Fact vs Fiction Staff Travel Edition

My last Instagram reel was based on the misconceptions of staff travel. I realised there is a lot of information that it can get confusing, and it is also company dependent with what benefits you will actually receive. However let this be your general guide to what staff travel is and how it works, along with some of the benefits I received working at Virgin Atlantic.

If you haven't gone over to my Instagram already, let this be a sign to check it out to see short form content on my time as cabin crew and now as a student pilot!

Ok so... lets start at the beginning. What is staff travel? This is a benefit that you will receive when you work for an airline. It allows you to travel at a discounted rate with the airline you work for as well as with alliance airlines. As an example at Virgin I was able to travel with Delta Airlines as they own 49% of the company. On top of this we got discounts with Virgin Voyages and all the other Virgin companies. Staff Travel is a big reason people will work for an airline as you don't have to fly for the company to get the benefits. You can work in the office or as ground staff to still have access to these discounts, the only difference will be seniority.

How does staff travel work? This will be dependent on your airline, however as an overview you will get access to a booking system through your airline. Through this system you will be able to select destinations and book tickets. Its very similar to how you would normally book a flight, the main difference is you won't be selecting a seat as this gets allocated on the day of travel. When you make a booking you will be able to see how busy the flight is based on how many seats are booked. This is helpful because it gives an indication as to whether you will get a seat on that flight. My best advice if this is your first time using staff travel is to book a destination with multiple flights servicing this destination, for example; Virgin have 2 flights per day from LHR to LAX, this means that if you book yourself onto the first flight and its fully booked you will be rolled onto the second flight and so your chances of getting to LAX the same day are better than if there was only one flight per day, I hope that makes sense!

To break down the pricing slightly; a misconception I mentioned in my Instagram reel was that staff travel is 'free'. It isn't free, it is heavily discounted so as an example, when I booked a ticket from LHR to LAX the total price was roughly £500 return for one person. As a comparison on the Virgin website a return for one person to LAX is about £850. As you can see the ticket is not necessarily cheap. The only way this is made 'cheaper' is if you are upgraded to premium or upper class. In this case £500 is really not a lot.

It becomes more complicated when you want to use your benefits with a partner airline, similar to what I did booking a flight with Delta Airlines. I had to use a seperate website which was like a third party app to book tickets. I only used this once and to be honest I wasn't sure I did it correctly so I really thought I would get to the gate and be denied boarding. Thankfully this wasn't the case and it turned out to be a really nice flight. When booking through staff travel all the staff on the flight and on the ground will be aware you are a staff passenger due to your name having *staff* under it. When I travelled with Delta this definietly added to my experience because I was moved into a more legroom seat and had a couple of freebies thrown in like a glass of prosecco.It truly is the little things that make the most difference.

I would say the thing most people assume with staff travel is getting a first class seat or a really nice seat on the plane due to being staff. Seating is based on seniority and position in the company. As an example if you are an on board manager and you have worked in the company 20 years, you will be quite senior on the staff travel list. However if you are a captain you will outrank this manager due to job title. If you want to see two adults arguing just book a staff travel ticket because honestly the seating can create so many issues, especially if there are only 2 seats left on the plane and 5 people are standing by for that flight. In my personal experience with staff travel the worst it has been for me was sitting on a jumpseat, which is a seat the crew sit on for takeoff and landing by the door. Sitting on a jumpseat for hours by a flipping cold door is not for the weak, its uncomfortable and noisy, oh and you technically don't have food allocated for you as a jumpseat is not part of the passenger numbers, so you also have to hope some passengers don't want to eat, so you can eat their food! Before you start going on about 'oh the ticket was cheap' yes, it wasn't expensive compared to a full fare seat, however that is never a fun time. Until you have done it you can't understand the misery of a jumpseat x

On the flip side of this is getting a business class or first class seat. Staff travel can be the worst or best thing, it really depends. I have seen both sides of it, and let me not sit here and pretend I haven't flown around the world in business class with the opportunity to see the world because of this benefit. It is without a doubt the only way I have done so much travelling, as much as I dislike economy I hate a jumpseat, so I will take an economy seat any day over this.

