Have you wondered what the role of cabin crew is really like. If you are curious about everything that goes on before boarding the aircraft to getting off on the other side, I am sharing what my day to day looked like working as crew, including details that go on behind the curtain that passengers never see, whether you're reading this for a potential job or you are just interested to know more I will do my best to give you a real insight into the life of a cabin crew.
At the Airport
I would arrive to Heathrow Terminal 3 roughly 1hr 30 mins before my briefing time, which gave me plenty of time to get through the staff security and grab a coffee on the way to the crew report room. At Virgin the crew report area was at the far end of the terminal so it was always a trek to get there, if I was ever in a rush it was a nightmare getting through a busy terminal with my heels on and my luggage, hence why I would always give myself enough time. Once I got to the crew report room I signed in on my ipad to say I was here and then just chilled until the briefing time. In our briefings we always had to answer a safety related question and each month there would be a new topic to base these questions around. As an example when there was a really bad incident involving a Singapore airlines aircraft hitting turbulence and the crew were mid-meal service, for that month all our questions related to turbulence and how to secure the galley, should anything similar happen. So before the briefing I would normally go over the topic to refresh myself on anything, so I was ready for the pre flight questions. It was never as stressful as I first thought - I remember during my training when the instructors mentioned these pre flight briefing questions, we were all really nervous because if you don't correctly answer the question you are not allowed to fly, and you would need to go back to training for a few days to refresh your knowledge. Hence the stress we would feel; however in the actual briefing the managers make everyone feel at ease and always remind us that we are a team onboard and if anything happens you are never left to sort it just on your own.
Once the briefing questions were out of the way the managers would discuss the flight, any special passengers travelling, any known issues with the aircraft, how they would like the services to run and they would go through our working positions, which would change every trip. Sometimes you can get lucky and get the same position if you like it and other crew don't want it, however most times I would be working a different position. I didn't always mind, although it can add more stress to your day because if you haven't worked that position in a while and forget certain things it can make it harder and less enjoyable. After this the pilots would join us in the briefing room and give us a quick overview of the weather and if we are expecting any turbulence along the route, so that we can adjust services if necessary. Its also the first time you will meet the pilots for this trip. As most trips you will fly with new people it is important that everyone can trust each other. This is a huge part of the job and one reason why recruitment look for a certain type of person. You need to build trust with people you haven't met before in a few hours.
On Board
Once we are onboard the aircraft we go to our assisgned position. For me my favourite place to work was door 3 on the left side. A lot of crew don't like this position because during boarding I have to remain standing at the door. (if you look at an image of an A350 for example I would be standing at the 3rd door down from the flight deck). This door is never opened unless in an emergency, but for safety reasons I have to be standing there for boarding and disembarking.
At my postion I get to my jumpseat and check all my emergency equipment is working and then see if any other crew needs help. Before passengers board I would go to the back galley and help with pre flight set up. Once we get the call that passengers have started boarding I will go to my door and stand there, welcoming them onboard.
Doors to armed and cross checked
This is the call we hear to know boarding is finished and we are ready to pushback from stand. We will ensure our door is activated so incase of emergency the slide will deploy when the door is opened. After this we will deliver the safety demo and walk through the cabin checking seatbelts, tray tables, window blinds are open etc...
I call my manager to let them know that my area is secured and then go to my seat by the door and secure myself for takeoff. At Virgin specifically the way we are notified of us turning onto the runway is by a double ding sound, this lets us know to sit in the semi brace position. At this time I usual think about my emergency commands and look at the door to make sure I know where my hands are going in an emergency.
