Dear Mr. [Redacted],
Please accept this message as formal notice of my resignation from my position as Flight Attendant with [redacted] Airlines, effective March 1, 2026 – the end of this bid period. This is 19 days notice, which I believe is acceptable.
After careful consideration, I have decided to step away to pursue opportunities that are a better fit for my personal and professional values. I appreciate the experience I’ve gained and the colleagues I’ve worked alongside during my time here.
I will continue to perform my duties professionally through my final day.
Please let me know how I should return the [company device], my employee ID and my parking pass.
Thank you for the opportunity.
Sincerely,
Johnnie Bloom-Ramirez
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It’s the end of an era for me. In a “dream come true scenario,” I began working as a flight attendant for a major airline in 2021, post-pandemic, as a way of meeting my financial needs while waiting for a ministry opportunity to open up in my home state.
It was never my intention to stay “forever,” but long enough until my ministry could find it’s footing. Blessedly, it has! I continue to grow within my continued studies toward my doctorate in Ministry and the Arts, as well as my exciting new position back at the hospital in the Gender Institute, advocating for the spiritual needs of my transgender brothers and sisters (which might lead to me sitting on that committee as a contributing member).
Everyone that I’ve spoke to believes I should try and find a way.
I’ve discerned that in my world, that is not possible.
I have many friends that are able to drop all of their trips and clear their schedules, even with the inflated “negative numbers” the company is posting. I am not one of those lucky people. The one time I attempted to bid on trips that I was told were “incredibly dropable,” I was stuck with an awful schedule that hardly allowed me time to breathe and the added stress of working it around my ministry work.
The airline I work for, like most corporations, could honestly care less about their employees. We’re a renewable resource, and there are thousands waiting to take my place. I’ve been told such in not so many words, by management. Not to say that there haven’t been moments of compassion (letting me fly home when my brother-in-law suddenly died, or when my egg donor’s husband was dying), understanding (not being able to produce the death certificate from my abuser), and even joy (being given a small bonus for being a great leader), but overall? Just another corporate job where people are replaceable.
I stayed with a company for 11 years of my life before this (and I still love that company with my heart and soul), but I cannot do that again in this situation. Because my heart and soul aren’t involved this time. They reside within the joy and fulfillment I have working as a minister and a part-time chaplain, not hurtling through the sky at 35,000 ft and 600MPH, dealing with angry passengers who want to blame everything on you, transportation that is only maybe on-time, hotel rooms that are as generic as the next, and hours languishing on the ground while you wait for a delay to clear – all the while not being allowed to rest and relax in a productive manner.
It wasn’t all bad. I reconnected with a dear friend, who I trained on an attraction at my former job, who pinned my wings when I graduated from FA Training (a full-circle moment). I have seen a good portion of the world and flown almost 1,000,000 miles in my just over four years of flying (a little bitter I never made it to China or Australia, but c’est la vie). I have seen all but five of these United States, and I have been to places I would have never had the opportunity to visit otherwise, like Auckland, Brussels, Edinburgh, Dublin, and even Montreal. I became incredibly familiar with downtown Paris, and knew my way around London pretty darned well too! Even got to see some amazing shows on the West End, and literally skipped with joy through the Louvre my first time visiting since playing Henri III of France for over 20 years.
I don’t regret it, but I cannot wait around for the company to make up their minds if we’re worth paying. I’ve been told that leaving could cost me my backpay, but I cannot wait for the Powers That Be ™ to make up their collective minds on what we as front line employees responsible for peoples’ lives are worth. It’s unconscionable, and untenable.
Theologically, I refer to the covenants in my faith of Justice, Equity, Transformation, Pluralism, Interdependence, and Generosity, as well as the First Principle, “We honor the inherent worth and dignity of every human.” I also know that Love will guide me in whatever and wherever my path takes me.
In the meantime, my schedule this month is chock-full of Orlando trips, cuz I have to get my Disney World fix will I still can!
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