks. So no, I mean, it was really, no, you're going to lose your job is what it was. Or we're going to put you on the wait program. And so you're going to have to weigh in before every trip and you're going to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to do to do to have to have to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to to to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the their., the their their their. their. the the to the to the to to to the to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the the trip and you're going to have to do that in front of everyone. Flight attendants were pressured and even sometimes coerced by managers to take speed to try to lose weight.

These are all the things that we had to fight through and even by the time I was hired, luckily we had gotten the worst parts of that behind us. But when I was hired in 1996, you had to wear two-inch heels in the concourse. You had to go, I had to go through a day of makeup class where the men got the day off and the women had to not only go to learn how to put makeup on, but then you got judged every day about whether or not you had the makeup on, and if you didn't have makeup, like I was this sort of granola girl from Oregon, just like totally clueless. They made you buy it. So you had to also spend your own money to buy the makeup that they were trying to sell

you there. I'm sorry, is this a nightclub or a flying tube? I'm just trying to get somewhere. Why do I have to flirt with the men and then turn around and you wonder why the men are grabbing asses. Well, exactly. And then they tell you, oh, you're lucky. You were one of 2,000 people who applied for this position and lines around the block. So you're totally replaceable too. So don't think about getting out of line, you know?

So complaining about these things. The dress code for teachers, I will say, was opposite. We were not allowed to show any cleavage and had to have long dresses. And I actually remember one day I had like a new dress that like my mom sent me and I put it on without trying it on first. And when I got to school, I realized that it was like super low cut and like my boobs were hanging out. And I was like, oh shit, what do I do? So I try to th, th, th, th, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, the, the, the, the, the, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the try, the try, try, try, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, you guys, I'm super hot. So I had to, I went and got to toilet paper and tried to create like a fake tank top to like cover my cleavage, but it was just like toilet paper and I was like I think this might be worse, so. Opposite problem. That's a major teacher of my guide for a move there.

But much like stand-up comedy cat, the flight attendant industry has no standardized guidance on how to report sexual abuse from customers. So when we talk about unionization, which also is something that's been impossible to happen in the world of stand-up. Yeah. What are the strategies, Sarah, because like you see what's happening with Amazon, you knowto happen in the world to stand up. Yeah. What are the strategies, Sarah? Because like you see what's happening with Amazon, you know, in Starbucks where their employees are gaining a little bit of ground.

And you know, right now, as it stands right now, Delta's the only major U.S. airline without a flight attendant union, and you know, and they announced the, well, was it earlier this year, hey, we'll, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th,this year. Hey, we'll pay you while the door is open on the plane. Halftime. Ain't that nice? That was insane to me. I had no idea that was a thing. That you're not getting paid during boarding. That's crazy. Yeah. Yeah. That's half of the shit goes down. That's the worst part. I mean this is why we organize, right? So this is to that to that point Sarah is what delta is what they're doing Because Starbucks and them you see what Starbucks is doing Starbucks is like oh we just gonna close it. Oh, y'all trying to unionize Oh, that's still one out of business for underperforming. Where's Delta is what Delta is doing? Is that part of a strategy to distract from unionization efforts or is it a step in the right right? th right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. the. the. I the. I the. I the. the. they. they. they. the the the. they. the the the thea. the their? Oh, it's both. I mean, so we, we were thrilled.

This is going to set a new standard. I mean, if we keep organizing and we're all at the table right now, I've talked to other CEOs and I'm like, you realize they're all going to have pay boarding pay now, and they're like, yeah, yeah, we know. And I said, and you you you you you and you and you and you and you and you, and you, and you, and you, and you, and you, and you, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you th, and you th, and you th, and you th, and you, and you, and you, and you, and you, and you, and you, and you, and you, and you, and you, and you th, and you th, and you th, and you th, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and you realize, and, and you realize, and you realize, and, and, and you realize more than tilt as pain. Yeah, we know, we know. So this is what's going to happen. And this is not a demand that really came to the table prior to 9-11, because we didn't, boarding just wasn't as hectic. You had more flight attendants, this wasn't something that was a huge requirement.

Instead, what we bargained for pay protections so that would would th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. This is thi. This is thi. This is thi. This is thi. Instead, what we did was we bargained for pay protections so that would have formulas to make sure that we're getting a minimum number of flight hours because our pay is normally based on flight hours and we were exempted from the Fair Labor Standards Act. That's the problem. In 1938, the Congress set the standard here that pushed us out of any of the duty, our and arrest regulations that a normal worker might get. So during this time, staffing was cut, our planes got a lot fuller, the the mergers happened prior to the pandemic, and they cut a lot of capacity out of the industry.

