Tourism and Travel
03.05.2006, 17:45
Two former United Airlines flight attendants who live in Las Vegas won't be seeing the film "United 93."
For them, living the nightmare of the events Sept. 11, 2001, was enough.
Hotels in Vilnius
Although the producers of the film, which remains in the top 10 at the box office after its third week of release, say "United 93" is a tribute to the passengers and crew of one of the hijacked airliners that day, former flight attendants Kathleen Bell-Dascher and MaryAnne Houser say no film can accurately portray the fear and terror that enveloped them personally on the day that forever changed the aviation industry.
The good news for Bell-Dascher is that after being stuck in New York in the days after the attack and the nightmares and health problems that followed for months, she's now on the verge of certification as a sommelier at the Daniel Boulud Brasserie at Wynn Las Vegas.
Her decision to change careers came at a time when flying policies and procedures had been modified and when United itself was evolving as a result of its bankruptcy filing. While Bell-Dascher said she has no desire to see the film, she thinks it may help travelers see why federal authorities have implemented some of the restrictions that are in place.
"Initially, I thought it was a little soon (to release a movie about 9/11)," Bell-Dascher said. "Personally, I will not go and see it. I live with those thoughts on a daily basis."
Hotels in Riga
Bell-Dascher said much of the joy of her former profession began to evaporate as restrictions were implemented.
"Prior to leaving, I saw a change in the flying public," she said. "Some are always receptive to directives on the aircraft. But I started seeing some indignance. People felt we were asking them to do things unnecessarily. We had to pass along the changes and we tried to do it in a diplomatic fashion."
The people with the indignant behavior, she said, are the ones who should see "United 93." But she won't go because her 9/11 memories are so vivid.
Bell-Dascher, a 17-year United veteran, and her crew were scheduled to spend the evening of Sept. 10 in Washington D.C. and had a round trip scheduled between Washington and New York's LaGuardia Airport before the day was over. The crew was late leaving, but made it to New York. The return flight was canceled, so the crew was directed to stay at New York hotel about a mile from the World Trade Center.
"I got up early to go for a walk in the city and was supposed to call in the following morning to confirm when we were going out," she said. "I phoned the company for a pickup time and all of the circuits were busy."
Then she turned on the television to see the surreal picture of one of the Trade Center towers on fire. Then, on live television, she saw a United jet slam into the other tower.
"I thought it was some strange, sick home movie, but when I looked down at the corner of the television screen, it indicated that it was live."
At that point, Bell-Dascher and her crew were repeatedly frustrated in their attempts to leave New York. There was a bomb scare, an aborted attempt to get to the airport, an inquiry into renting a car and, finally, a warning from United that they would be disciplined — even fired — if they didn't follow instructions from the corporate office.
One of her frantic telephone calls was to Houser, a co-worker active in the leadership of United's flight attendant base in Las Vegas.
"I'll never forget that call," Houser said. "The screams and desperation in her voice is something that will be with me forever.
"No actor or actress is going to do that justice," she said, explaining one of the reasons why she won't see " United 93."
Houser also has left United, primarily because the pay and benefits the company took away from her when the company was in bankruptcy was too much for her and her family to handle.
She blames the federal government for mismanaging its response to 9/11 for the miserable travel experience the public has.
"I would like to say the employees of United went above and beyond what was expected of them," Houser said. " I don't blame the employees of United. They've really suffered, at the working level, not the corporate level. The blame lies with the federal government confusing travelers. Some days you can carry knitting needles and the next day you can't. Some places, you have to take off your sweater before you go through security. Some places you don't."
Houser said it got to the point that she couldn't go on a trip without kissing her entire family goodbye because some of her colleagues didn't have that opportunity.
Houser said she didn't know the crew from United 93 personally, but knew flight attendants CeeCee Lyles and Lorraine Bay by sight and they would acknowledge one another when passing through airports.
"I hate to see Hollywood capitalizing on what happened to my colleagues," Houser said. "I see it more as exploitation than as a tribute to them."
Assigned seats? — Southwest Airlines has again acknowledged that it is considering assigned seats for passengers on its flights.
Chief executive Gary Kelly said that it is gearing its reservation system to be able to make the switch quickly if and when the airline decides to implement a new boarding system. Any switch wouldn't occur this year or in 2007, he said, but the company is expected to make a decision on it later this year.
Southwest first began looking at assigned seating three years ago and when I reported that, many loyal customers pleaded with the airline not to make the switch because they like the first come-first served approach.
Kelly said if Southwest can improve customer service by changing the boarding process, it would.