ALASKA AIRLINES’ SUZANNE DRUXMAN

By Vanessa Orr

Suzanne Druxman recently celebrated her 20th year with Alaska Airlines, where she works as a trainer and concierge in the Alaska Lounge at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. Despite everything that has happened over the past two decades—including 9/11, the pandemic, huge upheavals in the airline industry and even a personal battle with breast cancer—she is still excited to be working with the guests she loves.

“I really enjoy helping our most frequent travelers and members; because they travel all the time, we get to know them and there’s always someone you recognize when you walk into the lounge,” she says. “My job is to welcome them and to assist them in any way that I can, whether that’s helping them change an airline seat or bringing them something to eat or being a master barista or mixologist. “We wear many hats in the lounge,” she laughs. “We do it all.”

Druxman first joined the airline in 2001 after working as the manager of a fine jewelry store for many years. Single when she moved to Alaska, she got married and had three children and decided to take some time off before going back to work.

“My friend Barbara Zipkin had been employed with Alaska Airlines for two years, and she said that it was the most fun place she’d ever worked,” says Druxman. “So I decided to follow in her footsteps and become a customer service agent.”

During her tenure at the airline, Druxman worked in the front ticket area checking in passengers, on the concourse getting flights out, in cargo accepting packages, and as a trainer for customer service agents.

“As a customer service agent, it’s crazy what you see,” she says. “I remember one customer checking in who had a service animal—a cat in a soft-sided kennel. Then she had another kennel with two cats—one was a service cat for the other cat who was blind.“

“We’ve also had people want to fly with their pet snakes,” she continued. “Haven’t you ever seen Snakes on a Plane, for gosh sakes? This really should be a reality show.” Druxman says that she found her home six years ago when she started working in the lounge— one of her favorite places when she used to be a frequent flyer herself.

“I was a business traveler for ten years before this job, and I was a member of the lounge,” she says. “Some of my best meals were on Alaska Airlines’ flights. Back in the 1980s and ‘90s, you could get Chateaubriand and broiled salmon in first class; that sure beat the frozen dinners I was eating at home!”

In addition to her role as a concierge, Druxman also trains concierge and hospitality hosts and says that she is looking forward to the next new-hire class.

“When I first started working, someone had to leave before you could get a job in the lounge; in ten years, there was never an opening,” she says. “But we’ve had a number of people retiring in the past two years and others are moving into flight attendant positions as we’re ramping up and looking for more in-flight crew. So we have lost some people, but it’s for good reasons because we’re expanding.”

Flexibility Is Key

When dealing with hundreds of passengers every day, it’s important to be able to adapt quickly to changing circumstances. And that ability became even more important during the pandemic.

“We have a saying: The only thing constant in the airline industry is change,” says Druxman. “From when I first started working in 2001, things are incredibly different from what they are now.

“Back then, we would plan to depart at 8 a.m., but it was really more of a suggestion than an actual departure time,” she laughs. “We had handwritten tickets that we counted to match the passengers on board, and passengers could easily go standby, switch flights, and get on board with or without bags—it was a lot simpler in those days.”

September 11, 2001 changed everything, and Druxman, who was called into work that day, remembers watching the world change. “It was as unbelievable as you might imagine— everything was shut down, and people were driving up on the ramp to find out what was going on. We were watching the news like everyone else,” she says.

The airline made a lot of changes, not only in security but in efficiency, asking their most frequent guests for input on how to improve. “We asked what was most important, and they said ‘Be on time, on time, and on time—and if my bag could get there with me, that would be good, too,’” laughs Druxman.

She credits Alaska Air Group CEO Ben Minicucci and former CEO Brad Tilden with improving efficiency at the airline, and the Alaska Airlines’ staff with being able to adjust no matter what the situation.

“You have to be prepared to change from day to day; when we get a bulletin from the FAA or a government directive, it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been doing things a certain way, there’s no discussion; you make the change,” she says.

“In early 2020 with COVID, we might get a new rule every day,” she adds. “It wasn’t always easy but we did it. But there aren’t really any words to describe how awful, horrible, and crazy the pandemic was, but what can you do but get through it?”

Alaska Airlines closed their lounges for about four months as a result of COVID, and when they reopened, it

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Regional Manager of Lounges Jennifer Freeberg-Huss and Seattle concierge Melissa Schug, with Suzanne Druxman at the Beyond Service Award dinner in 2017.

Suzanne Druxman

required an intensive week of retraining staff as well as cleaning the rooms.

“We literally put gloves on and started deep cleaning—not everything in this job is glamorous,” Druxman laughs.

She noted that the airline did offer lounge and customer service employees the option to take time off or the opportunity to work elsewhere in the company. “None of us were furloughed; we could take a threemonth leave, keeping our benefits, or if we wanted to work, they found a job for us,” she says.

As things have gotten closer to "normal," Druxman is happy to see people flying, though travel, especially in the time of COVID, can be even more stressful than usual.

“Thankfully, over the last twenty years, Alaska Airlines has given me a lot of training in defusing situations and handling difficult guests and turning problems into positive situations,” she says. “When someone comes in angry, I don’t know if it’s something we did or if something happened at home. But when someone has a problem, I want to hear it. I want them to tell me.

“We want people to have a good experience; I want everyone I talk to each and every day to walk away with a smile,” she adds. “I want them to have a good day and if that means telling them a corny dad joke, or offering an apology, I will. I have things I can pull out of my toolbox to help.”

Druxman’s positive attitude, bubbly personality, and ability to keep customers happy resulted in her being honored with the 2021 Alaska Airlines Legend Award, something given to only ten airline employees each year.

“There are so many amazing people in our organization that I felt so honored by that; I’m actually crying thinking about it,” she says, adding that 2020-21 was a rough year for a number of reasons. “I discovered that I had breast cancer during my time off during COVID, and luckily they found it early. I am the poster child for women to get their mammograms every year."

“Being a legend is a big deal for us, and there are so many people here who deserve it,” she adds. “One passenger was in Anchorage for a doctor’s appointment and her flight was cancelled, so a customer service agent let her stay in her extra bedroom. To be compared to people like that is really an honor. And to do something you love and get an award for doing it is pretty amazing.”

Druxman also appreciates that the airline gives her the opportunity to participate in numerous charitable causes that are dear to her heart.

“While I can’t even imagine not doing this job, I think I’ll get involved in some kind of charitable volunteer work if I ever do retire,” she says. “This type of activity is really encouraged here; if I give $100 to the Food Bank of Alaska, the airline matches it. If I donate time, they donate that amount of money to the organization from my hours. Like me, they really believe in giving back to the community and in assisting others who need help.”

In the meantime, Druxman will continue to bring smiles to the people that she serves every day.

“Traveling today is challenging with all the hassles of TSA, luggage, security, parking, the mask mandate and more— we just want you to take a breath, relax, and let us know how we can make your day better,” she says. “We do everything with an eye to safety and getting flights out on time, but if we can do that while having fun, it’s a better experience for all of us.”