I’m convinced that Jamie Gibson—known affectionately in the flight attendant world as ‘Flightess,’— is a goddess, unicorn, angel, chef extraordinaire, and more; wrapped up in a bow and presented to the world as: “Corporate Flight Attendant.” She is so much wonderful and her tips, advice, and Instagram continuously inspires next level private jet styling.
I have not only been impressed with Jamie’s culinary creativity at 45,000ft, but her kindness, openness, and mission to bring the private aviation industry together is unmatched. With a investment in community as opposed to competition, she is an example of the spirit and dedication that we all should strive for.
Recently Jamie launched her website, Flightess.com (which is a MUST read/follow) and was kind enough to talk with ‘Flight Attendant Life’ in this short Q&A below. Thank you, Flightess and make sure you Darlings follow this Babe immediately:)
1. Question: What was your inspiration and motivation for creating Flightess?
This is a three prong answer for me. The motivation is undoubtedly the disparity I see in our industry of what is currently trending in regards to the Private Inflight Experience and the room to understand what it can be— more-so what I truly believe it should be. Our clientele is unique; in the sense that they are exposed to the very best the world has to offer. We should reflect that with every component of the service we provide inflight. The inspiration was also to create a community-space surrounding and celebrating the insanely talented professionals that work in private aviation. The dream of Flightess is to have the readers also be the content creators. And lastly, and a bit more poetically, I am madly in love with what I do. Flightess is my love letter— an investment to a career I fiercely love.
2. Question: What is your favorite aspect of being a Corporate Flight Attendant?
I have to start this with a bit of a hackneyed quote, but I assure you it ties into my answer. “There is no traffic on the extra mile.” I will not sleep or enjoy any layover until I have procured a “wow” factor that is specifically curated to my passengers. It is both my favorite and also the most challenging aspect of my role as a private jet cabin attendant. There is no greater feeling of professional accomplishment than genuinely ‘wowing’ your guests. I am completely and totally addicted to it.
3. Question: What is one misconception people have about your job?
Oh boy, the glamour. “YoUr JoB LoOks SoOoOo gLaMouRoUs!!!”
I’M HERE TO TELL YOU HOW UN-GLAM IT IS FOLKS! It is fatiguing and heartbreakingly difficult at times. I may be somewhere fabulously tropical and luxurious, but I’m not there for pleasure. I’m there for work. It’s my biggest pet peeve when people are interested in becoming a Corporate Flight Attendant because they “love to travel.” I gently encourage them to try commercial flight attendant-ing. On any given layover, I am at the local markets shopping for my next trip; begging Executive Chefs to prepare 5-star quality meals for my catering, shopping for the plane, preparing menus, going to the plane on a layover day to clean and organize, or trying to source passenger requests that are so impossible that the proverbial “jumping through hoops” phrase doesn’t suffice to describe the task.
4. Question: What is your go-to/favorite recipe to create on a flight?
I’m going to shift my answer a bit from the question but I think it’s very much applicable to the answer, stay with me here people;) I would say my favorite culinary go-to inflight is less a recipe and more so a concept. It’s taking simple, everyday, foods and elevating them to a Fine Dining aesthetic level. My guest may order scrambled eggs, yes, I’ll make them fresh in my galley with my microwave. So, how do we elevate one of the most basic breakfast foods? Maybe add a drizzle of white truffle oil? Maybe, we plate it beautifully in a food ring? Or MAYBE, we scramble our eggs with some creme fraiche, make a quenelle of caviar for the garnish, and gentle lay a whole chive on top of it all. Now, that is a philosophy I can get behind, teach, and implore my fellow ‘Flightesses’ to adopt.
5. Question: Where can people find you/Flightess?
On my off time? You’ll find me traveling; trying new restaurants as I am constantly sourcing inspiration. I cheekily refer it as “Flightess research,”( **kindly cue my fiancé’s eye roll** ;), and spending time with my loved ones.
On the world wide web? www.flightess.com and @Flightess on Instagram.
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