Take Care...

Originally, I started writing this post back in February last year. I read about the sad death of a V Australia crew member in Phuket, after he fell from a hotel balcony during a room mix-up. However, a blogger glitch erased the post that I had worked on for hours and frustrated, I decided to continue it later. As often happens, other things took over and it was soon forgotten. Recently I found the half-draft in my archives & decided to finish the post to share with you.

The Phuket story got me thinking about how sometimes crew can take hotel safety for granted, and ways to make sure you stay safe in hotels.

For most flight attendants, spending time in hotels on layovers is common. We spend almost as much time in hotels as at home, if not more. Hotels become like a second home- especially if we layover in the same cities on a regular basis. We have our favourite rooms, make friends with the hotel staff and seek out the best places to eat and shop.

However, being away from home and often travelling solo has a darker side. Being in a strange city, around people you don't know and in unfamiliar locations can be dangerous to a flight attendant's personal safety in the wrong circumstances.

In 2010, an Australian flight attendant was killed when he fell from a hotel balcony/walkway while on a layover in Phuket. It appears he mixed up the room numbers and somehow, while trying to either find his room or gain entry to a room, fell from the balcony or walkway & fell five floors to his death.

I'm no stranger to odd hotel layouts- one hotel I used to stay at had an 'open plan' garden layout similar to the Phuket hotel where V Australia stayed. We'd frequently come back from a night out, tripping over plants or other things in the dark and losing our way between blocks of rooms.

Other hotels had complicated stairways, dimly lit walkways and were sometimes located in dodgy neighbourhoods if it couldn't be avoided.

Flight crew safety has recently been put in the spotlight again with concerns from Cathay Pacific flight attendants staying in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia reporting interference during layovers.

Here's a few things I do to make things that little bit safer in hotels.

Check It Out

On arriving, I always make a quick check of my room- inside the closet, the bathroom and under the bed. These are all known places for an assailant to hide until you've locked that door behind you. While checking, I'll close the door but not latch it until my check is complete, so I can open it quickly if needed.

I'll also have a quick look to see whether I have a balcony with a sliding door, a normal door or a window. It's important to know not only if your window locks, but if it opens enough for you to use if you can't get out of the door.

If the room is a joining one, I move something in front of the door- a chair, desk or other item which makes it difficult to open from the other room. At the very least, it'll make a noise to let me know someone is coming in.

Lock It Up

Most hotels I stay in have either a chain or one of those door limiters on it so that you can open the door without it being able to be forced open. If you don't have one of these chains, or are staying somewhere where you don't trust that staff don't access rooms, you can find plenty of door security gadgets online. I had one a few years ago which worked well, the plus points were that it was made of plastic so I could carry it in my hand luggage and it barely weighed a thing. Sadly, I can't recall the name of it or seem to find it online.

Of course if the fire department are trying to get in for whatever reason, it's not enough to completely stop them, for obvious reasons, but is enough to warn me that someone is coming in if they do. All-metal models might sound like a good idea, but remember in a fire situation that it may get too hot to handle & be difficult to remove without injury.

Stranger Danger

If someone knocks on your door saying they are from maintenance, you don't have to open the door. Hotels don't usually do any work at night (unless it's an emergency) and genuine hotel employees are happy for you to wait to call the front desk and verify that they DID send someone to your room. The same goes for room service or porters. If you don't feel right about it, check with the concierge or reception.

If I'm approaching my room and there's someone walking behind me, I wait until they've passed before I open my door. I've heard of crew members who have been followed into rooms and been robbed -or worse.

Just because you're inside a building, don't let your guard down. Again, it sounds paranoid, but would-be thieves take advantage of the sense of security a hotel gives people to get them when they least expect it. Especially as women, we can 'feel bad' that we'll offend someone by acting as though they're up to no good- would-be attackers can use this to their advantage. ALWAYS follow your intuition and remember- it's better to be thought rude than to have something happen to you.

Know Your Exits

As a flight attendant, this sort of goes without saying, but you'd be surprised just how many flight crews have no idea where the fire exits are. This goes for the fire fighting equipment as well. Check the plan on the back of your door, and make sure it's correct. When you go to the lobby for your night out, have a look on the way past where the fire stairs are and where you can grab a fire extinguishers. It's a bit of a silly habit picked up on the job, but I just can't help checking that a fire extinguisher is actually serviceable when I walk past one.