On that note let me give you an overview of the benefits of Virgin Atlantic staff travel. If there are seats in upper class available the crew will move the staff passengers into these seats based on seniority. If you're not sure as to whether this is a 'benefit' or not, at British Airways they tend to not do this on a flight:/. When I used my staff travel I never had a problem getting on the flight, even if it was economy I still got on the flight. Virgin also allowed us as staff to use the clubhouse at Heathrow which is their upper class lounge area, this is a really lovely perk because some airlines will say point blank 'no' but with Virgin if the lounge isn't too busy you are able to use it, even if your seat is in economy.

Regardless of my seat on the plane or how much I despise economy I will always be grateful for a seat on an aircraft. I would never have been to half the places if it wasn't for staff travel

6 weeks to the skies: What training was like

What was my training process like and how intense was it to learn everything in under 6 weeks? I will share my training experience and everything I learnt as well as the things I didn't :/

My first day of training started on 25th October 2023, I was part of Virgin training group 939. Virgin Atlantic training centre is inside the CAE academy, and so I turned up in my smart casual dress code with my hair in a bun and makeup done. From what I recall the hair being tied up was mandatory due to safety, however makeup was never mandatory. Uniform was only worn on the last 3 days of training for the service and wings ceremony, so I absolutely couldn't wait for this day!

Day 1 was all about getting to know each other and how the training course will be run, as well as some group exercises. We also were provided with an ipad and a few goodies as a welcome to Virgin. I remember day 1 was very exciting and getting to know the other people in my training course; I've never met a group of people where we all *for the most part* got on and where all similar in the best way. It was so refreshing to be in a room with likeminded people, and everyone was open to getting to know each other. It was a lovely place to be

Day 2 was when the proper work started. We had about 1 week of learning Airbus which encompassed the A330-300, A330-900Neo and A350. Each day we covered a different area about these aircrafts. It was super confusing at first though because they are all really different, even down to how the safety cards look on each plane. I was revising every night just to make sure I had covered everything and understood the differences between them. Even though they are all Airbus, the doors are different, the safety cards are different, the layout of each plane is different... 

We also went to the rig where there are all the different doors and where we simulate emergency scenarios such as a ditching, which is a landing on water. The rigs were stressful because we had to know the commands and how to open the doors correctly as well as how to sit for an emergency. I don't think anyone enjoys the rigs because its were we get tested and they can give us any scenario on the spot. I think the one I hated the most was a cabin decompression because depending on where I was sitting would mean I had something different to do and it just wasn't a good time haha. As well as this we had a multiple choice test to complete on our ipads for the whole of the Airbus chapter. This wasn't easy because I got confused with each plane and for example what symbol is on what safety card. Luckily we were able to retake the test twice should we need to.

We also had a few days of AVMED training which is aviation medicine training. It is effectively life saving training and involved things like CPR, basic intubation, heart attack treatment and burns, to name a few. Avmed covered lots of different situations we could find ourselves in whilst on an aircraft, and over the ocean where the closest place to land could be a few hours away, learning how to manage conditions was a big part of it considering the factors. We also had to learn how a medical emergency is handled and the correct steps to take, such as who to inform and who manages what. It is the same for dealing with a fire onboard, learning who controls what is super important in ensuring the fire or medical is managed effectively and with minimal disturbance to the passengers. We had to do an exam in Avmed towards the end of training which was to test everything we had learnt. We did a practical exam as well as a multiple choice test on our ipads. 

Week 2 was covering Boeing which thank God was just the 787-9. No complications just one plane. Although saying that the whole plane is different, the doors are operated differently, the life jackets are different to put on, the window 'blinds' are non-existant and the onboard systems are all called different names. The exam for Boeing wasn't too hard purely because it was based on one aircraft however going forward when I was rostered on a Boeing for a while and then an Airbus I definitely had to refresh myself on the procedures. 

