Carson Daly can finally add a new day job to his résumé: baggage handler.
The 42-year-old TV host spent a freezing winter day as Delta Air Lines’ ramp agent at JFK for a five-minute segment on the “Today” show, which aired on Wednesday as part of the morning program’s “Up for the Job” series.
Daly joined the carrier’s ground crew to show what work life’s like for the roughly 37,000 employees at the international airport.
It didn’t take Daly long to realize the tough haul ahead of him. Wearing an orange windbreaker, neon earmuffs and kneepads — and sporting an athletic cup — the “Today” anchor hauled heavy bags, schlepped more than 3,000 pounds of cargo, and towed an aircraft from one place to another.
One of the covert selfies Carson Daly took while spending the day working at JFK.Carson Daly
His favorite part of the job? Marshaling incoming planes to the gate using lightsaber-esque batons.
But it’s not all fun and games below the airplane wing. Handlers are prohibited from using cellphones (no selfies!) or playing music on their luggage carts.
As Delta spells out on its Web site, ground agents are expected to be able to lift up to 70 pounds of luggage, work in extreme weather conditions, and labor in confined spaces.
While Daly experienced the fun parts of the job, some former airline workers weren’t as lucky. Handlers have complained about injuries incurred from transporting luggage, and one ramp agent even shared his horror story on Salon when a vindictive supervisor rammed a luggage cart into his. Yikes!