So it got harder and harder and harder for flight attendants, not to mention the fact that our union was really successful in doing things like making sure that we have defibrillators on board, so our responsibilities around health care of the passengers, just increased, our security duties increased after 9-11. Everything got harder, but we weren't getting paid. And so, yeah, we're gonna get paid now.

So is this good or is this a bad thing? It's a great thing and we're saying great, this is why we organized. Delta did it to try to stave off the Union Drive, and we're so used to that. So they did it thinking they were gonna kill the the union, actually what happened. It totally backfired on Delta because what you were saying is exactly what happened. Delta thought they were gonna get heralded as the heroes and Flights and Sons were gonna say,

oh, we don't need a union because our management treats us so well. And instead, the public was like, you weren't paying flight and tennis reporting. And so frankly, I they said, but we're the only ones. And then the answer was still, you weren't paying flight attendants try and boarding? And so frankly, I actually think that it just made our organizing drive pick up more steam. Because the flight attendants started to feel their power about what they could achieve when they came together and started trying to form the union.

And sure enough, Delta did something that they said just three months earlier they would never do. So when people start to feel their power and start to actually experience that they can make change that only gets people more committed to getting that done so the the organizing campaign is just picking up steam but Delta intended the opposite effect. Ha ha got them. What is the four D's of union busting? Is it divide? DLay, distract, and demoralize. Yes.

Destruct. Oh, no, not destruct. Demolish. Yeah, we could probably add two more D's. So that who's driving that. Before we get to the break and start talking solutions, who are the people that that that have that have that have that have that have that have that have that have that have that have that have that driving that? Before we get to the break and start talking solutions, who are the people that have been at the core of this change when it comes to unionizing, this grassroots effort that's going on, you know? What will you say is the general makeup of this group of employees? It's called people who know that no one laid out the red carpet for them. Minors are on strike in Alabama for the same things that they've th tho tho tho tho tho they they they they they they they they've they've they've they've they've they've they've they've they've they've tho that that that that that that that that that that thate their that tho tho tho tho tho tho-a tho-a thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their that. that. that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that thooooooooooooooooo. th. one laid out the red carpet for them. I mean, minors are on strike in Alabama for the same things that they fought for 100 years

ago. The eight-hour day, vacations, sick time, a secure retirement, health care that's affordable. I mean, all of the things that they were fighting for a hundred years ago have been extracted from the workplace. And so people are understanding that more and more corporate power is a bad thing. And it's more and more inequality, and it's less and less opportunity for people. And so the same reasons that people formed unions a hundred years ago are the same reasons that unions are popular today. That average people, working people, the vast majority of people in this country, the working class,

know that nothing else is working. If they can keep going to the vast majority of people in this country, the working class, know that nothing else is working. If they can keep going to the polls and voting for people, but as long as the political process keeps getting tied up by the people with all the money, nothing's going to change. Doesn't matter how popular an idea is, 90% of the public loves it, but, you know, one percent of the public says it's not going to happen because it's not good for us, then it's not going to change. And the only way to tackle capitalism is to tackle capital where it exists in the workplace. So you know, who can take on a billionaire? Well, Chris Smalls, you know, somebody who organizes their union can take on a billionaire and that billionaire doesn't have to answer to anybody else. After the break, I want to talk solutions and cat, I want to talk to you about the things

that you all weren't able to leave in the piece because of everything we've covered just now. How do you boil that down into just a couple of minutes with Trevor, we are talking flight attendants and the importance of adding in-flight shrooms to the food menu. Beyond the scenes, we'll be right back. You're dealing with an industry, Sarah, where, you know, greedy CEOs always undercutting the bottom line and making issues harder for you, which makes it harder for passengers who make it harder for you, the flight attendants who are there in their face, and then when you try to unionize, they undercut you by offering you crumbs. What can be done to improve the working conditions?

