work with us

ramp service

I'm at the airport first thing in the morning working with our team to get ready for the first flight of the day. We get in, look at the manpower available, what gates we're assigned to, and check the flight sheets to see when the flights are coming in and out. We then get to the gate and make sure the equipment's all there and that everything's fueled, charged and ready to go.

When the first flight comes in we start working on getting all the bags loaded up so the flight can take off on time. Even though we work hard to keep everything running on time, our most important responsibility is safety. We work with heavy equipment and around jet aircraft so we have to trust our training and follow procedures. We also need to trust each other and work as a team. I think that's why there's such a family feeling on the ramp.

We do get some time to relax, too. Most of our flights come in around the same time during a "bank," so in between banks we can go into the break room, have lunch and catch up.

One of the things I look forward to most is using the flight benefits. I'm hoping to take my kids to Disneyland in June and then go to San Diego to visit family. The flight benefits are huge. Another highlight of this job is how excited my 10-year old daughter gets when she hears which plane I worked on that day. It seems like every day I work on a plane with a different animal on the tail. Her favorite was when I told her I worked on the plane with Flip the Dolphin on the tail as it was getting ready to go to Puerto Vallarta.