After landing her dream job as a flight attendant, young Christine could never have imagined the eventful journeys that lay ahead. Set against the backdrop of majestic cities and exotic layovers, turbulent skies, thousands of passenger and crew members, Fasten Your Seatbelts immerses the reader into the private world of a flight service professional. 

This chronicle takes you on Christine's personal journey from the initial airline job interviews, her first flight, to international service and the dramatic events of 9/11 and beyond. Her engaging personality and adventurous spirit have fueled escapades that have enriched and endangered her life on more than one occasion. You will shed tears for a soldier of misfortune, laugh out loud from the effects of a giant burrito and gasps as she is assaulted on a Palm Beach layover. Meet the celebrities and movie stars , the many passengers, pilots and crew members that have contributed to a lifetime of adventure.

Christine is a natural born storyteller. These compelling stories include ghostly encounters, emergency situations and conversations with air crash survivors. Life lessons are learned as she shares what it is like to fly the friendly and sometimes menacing skies.  
"I found myself laughing out loud, reading about the paranormal, feeling horrified about the behaviors of some of the passengers, realizing the risks of flying daily and learning about what the entire crew experiences in general."  ~a reader
Christine Churchill has enjoyed her career as a flight attendant for a major commercial airline for over 25 years. She is a two-time professional flight attendant of the year award winner and in 2013 was honored with the prestigious Flight Service Outstanding Employee Award. She resides in Florida with her husband, Daryl. ​

​Experience life as a flight attendant and the days when flying was fun, glamorous and sometimes a little naughty.

Come fly with Chris through flight attendant training, (a.k.a. "the charm farm") to living the jet set lifestyle filled with laughter, romance and terror. From medical and mechanical emergencies, world travel and quirky passengers, to a SWAT team storming the aircraft on 9/11, Fasten Your Seatbelts will keep you on the edge of your seat. Relive two decades of harrowing and heartwarming personal stories and get an insider's view of travel and the changing airline industry.

So, buckle up ladies and gentleman, and prepare for takeoff!


EXCERPT:

On the morning of September 11, 2001, while stranded on the runway for three hours in Chicago, the captain informed us a gate was finally available, but he would have to call the chief of pilots to brief him on our situation. A few minutes later the phone chimed, "We are a security risk and can't come to the gate. They are going to storm the airplane from the rear. Disarm your doors in the back of the cabin..."

***
I knew I should have trusted my instincts by not going out with a stranger on a layover. A tear fell down my cheek as I looked into his eyes. They were glazed over with an animalistic look to them. I thought to myself, I am either going to be raped or killed. No one knows where I am...

***
As the hour grew close to midnight, the trapped passengers who were once calm and subdued lost all dignity by definition. Call lights chimed in frustration. The passengers began to chant.
"WE WANT OFF, WE WANT OFF!" I called the captain to let him in on the action. "You might want to hear this..."

***
After a long grueling day, I couldn't wait to take a short break. Unfortunately, the unwanted sound of the phone chimed. Shelly, the first class flight attendant, yelled, "Get up here, NOW!" I made my way through coach wondering what I was going to find. As I entered first class, the putrid smell of vomit permeated the air. I continued to where the commotion was taking place in the first row. There, a man's body lay lifeless, slumped to the left. Fluids seeped from his mouth and his face was ashen. As I approached him, his eyes opened slightly. Thank God he's alive. I unlocked the oxygen from the bracket...

***
While filling my tank in uniform at the gas station, a young man opposite of me spoke up with curiosity, "You're a flight attendant, huh? I bet you have some stories to tell!"