Blog Spotlight: Queen of Sky's Turbulent Blogging Journey

Fired for Blogging, Clear Skies Await Former Flight Attendant Ellen Simonetti

The Queen of Sky was born in January 2004 when Ellen Simonetti began her blog, "Diary of a Flight Attendant," to help cope with the September 2003 loss of her mother. She was later fired for blogging. Everyone who blogs and works in corporate America needs to hear her story, it's on course to end happily.

Simonetti was a Delta Air Lines flight attendant and dubbed herself "Queen of Sky." Like so many other bloggers, blogging was a therapeutic release to cope with her mother’s death to cancer. I recently chatted with Queen of Sky to learn about her experience and where the road is leading her.

JA HUBER: You started your blog, "Diary of a Flight Attendant" in 2004 Diary of a FIRED Flight Attendant." What happened in September and October of 2004?

QUEEN of SKY: One day in late September 2004, I came home to a bunch of messages on my answering machine from Delta supervisors. They said to call them urgently about my trip the next day. I called them back, thinking perhaps my trip (to Rome) had canceled. Instead, they simply told me I couldn't fly the trip. I asked them why and they came back after a pause and said, "It's about some pictures on the web."

I was in complete shock and when I hung up the phone. I immediately deleted all pictures of me and coworkers in uniform from my blog. After I was notified a week later I had been officially suspended without pay (because of my "inappropriate" pictures in uniform on my personal blog), I did some research on the internet and found plenty of other MALE Delta employees in their uniforms on the web (MySpace, AOL Hometown, Match.com, etc.), who were saying not so flattering things about themselves and their employer. So I filed a sex discrimination complaint with the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission).

Delta fired me over the phone two weeks later. [You can listen to the recording on her blog]. I then filed a lawsuit against Delta in September 2005, but they filed BK (bankruptcy) a week later and my case is still pending.

JA HUBER: What advice do you offer bloggers as a result of your experience? 

QUEEN of SKY:  My advice is to stay anonymous or keep your blog set on "friends only."  Remaining anonymous is harder than most people think. I never used my airline's name in my blog prior to being fired. And some people who have never used their employers' names and have not posted pictures of themselves have also been found out and terminated. So the only really safe stance is not to blog at all, especially if you work for a very blogophobic company. Otherwise, check your company's blogging policies first.

JA HUBER: It's been two years since you were terminated from Delta and you've become a bit of a "cyber celebrity." How do you feel about this? 

QUEEN of SKY: I'm just glad I don't get recognized on the street. I'm actually a very shy person.

[Hearing her story as a fired woman in her thirties and being a single woman myself, I had to ask…]

JA HUBER: As a sassy, single woman, what are you doing now to earn an income? 

QUEEN of SKY: I've just self-published my book [Diary of a Dysfunctional Flight Attendant: The Queen of Sky Blog], which I am selling on my website (www.BlogBasedBooks.com). I'm presently trying to get it into bookstores around the USA. My first review comes out in December's Airways magazine.

[Queen of Sky has also been using her savings and loans to get through to this point].

JA HUBER: Tell me about your book, Diary of a Dysfunctional Flight Attendant: The Queen of Sky Blog. It's a novel in blog format, correct?

QUEEN of SKY: Yes, it's the world's FIRST novel in blog format. It's based on the first nine months of my blog, which led to my termination. It's a very fun read, especially if you're interested in the ins and outs of being an international flight attendant. I'm very proud of it, because it's so unique. And all the response I've gotten from readers so far has been very positive.

JA HUBER: What have you learned about yourself over the past two years?

QUEEN of SKY: I've learned you have to stand up for yourself, because no one else will do it for you. I've learned I am one strong woman and you have to keep fighting for what you believe. Also, since I know who I am and where I am in my life, I have decided not allow my values or artistic vision to be compromised. The latter is why I chose to self-publish my book. The big publishing houses were not too keen on the novel-in-blog-format idea.

JA HUBER: What is the one thing you want the world to know about you? 

QUEEN of SKY: I will not accept unjust and unfair treatment (which includes incorrect and unfair judgments about me based on misrepresentations of my character) and I will fight it to the end. 

JA HUBER: Finally, what's on the horizon for the Queen of Sky?

QUEEN of SKY: Well, hopefully "Queen of Sky" the movie starring Drew Barrymore! 

[Note: visitors to her blog are welcome to vote in the pole as to who should play Queen of Sky in the movie version]

Queen of Sky’s blog, "Diary of a Fired Flight Attendant," is a journal of sassy-quirkiness and grounded-seriousness as Simonetti moves forward with her life.