Heather Poole

  • Fly Me: It’s 2017, so why are flight attendants still being sexualized?

    Fly Me: It’s 2017, so why are flight attendants still being sexualized?

      I’m a flight attendant. My job is to make sure passengers get from point A to point B as safely as possible, which is why I’ve been trained to handle any number of emergency situations, the kind that airlines don’t want you to think about when you’re in the…

  • When it Comes to Flight Attendants, Why is the Media so Sexist?

    When it Comes to Flight Attendants, Why is the Media so Sexist?

    “YOU HATE SEX, DIRTY DIRTY SEX…” That’s what a stranger tweeted to me out of the blue last year. I remember staring at the computer screen and thinking, what in the world…? Because I like sex. Why did she think I hated sex? Someone else followed up with something about…

  • My Uniform Made Me Sick. Could The Same Thing Happen To a Hockey Star?

    My Uniform Made Me Sick. Could The Same Thing Happen To a Hockey Star?

      On Friday nights in Dallas, when I was in high school, I liked to go to free concerts in the West End. My friends and I would dress up, walk around and basically goof off. On one of those nights a good-looking man handed me a rose. He’d bought…

  • Connect the Dots: Can Airplanes and Toxic Uniforms be Linked to Thyroid Disorders and Infertility?

    Connect the Dots: Can Airplanes and Toxic Uniforms be Linked to Thyroid Disorders and Infertility?

    A couple of weeks ago the New York Times published a story about cats that have hypothyroidism. A few people tweeted the link to me. One person wrote that it reminded him of me and what’s going on with the new uniforms at American Airlines. According to the article, feline hypothyroidism…

  • Open Letter: Why I won’t wear the American Airlines uniform

    Open Letter: Why I won’t wear the American Airlines uniform

    Dear Ms. Surdek, My name is Heather Poole, but you probably know me better as employee 447110. I’ve been a flight attendant with American for 21 years. I love my job and I’ve always been proud to work for American, so much so that five years ago I wrote about…

  • American’s uniform crisis: Airline shirks responsibility as people keep getting sick

    American’s uniform crisis: Airline shirks responsibility as people keep getting sick

      After President Bill Clinton stated, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman” the world focused on two words, “sexual relations” and what those words meant, exactly, in determining whether Bill Clinton had committed perjury. Paula Jones’ legal team asked Judge Susan Webber Wright to approve a very…

  • An Open Letter About American Airlines’ Uniform Crisis

    An Open Letter About American Airlines’ Uniform Crisis

    Dear Kerry Philipovitch: I’ve been a flight attendant for over 21 years. I’ve loved my job so much that I wrote a bestselling book about it, but that all changed in September when American Airlines rolled out new uniforms for flight attendants and pilots. Now I dread going to work. I…

  • My Uniform Makes Me Sick: (Part 3) Interview with Dr. William J. Rea about toxic clothing

    Before Sept. 20, 2016, I would have never dreamed of scratching my a — , er, butt cheek in public. Now that’s all I want to do when I’m at work. Usually I’ll start to feel the pin pricks when I’m standing behind the beverage cart in the aisle. They make me…

  • My Uniform Makes Me Sick (Part 2)

    My Uniform Makes Me Sick (Part 2)

    Flight attendants never forget the first time they see themselves in uniform. It’s one of the most exciting moments of their career, even when the uniform is hideous. The first airline I worked for was a low-cost carrier: Sun Jet International Airlines. I was 24, which might explain why I thought…

  • My Uniform Makes Me Sick (Literally)

    My Uniform Makes Me Sick (Literally)

    You’re at the airport. Your flight is cancelled. Nobody knows why. The only answer you’ve been given is totally lacking in information and, based on the number of times you’ve heard it, sounds robotic. “Only 10% of flights have been cancelled.” Would you shrug it off and walk away? What…