And Kat, did you all explore that at all when you all were writing this segment in the show? Because it's so hard sometimes at the daily show where you can either talk a the the the to to the to to to to to to the to to to the to to to the to to to the to the show because it's so hard sometimes at the Daily Show where you can either talk about the causation or you can talk about the solution but we rarely have time for both within a single piece. Did you find that to be the issue here? Yeah I mean for this especially it's like the and a lot of times it's about responding emotionally and this like the emotions of the videos like looking at the anger of the passengers and seeing the real threats that were facing flight attendants. I feel like we wanted to kind of capture the emotion that probably most viewers feel when they see that especially as most people have had the experience of flying so they can relate it's something everybody

can relate to. So I think for this piece, we wanted to kind of get at that emotion of the pent-up rage everybody's been feeling, but also like how to express that. I feel like it kind of came at a time where we were doing a lot of pieces of kind of like how to get back to real life and what does that look like, So I feel like we kind of came at it from that angle of like airlines and this industry is one more industry hit by the pandemic and also one more part of life that people are having to learn how to do again. So I think we kind of took it from that approach because yeah getting to what causes this? What are the solutions? I mean we could do a whole week of shows on that kind of stuff. So you you tak took took took took took took took to to to to to to to to to to to to to the to to the to to the to to th. to th. to to to to to to to to to tho. the the tho. tho. to to the to to the the the their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their. their their their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their their. their their thi. thi. the. thooooooooooooooooooo. I. I. I. toe. toe. toe. th. I their th. I the. I the week of shows on that kind of stuff. Sarah, you talked about what your union is doing from the legislative side, but what can we do? Just regular people, me, Roy, gold medallion flyer.

Ooh, brag much? Wow, okay. It was platinum and then they closed all the comedy clubs and I lost some of the status. What can we do to support flight attendant, Sarah? Okay, so I'm going to give to do to do to to to do to to to do to to to do to to to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do the to do the the the the the their their their the, just just just just just their th. th. th. th. th. th. Just th. Just, just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just the the the the the the the the the the they. they. they. they. they. they. they they. they. they. they. they. the. the. the. thean. thean. that the. that that that the. that the. the. the. the. the. the. the status. What can we do to support flight attendant, Sarah? Okay, so I'm gonna give some real practical things and then we'll talk a little bit more about, you know, what the long-term impact is here. Other than free massages near the cockpit. Yeah, so I mean, frankly, recognize us as human beings. So one of the problems is that we don't even connect anymore as human beings.

So when you're getting on a plane, just put the phone down second, let us know that you see us, we see you, and let us know that you have our backs. So if something goes down on the plane, we know who our helpers are. That's a huge help right there immediately on the plane. And then let us know when something is going wrong. When you see something brewing, let us know as soon as possible because there's fewer of us to see these things anymore and the sooner we can get to issues and try to de-escalate, the better off we're going to be. But long-term, you know, frankly, there's a contract of carriage that you sign off on th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. There's a th. There's a th. There's a th. There's a th. There's a th. A th. A th. A th. A th. A the. A the. A the. A the. A the. thr-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-s, the-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-s. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th-a-a-s th-s th-s, th-s, th-s, th-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s, there's a contract of carriage that you sign off on when you buy your ticket and any CEO would not go to work for an airline without their own

contract and very clear about what they're going to make and so talking to flight attendants about having their contract and getting engaged in their union and you know giving us the power to fight for our work space because that's your travel space, too. That's really helpful. And so cheering people on who are unionizing and cheering people on who are in contract negotiations, that's helpful for the flight attendants.

And frankly, it's gonna be helpful for you as a passenger too. So we shouldn't just border planes like, yeah, hey. I'll tell you one of my solutions to help flight attendants. They gotta stop putting y'all in them vests. Nobody respects a vest. We gotta overhaul the uniform. You gotta go club bouncer, single secret service, earpiece. Bomber jackets.

That black bomber jacket zipped to the collar, zipped all the way up. If you're, if it's like nightclub bouncer type energy, I guarantee you people respect it. Listen, that's... Right, you are combining two of my favorite things right now because, you know, the four d's, we talked about that before, the union busting. So even if the unions there are management still trying to bust the union all the time with, you know, divide, delay, distract and demoralize. So distracting, whenever there's contract negotiations, that's when they bust out plans for a new uniform because they're hoping it's totally going to distract people. So you are bringing my two things and putting them together. So you're saying that some of the time when airlines change uniforms, that's basically a couple going through some issues.

