Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I read this book because of Pan Am and the job depicted. I reached the minimum age required to apply for the job just when Pan Am collapsed, but the legend of this airline is precisely what has always made me dream as well as ache about the airline industry. And this book says it all: on the one hand, it's all about glamour, exotic places, a jet-set way of life, and on the other hand, you get to read insulting judgment about how the non-elite (translate anyone who was not a Pan Am crew member, deadhead or first class passenger) managed to ruin the image and glory of a flight attendant's life, especially when we arrived by busloads with deregulation. I found those terms appalling from the mouth of someone who has made service industry her career and lived a wonderful life from it. No one really chooses to be in economy class, though.
Finally, after reading this book, I came to wonder whether Pan Am wasn't in fact also victim of its elitist image... How could an airline survive today with such a haughty behavior towards its passengers? How could they have been rescued by other airlines they once despised? Could Pan Am be something else than a legend of the past? In light of the author's state of mind, I bet most of its survivors would not have it any other way... Wouldn't it be nice however, if a contemporary, friendlier Pan Am reappeared and let us experience the magic of worldwide air travel?
Don't get me wrong: I too miss Pan Am because it had such a great image, great routes and it's true it's responsible for the best-looking image of crew members, and sure, I too would have been proud and happy to be a part of it and quite depressed when losing it all. In fact, this book really taught me how self-indulgence can be dangerous. Let's just hope the author got a glimpse of this deep inside herself.
By the way, I don't know when the author last came to Tokyo, but the Oriental Bazar in Tokyo still exists, at least it has since 91 until now.
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