Cabin Crew Chit Chat

How Do Flight Attendants Choose Where They Work on The Aircraft?

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“She was late to the briefing and all the other positions had been chosen. You should have seen her face when all that was left was business galley. It was gold”

Premium Economy, Business Class, Doors 5, Galley, Upper Deck – there’s at least one flight attendant to man every door on a plane. The door that the flight attendant’s sits next to also dictates where they will work on the aircraft. This work position also will include any responsibilities unique to that position (e.g. assisting with front door boarding) and what class they will work in. i.e. Business class, first class, premium economy and economy.

Crewmours: Why You Often Can’t Believe What You Hear on Board

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“Are you ok? I heard they were closing your base.

“What?!? Um….that’s news to me.

“Yeah with the new aircraft, all the people that aren’t being endorsed will have to relocate to other bases because the regional flying is going to domestic.”

In the base, or on board, there’s a lot of talking done between flight attendants about all sorts of things, but one thing that is a favourite of many a flightie to discuss is the crew-mour – i.e. crew rumours. Rumours are a staple of on-board chatter, but often they need to be seen to believed.

Do Flight Attendants Need A Reality Check?

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“My room was right near the lift for the second time in two weeks and the bed was only a king single! Its just ridiculous. Aren’t we entitled to a queen bed at the minimum? Who do we report this to?”

It’s no secret that crew complain. Sometimes its tongue in cheek, sometimes its to decompress after a hectic flight with feral passengers, and sometimes it’s about the most ridiculous things and said with a straight face.

Why Flight Attendant Training is Like Living in the Big Brother House

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“How is Hannah to share with? Mary was saying she kept coming into your room with a million questions about the exam but then she never listens in class and she’s always just so full on!”

“Yep…I want to swap rooms so bad, but I worry she’ll take in personally. I just can’t deal with her every day for another 6 weeks!”

When you first get the job as cabin crew, one of the first things you’ll be told is your start date for the next available ground school. For 7 weeks, you’ll learn everything there is to know about working a flight, and to officially graduate and earn your wings, you’ll need to pass every exam along the way.

Why I’m Proud to Work as a Flight Attendant

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“I’m just a flight attendant”

I’ve heard this answer from crew when being asked what they do. In fact I regret that I’ve even said the ‘just’ word myself on the odd occasion. Flight attendant jobs are among the more visible jobs to the public (after all passengers often have not much else to do in the air but watch us) and many of them think they have our jobs all figured out. “Glorified waitresses” is a term used to describe us maddeningly often. And the fact that crew may revert to saying ‘just a flight attendant’ indicated they may not see the value in what they do or consider their job very important.

I have to confess – sometimes I wonder the same thing. Is there something more valuable I could be doing than pushing a cart up the aisle in the middle of the night? Maybe. But at the same time I don’t have to think very hard for reasons I’m proud to be a wing bearer and part of the crew community.

What Happens If Someone Dies on a Flight?

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“He must have passed away as we were coming into land. He was so old.”

“He just wouldn’t wake up on landing. We didn’t know what was happening at first.. When everyone was disembarking we put a blanket over him to stop people staring. It was dreadful. In Manila we had to wait with him while the authorities came on the plane and officially declared him dead…”

As cabin crew, on board medical incidents is part and parcel of working the skies and considering the number of people who travel each day, it’s not uncommon that sometimes these medical incidents could result in death, sometimes without warning.

Do Short Haul and Domestic Flight Attendants Stay Overnight?

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crew bag at hotel

“Do you do like doing overnights?”

“Oh not anymore, I don’t think I’ve done one in at least a year. I can never sleep well if I’m not in my own bed and prefer to be home for the kids. Every now and then I might bid for one but mostly I try to work longer single days to get my hours up so I get more days at home”

I was definitely naïve, because when I first started as a short haul flight attendant I assumed that each time I went to work I’d be returning home the same day. As a domestic flightie, I assumed, I’d work between 2-4 short sectors and return to base at the end of a duty. How wrong I was.

Cabin Crew Commuters: What to Know Before Committing to the Commute

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“She got offered Sydney base and took it. Good on her…she really wanted it that badly. Personally, I could never do it. Spend all that money just to get to work and essentially your whole life on a plane? Thanks but no thanks…”

A daily commute of some sort to get to work is part and parcel for almost everyone in the workforce, but for flight crew – captains and flight attendants, commuting is somewhat more extreme. Commuting doesn’t mean simply driving to the airport, it means getting to the airport then taking a flight several hundred (sometimes even several thousand kilometres!) to your base city before signing on for duty.

Roster Release Day: Why It’s Such An Event For Cabin Crew

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A Roster For A Flight Attendant Tells of the Story — A Roster for a Flight Attendant tells the story of where they are going, when, and with what other crew

“Omg did you hear that he got a New Zealand overnight as well as a Singapore. That’s the second month in a row he’s had all these senior trips.”

“And I just got one Perth and the rest Sydney returns! Woopeeee.. I wanna know who he’s sleeping with in crewing to get a roster like that”

Crew plan their lives in relation to their roster. The day when rosters are released are a big part of knowing what you’re going to be doing for the next month – or in the case of some flight attendants – the next two months. Also it’s often a case of how much work you are going to be getting. For crew on some contracts, the amount of work you’ll be given can vary roster to roster, and how much you’ll ultimately be paid. Roster release day can therefor be pleasant surprise or a massive disappointment.

THE RED EYE RUNDOWN: What It’s Really Like to Work Overnight Flights

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“She said she hates working overnights and she said she doesn’t know if she can do it anymore”

“I was thinking, honey, maybe its time you look for another job or do domestic flights… You’re always going to be doing these back of the clock flights as long as you are flying internationally.”

Red eye flights are a fact of life for most cabin crew, especially those who work internationally. Essentially a red eye means that you leave for duty in the evening and arrive to your destination (home base or slip port) the next morning. As international crew, for my airline, every flight home I operate is a red eye, usually from Asia.

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