MILLENNIAL PERSPECTIVE
THE NORMALIZATION OF ALCOHOL ABUSE WITHIN THE CORPORATE FLIGHT DEPARTMENT CREW APPRECIATION NIGHT BY BEN JANAITIS | CONTRIBUTING WRITER Anytime I get a moment to refl ect
on my journey through corporate aviation, I fi nd it enormously helpful to take inventory of the most important lessons I’ve learned through mentorship or direct experience. I fi nd that this exercise helps me to make sense of the rapid- fi re demands, challenges and opportunities that bombard the ambitious among us in a way that often feels disorienting. The nature of our occupation readily satiates the micro attention spans of the millennial generation as we recklessly wield the energy of youthful passion and enthusiasm. I say recklessly because passion-fueled energy can create an overwhelming drive that grows exponentially when placed amongst like- minded people, and too often is not yet tempered by the wisdom that comes with experience. This powerful drive will lead us wherever we steer it. We use it to create successful operational outcomes with our airplanes. We also bring it to the bar with us when the trip is over. We enthusiastically work hard and we enthusiastically play hard. A fl ight crew enjoying an alcoholic
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beverage at the bar after a trip is not a problem until we allow the feelings of camaraderie and validation from the team seduce us into blissfully surrendering our sound judgement in favor of questionable group-think. I take inventory of these instances as well so that when I fi nd myself in a management position with the opportunity to guide and mentor, I do not forget the places that I slipped and made poor decisions. A manager has the power to create an organizational culture that sets the passionate free. He or she can also build guardrails and guidelines to facilitate successful outcomes. It is important to build robust guardrails around a department’s cultural philosophy regarding alcohol use amongst the fl ight crew. Before I dive into this polarizing
topic, let me fi rst emphasize that this is not a soap-box piece. I am not here to point fi ngers or shake my head. I feel qualifi ed to weigh in on this topic because I have direct experience being indoctrinated into the culture of a well-established part 91 fl ight department, as well as experience with a small team
endeavoring to create a new fl ight department. In the fi rst year of employment
at my fi rst part 91 job, I was thrown into the deep end. I was added to the fl ight manifest as a hybrid fl ight technician — a cabin attendant armed with generous technical training but desperately lacking in cultural initiation. Out on the road, as part of the fl ight crew on international and domestic trips, I was surprised to discover the apparent normalization of alcohol use by various fl ight crew members during the off -duty periods between fl ight legs. I desperately wanted to fi t in with the team, and alcohol use seemed to be an important part of that. My experience with fl ight crews and alcohol throughout the fi rst year looked something like this: Blind following, complicit participation, regret, anxiety, re-thinking, re- acquainting with personal ethics, and fi nally building and implementing my own personal philosophy on alcohol use apart from the infl uence of those I traveled with. I eventually arrived at a safer, healthier place, but it felt like I was doing it the hard way. A strong
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