Below find stories from staff at AMERICAN AIRLINES, UNITED AIRLINES, AIR FRANCE, BRITISH AIRWAYS, EL AL, AIR JAMAICA and others who work for AIRLINES.

Airline employees go to great lengths to keep America moving forward in a turbulent time. Do you have a story of pride to tell? Join in - visit reclaimingthesky.com, and click on "Proudly I Fly" to submit your story. Then check back: within 24 hours you'll see it posted below:

AMERICAN AIRLINES

NOTE: so many AA staff participated in the Pride "Kick-off" at LGA - as a result you can read additional American Airlines stories under that discussion, at "Pride Stories from LaGuardia Airport."

name: Mary T McKenna
airline/airport: AA Flight Attendant LGA/JFK

story:: I started flying 31 years ago in the heyday and excitement of the 70'S. Only one out of a thousand applicants was chosen to be a flight attendant. I had just learned that i had gotten a graduate school scholarship for psychology and grad school was going to be free! My mother was more excited about me becoming a flight attendant and discouraged graduate school. I was always proud to be a flight attendant- I thought of us as helpers or angels in the sky for lost, frightened, worried passengers.

We were the caregivers. We still are. I am proud to be a flight attendant now because of my colleagues. We have been through an awful lot together, deregulation, B-scale, oil prices, most other airlines going bankrupt, seeing others lose their pensions, and most importantly 9/11. We are still here and we still care. Flight attendants are the most resilient people I know- they are flexible. We are survivors, especially after 9/11. Nobody has given flight attendants credit for how brave they were that day. They were the first heroes to die- defending thir planes and passengers.

I know regular people were afraid to fly after 9/11, but flight attendants went right back up into the air, and refused to let terrorists decide their life. They did it because it was their duty. They are an amazing group of people - a sisterhood and brotherhood- a family- and I for one will have a great deal of trouble saying goodbye to this wonderful group of people when i decide to retire one day.

name: Nick Yiantselis
airline/airport: NEWARK AA Station Manager

story:: Growing up in Queens, down the road from LGA, the roar of the jet engines came to symbolize "home" in many ways. The sounds of aircraft and airports still make me feel that way.

I feel at home at an airport and enjoy the challenge of safely moving passengers around the world. I enjoy being part of an industry that because of its inherant danger is exciting and yet, due to the many dedicated profesionals in the business has become a routine way of travel.

After 21 years in the aviation industry I was reminded of the importance of what I do on September 11, 2001. I have not forgotten, and remain proud of what my collegues and I do on a daily basis.

I am also proud that we as an industry and as a country are recovering after a devastating blow.
Moving forward we are all wiser, more cautious and a lot more appreciative of what we have.

name: Augie Thorn
airline/airport: American Airlines, New York, LaGuardia

story:: It was Christmas time in San Francisco and I had just gotten to Gate 63 to work a full flight to Chicago. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a little boy crying. You could hear him as he sobbed to his parents about flying to Chicago for Christmas.

"How is Santa going to find me? He doesn't even know that I am leaving!"

It was heartbreaking. I boarded the 767 and happened to bump into the captain in the first class galley. I told him about our young passenger and asked if he would be willing to show the boy the cockpit to take his mind off of Santa.

Our crews at American Airlines are some of the most wonderful people in the world and I am blessed to be part of the AA family. Our captain offered to do better than that. I preboarded the family and told our young passenger the captain has requested to see him. When the family arrived near the cockpit, the crew stepped up to the plate!

The tour of the cockpit became quite the Christmas present. Our captain began showing this young passenger radar screens and maps, assuring him that Santa had them in his sleigh too. He pointed to dials and nobs in the cockpit and explained that Santa uses some of the same equipment to fly his sleigh. Then the captain reached over to the radio and began calling for Santa Claus.

A voice echoed in the cockpit and it sounded just like Santa Claus. He reassured our young friend that he knew he was heading to Chicago and that he looked forward to leaving his presents in the snow.

The young kid jumped with excitement and ran out of the cockpit to see his parents. After I finished boarding, I came down to close the door and saw the mother talking to the flight attendant in the galley. She wanted my name as she was thrilled at what we did for her son and for her family vacation. She swore she was writing a letter to our CEO and she was going to tell all her friends about what we did.

Thanks to the crew and a special voice in operations, we managed to turn this childs Christmas into something truly special. I also like to think we made the 4 hour flight for the other 200 passengers a bit more enjoyable too!

