“Our flight got cancelled. Looks like we are here for an extra 24 hours.”
“Are you serious? Woo-hoooo, lets get onnnn it!”
One thing you can be certain, as cabin crew: expect the unexpected. Working with so many variables in aviation, things can change at the last minute and as crewmembers you’ll need to be flexible. Sometimes these changes are a pleasant surprise, but more often than not there’ll be some kind of drawback. Often there might be both, an impact but also a silver lining.
While a flight attendants roster tells the story of where they a going and when, this isn’t set in stone, and duties can change at late notice. The longer I have been flying the more roster changes I’ve been subject to and one thing I’ve learned is that there so many different reasons why you can be impacted, some things that make sense, others completely out of the ordinary. Below are a few examples.
Weather Related Woes
Weather related disruptions are frequent and they have flow-on effects for future flights. It’s not just the passengers who can get stuck somewhere and not be able to depart. During fog for example you might have to divert to another city for landing. This can make a long day even longer. If there’s a typhoon, or ash cloud, or other severe weather impacting the departure or arrival airport you might be staying put – at home, or away from base – for another day or two. If you’re away and need to be home this is stressful, but it might be a welcome little break in a different city – and let’s not forget you’ll be paid for the privilege.
Lighting Strike Turns Into Turn Around, Turns Into Ferry Flight
Recently, a flight some of my colleagues were on was struck by lighting and it was significant enough that they had to turn back to base a couple of hours into the flight for a full inspection. Eventually the flight that day was cancelled. Because the crew had already signed on they were given the option to overnight in their home base at a hotel or go home for the night and return next morning and collect their allowances. They then operated the same flight the next day, while the crew who were scheduled to work that flight got the day off.
Because airlines only have so many planes available, the plane was needed back in base as soon as possible for another flight, so instead of the normal 24 hours in port, the crew had minimum rest of 12 hours and flew back home. If you thinking they got the raw end of the deal , you may be right. The silver lining was that the flight back home had no passengers. Winning! Known as a ‘ferry flight’ it must have been surreal to be on a plane completely empty of passengers. Needless to say I’d be sitting back in a business class flat bed, watching movies and sleeping the flight away, after the pilots had been attended to of course!
Fog is Not Your Friend
At short haul, I once had an unscheduled overnight in Sydney due to heavy fog in Brisbane. With just a day bag for what was supposed to be a short turnaround duty, I had no clothes for the next day or for sleeping so I had to get a bit creative. Luckily though, they found a hotel for us, as it was a Friday night and there were big events in the city. There were thousands of passengers stranded – all who also needed hotels at the last minute.
Diversions, and Delays Are Generally the Devil
Delays are standard in aviation and yes usually we hate them just as much as the passengers. Often with a delay there’s not much of a silver lining. Depending on the length, they make our day significantly longer than it otherwise would be, and we often get the treated to the ire of the passengers who may be missing their connecting flights or just enjoy taking out their frustrations on us.
Sometimes they are anticipated and we are notified with a roster change before we leave the hotel or home. But if you’ve already started your duty it depends on their length as how you’ll be impacted.
The silver lining? They can mean more hours worked and more pay, and often the higher rate at overtime. I think I’d speak for most crew though where this benefit is negligible. Domestically, if a delay goes on too long, a replacement crew will be found for the next flight, and you’ll likely pax home. Who doesn’t love to be paid to sit and be served?
Cancellations Can Be Cause for Celebration
While cancellations are a bit of a nightmare from passenger perspectives, for crew it can mean days off or extra time in port. I was the beneficiary of a an extra day in Hong Kong because of a delay that went so long that the pilots ran out of hours and so the flight was cancelled. We received the news via a note under our door in the hotel so we all celebrated knowing we had an extra 24 hours to explore and socialise! There may have been some celebration drinks too.
Recently a Sydney based crew were stuck in Osaka for several days during a Typhoon and flooding that closed the airport. I can imagine for many of them with no commitments it was a nice little turn of events, collecting daily allowances (multiple cash allowances end up becoming quite lucrative) and having a bit of a Typhoon party.
It all gets a bit complex, but sometimes flights taken off our rosters and reassigned to other crew which means days off. For most this is a treat – more days off, but it does mean missing out on the cash allowance, which is a big part of what many crew depend on.
“Make sure you check your roster after you sign off to check the length of the duty has been adjusted”
“Oh true! Because we went over 12 hours, we should also be paid overtime too right?”
