Donna Jensen is a girl from a small town in Nevada who wishes to see the world in order to get away from her unhappy life After graduating from high school, Donna tries to make ends meet by working as a clerk in a Big Lots.
After her boyfriend, Tommy, leaves her for another girl, she goes to a bar where she sees a talk show segment about Sally Weston, who has written a memoir called My Life in the Sky, and decides to follow her destiny by becoming a flight attendant. Her first position is at a small, seedy California commuter airline called Sierra, After working for several months, this success builds up her confidence and encourages her to attend open interviews for Royalty Airlines.After getting the job, Donna puts her heart and soul into the training camp, and, after meeting Weston, she is determined to be assigned to the top route, "Paris, First Class, International". Alas, when the assignments are posted, Donna is shocked and disappointed to discover that, instead of the top route, she has been assigned to a commuter route in Cleveland. Christine, who had initially struggled with the material and procedures, has inexplicably been assigned the high-priority New York City route, much to the dismay of Donna.