Speaking of safety equipment, I always think it's a good idea to carry a small torch in my bag. It's come in useful so many times that it's more than paid for itself. Mine is just a small LED job I got for less than $10 at a Kmart. The batteries last a long time and the light is much better than conventional globes. Some hotels supply a flashlight in the closet. One hotel in Asia I stayed at even had smoke hoods- I wasn't sure to be reassured that one was there if I needed it, or worried that they were there in the first place!

This is also where your earlier window check will help. Now you'll know if you can use your window to escape a fire as a last resort. How high is your room? Is there a balcony? Can you reach some other structure like the roof of the garage easily? At least you'll know this in advance, and it will only take you a few seconds to work this out when you're doing your room check.

Ring, Ring

In the article posted above, some of the Cathay Pacific crew reported receiving nonsense calls in their rooms, firstly from outside the hotel and then from other rooms.

Personally, unless I'm expecting another crew member to call my room, I don't pick up the phone. If it's an important schedule change or other work issue, there'll shortly be a note under the door. My supervisor and captain have the crew's numbers or can get them from crew scheduling if it's urgent. Also, my family will send me a text if they're going to call, or just call me on my cell. If you don't want roaming charges, you can always arrange to text them when you want them to call you.

It's also good to know how to contact various departments in the hotel. Know how to dial room-to-room. Check whether you have to dial an actual number, or just push a button to reach Reception or Hotel Security. This is especially good to know if you have to dial in the dark. If it's not noted on the phone, find out what the local police & fire numbers are. That way if your phone doesn't work you can at least try from your cell phone (make sure you know the dialling codes as well).

Other good numbers to know include your airline or company's security department. Crew scheduling can be a good help, but security is a better option in the event of something major going down. Crew who were caught up in the Mumbai terror attacks reported getting assistance from their airline security department when they couldn't get through to the police.

At the least, they can probably advise whether to stay put or leave in a security-type situation. Program these numbers into your phone: Scheduling, Security & your international help line if your company gives it. Every traveller should have an "ICE" (in case of emergency) contact in their phone.

Out on the Town

There's nothing wrong with a good night out on the town- it's a great way to relax and let off steam after a tiring flight, or to bond with your crew. Having said that, you should take some reasonable steps when heading out to ensure a safe night for all. Try to swap numbers with at least one other person in your group, if you don't already know them. This way if you get separated, or someone's phone gets stolen, you can still keep in touch. (Remember, you also wrote down the hotel's phone number, didn't you?)

Keep an eye on each other's drinks- especially if one of you goes off to dance. In some countries thieves work together to distract one member of the group while the other makes off with the valuables. Keep watch on bags and purses. Girls, if you're in a slightly dodgy area, make sure you visit the ladies' room together (This usually happens anyway!) ESPECIALLY if one of you suddenly feels unwell. You just never know what someone might have put in your drink, and you do NOT want her to be alone if that is the case!

Ideally, make sure everyone gets back to their rooms safely, especially in hotels that are dimly lit or have tricky layouts. This might sound sexist but I often ask one of the guys on the crew to walk me back if we're in a dodgy part of town or failing that, we girls make sure at a minimum, we're in pairs if not a group.

If you're heading out in a foreign city on your own, be sure to let someone know where you're going & when you expect to be back. This can be as simple as leaving a note on your bed- "Gone shopping in Mongkok, back by 1800". If you're not there for the crew pickup, at least that gives everyone an idea of where to start looking.


I don't mean to come across as paranoid, but it is a reality of the travelling life that we can face risks to our safety on the move. Implementing ways to keep yourself safe should be an important part of any traveller's routine.

We all go off on our trips not thinking that we might not come home. While having fun seeing the world and meeting new people, be sure to take care so that your family can welcome you home again, safely & soon.

Got a travel tip you think I'd like? Leave a comment, hop over to my Facebook page or send me a Tweet!

Snapshot- Beach

Taken at Scarborough Beach, Perth, Western Australia during a layover earlier this year. Beautiful, isn't it? These are the things I travel for =)

Picking Up

Collecting used glasses, cans etc in the cabin-

I pick up a tray in each hand, a glass of juice is still on the table. I'm about to tell the lady that I'll come back in just a second for the juice.

Lady: "Hey hey you forgot the juice"

Me: "Madam I will be back in a moment to take your glass."

