A 12-Year Nanny Won't Fly Private With Wealthy Clients — and Puts It in Writing

A 30-year-old professional nanny with 12 years in the field says she won't board a private plane with her ultra-high-net-worth clients — and she raises that boundary in the very first interview, before either side wastes time.

Samantha Jordan, a nanny, newborn care specialist and postpartum doula who splits her time between Las Vegas and Upland, California, started nannying at 18 while in college. Travel is a big part of her work: families sometimes hire her specifically for trips — two months in Europe, a week in Cabo — and she knows nannies who travel weekly or get a Friday call to fly to the Bahamas.

But for her, one thing is non-negotiable. "I don't fly on private planes," she says.

What does she do instead?

Some families that like her as a candidate make an exception and let her fly commercial. When that happens, Jordan insists the agreement goes into the contract, so both sides have something to refer back to. Other families are fine with her meeting them at the destination — she once met a family in Mexico after they flew there privately. The family always covers her airfare.

It doesn't always work. Jordan interviewed with one family that required regular helicopter flights. They couldn't reach an agreement, so she passed on the job.

Why draw the line here?

Part of her hesitation traces back to a story from her husband, who described a private flight as a college athlete that suddenly felt like it dropped. She's since read more about private flying, and notes the level of oversight can vary depending on the operator and the type of flight.

Her reasoning is plain: "Even if crashes are rare, rarity doesn't eliminate risk." She's not interested in extra risk simply because it's statistically unlikely — especially when she's responsible for someone else's children.

Jordan has other safety boundaries, too:

• She always needs to know who's driving; she won't get in a car with a stranger, even a chauffeur, without meeting them first.
• She won't get in the ocean if she can't see the bottom.
• She won't take babies to the beach alone or have them in the water.

Before any trip, she asks logistical questions: whether travel falls during naptime, what she can bring, what she can pack on the family's jet if she's meeting them at the destination.

Why is this surfacing now?

After a recent Florida jet crash — which killed a nanny, according to coverage of the accident — Jordan posted videos on TikTok about these concerns. Viewers said they had never thought about them before, and some nannies said they would change their contracts as a result.

Her broader point: nannies aren't always adequately protected when traveling for work, and the intimate, family-like relationship makes speaking up uncomfortable. "You become friendly and like family, but you still have to speak up for yourself and remind them, 'Hey, I'm actually your employee,'" she says.

As a mentor to other nannies, she advises them to get curious about where the family is coming from — misaligned expectations, she argues, are often the root of the conflict.

What does she ask of employers?

Families, Jordan says, should take a nanny's boundaries seriously. If a nanny sets one, "it's serious and should be taken as such." She wants employers to ask up front whether their nanny is comfortable flying privately — and to specify the type of aircraft and operator — along with what travel she'll do alone with the children, what insurance she carries, and her safety standards on the road.

"This is intimate, hard work," she says. "Nannies give everything they have to families, and sometimes they give their lives."

Her message, as more nannies revisit their contracts in the crash's wake: you always have a choice, even if that choice costs you the job.