During Flight
After 10,000ft we can usually get up and start preparing for service, so I would go to the back galley which services economy and get the trolleys ready. The service is done in stages usually a drinks bar first followed by main meal and then a pre landing meal with drinks. At Virgin we did drinks throughout the flight as well as a snacks container in the galley for passengers. Once the main meal service was completed in all cabins the manager would start the breaks. For a long flight such as an LA the longest break I had was roughly 3hr 30 mins which was lovely. The breaks were normally split in 2 so half the crew on 1st break and the other half on 2nd break. My favourite break was probably 1st break because I didn't have to wake up and jump stright into a meal service (the pre landing meal was serviced right after 2nd break). Nothing is worse than waking up and having to serve 80 or so passengers asking if they want tea or coffee and they say 'yes'. For our breaks we would go to crew rest which on different aircrafts looks different. On the A350 it is located in the back galley in the overhead lockers. So if you have not noticed before the last few rows in economy won't have overhead lockers in the middle seats, this is because the crew sleep above so there is no bag storage. On the A350 the crew rest is big enough for 6 people to sleep at the same time. I loved crew rest, the bunk is so cosy and with light turbulence was always my favourite.
On the A330-900 aircraft the crew rest compartent is in the hold, so we access it via a door in the maincabin and then go down a ladder, this crew rest is a lot smaller, it still holds 6 people but the space is a lot tighter. This crew rest is build into a cargo container, so imagine how one of those metal containers looks, that is what we are in.
Pre landing checks
About 40 minutes from landing we will start to prepare for landing, for passengers they will have 20 minutes to use the washrooms and for us we will go through the cabin clearing any rubbish and opening any window blinds getting the cabin ready for landing. I would normally collect any rubbish and then go to the galley and help pack away any lose items, that was also my opportunity to have a snack or anything leftover passenger food that didn't get eaten. We did get provided meals which were different to the passenger meals, however sometimes I really wanted something from the tray so before landing I would go through all the untouched trays snacking on whatever. I would also grab a bottle of water to take off the aircraft with me and make myself a coffee to drink.
Once we heard the ding of the seatbelt signs all of us in the back galley would be so happy, because we would go through checking seatbelts again and then we would be able to sit down for landing. I always found this so tiring because by this point I have worked an 11 hour flight to LA with 3 hours rest and then I'm sitting by my door trying not to fall asleep, after being go go go for the majority of the flight to them sitting down it hits very quickly how tired you are. Sometimes if I was in the mood and not too tired I would make conversation with the passengers sitting opposite me, but most times I would look out the window of my door and count down until we land to keep myself busy. This was the longest part of the flight, waiting to land...and then if for whatever reason we go around it was even longerrr
Doors to disarmed and cross checked
The best announcement to come over the PA honestly. I would get up and disengage my door so the slide won't open if the door opens as we have landed. All the passengers then get off the aircraft and we do the post flight checks to make sure no one has left anything onboard, and then once we are all gathered at the boarding door we all walk off the aircraft together, go through border control and find our transport to the hotel. Usually our bus is waiting outside but sometimes it gets held up in traffic so we end up sitting around waiting, which is so bad because we are so close to the hotel but yet so far. Once the bus turns up we all get on and mostly sit in silence to the hotel. I would listen to some music or a podcast and just zone out. The thing to remember is by this point the day has been so long. I get to the airport 1 hr 30 mins before briefing, then work an 11 hr flight and then add an extra few hours with getting to the hotel and delays, it works out to be about a 15 hour day. I'm tired just thinking about that.
But that is a rough guide to what a day in the life for me would look like, a lot more goes on behind the scenes than most people realise but when the day goes smoothly it is so enjoyable talking to the passengers finding out where they are going and what plans they have. The one thing I would say is this job is only as hard as you make it. Many people have told me this and it really is true. I believe its all about what you make it, if you want to make it difficult than it definietly can be.
. On the topic of cars and roads would be traffic. I really haven't come across much traffic whilst being here, even when driving into Murcia city. I don't know if thats because of the time of day but I feel like at home I am constantly sitting in traffic or if I leave the house around 3pm its rush hour and you can't get anywhere quickly, whereas in Spain even around 3-4pm I haven't been stuck in traffic. Its a treat honestly.
