The Good, The Bad and Everything in Between With a Flight Attendant

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We are going behind the scenes with this flight attendant.

The word “vacation” alone makes one go gaga over the thoughts of the sun, sand and waves. In all the hustle of picking out outfits, dragging stuffed suitcase across the marbled airport floor and getting loaded in your super packed aircraft, one tends to forget that some people are busting their energies to make your trip count, right from the moment you board your flight to the time you arrive back in your homeland: The flight attendants.

We got up close with a flight attendant, Pawel Matczak, Dubai-based flight attendant who is a frequent transit visitor of Riyadh, to know how they handle the situation during the vacation season:

Firstly, everyone is curious: How long does it take for flight attendants to look presentable?
We like to take our time to get dressed up. Most of us take 45 minutes to an hour… if we are left undisturbed during the process.
You keep visiting Riyadh every now and then during transit flights. Is there something about the city that you love? Something that you must see or do or eat whenever you land here?
Oh yes! I love the mutabbal here! It’s my favorite thing about this place!
There’s a popular statement: “A smile plastered on, like a flight attendant’s”. How true is it? Do you agree with it?
*Laughs* Very true! I do agree with it… it’s a part of our job. No matter what happens, you SMILE!
Every job has its annoying bit. What annoys you the most about being a flight attendant?
The passengers! Not all, but a few. They don’t understand that we are humans, just like them. If we don’t get you what you’d asked for on time, it’s because we were attending others. There are 200 passengers and just a handful of us. We also have our good and bad days. Please, understand.
What are the craziest questions that passengers have asked you?
There were plenty! These are the funniest, though:

“I’m sorry, but, can you please tell the chef that the food was awful?”

“Do you have happy meals?”

What are the five things that flight attendants won’t tell passengers?
A flight attendant never reveals their age, their address and… let’s keep the rest a secret? *laughs*
Is it all glamorous? Lately, it isn’t as glamorous as it once used to be. Why?
I think the glamorous days of this job are long gone. We work hard day and night to see bits and pieces of the world (and to get our pay, of course). Also the fact that, back in the day, not everyone could fly; now, everyone can afford a ticket and fly.

Anyway, I think there’s still a little bit of charm left, we get to travel the world!

Just like Tyra Banks started the new trend, “anyone can be a model,” do you think that anyone can be a flight attendant, irrespective of their height and weight?
I don’t think so. Not everyone can be a flight attendant. Even though the profile of candidates, that the airlines look for, has changed over the years, it’s still hard to meet. Two of the most important traits that the airlines look for are ‘health level’ and ‘good looks’. You have to represent the airlines; hence, you need to look the best you can! I think it’s easier to be a model than to be a flight attendant. *laughs*

 

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