I take the trays to to galley and come back (now with free hands) to take the glass. As I'm leaning over to pick up the glass:

Lady: (angrily) "Hey you lazy, you need to pick up the juice"

Me: (In my head): Give me a freaking chance and maybe I WILL pick up the juice!!

Seriously people, give your flight attendant a chance to do something before you berate him/her for not doing it. Odds are, they know what you're about to ask and are going to do it. Telling them off for not doing it before you've even waited to see if they're going to do it will just make them annoyed with you, and slower to come back next time. Free tip for you... :P

Mind Your Language!

The other week during a night flight, as I was walking to the back galley, a passenger waved me down and asked for vodka.

A couple of other people asked me for Coke, juice and so on.

I delivered the drinks and made my way to the cockpit with the pilots' meals. On returning down the cabin into Economy, the same passenger again requested a vodka. At this stage I'd already gotten lots of orders so by the time I made it back to his seat, he was asleep.

I left the vodka, with a glass of ice & lemon on the table.

About thirty minutes later, my supervisor came back into the galley while we were eating, and she was laughing, but like she was trying not to show it. Behind her was the passenger who'd asked me for the drinks, looking quite agitated and holding a now-melted glass of ice with a vodka miniature in hand.

My suprvisor explained to me that he was upset because he'd kept getting the wrong drink.

Turns out this guy had a thick European accent (which had gone unnoticed via his one-word responses to our questions) and had actually been asking for WATER.

Oh the fun of language barriers!!

You Drive Me Crazy...

Now we all know how much crew love to bitch about discuss passengers & their weird behaviour. It's almost an Olympic sport amongst flight attendants. We'll talk about it for hours on end, giggling at the silly things passengers do, and ranting about the plain annoying and downright rude behaviour that some people exhibit when they travel by air.

But, my dear reader, there are actually some flight attendants out there who are just as guilty of annoying, inconsiderate behaviour. And boy, do they Drive Me Crazy!

It starts when I get to the airport. We sign on in the crew base, and do the required things like check our mailboxes, rosters and make sure we're up to date with the latest operational memos.

PARKING SPACES
Ms Inconsiderate blows in right before check-in time, parks her bag in front of the mailboxes and proceeds to lean on the counter before the sign on computers, chatting to her friend and not actually using, thus preventing me from printing my roster & making me late for briefing. I also can't get to my mailbox because her ten ton bag is in the way.

CREW: Be quick when printing and watch where you put your bags. Just because you have time to chat, doesn't mean everyone else does.

WORK IT
Briefing time. The working positions get allocated. Now strictly speaking, there's not any seniority, but the generally recognised procedure is you let the crew who have been there longer than you have first pick of position, if that's what they want. Sometimes it's just easier to let the 10 year seniors work where they want, to avoid crankiness during the flight.

The in-flight manager asks me where I want to work. Ms Newbie shows up, looks around smugly (knowing full well I'm a cabin person not galley) and says she would really rather not work galley and wants cabin. The manager, being not the sharpest tool in the shed, ignores the fact that Newbie interrupted me and gives her cabin position, which means I'm stuck with galley. I'll work with it, of course, but it's the principle. I'd just spent the last 5 days doing galley position, and working about 4 legs each day. I was tired and wanted a break from counting drinks and stupid coffee brewers that decided not to work.

CREW: Even if your airline has no seniority, be aware of not putting yourself first all the time and occasionally consider that one of the other crew might always get stuck working a position that they hate. Suck it up for once and just do it.

STOW IT
One of my biggest crew pet peeves is flying with people who have no idea how to stow luggage. For example, as we board, Newbie is working at the front of the plane but comes and throws her bags right above the overwing exit rows. Thanks love, you just took up space my pax need because they have no option of floor stowage. I tell her to move her stuff and she cracks it. I tell her there is a perfectly good bag stowage at the front of the plane and she should use it. It's not exactly rocket science, but if I'm travelling with 2 or 3 bags, I try to spread them out around the cabin so they don't take up an entire locker, and thus deprive a whole row of stowage space.

Some aircraft are better than others in that they have dedicated spaces for crew to stow luggage. Others don't, and that's where we get to play Baggage Tetris during boarding.

CREW: Think about where your station is, and don't take up space that another crewmember needs for their bags or for passenger bags. Sure, our baggage takes priority but there's no need to be smug about it. Make it easy for the passengers, and it makes it easier for you.

EAT IT

Another frustrating crew behaviour is that of the food-hogger. Not only are they selfish, they are usually lazy too. Picture a flight with every seat filled, a dozen call bells going off at once, screaming babies, broken tv screens and all that fun stuff.