As well as this we also went on an day trip to the Gatwick K2 swimming centre. This day was lowkey fun but I also hated getting up so early and knowing my hair was gonna be wet. We had to do a swimming assessment to make sure we could swim unaided across the pool fully clothed. In addition to this we put on life jackets and had to form a circle in the water which is what we would do in the event of a ditching. We each had to then climb into a life raft with the life jacket on. This was probably the hardest bit because the strength needed to pull yourself up a little rope ladder dangling in the water was really difficult. We all managed to do it though so it was a good day. I would say a lot of people stress about the swimming test but it really wasn't too bad. Its honestly a lot of fun and everyone encourages each other so if anything it was a great team building exercise. *To see photos of the swimming test click here to visit my Instagram*

Probably the best day was when we actually went on a day trip to Heathrow Airport to see the aircrafts and go onboard. I loved this day because everything we were learning about we were able to see in person, and it helped but certain things into vision. Such as the crew rest compartments, these are so confusing to try and explain, so being able to see it was wayyyyy easier to understand. For images of crew rest go over to my Instagram where I did a whole post about this topic. This was also a fun day because I had never been onboard a Virgin Atlantic aircraft before and so to see it close up and to be able to walk around and get a bit familiar was amazing.

We also had a segment of fire training which was completed in the fire rig. Its basically a metal container with a glass wall, and uses gas which gets turned on to put the fire into different places, such as an overhead locker, an oven or the seat. We had to simulate putting it out using water inside a fire extinguisher. We also had to wear a smoke hood which was a god awful thing to put on and take off. We of course had a multiple choice test on fire as well as dangerous goods to make sure we had the knowledge around these subjects.

The last part of our training was 3 days of service training. I would say more of a crash course in service training, because 3 days wasn't enough to understand what the actual job was. Its funny because the day to day of cabin crew is all focused on service and what to do and yet we only got 3 days on this. Of course it makes sense the majority of training was focused on safety, however a couple more days of service would have been much appreciated. I found this portion of the course to be not the useful honestly. From knowing what I know now, each flight is done a bit differently because each manager has a different way of doing things or they have found ways of doing things that works better. The service training was teaching us about the 'correct' way to do things, not necessarily the easiest, or quickest way. The bit I enjoyed the most was wearing our uniforms because this was the first time we had worn them and we were seeing each other in them, so I was excited purely for that. I remember having so much imposter syndrome walking into the training school with my uniform on, it was bizarre but I felt amazing. During these last couple of days we also were given our first rosters, for the month of December 2023. This day was super exciting, finding out where our flights would be and it became so real at this point. I still remember my first roster; JFK, LAX, TPA, JFK. I had never been to JFK before so I was overwhelmed with excitement. It was such a cool day and suddenly felt very real that I really was cabin crew for Virgin Atlantic!

 Our very last day in the training school was our 'wings day' where we got given our wings to wear on the uniform which symbolises qualified cabin crew. We got to take photos in our uniform and celebrate with some prosecco. As a group we all went out for one last dinner because this would be the last time we were all together as a few weeks later we would all be off on trips. A crazy concept, but wow was I excited. To find out more about my first trip to New York click here!

 

 

 

 

Secrets of being Cabin Crew

This was another highly requested topic, as voted for on my Instagram. The behind the scenes, things passengers don't see and even guidelines that you may not know exist but could get you offloaded on a flight.

The Crew Rest Area

Starting off strong is the crew rest areas, I mentioned about this on a previous post but crew rest is an area that passengers rarely/never see. On the majority of planes I flew on the crew rest area was above the passenger cabin, basically in the overhead lockers right at the back of the aircraft. Most people don't even know it exists; if you time it right as a passenger and hang around in the economy galley you might see the crew come out of a door into the galley half way through the flight. That will be the crew rest area. I used to love the bunks, so cosy and small. Especially with light turbulence, I found it so relaxing. The photo below is of the A350 crew rest. This whole compartment is accessed through a door in the economy galley and lives in the overhead locker of the middle back rows of economy. The bunk that spans the width of the crew rest at the bottom is the bunk above the door to enter and exit. As you can see it is very compact and cosy. As you can see there are 6 bunks, so half the crew go on rest and the other half stay in the cabin monitoring. In each crew rest bunk is an oxygen mask, seatbelt and light, very similar to the overhead panel in economy. Each bunk also has a curtain around it for privacy and we got provided with linen and if your lucky a duvet and pillow:) 