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UNITED AIRLINES:

name: Judee Beyer
airline/airport: United Airlines/Chicago

story: I remember the fear when I got that first call from the crew desk after 9/11. “Your trip is going out as scheduled next week.” A friend called me on Friday 9/14. She had just received the same dreaded phone call. She was scared and didn't know what she was going to do. She called looking for advice. As the days went by we all started getting our own version of that phone call and all of us had to make a difficult decision. Whether to get on an airplane again or "hang up our wings.” Most of our partners and husbands were ready for us to call it a career. I know my own husband broke down and cried and told me that he didn't want to lose me but that he would honor my decision.

The weeks following 9/11 showed the true bravery of those of us who had made the skies our home and the flying public. We all (and I mean ALL) got back on those planes. At first we were scared and saw the same in our passengers faces, but we carried on. We had always done our job with pride and no one was going to take that away from us.

I take pride every time I board an airplane. I'm proud to be a part of a group of people that moved forward through fear and mourning. That looked evil in the eye and didn't blink. I will always be proud to wear my wings. They stand for so much more that they did on 9/10/01.

Name: Jo Robbins
Airline/airport: EWR-United Airlines

Story:: 9/11/01 will always be a very vivid memory, however, my special memory is of the memorial service that was held for the crew and passengers on flight 93.

The 3 clery represented Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish faiths. Each one gave a very warm and special speech, however, Rabbi Patz was amazing. He spoke about having closure when there are no remains to memoralize, bury, etc. He spoke of the inability of the human mind to accept that someone is truly gone without having the"expected" type of closure and how we all had to support one another and the families and friends of the victims. In his closing remarks, he told the audience that he was the uncle of Eton Patz. (Eton Patz disappeared in NYC when he was 5 years old and has never been found).

The entire audience was silent with the reailization of what Rabbi Patz had shared was truly from his heart.....
Many of us will never have closure or acceptance of what was taken from all of us on 9/11, however, we do have an airline community that is unlike any group of people that I have ever encountered. We are a competitive group, but always there for each other when it counts!!!

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name: Eileen Ammiano
airline/airport: UAL EWRSW

story: I grew up in the airline industry. My 29 yrs & 4 months taught me skills that have served me in every facet of my life. How to get along with all variety of personalities, how to think on my feet and make decisions in a vacuum (literally!), how to manage and motivate a team of diverse employees, how to build relationships that are real and long lasting, how to appreciate the satisfaction of getting the job done successfully. And to experience the joy of helping others along the way.

People who come from aviation are a breed apart. I am proud to call many of them my friends.

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name: Diane M. Hanson
airline/airport: ewr

story:: Rockin’ 747. I am currently a retired flight attendant who flew the "Friendly Skies" of United from 1973-1996. With the series of tragic events and many lost over the years, I also hold onto the happy memories and unusual events that happened aboard our aircrafts throughout the years. During the middle seventies, while working a breakfast/Deli non-stop flight to Los Angeles I experienced just that!

While our Newark flight crew prepared our flight for boarding we were informed Ike and Tina Turner, The Ikettes and band members would be on our aircraft.
I worked the rear section of coach and served Tina and "the Ikettes" for most of the flight. Ike and a few of his band members were in First Class. The highlight of this trip began when the band, Tina and Ike decided to perform for the "entire aircraft"! These were the days when we had the lounges in coach. As the music started, band members were playing on instruments w/mini amplifiers. Tina and the girls were singing w/Ike and dancing in the isles up and down coach to the tune of "Proud Mary"!

What a memory............

name: julie Franco
airline/airport: San Francisco

story:: The History Museum in Tacoma Washington was having a memorial display of Items from the Twin Towers about three years after 9-11. So I went with friends, not realizing what emotions it would evoke for me...of course, I knew there would be the grief I had held close for so long.

While on layover in Paris a year before there was a memorial of photographs at the Miinistry of Defense building and I could not bring myself to walk in even though I stood outside the door. After 35 years of flying for United Airlines I can pick and choose where I fly...on 9-11 we had just touched down in Hong Kong, ignorant for another couple hours of the events that changed us forever.