While the lazy crew members do their thing in the galley, suddenly having gone deaf and unable to hear and/or see the call bells, I'm left to run around the cabin like a headless chicken; mopping up vomit, distributing drinks and re-stocking the toilet rolls.

Meanwhile, the Food Hoggers are descending on the galley carts like a voracious locust horde, devouring everything remotely edible and leaving only the saddest, most pitiful and tasteless meal items in their wake. After slogging my way through three dozen drink requests, I return to the galley, starving, only to find not a scrap of edible/desirable food left (including my own that I put in the ice bin) for lunch. Needless to say, I see red.

CREW: How about waiting until the service is done before you chow down on that crew meal, and hey, while we're at it, how about taking a vote to see what everyone else wants before you take the choicest meals?

Once upon a time at a certain airline I returned to the galley after dealing with a vomit volcano of massive proportions, not really wanting to eat (but needing to due to the 12 hour duty we were doing). I got there only to find that there were no meals left. (There should have been). On questioning the girl who was shovelling chicken stir fry into her mouth as to why she was eating the last meal, she responded with "You were gone so long I thought you weren't eating." Oh, REALLY? How about getting of your ass and helping me clean the sick that had been working its way toward the back of economy???? Too hard for the Food Hogger, apparently.

Which brings me to...

GALLEY VULTURES

These are the crew who, despite knowing that you're still busy with the service, hang around the galley like starving seagulls hoping to score a hot chip. Even worse are the ones who get in there when your back is turned, opening carts and foraging for the best items. I once had a whole set of business class chocolates go missing before we'd even served the coffee. One must be very vigilant when there are galley vultures around, and shoo them back to Economy at the first opportunity!!! I should add that hungry, pilfering pilots also fall into this category, and the only worse pilot is the one who calls constantly for coffee during a busy service.

(I solve this problem by teaching them to make their OWN coffee, thus removing the need for my intervention at all... very handy!!!!)

CREW: For goodness' sake, if I'm still doing the service and you're not going to help before raiding my galley, GO AWAY!!!!

BUMPER CARS
For those of you reading this who have ever worked a tray service, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. There are some crew members around who just have NO clue when it comes to how to use a meal cart properly. Firstly, some don't use the brakes. EVER. I'll be turning around to pass someone a drink only to get hit from behind by a cart rolling down the aisle because my colleague doesn't have enough sense to put the brake on. I don't know about you, but I was always trained that the person at the head of the cart puts the brake on. Since then, I like to work under the motto that whoever moves it puts the brakes on. Of course, I always check to be sure, but when I'm a few rows away and my co-worker is stupid, sometimes it can't be avoided that the brake gets left off.

Also, it is quite difficult to be the person going backwards on a cart. Not only is walking backwards in a straight line quite difficult (humans are not really built for this), you have to factor in the motion of the plane and also that it's nearly impossible to look over your shoulder to see what is going on. You have to rely on your cart partner to tell you if you're going to trip over/hit a passenger.


Some crew are bad at this. They're in their own little world, ignoring elbows, knees and sometimes heads on their way up the aisle. Adding to the trouble is the fact that most ignorant cart operators also tend to push too fast. Walking backwards is difficult enough, let's not add speed into the equation! As the person facing the passengers, it's up to me to look ashamed about the fact we just slammed little Kevin in the head (even though we asked Kevin's parents five hundred times not to let him hang into the aisle.)

The other thing these crew tend to do is move the cart when you're not ready. Quite often, they're oblivious to the fact that the other person is bending down to put something in the cart. Two scenarios abound: moving the cart away so the tray gets dropped all over the floor because Crew #2 wasn't expecting the cart to move, or hitting Crew #2 in the head while they're trying to put a tray away. EXTREMELY frustrating! I find having one hand on the cart handle while I bend down is a good way to prevent the head smash and resultant unflattering bruise that comes with it!

CREW Think about what you're doing, where you're going and whether the other crew member is going to get hit if you move the cart. Good cart teams rarely have to talk to each other about what they're going to do; they just know.

So there you have it, just some of the bad crew behaviours that annoy me. It's not just the passengers!!! ;)

Now my fellow crew- tell me YOUR pet crew peeves. You can leave a comment or hop on over to my Twitter page.

(Photos: Google Image Search)

Did I Just See Sharon Stone..?

