When I became a flight attendant I was told by multiple people, “Do NOT date a pilot!” So I told myself I would never date a pilot. There is a stereotype about pilots being unfaithful, non-committal, and promiscuous. Like any stereotype there is some truth to it and some pilots will fit into that description. I have heard many stories of pilots have multiple families in different cities. There are also many stories of pilots going on dates during their layovers as if it doesn’t count because they are in another country.

So here I am 4 years into my flight career and dating a PILOT. I met my boyfriend back in college before either of us got into aviation. We had not spoken to each other in a few years but kept up with each other’s lives through social media. We were friends and when I got my job offer to become a flight attendant I reached out to him. I asked him if he had a tips for transitioning and adjusting to the lifestyle. After reconnecting he told me he had been interested in dating me in college but didn’t have the courage to ask me out back then. During my first year of flying we happened to run into each other at the Portland airport. He was between flights and I had just flown in and was waiting for my family to arrive on a later flight. He asked me out on a date and my initial response was, “I’m sorry but I don’t date pilots. We can still be friends.” It took him FOUR years to finally get me to agree to a date.

In those four years he had dated other girls and I had dated other guys. All my relationships were short lived (with some ending very badly) as they all could not adjust to my on-the-go lifestyle. Sometimes it could be days or even weeks between seeing each other with most of our interactions with each other being through technological devices. After a while it seemed like I was going to have to be okay with the idea of being alone forever. There are flight attendants who can make relationships work with those outside

The day we ran into each other at PDX back in 2015

of our industry but far more have a different story. Many senior flight attendants (senior as in years flying and not age) have been married multiple times and have no children.  It was starting to think that might be my future too. Then I realized what I was currently doing was not working so why not try something new. Why not go on one date with a pilot who also happened to already be a friend? If it didn’t work out at least we would still be friends and I got a free dinner.

By the end of the date I had come to the realization that saying yes to a date was one of the best decisions I had made. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for this relationship.