Taking Flight

Written by Charles Agar

Marie Blount long dreamed of taking to the skies as a flight attendant, but at age 50 it took a loving “shove out of the nest” from her grown daughter before she grew wings.

A New Braunfels resident, Blount was an at-home mom for years. But once her children left, it was time to do something for herself — to dust off some of her old dreams.

“I was ready for a change,” said Blount, now 54. “My younger daughter sent in my application without me knowing about it, and here I am, four years later passing out peanuts and flying the friendly skies.”

Blount was amazed when she got the call for an interview, then a second interview followed by a job offer from Southwest Airlines.

Next, Blount found herself at intensive training in Dallas. She was surprised at the number of women her age, she said. The average age was 35. The oldest was 60.
“I think it’s the reliability and the life experiences we’ve had that we’re able to bring to the job, that are beneficial,” Blount said of the many older flight attendants who work for Southwest.

Flight attendants deal with hundreds of people each day, responding to their struggles and shortcomings, and a little life experience seems to help out, Blount said.

But with the new job came a lot of adjustments. “It’s kind of like I’ve moved to a foreign country,” Blount said.

Not only did she learn a whole new language peppered with terms such as “dead head,” “jump seat” and “pairings,” she’s adapted to taking public transportation to and from various airports and not knowing what to expect each day.

“I’m one that has always had everything very organized and very scheduled and it’s just not like that being a flight attendant,” Blount said.

She takes a jet to work, flying from San Antonio to her main hub in Orlando. Sometimes she’ll land in a new city and her supervisors will say, “Hey, we need you to fly to Boston.” And off she goes.

A Texas native, Blount lives in New Braunfels with her husband Mike, a Union Pacific railroad employee. Courtney, 28, her oldest daughter, lives in Allen, Texas. And her youngest daughter who sent in the original application, 24-year-old Amber, lives in San Antonio.

Blount usually spends about one week on the road and one week at home. When she’s working, Blount shares a “crash pad” in Orlando with three other flight attendants, all her age. The group of women met at training in Dallas.

“It’s a great job. I love being with people, and I’ve enjoyed going to so many new places,” Blount said.
In Philadelphia, she can tell you where to get the best cheese steak, and she knows where to get the best clam chowder in New England.

“I’ve got friends on both coasts and in between,” Blount said.

“I have a very supportive husband,” Blount said. When she first told him about the job, he told her, “If you have fun doing this, then do it.”

Her passion for her work has as much to do with the corporate culture at Southwest, Blount said, where employees are encouraged to “think out of the box.”

“It gets better every year,” Blount said.

Charles Agar is a freelance writer and videographer in New Braunfels. Contact him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it