Flying by the Seat of My Pants: Flight Attendant Adventures on a Wing and a Prayer

by Marsha Marks

Take a look at life from behind the beverage cart.

“They asked me to be groomed, be kind, and show up on time; it was too much pressure.”
“It was like being a waitress, only I was hurtling through space and wound up in Paris.”
“I thought it would be funny to climb into the overhead bin. How did I know the President of the United States would be on the flight that day?”

Where flight attendant Marsha Marks goes, funny things happen, and she tells them all in this hilarious and insightful chronicle of her career as a naive flight attendant and a struggling author. From missed flights to missing uniforms, miracle babies to indecipherable southern accents, Flying by the Seat of My Pants is a laugh-out-loud reminder of what is important and what keeps us steady through the turbulence of life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Travel, Humor

160 pages, Paperback

First published May 17, 2005

Reviews

[♥ Sandi ❣ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Crazy little book dedicated to the profession of the author - an airline stewardess. Many little vignettes telling an abundance of stories. Stories about her family, her friends, and her hilarious antics as a stewardess, both her own antics and also that of accompanying stewardesses, along with that of passengers.

Everything from having to carry, what felt like, a 100 pound bag of rocks, to stuffing her size 12 body into a size 2 uniform, to being refused clearance due to her own carry on bag testing positive for bomb making materials, to meeting Erma Bombeck, to the secret service finding her hiding in an overheard bin. Some heart warming, but mostly funny stories covering her 30 years in flight.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book from my friend. It is a really qick and easy read. Because I am also aprt of this airline breed.. I was laughing so hard about the details and out of control things that happen... truely only in the airline business. The main character reminded me of my friend Alisha (Flight attentant. If you need a good laugh, nothing depressing and fun book. This is it.

[Rossy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read, short chapters, not laugh out loud moments as it promised (I giggled at a couple of chapters), but kind of entertaining nonetheless.

[Colin · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a breezy little book I read in a day during jury duty. Several stories had a punchline that gave me a good laugh. But as a former Customer Service Agent/Supervisor for an airline, there wasn't much here surprising to me. I've seen many more funny, and disturbing, events during my days in the airport.

This was written in a motivational book style of brief stories no more than 3 pages long. And Marsha really wears her spirituality on her shoulder. This book would definitely be a fun quick read for some. I was left a little bit wanting.

[Thomas Andrikus · Rating 3 out of 5]

In some of the stories, the author Marks simply tries too hard to be funny. Nonetheless, they are all insightful in providing a glimpse on what it is like to be working as a flight attendant. This makes the rest of us, whose only contact with aeroplanes are merely limited in our roles as passengers, become more appreciative for what flight attendants do for us.

[Melissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

an interesting look into the life of a stewardess, but i hate people who think they are funny when they're not. on top of that flaw, this author sprinkles in way to many I love Jesus moments. attempts at humor and religion don't mix.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marsha sounds like a nice lady and I'm sure she was/is a stellar flight attendant. Her jokes fall a little flat in the writing, but I'm sure they're fine in the air.

Overall a very quick, simple read (1/3 the text of Cruising Attitude, if even) with a quick overview of the same things the other books cover: the conflicting rigidity and chaos of airline flight attendant's lives, strange situations on an aircraft, obnoxious passengers and co-workers, a bit of life outside the airline, and turbulence.

I've read so much about turbulence the last couple weeks, I surely hope it sticks in my head the next time I'm on a plane being rattled around like quartz in a rock tumbler.

[Grace · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm embarrassed to say that I read this book. As a former flight attendant, I was so disappointed in the representation in the characterization. I did not identify with the overwrought emotions (even though I recognized the situations as common to that business). There are hilarious stories to tell of those days, but Marsha's stories feel a little dishonest and exaggerated. Her attempts at humor result in some poorly constructed punch-lines. Maybe a creative writing class would help?

[RYCJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The opening was just hilarious, and writing genuinely gorgeous. Favorites were "the tumors" and the "have you seen my mother?" The story on Hannah was sweet, and Erma Bombeck interesting. This small book of short stories actually is suited perfect for reading while traveling... in flight to be more specific.

[Cameron Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much fun!

The author’s good hearted sense of humor is delightful! I laughed out loud so many times while reading about her antics. It makes for a great read while traveling or on a rainy day; it’s fast paced and fun.

[Evie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had potential for so much more. Fell pretty short in content and style. Meh.

[Madison Provencal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute little quick read

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only good thing about this book is that it was really short and big type. There was one chapter that was just way too gross and made me want to DNF right then and there. The religious stuff while not overwhelming still felt unnecessary when it did pop up like it was there to justify it being published by a Christian publisher. The book was also disorganized and jumped around too much. I get not specifying the companies you work for but could you at least give us a year or make it chronological?

[Ren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining! I think the first part of the book was stronger than the end, but still a good read overall. Hmm, I have some of those benign tumors too (courtesy of my desk job). =) I thought for years that being a flight attendant would be a great job since I too love to travel. I took another path though.

[Rachelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The way Marsha writes takes some getting used to. In the beginning of reading this, I found the style clunky and unappealing, and I didn't think I would finish this. However, I love everything to do with flying and I used to dream of being a flight attendant before parenthood and Covid struck. So I continued on, and thoroughly enjoyed the stories of Marsha's life as a flight attendant.

[Karen Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The things that happened to the author during flights are so outrageous and her descriptions make for a very funny read. This should make for a great discussion at book club!

[Barb Blasch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick, fun book

[Jeanette · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wish I could give this negative stars. this was just...painful. From the view of a person who likes to read, not as a flight attendant...nothing about this flowed. it was random stories, some about flying, some not, that just made no sense. she was all over the place. and she randomly inserts annoying religious crap that has nothing to do with the stories or being a flight attendant. Coming from a flight attendant, I had high hopes for this book. um...no. it was boring, totally not cohesive, and I have no idea how in the world she was able to get it published. no no no.

[Courtney Chappell · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was very fitting that I read this book while I was on a flight. It didn't take long at all to read, and the chapters were very short. Basically, it is like one flight attendant telling stories about funny or weird things that happened to her. Sometimes I would be grossed out or laugh, but I don't think I would read it again.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really quick, light read reminiscent of Reader's Digest articles compiled into a book. The writer is very likable and I found her adventures as a flight attendant very enjoyable to read about.

[Neets · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, light-hearted read which helped me while away a rainy Sunday afternoon. Marsha's stories were often very short, not always laugh-out-loud amusing, but they did make me chuckle occasionally.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short little chapters without a lot of laughs...I would choose Elliott Hester's flight attendant tales over this one.

[Sherry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute tales from a flight attendant. Some of the stories she shared made me laugh.

[Melissa (Always Behind) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short book of essays about author's 20 year career as a flight attendant. Funny but could have been expanded.