Noticing the small things

Something else passengers might not know is that if cabin crew sense a person is already too drunk on boarding they can refuse that passenger to board. Most people don't realise this is a policy on airlines, however if you are in the airport having alcoholic drinks before a flight its best not to go overboard, if you get to the door of the aircraft and the crew sense a passenger has had too much already they can either refuse to carry that passenger or reduce/ not serve them alcohol for the duration of the flight. This has happened to me once where I was at the boarding door of the aircraft and a passenger came on very drunk, I mean I could smell the alcohol on him. He was travelling in upper class (Virgin's business class cabin) so it wasn't easy to talk to him because 1. he paid a lot for his seat but 2. he was drunk and you can't reason with drunk people. Anyway my manager offloaded him after discussing with the captain because he was going to create us so much more work and would probably argue with us when we would deny him alcohol. On the theme of alcohol it is also the crews responsibility to monitor alcohol intake during the flight. This is kind of impossible with the number of passengers however if a crew member notices any particular passengers that keep asking for more to drink or they seem to be drinking quickly, we can either say the bar is closed so they can't drink anymore or we can water down the drink to add more mixer and less liquor, or more ice. There is always a solution, because no one wants to sit around a drunk person or deal with them.

 Safety Silence

 As a passenger have you ever sat at an exit row opposite a crew member and noticed they stop chatting and sit in silence during take off?

Something subtle that most passengers don't realise is that during take off the cabin crew are silently reviewing emergency procedures and commands. One of my favourite positions to work was in the middle of the aircraft at the 3rd exit door of the aircraft. This position was also where I sat for take off and landing and was directly opposite passengers sitting in the exit row of economy. When I would sit down for take off sometimes it was nice to have a chat with the passengers opposite me and find out why they were travelling to whichever destination we were going. On Virgin specifically just as we would line up for take off we would hear a 'double ding' which sounded like pressing a call bell twice which signalled to us we were about to take off. At this point I would stop talking and in my head go through the emergency commands and look at my door to make sure I was ready in case of evacuation. You will notice all the crew do this during take off and landing. Even though we have all been trained in emergency evacuations it is important to be ready and know exactly what to do without getting flustered. I always found it helpful to run through it in my head during take off so I felt confident and ready. 

I found this especially useful on landing because most of the time I was so tired after working all night and sitting in my crew seat for landing would honestly make me want to fall asleep, so for me going through the procedures was even more important because I was so tired. It also helped me to become more alert, having something to focus on whilst sitting down.

A Day In the Life – Cabin Crew Edition

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. 

Cabin Crew Myths vs Reality

When people think of cabin crew, they usually picture glamorous layovers and a constant holiday but there’s so much more to the role than most people realise, this is where you will find out the reality of being crew vs what you might have heard about the job...

Myth - Cabin crew fly to a destination then immediately turn around to fly home

Truth - whilst this can be true if you are short haul based for me as long haul cabin crew we most certainly did not just turn around and fly home. When we land in JFK (for example) we will get off the aircraft just like all the passengers and then travel to the hotel for either a one night or two night trip, depending on your roster. You would be surprised how many passengers have asked me this question when they are disembarking the aircraft and I couldn't help but laugh a little bit. ' you really think I just worked a 7+ hour flight to then turn around and do it all again without a break' hahah that is funny.

Myth - Cabin crew fly for free with their staff travel benefits

Truth - This is definitely a myth that is very common and I have been asked so many times how this works. The flights are not free but you pay for are the taxes of that flight. So for example to fly from LHR to LAX you would pay about £250 for a return flight. Now yes that is 'cheap' considering these flights start at roughly '£600' for a basic economy ticket, however it is not free and in my experience of staff travel with Virgin and British Airways it works the same way with both airlines.

Myth - Staff travel is a guaranteed benefit of the job

Truth - Staff travel is amazing - when it works. I have experienced it first hand; staff travel working out perfectly and me getting to my destination sitting in an upper class seat loving my life. But I have also experienced not getting on a flight because it was over sold and no seats available and I was stuck at the airport until the next day to try and get on the next flight home. In my opinion staff travel is of course a great benefit of the job however when it goes wrong it can be such a headache and I remember when I was a kid travelling on my mums staff travel and all I wanted to do was be a 'normal passenger' and go through the airport like everyone else. It can be so stressful and its one of the times you really hope someone doesn't make their flight because you know that you will be getting their seat on that flight home.