Nine Boeing 747's for United were parked at the airport as we struggled to grasp what our eyes were showing us on the t.v. and news. We came together then, supported each other and ate all our meals together. We came home to a deserted airport on the West Coast and I could not wait to get on another aircraft. To see how others were coping, to talk to my flying partners and help to move through the days ahead. It was important to do this, because something ethereal had been passed to us from the ones caught in the one aircraft they could never leave. So now I step on the aircraft to London, or Sydney or Hawaii and think of them and silently dedicate my safe flight to theirs that were not safe.

I am so proud of all four of those crews on United and American...because I know they did every thing they could think of to help, just like we do every singele day we fly. I am proud of my uniform and what it represents, knowlege, safety and security. The answers to questions and confidence no matter what. I have fought fires, helped the sick and held the hand of the dying. Made babies stop crying and talked to those afraid of flying all in situations unique because we can't leave.

I hope for the rest of my career I can live up to what those who gave their lives stood for. We are all Americans and will remain United in the industry. We will stand the test of time and aviation history. The fifth Anniversary Memorial of Flight 93 was one of the most poignant dedications I have attended. An energetic gal named Kathy called on United flight attendants to come sing and was told no one would show up or volunteer...and from fourteen states we came to sing one song, over 60 of us.

I could not have been more proud. Now here at home in Washington State I have joined the Dept of Emergency Management in a Mounted Search and Rescue Unit with my two qualified Quarter Horses.

Julie Franco, San Francisco 40 years with United Airlines

AIR FRANCE:

Name: Jocelyne Notkin
Airport/Airline: Air France/Newark

For 32 years working for Air France, this has been a fantastic journey. I grew up tremendously in this industry, my heart beats whenever I see a take-off or a landing of our aircraft. After so many years, it's the same emotion! Every day is a new adventure. How many people get to say that about their job?

Name; Marie-Joelle Janin
Airport/Airline: Air France/Newark

I feel that I have made passengers' journey a little easier and more enjoyable, and also, as I always loved planes and the sky this is the perfect environment for me - and I am one plane away from my beloved Paris!

Name: Sonya Dinyari
Airport/Airline: Air France/Newark

As a working parent, I can only wish that my children experience the same joy in their jobs that they have witnessed their entire lives as their mother went out the door to her job!

Name: Gosia Bohatevewics
Airport/Airline: Air France/Newark

I like to help passengers. I do not want them to feel "lost at the airport," as I was feeling many years ago in one of the largest airports in Europe and I did not receive much help.

Name: Raza Hussein
Airport/Airline: Air France/Newark

It gives me an opportunity to make a difference in the travelers' experience by assisting them with wheelchairs, delayed bags, seat assignments and any questions concerning their travel.

Name: Nadine Leconte
Airport/Airline: Air France/Newark

It helps me build a better relationship with people from different parts of the world and a better opportunity to explore the world.

Name: James O'Malley
Airport/Airline: Air France/Newark

Every day is a challenge. Dealing with people from diverse backgrounds is very rewarding and you learn that people are more alike than different!

BRITISH AIRWAYS

Name: Andrea El Saieh
Airport/Airline: Newark, BA

I am proud of my work because it provides me with the opportunity to interact with people from all over the world. We never really know how much of an impact we have upon the lives of others with the smallest of gestures.

Over fifty years ago, I recall sitting alone on a Pan American Airways flight that was about to take off from Port-Au-Prince. I was on my way to boarding school in New York. I was only eight years old; I didn't speak English and i was terrified. Mr. Malbranche who was the director of Pan Am was walking through the aircraft when he spotted me. He came over and chatted with me for a few moments. I don't recall what he said, but I'll never forget his name or how special he made me feel and that is what I try to emulate in my work everyday.

When I sensed an elderly woman from India was afraid to get on the escalator in the arrivals hall I gently took her arm; guided her until we reached the bottom. I smiled as I watched the wonder of the moving staircase unfold across her face. When I am at work at the airport I am not just the face of British Airways, I am the face of America and that is why I like to smile.

Name: Donna Blanchard
Airport/Airlines: Regional Director for Mid-Atlantic States

I get an opportunity to inspire good people to be quick thinkers, crisis managers and outstanding service-providers to the traveling public in an industry that provides the fastest and most efficient means of global travel - bridging the gap between countries and unifying all peoples.

Name: Jolanta Wieronski
Airport/Airlines: British Airways/EWR

I love my job, for the chance to help people. My story? I once invited an elderly lady who was stuck in a snowstorm to stay at my house. The next day I drove her to the airport to catch her connection to Florida. She was visiting her sister she had not seen for 45 years. She was from the Chech Republic and spoke no English. I love my job.