Yeah, pretty much. He bought me a new ascot. He says he loves me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we got these uniforms. You know what? I hope that the uniform committees at every airline, the union uniform committees are watching this,

and they're gonna get some ideas. Because, you know, the uniforms always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always. to. to. to. the the the their. their. their. the their. the the the the the the the the the the the the the their their their. their. the you know the uniforms always end up being a huge problem in terms of... Where's a vest? Yeah yeah yeah I mean people... magicians, valet parkers, like these are not people you're intimidated by. We'll get you out of here on this Sarah and it's a cliche question but you're here and you've done this for many many years so why not ask you. What's the weirdest experience you've had as a flight attender and you've got a Bivia thing like you we didn't even get into emotional support Peacocks today. Oh yeah what's the weird what's the weirdest thing like give us one that stands out all time great. I know so I'm gonna I'm gonna pull from my personal repertoire because of course I get all the reports and I can tell you all the weird things but you know

the weirdest one was when I was working a flight out of Vegas and it was an overnight flight and I had say no more flight attendants who were with me. Yeah yeah so this this guy comes on, he's like six, six, three hundred and fifty pounds and we're just trying to make space for everything and like I said, I have these two, they were the first week on the job, these two other flight attendants I was working with. And then he starts acting up right after we take off. He goes in the bathroom, and it just keeps escalating. And then pees all over one of the bathrooms, one of the labs, we had to lock that off and then he decided he was gonna like pee on the back door, then he was gonna try to open the back door. Then he decided he was gonna do a strip tease in the middle of the aisle

because you know all the all the families with little kids that that were on the plane thought that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was really that was that was that was that was that was that was really that was really that was really that was really that was really that was really that was that was really that was really that was really that was really that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was th was that was th was th was th was th was th was th was th was th was th was th was th was th was th was th was really that. that. that. that. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. the. thi. that. that was that was that. that was that was th. that was really cool and I'm looking around six three-thirty this is like world strongest man to yeah yeah and I'm looking around remember I said you know put your phone down so I know you might be a helper I'm looking around who are my helpers on this flight I'm like oh my god there is nobody who can help with this 350 pound six six foot six six six to six guy clearly on drugs so anyway I was a train tea toe so th I th I th I th I th I th th th th th th th th th th th th th th the the the the the the the the the the the the th th th th th th th the the the the the. th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th the the the. the. the the. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the to the the the the the the the the the the the the the the anyway, I was a trained teacher. Yep, cat, that's right, high school teacher. And so I finally I was like, you know what? I gotta do something. So I went to the back of the plane and I said to him,

in my best teacher voice, I was like, you sit down. Stop talking other people, stop doing anything. I want you to keep your hands in that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's right that's that's that's right, that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's. that's. That's. That's. That's. That's. that's. that's. that's. that's. that's. that's. that's. that's. that's. that's. to to be. to be. to be to be to be to do. the. the. the. theateateateathea. the the the too. the too. too. too. that's that's that's that's that's that's that's theat, stop stripping, stop doing anything. I want you to keep your hands in your lap. And if you do that, we're going to go to Chicago and you're going to go off the plane in handcuffs in Chicago. If you don't do that, one more ward out of you, one more little peep, and we're landing in Des Moines, your ass is going to jail in Des Moines. And he sat quietly the rest of the flight and then when we landed the police came on, put him in handcuffs, took him off.

And John, it was like, choose your own prison and he just picked Chicago over Des Moines. He did, he did. I'm sorry to Moin, but yeah that was what this dude, that was what got to him. And then the other two flyers tens quit. Oh no! Yeah, that was it. No, no, no. Did a man. That's, I love that. It was like, it was like that lady hooks and the old police academy movies,

the little soft-spoke and black woman, when she was finally fed up, when she was finally fed up. No, my God! Cat, what about you? You've flown a lot. What's the weirdest thing you've seen? I would say like the biggest asshole I've seen in the airport. It seemed somewhat harmless, but it was this woman pushing her like Louis Vuitton luggage all stacked up, like pushing it around the airport, but not on a luggage cart on a wheelchair, like one of the airport the airport the airport the airport the airport the airport, like pushing it around the airport, but not on a luggage cart, on a wheelchair, like one of the airport wheelchairs.

And so a man from the airport came over to her and he was like, oh miss, you know, you can't use the wheelchair for your luggage. And she just goes, oh no, it's fine. No one was using it. And I thought, I hope not like she thought people were worried because like someone was using it were like what we think you like dumped a body out of this wheelchair to put your bags on top that that's such a great like just answer it's like that old day she bill joke I'm sorry officer I didn't know I

couldn't do that yeah yeah that. This has been a wonderful, wonderful discussion. Sarah, I cannot thank you for being a part of this. That's all the time we have for today. Thank you to our guest, Kat and Sarah, and thank you all for going beyond the scenes with us. Thanks Roy. Thanks Roy, Sarah. Thanks, Rancat. The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Ears Edition. Subscribe to The Daily Show on YouTube for exclusive content and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount Plus.