Secret Codes

Dear Shawn,

Going to the airport is so much fun. I have always enjoyed doing so, even before I became a flight attendant. I love people watching. I love plane spotting. I love the architecture of a well-designed airport terminal. The large windows make for great storm watching, or just enjoying takeoffs and landings on a clear day.

After I got my job at Mother Airline, my mother asked me about something she had observed when making a change to her ticket. I had noticed it, too and I’m sure many others have. Mom wanted to know why it takes the agent so long to make changes, “What is all that typing she is doing?” She had this whole comedy routine about dealing with the agent in the airport, complete with her mimicking the typing motion with her hands.

“Hi,” Mom would say as she reached the imaginary counter. “I’d like to see if I could change to a window seat.” The agent would take the ticket and begin typing.

The agent would ask a simple question, and there would be more typing. “Do you want towards the front of the plane, or back?” Type, type type. “Are you checking a bag?” Type, type, type. Wait. Type, type, type. Wait. Glance up and back down. Type, type, type.

Mom would ask, “Are they writing a letter? Are they writing to their kids in college? Letters to the editor? Working on a book?”

Mom’s comedy always made me laugh, but what I found out with this job is that the computer systems used by the airlines are so antiquated, that every entry requires a code and then the information. It’s not like a windows-style computer, where you just enter or click. In fact, there aren’t even mouse devices on their computers.

Talk about brain exercises, to look up my work schedule for the month, I have to remember a six-digit code: ‘dsplof’. This pulls up a line of code with spaces. In the spaces I input my file number, the month and base. At the end of the line of code, I enter, and then my schedule for the month comes up. Want to write a flying partner? That starts with ‘bldnot’. To pull up an upcoming flight- ‘dspid/’. Want to know who I’m working with- fltlof. Lots of codes. Nothing but codes. Every flight attendant has stashed away somewhere, and more likely in more than one location, a list of codes needed in order to survive the behind the scenes aspect of flying the skies.

Good times. I’m thinking maybe I should actually go write Mom. See you soon.