Myth - cabin crew are glamourous servers in the sky

Truth - nothing can be further from the truth with this one. The 5 weeks of training can be intense and we learn a lot more than just service. In fact in my experience the service element of training was only 3 days long. The other 4 weeks were all safety and security training. Passengers don't realise how much cabin crew can pick up on by talking to customers and also just observing the cabin environment. For example if your cabin crew keep a look for how much alcohol is being consumed by certain passengers and if they are starting to get drunk we will just stop serving it all together or we have tricks to reduce the alcohol content of your drink. At the end of the day its actually illegal to be drunk on an aircraft!

Myth - 'your just cabin crew, what can you do'

Truth - Well yes we are 'just' cabin crew, however there is a lot we can do that passengers know nothing about. All aircrafts (at least Virgin Atlantic) have a restraint kit on board that we are taught how to use should we need to and we learn how to correctly restrain people and use handcuffs to protect ourselves, other passengers around them and also the actual person themselves. We can also request for passengers to be listed to not fly with the airline again if their behaviour is unruly or gets too out of hand. Bottom line is respect your cabin crew becuase there is a lot they can do that you don't know about!

Myth - Cabin crew always fly the same routes

Truth - For me as long haul crew this was not the case at all. We would be rostered lots of different trips. Yes of course we had the same trips within the month but for the most part I was always going to different places. Although I did become a regular to New York, Purely because I loved going there.

Myth - Delays only effect the passengers and crew don't get annoyed with delays

Truth - This is far from true. Delays are as annoying for passengers as they are for the crew. If we are leaving a destination (MIA for example), the crew want to get home, we all have places to be, whether its getting on the bus you have prebooked to get home or you have kids at home, whatever it is we all want to go home and so delays are just as inconveniente for us as for the passengers, and very often passengers forget this. Of course we understand you may have connecting flights that you might miss, but at the end of the day we are all doing our best to get back in time. The pilots will try to make up some of the time in the air to reduce the delays as best they can but ultimately there isn't much we can do, especially if the delays was due to weather or maintenence.

 These are just some of the myths and truths I could think of, if you have anymore that you have heard let me know so I can add them in 🙂 

My First Trip

6th December 2023.

 

I remember when I got my first roster for the month of December and my biggest worry was if I would be working over Christmas, because it would be my first time being away from family on my own in a different country. But that first roster I had (I think) probably 3 New York's and I was so excited. I went home and listened to 'Welcome to New York' by Taylor Swift as I packed my bag. Even trying to pack in a cabin sized bag was hard enough, especially for New York in the winter!

The first time I stepped on the aircraft at Heathrow is when I thought, 'shit this is actually happening'; I felt really out of my depth, all the training beforehand focuses mostly on emergency procedures, the different aircraft types, security and SOPs, but only 2/3 days out of a 5 week training schedule focuses on the service aspect of the job. Understandably, because emergency procedures are vital but my god nothing prepared me for my first flight.

Luckily one crew member took me under her wing (pardon the pun) and she explained how everything runs and what I need to do. Even simple things like where to put my bag or hang my jacket up.

Eventually we made it to JFK and I was so excited, so tired, but so excited to see New York, because I had never been before. I didn't do anything special for my first trip, but I loved wondering around and exploring, I went to Time Square which I cannot explain how amazing it was. You really have to walk around looking up in New York!

As it was around the Christmas period I saw Macy's with all the Christmas decor, and Bryant Park had the ice rink set up with the little Christmas market surrounding it, it was so fun seeing what I would come across. It was freezing though so it wasn't long before my hands and face were frozen. I walked to see the Rockefeller Tree although I was slightly disappointed because it wasn't as big as I had thought and it just looked like a big Christmas tree. I don't know what I was expecting, but the hype around it was a lot bigger than the actual tree!

Though trip was only 1 night, I managed to do a lot within the time because I just wanted to see so much and really make the most of the time I had there. Before I knew it, it was time to fly home and I was definitely still out of my depth but the crew were so lovely. After all, everyone has been in that position so they helped me out with everything, and my manager was really good at explaining how they typically do the services.

When I had got home I couldn't believe this was now my job. It made me so excited to think of all the trips I will be going on and for the different crew I will meet. I was daunted by the unfamiliarity of all the different aircrafts and the different ways that the trips are managed but I just had to jump in to that knowing the crew would help me.

Something the managers would say every time was that 'we are a team and we all work together to sort any issues out, no one is on their own in any situation' - that is something I will definitely take into my future career as a pilot for sure.