Recently, I was required by my company to deadhead to another base to operate a trip as they were short of crew due to sickness. Now usually when we travel as passengers for work, they try to put us in the premium area. Unfortunately, because they were short-crewed, some flights had been cancelled and combined into one, meaning more passengers in those seats. So my fellow crew members and I made the trip in economy. I don't mind economy, it's fine if you're prepared, but it was annoying to be in economy when we saw some of the people who DID make it into the premium section. One was a lady who I thought was a fare-paying passenger, but actually turned out to be on a staff ticket.

As Sky High Boy has mentioned on his blog, there's certain rules & restrictions when staff use their travel benefits. One of these things includes dress codes, and this girl certainly didn't meet them. Let's just say that hooker heels and skin-tight dresses are not appropriate attire for travelling on any kind of staff ticket, even if she was going on holidays. Every time there was someone waiting to use the lav, I was cringing inwardly when she shifted in her seat or uncrossed her legs, wondering if they were getting a good view of her breakfast. It was SO inappropriate! I actually marvelled that the cabin manager didn't say anything!

So, it kind of sucked to spend a flight in a middle economy seat surrounded by babies and having my seatback kicked when I knew that I was wearing the right clothes- and should have been seated there ahead of that girl who was wearing the wrong outfit. But I guess in a way it was good, because it reminded me what flying is like for the passenger and how to be more patient with them when they get upset about seat space, crying babies or their smelly neighbours!

From the Cabin

I've had so many things to write about lately, but what with Tweeting, flying, getting ready for my vacation & catching up on all the good blogs out there, I've gotten a little bit behind. So, here's a few highlights from recent trips.

BYO? Oh no!

On a recent red-eye flight, I was coming down the cabin, aft to forward, clearing rubbish to save the cleaners time once we arrived at our destination. Most of the passengers were asleep, with a few watching movies on their laptops or listening to music and reading. As I came down the cabin, I was taking cups & bottles from seat pockets. I took a stack of plastic cups out of the seat pocket of one guy who was reading. He said thanks, then I noticed the neck of a spirit bottle sticking out of the pocket. I pulled it out & it was empty. I said to the passenger that 'BYO' is not allowed as the plane is considered a licensed area. He tried to say he had bought it from one of the other flight attendants. Um, hello we only sell minis, not 250ml bottles!! Haha. I warned him he should not do this & if we caught him drinking his own alcohol again he would be in trouble.

Crew Pest

There's a particular crew member who I've had the 'pleasure' of flying with a few times now. She is quite possibly one of the laziest crew members I've ever seen. For example, as soon as there is any work to be done (clearing in, helping a sick pax, juice runs) she's nowhere to be seen. She doesn't even have the brains to at least LOOK busy (as every FA knows, always carry something) Anyway, recently we had an issue with lots of luggage during boarding. I was trying to deal with it as best I could, as well as get everyone seated so that we could close the main door. On top of that, I had to brief the overwing exit rows and Lazy Louise was doing absolutely nothing to help me. Later, the manager asked what the delay was, she was quite angry as they have to explain whatever reasons make us delayed in departure. I thought, stuff this, I am totally not taking the blame. I was doing everything I could. So, Lazy Louise got a lesson in teamwork & doing her part that day!

Unscheduled Leanover

Due to weather delays, my scheduled 4 leg day turned into an unplanned layover, which despite being extremely short, turned out to be not too bad as we got put up in a different hotel to where crew normally stay in that city. It had great views and the beds were really comfy.

I was just disappointed that we didn't have time to enjoy the hotel. It really sucked having only about 10 hours between arriving & leaving. I didn't really sleep very well & we had a 10-hour day ahead of us. Fortunately, most of the crew (different for each of our 5 legs) were pretty good. The morning of checking out, I was getting dressed ready for pickup when this really loud, strange noise started. It sounded at first like workmen using a drill or jackhammer, but then got louder and sounded like a helicopter landing on the floor above. I rang the front desk, who didn't seem too concerned, and told them about it. They said it was just a water tower on the roof. I was kind of freaked to use the lift, but pickup time was really close so I chanced it, just making it to the lobby in time.

Let It Snow

We were on a short flight over the ski fields and I was so excited to see SNOW!!! I've seen snow in NZ for real annd on tv here, but never seen actual snow in Australia before. The closest I've seen is when it hails so much the ground is white :D

YAY Snow!

The Exorcist- