Prior To My Role As Cabin Crew

My journey as Cabin crew began back in 2017 when I decided I’d had enough of working seasons and I needed to get a “real job”. Little to my knowledge the cabin crew lifestyle was incredibly like working seasons. Living out a suitcase, constant exploration and those non forgettable boozy nights down route.

I worked for a British company doing seasons and managed to gain a lot of experience. Although this isn’t necessary, my experience in both customer service and being away from home for extended periods of time would have somewhat helped my strengths. There are a number of others that used to work for the same travel company who I have ended up working alongside in this role or hearing of them working for the company.

With the current climate of redundancies in travel and covid adding to the mix, I suspect that roles like this may be more competitive. There are courses you can do at college that will help you to develop transferable skills for this type of role. Experience can account for a lot or networking in any career.

Interview and Training For Duty As Cabin Crew

Interview day, this was a day I will never forget. The day is split up into 4 sections. Each one with a certain individual task that’s marked out of 5. The day lasted around 6 hours. I wont go into much detail but if you have watched “The Apprentice” ill leave you to your imagination.

Training was the most intense 5 weeks of my life. Personally I never did well in school and my track record with exams and coursework was not the best. This career move however was a chance for me to prove myself wrong. Every night during the course I would sit down for at least 3 hours, put Mozart on in the background and revise. I never failed an exam, in fact I was the highest percentage out of my class. The only thing I stressed about was the practical door drills. This was a “fail twice and your out” which increased the training groups stress levels to the max. Sitting watching the other groups loose members as the day went on, it felt like a reality TV show as they handed in their uniform and got escorted off site.

Stereotypes

The training group I was in was known as “the lookers”. I was placed with the girls who had that perfect typical cabin crew look which to my recollection was blonde hair in a bun, tall, attractive and finished off with that elegant red lipstick. The guys in my training group were also very much typical cabin crew stereo type with their sassy walk and perfectly groomed facial hair. Myself on the other hand… Im in that very small category previously referred to as SAS (straight air stewards). Finding another SAS member was like coming across a long lost sibling or a unicorn, it never really happens. Still to this day i’m not sure why its such a dominated career choice, what I do know is that going on holiday with 12 gay blokes was a time to remember but back to cabin crew…

The Reality

Some think of us as Glorified waiters in the sky. Let me tell you we didn’t train for 6 weeks on how to pour a glass of coke. I’d like to say it’s almost like a constant holiday, which in a way it is. One week I could be in the Bahamas getting that perfect insta worthy shot, the next I could be having 12 hours rest in Aberdeen, waiting. I’ve had many memorable trips and I have met the most incredible people along the way.

Unfortunately trips do have to come to an end and unlike other jobs you will very rarely see that other crew member again. You always say you will meet up but most crew live far from each other and I mean far… Once I even came across a lady who commuted from Miami.

You will get a chance to work alongside or meet some incredible people. This career can be very much who you know, not what you know. Some will say otherwise but trust me from my career choices so far its best just to sit down, listen and agree with what the company has to say. Having had lunch with the CEO of the company, should never be taken for granted, if that opportunity arises take it. From making a cup of tea for A list celebrities to carrying a dead body it all really does happen.

Covid-19 And My Job As A Member Of Cabin Crew

Unfortunately Covid-19 hit the aviation world like no tomorrow. To begin with I never really thought much of it, I don’t think any of us did. A few flights were stopped and air travel to certain countries were limited. I did a few rescue flights taking workers back to the Philippines and then it hit. I cant recollect the exact day but when it did was when our CEO sent an email titled “Preparing for a different future”. The facts and figures within this felt like it had put aviation to a grinding holt. Burning hundreds of millions of pounds per week it just seemed like everyone would soon be out of work. Voluntary redundancies were offered but this did not stop the company letting thousands get “the chop”. Luckily and very much so bittersweet I have kept my role within the company. I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens next…