Confessions of an Airline Agent

Budget Travel gets the goods on what it's like to work for a major airline in the provocatively titled piece, Confessions of an airline agent. As with all titillating titles, I assumed the article would be a let down. Can the behind-the-scenes experience of a modern day airline agent really be that scandalous? Well, yes actually, if you consider a woman breastfeeding a Chihuahua scandalous...

The story's many anecdotes remind you that plane delays/maintenance problems/overcrowding/etc are not the agent's fault. Sometimes the agent is the last one to know. Not only are agents' wages horrible, but the one major perk of the job, flying for free, is increasingly difficult "because planes are always packed with paying customers." Passengers are also suffering: "free upgrades are incredibly hard to come by."

The article's most interesting revelation is definitely ticket agents' wealth of Passenger Name Records (PNRs). Ever had a heated argument with an airline agent? There's a good chance the details are included in your PNR; and that includes bizarre behavior like the crazy lady who breastfed her dog on board a flight. As you'd expect, PNRs also come in handy for "airline-employee gossip, especially when shocking behavior is involved." [CNN]