Swap till you drop
I AM SWAPPING for a trip on the swap board, a computer-based program where flight attendants pick up, drop or swap trips with other flight attendants or with open time, which is a posting of all trips with vacant positions needing coverage.
The goal of flight attending is to work as many hours as possible with as few days away from home as can be arranged. The swap board is integral to manipulating schedules and we check it multiple times a day to see if someone has posted a trip they no longer want to work, if someone has picked up my trip that I’m trying to get rid of, or if there is a vacancy on a trip I want.
It is rumored that a group of flight attendants have developed a computer program called Snatch that somehow grabs prime trips off the swap board before anyone else can see them. IT at Delta has tried to crack down on Snatch and other unfair illegal swapping practices with various safeguards such as Ping authentication and captchas, with dubious success.
Then there is the Mandarin Mafia, a derisive name for a group of Chinese-speaking flight attendants,
a name that smacks of xenophobia, ageism, misogyny, as they are all young, tech-y, female and
Chinese. Supposedly they work as a cohesive group, one flight attendant dropping everything on her
schedule to her mafiosa friends, then sitting in front of the computer for hours on end, picking up
every desirable trip as it shows up on the swap board. These prized trips are then shared with
members of the Mafia.
Does the Mandarin Mafia truly exist? I have no idea but… a fellow f/a told me she once flew with a woman named Lily who proudly said she was the “kingpin” of the Mandarin Mafia. And one time I did see an amazing trip- deadhead (fly as a passenger while getting paid the same as if you’re working) to London, layover for two days, work back- basically a mini vacation in London! This exceptional trip was crewed entirely with junior flight attendants, all of whom had Chinese surnames.
But back to my swap. I see this really great trip on the swap board and I’m poised, ready to pounce. I have only seconds to input the trip details and add the captcha, hoping to do it quickly, before anyone else does. It’s first come, first served and I hope and pray I’m fast enough. My heart is pounding, I’m holding my breath, my hands are shaking, the countdown clock is winding down, I’m typing as fast as I can and – I get THIS captcha!
I’m laughing so hard I can barely take a screenshot.