Name: Joanne Mazzucco
Airport/Airlines: BA/EWR

Below are my thoughts that are my foundation through all the experiences and events I have experienced. I wrote this on March 11, 2002:

Although death is not unexpected, when it comes, it surely is.

On March 11, 2002, the lights of life were turned on to honour those who gave their lives unexpectedly and bravely.

May we always remember that?

So many of us go a long time without feeling good about life or ourselves and we also go a long time without someone making us feel good, and we also go without making it happen for someone else. We many times make other people feel good without deriving any pleasure from it. The key might be to connect ourselves to the experience that we take part in. Thinking of the old adage "It is better to give than receive." It can be both.

It is definitely worthwhile to feel good about what your are doing or experiencing. The emotions we feel and the kind of experiences we have can determine the life we live. We make or affect the kind of emotion or experiential things that happen to others and ourselves.

Therefore knowing you have the power you have to affect someone's life for the good or the bad is something to ponder. Consider the fact that you could make them feel good about themselves, that the "Power of One," becomes the power of two, then many.

Since September 11, 2001, there have been many who have changed lives. People who know how important it is to feel loved and comforted and they make it happen. They have been called, "Heroes." I know them as everyday people like you and me.

EL AL

Name: Sabb Shelton
Airport/Airlines: Ticket Agent. EL AL, EWR

I work with the children who fly alone! When they get off the airplane sometimes they are scared and I love to help soften the blow of a new country for them. I talk to them and make them feel at home - especially when America is not their first home!

AIR JAMAICA/ASIG

Name: Shovonne Veale
Airport/Airlines: Customer Service Agent, EWR, Air Jamaica

One time a man had his flight delayed. He had to wait a full day. He had no money and no place to go. He had spent all his money just to get from Pennsylvania to the airport in Newark. Some of my fellow co-workers and I got together and called a few hotels. We booked him a room with our own money. He was so grateful. I love to help people like that.

Name: Daniel Alarcon
Airport/Airline: Ticket agent/EWR/Air Jamaica

I like to serve the community in as many ways as I can. I learn a lot of things too. I especially enjoy the customers with the animals. I take special pleasure helping them through security when they are so confused.

Name: Shirley Porter
Airport/Airline: Ticket agent, USA 3000

For me I like to make a difference in people's lives. I escort people and take them to different terninals when they are lost. For me it's a learning experience as much as a helping experience, since I talk to them and learn from them. I got a recommendation from the EL AL pilots. The recommendation was for all the help I give in the morning, especially for small children and infants.

Name: Mel
Airport/Airline: EWR

There's never a dull moment!. I enjoy it when I meet someone new and they tell me their experience with me was a good one. It makes me feel great to be an airport employee.

Name: S.M.
Airport/Airline: Passenger Service Supervisor/EWR

My co-workers are my second family!

Name: Antonio Alonso
Airport/Airline: Agent, Air Jamaica

I feel good about the service I give to passengers, and I feel good the other way too when management at Air Jamaica gives me the same respect and treatment.

Name: Yolanda Abruzo
Airport/Airline: Agent, Air Jamaica

I feel proud to work with all the different people I see each day!

Name: A.G.
Airport/Airline: EWR

It's a fun place - made so by my co-workers, and I'm proud to work with them all.

Name: Moses B. Aloid
Airport/Airline: Agent/Air Jamaica/EWR

Other than the free trips we get - and the colorful tie I wear to work each day? I always wanted to be a pilot, and I look at my job as a stepping stone. Aircraft have always fascinated me. What's not to be proud of!

Name: Heather Diaz
Airport/Airline: Customer Service, Air Jamaica, EWR

The people I work with are team players and they make me proud. I enjoy meeting people from other countries with different accents and cultural backgrounds. Traveling is my hobby and in this job I get to travel - that makes my work so enjoyable.

Name: Sherira Service
Airport/Airline: Customer Service/Air Jamaica/EWR

I'm proud because I'm good at my work. My supervisor is proud and so am I. That and the people I work with make this job fun.

Name: Lashonde Boone
Airport/Airline: Air Jamaica/EWR

For me it's fun. I enjoy meeting all the different kinds of people.

Name: J. I. Orrala
Airport/Airline: Ticket Agent/EWR

It's al the different races. I enjoy meeting all the different kinds of people from all the different countries. That makes this a rewarding job. I give comfort and make people feel safe at our airport.