James Wysong
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James Wysong is an American author who worked as a
flight attendant A flight attendant is a member of the aircrew whose primary responsibility is ensure the safety of passengers in the cabin of an aircraft across all stages of flight. Their secondary duty is to see to the comfort of passengers. Flight attenda ...
with for a major air carrier for almost 18 years, and wrote about air travel under the pen name A. Frank Steward. He is a travel columnist for
MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...
. The
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
described Wysong's pen name as "wryly chosen."


Personal life

Wysong was raised in
Ojai, California Ojai ( ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''’Awhaỳ'') is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east– ...
, the youngest of three children. In 1984 he joined the Army as a trumpet player based in Germany. The band toured Europe, “playing everything from nightclubs to opening ceremonies, but 75% of our performances were at German beer festivals.” In 1987 he left the military and went to college in California. Fluent in the German language, Wysong joined
Pan American Airlines Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...
in 1989. He was based in London, England, where he met his wife, Antonia, who is also employed by the airlines, starting as a flight attendant and later as a pilot. Wysong completed his degree in computer science from
Thames Valley University The University of West London (UWL) is a Public university, public research university in the United Kingdom with campuses in Ealing, Brentford, and Reading, Berkshire. The university has roots in 1860 when the Lady Byron School was founded, ...
in England. After Pan Am went out of business, he proceeded to work for the airline that took over Pan Am's flight routes, and he finally returned to the United States' East Coast in 1999. He and Antonia had a baby boy named Oliver James Wysong on February 2, 2006.


Writing career

Wysong aka A. Frank Steward continues to fly and write about his experiences in-flight. He has a weekly column at Tripso.com and SNBC.com He has flown over 6 million miles, encountered over half a million passengers, endured over 1,000 different delays and cancellations, argued with over 500 frequent flyers, and has flown to approximately 100 countries. His hobbies include
people watching People-watching or crowd watching is the act of observing people and their interactions in public. It involves picking up on idiosyncrasies to try to interpret or guess at another person's story, interactions, and relationships with the limited d ...
, traveling, writing, chess, running, and lucid dreaming. He has completed a novel and a screenplay about a young man's adventures through lucid dreaming titled ''Dream Weaver'', and is currently writing another novel/screenplay titled ''Shady Acres''. Authors who influenced him in his budding writing career include
Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...
and Robert Fulghum, who taught him that “you have to live life in order to write about life.” His favorite quote is from Jack London: “I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.” According to
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
and
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
, Wysong's first book, ''The Air Traveler's Survival Guide,'' was not widely reviewed because it was published in September 2001 when news media focused on the 9/11 attacks to the exclusion of other types of coverage.


Books

* ''The Air Traveler's Survival Guide'' (2001) () * ''The Plane Truth: Shift Happens at 35,000 Feet'' (2003) () * ''Air Travel Tales from the Flight Crew'' (2005) () * ''More Air Travel Tips and Tales From the Flight Crew'' (2008)


References


External links


Column archive at Tripso.com

MSNBC bio

Impact Publications' official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wysong, James Flight attendants Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Alumni of the University of West London American male writers