Flight Attendant – Oregon

Aviation is more than an occupation for Carolyn Chamberlain.  It’s a family thing.

Carolyn, a flight attendant contractor now based in the Oregon wine country, outside Portland, has not only made aviation her career but is married to a commercial captain and they have a daughter who schedules charter flights.

“If you don’t like to fly, you aren’t marrying into this family,” she laughed in a recent interview. “My dad was an aviation junkie and took me to airshows when I was very young. Riding on his shoulders and looking into planes in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, opened my world and my love for aviation.”


Carolyn was born in Saskatchewan. Her family moved to the U.S. when she was 10 years old and she holds dual Canadian-American citizenship. Her first career was in real estate development and connections she made there helped steer her to a new course.


“I had met pilots and flight attendants along the way who thought I had what it requires to be a good corporate flight attendant,” she recalled. “I learned there was so much to the job, but it worked out with how I think and what I love to do. After formal aviation training, brushing up on my in-fight service presentation and wine education, I was offered my first contract trip, to Tokyo and Osaka. Right out of the gate — that was 12 years ago and I still contract with them to this day.”


Carolyn was an experienced traveler who appreciated the finer points of service and cultural differences that help define a top-tier operation.


“I found out that it’s a whole lot different working in aviation than it is being a traveler,” she said. “I learned passengers in aviation have an appreciation for luxe and a strange fascination with attention to detail. But that’s how the ‘wow! factor’ is created. I strive to project a relaxed and pampered atmosphere for my passengers in their own private living room at 40,000 feet.”


Carolyn credits training, work ethic, and attention to detail for advancing her journey in aviation. She is contracted with several flight departments — some for her entire 13-year career — and connected with JetPro Pilots in the Spring of 2023.


Referring to the JetPro TripTrac application, “It is absolutely the best app I use,” she declared. “I’m flying for five or six separate flight departments — with different pay platforms — and the JetPro TripTrac app works beautifully. It does all the administrative work for my wages and expenses for my paycheck, It’s very, very intuitive.”


Her work takes her throughout the world, often for long stretches. And she can spend several days prepping for each flight, ensuring that proper cabin safety precautions and catering are in place as well as arranging the amenities.  “This is not a simple job,” she reflected. “You really have to stay up on your game. You can’t under-think what will be needed up there.”


Carolyn is happy with her role in aviation because of the work/life balance it provides. “I love doing it because it’s a job where I can be a wife and a mom, as well as be a contractor — all at the same time,” she declared. “My time is my time.”


And it sounds like Carolyn Chamberlain is having a great time.