Interviewed on April 14 and 27, 2023
The interview describes the life and career of Sylvie Anne Moore, who was a stewardess and flight attendant with Pan American World Airways in 1970 to 1986, when United Airlines acquired Pan American’s Pacific routes, and with United, where she worked as a flight attendant, chief purser, and language trainer until her retirement in 2016; childhood and education, her experiences as a high school exchange student in Germany and university-level language education in Germany and Spain; experiences on an American Airlines flight to New York, influence on career choice; motivation to work for Pan American, hiring process, and training at the New York base on the Boeing 707, 727, and 747; training flight from the Miami base on a Boeing 727 to Central America, other Miami-based routes to the Caribbean and Central and South America; decision to transfer to San Francisco and later Los Angeles bases, process, and Pacific and round-the-world routes including East and South Asia and the Middle East; typical working flight, experiences while working in the first class galley, and activities on her layover days; experiences on Rest and Recuperation (R&R) flights to and from Vietnam, thoughts about the war, and influence of a close friend who was injured in Vietnam; training as a belly dancer, crew layover parties where she performed; airline-related incidents during her career, vacation traveling; Pan American’s policies on language specialists on various flights, benefits gained by speaking German, Spanish, and French; thoughts and feelings about Pan American, uniforms, pride she felt; meeting Charles Lindbergh on a flight; decision to transfer to United Airlines in 1986, process of merging two airlines’ crews, temporary loss of seniority, and differences between the two airlines; decision to begin studying Japanese prior to the merger, first flight with United from Los Angeles to Honolulu, new uniform, and process of learning to work with new crews, aircraft [McDonnell Douglas DC-10], and procedures; routes she flew; education in Japanese language and culture; decision to earn a Master’s degree in linguistics from UCLA, experiences of leadership in the development of United’s language school, process of developing the program; experiences as chief purser, management style, effects of work on family life and health; decision to donate career materials to SFO Museum.
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