5 things you never thought about becoming a flight attendant

 

 

5 things you never thought about becoming a flight attendant

 

Being a flight attendant has its drawbacks and although it is considered an easy or glamorous job, having a business in the space provides a unique and stressful work environment.

Here are five things you never thought about as a flight attendant:

 

1. You are the main attraction (for the duration of the flight)!

The only place where there is personal space is in the cockpit and even they get the special status of arriving at work and being locked in a small room with a stranger for the duration of the flight. I've talked to many pilots who pray that their pilot doesn't have nightmares or mid-life issues. If you think it's bad to sit next to a smelly stranger, imagine how the sailor felt.

While you watch your three movies and eat your fake food, the pilot will make a contract to protect the lives of 300 and his pilot, until they meet at the press conference, which is only in name is on the page.

 2. You wake up and go straight to work.

One of the hardest parts of transitioning into working life is figuring out how to set your alarm clock for eleven o'clock. for a 12-night flight sleep before dinner while your friends are getting ready for a night out. But the biggest change is getting used to the flight attendant lounge - where we as flight attendants learn to love and hate to leave.

The Crew Rest Compartment (CRC) is a hidden place on the plane where we are allowed to sleep for more than 9.5 hours. It's a dark and creepy space, where flight attendants are huddled on top of each other in a small room where you can lie flat on your back; Once my friend got pink eye there. But when you're flying all night and your wallet is holding out for passengers, you'll struggle to figure out how long you need to check into CRC. You will fall asleep surprisingly quickly and have the worst nightmares, hiding in the belly of the plane.

 But there is an epiphany in the CRC concept: in this case, you have to be careful.

 

About 10 minutes before you float down the aisle with a warm travel message (because you woke them up) with a big smile, the stranger / employee you met in the last 8 hours of conversation will their treasure. in your little sleep and out of your sleep. Then you have to leave the rest of the staff fighting in the bathroom, taking off your pajamas and dressing, taking more than 10 minutes to end Bradley Cooper's dreams (and what each) serving coffee or tea. Believe me, I never thought about it, in addition to being a firefighter or an emergency doctor, working on an airplane is one of the rare jobs where you can go from sleep to sleep. in public. less than 10 minutes.

 

3. Your company is becoming an alley.

 It's something they forget to remind you of during the five-day interview process, when you have to identify all the tattoos on your body, sign a petition about your hair color, and take a psychometric test. Make your office a corridor. And all the opportunities you are currently working on will be exposed to 300 bored travelers who know you have something free to offer.

 And you and your car will be in a small lane in the work process that will be constantly changed by the needs of your passengers to use the toilet. For every traveler who has to "pass you", you and your system fall behind. As a passenger, I fully understand how uncomfortable you can be in your seat. But as a crew, I can tell you that we want nothing more than to get the job done, and we don't care about the amount of wandering around you. There is also nowhere to hide on the plane (except in the CRC or on the plane) and if you don't want people watching anything you do, this might not be the job. for you.

 4. Your colleagues are always changing.

 Flight attendants have the unique experience of coming to work to work with different colleagues on any flight and when I worked for Air World, they employed 35,000 flight attendants. the chances of dating someone you know are slim. Instead, you meet your flight attendants on the flight to Rome, dance in the streets with your new favorite friends, and you'll never see them again. Most people go to work and after six months they learn to hate Darlene for talking too much and eating too much. But with housemates, you create a fleeting friendship that seems to mean everything and nothing at the same time.

 5. You learn some hard skills. When I applied to be a flight attendant, I dreamed of the places I would go and the people I would meet...not the fires I would fight or the CPR I could give. The most important thing you never think about as a flight attendant, and I didn't until I became one, is that when we are all there and we can't call 911 - I am a trained person. take care of you and I am a person who has done more than 300 lives.

Before the six weeks of our security training, I never really thought that when the door closed, I would be a doctor, a psychologist, a fireman, and a bartender; that will give you CPR if you need it, turn off the oven, give birth, and even defeat a terrorist if it comes down to that. This is the first thing I want travelers to consider; the ones who looked at me like I didn't know enough to pick a smart job or the ones who rolled their eyes because I couldn't give them a coke during a safety demonstration. While the flight attendants may be on board trying to make your experience better, we are the only ones who know how to open a plane door and leave in an emergency.