Heinrich Kubis was the first gent to serve the airborne masses, topping up glasses and dishing out slippers aboard Germany’s vast Zeppelin airships as far back as 1912. Both Heinrich and the Hindenberg are long gone (although he was a survivor of the famous disaster), but air stewards are still very much with us.
The role of the air stewardess, however, didn’t take off until 1930, when Ellen Church donned a fake life jacket and began indicating the nearest exits. Her nursing background set the trend for decades to come, with airlines initially employing women in the skies as flying CPR units. It wasn’t until the heady mid ’60s that companies (we’re looking at you, Pan-Am) began to use the looks and charisma of their flight attendants as a selling point.
In more recent times, flight attendants have become the front line in airline security. Since 9/11, they receive anti-terrorism training and learn how to deal with unexpected technical problems. Short of having the plane’s design engineer sitting next to you, they’re about the best you can hope for when your engine falls off.
Despite the pressures, however, the job is still seen as being extremely glamorous, with thousands of young men and women opting for a career in the skies. Most will tell you that it’s a tough old business, what with darting between continents at a moment’s notice, dealing with mind-altering jetlag and having to cope with vomiting and violent passengers.
In Abu Dhabi, there are about 3,000 flight attendants from 110 different nations working for Etihad Airways, which is an impressive number considering the UAE’s national airline was only founded seven years ago. Within this time, the city has had to adjust for the influx, with air crew having their own club nights, apartment blocks and fitness groups, as well as bar, restaurant and salon discounts. As a result, they’ve garnered a reputation for being outgoing types who work lengthy hours but still find time to paint the town red on their days off. To see whether this myth rang true, we asked two Etihad cabin crew to keep a diary for a week, noting where they travelled to and what they got up to during their leisure time, in an attempt to answer the big question: are their lives enviously fabulous or just plain hard graft?
Sheridan Watson
Nationality: Australian
Age: 32
Monday
After a lie-in, it’s the return journey to Abu Dhabi. I work in the first class section and today it’s almost full, but, as there are fewer seats, I have a lot more one-on-one time with the passengers. You get a lot of businessmen aboard and, when they’re on a long flight, they’ve often been travelling for hours and haven’t spoken to anyone and just want a smile and friendly face to chat to. I don’t get back to my apartment until 3am.
Tuesday
I have a good long lie-in as I’m pretty jaded. After a busy flight schedule, I’ve been known to sleep for 16 hours straight, but this is necessary as it’s our job to be fresh and rested on the flights. Then it’s the evening flight to Cochin in South India for me.
Wednesday
I arrive back in Abu Dhabi at 10am, and I’m pretty tired after a quick turnaround. I sleep most of the day, grab a quick coffee with friends and then pack my back for the overnight flight to Paris, which departs at 2am.
Thursday
We touchdown in Paris at 8am. Pretty much all the passengers just sleep for the whole journey, so it’s quiet. Our hotel is in the lovely French village of Roissy-en-France, which is right next to the airport. I indulge in the buffet breakfast at the hotel before a much-needed 40 winks. I’ve packed my gym kit (I always make sure I take this) so I go for a jog around the nearby park before meeting some of my colleagues for dinner. We have a slap-up French meal at a gorgeous, traditional little restaurant called Aux Trois Gourmands, then hang out in the crew lounge before falling asleep.
Friday
I have most of the day off before I head into the city for the evening. I’ve been to Paris so many times I know the city really well, and I’ve seen all the famous landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame, so we catch a bus and train to Montmartre, which is my favourite part of the city. I have a delicious breakfast with giant bowls of coffee at a charming little patisserie. We spend the afternoon wondering round the little cobbled streets, and get in some souvenir shopping around Place de Terre – a small square that is full of artists painting on canvases. I just love it, because it is exactly as you imagine Paris will be. We then check out some street performers around the amazing Sacre Coeur Cathedral before making our way back to the hotel. After a stop at a gourmet grocery store to bring some authentic baguettes to Abu Dhabi, we fly back that night.
Saturday
I arrive home in Abu Dhabi at an unearthly hour and hit the sack straight away, then get up in the evening and go straight to a Muay Thai session on Najda Street. Then I undo all the good work with a couple of shawarmas at Automatic – a great little Lebanese restaurant where the staff are really friendly. I get back to my apartment and check where everyone’s heading out that night on Facebook. As usual, most of my friends are heading to Heroes at the Crowne Plaza, which is really popular with cabin crew because it has a great house band and is really close to our accommodation. This week I’ve been to London, Paris, Abu Dhabi and India. Yep, it’s tough work, but we’re lucky to have such a varied life.
Lisa Medicke
Nationality: Austrian
Age: 24
Sunday
It’s a big one for me today because I’m off to Australia, which is a massive 14-hour flight. I really like these long flights because you get a lot of rest time in between them. Even on these long haulers, people are generally well behaved. You occasionally get someone who’s a bit frightened of flying, so we smile at them and try to keep them as calm as possible.
Monday
I arrive in Sydney in the morning, and then it’s straight to bed for me. I’ve got 38 hours in Sydney, so I need to recharge my batteries for some fun.
Tuesday
I go for a tour of Sydney with some of the girls on the flight. First up, we go to the Sydney Opera House and it’s as spectacular in reality as it looks on postcards. Even though I’m from Austria, which is a landlocked country, I’m a very keen surfer, so I head down to the famous Bondi beach in the afternoon. Luckily I brought my wetsuit with me, and there’s some good swell out there, so I go and catch a few waves. After a meal in one of the little bars by the beach, it’s straight back to the hotel to relax.
Wednesday
Back to Abu Dhabi after another long flight, with a stopover in Singapore. I arrive home too tired to do anything but sleep.
Thursday
I spend my morning at the gym, before catching up with some friends at Eight Bar in the Souk Qaryat Al Beri. Then it’s off to my favourite destination in the morning.
Friday
Ah, Munich! It’s great because it’s just 90 minutes from my hometown of Salzburg, just over the border in Austria. I do this route a lot because I’m a German speaker. So, after landing, I get on the train and go home to see my family. It’s great to have some real home cooking from my mum, and to catch up on all the family news. Salzburg is a lovely little city; it’s exactly like it is in the film The Sound of Music. Men still walk around in lederhosen! It has some great bars and a café by the river, so I go there with some friends. It feels like I’ve never been away. There are not many jobs where you can be working in the Middle East and still get to see your friends regularly, so I guess I’m very lucky.
Saturday
I catch the early flight back to Abu Dhabi. As soon as I arrive, I get in touch with my friends on Facebook and they say they’re off to the Yacht Club, so I go along and join them. This is my favourite bar in the capital as it’s got a real European feel, almost like being in St Tropez. Then it’s off to bed after another globe-trotting week in my life.
Week in numbers
Hours in the air:
Sheridan: 35
Lisa: 34
Number of days off:
Sheridan: 2
Lisa: 2
Countries visited or passed through:
Sheridan: 4
Lisa: 4
Number of friends and family visited:
Sheridan: 0
Lisa: 6
Number of suitcases packed:
Sheridan: 4
Lisa: Far too many to count!
Cabin fever?
All this jet-setting may seem glamorous, but, according to research by The Journal of Neuroscience, people whose job involves constantly travelling across time zones for several years have disturbed circadian rhythms (daily body clocks), which can lead to ‘impaired physical and psychological health’. There are ways to reduce the risks, such as drinking caffeine and exercising thoroughly. So listen up, flight attendants! As soon as you get the last passenger off the plane, we recommend a large latte and then an intensive workout on the cross-trainer.
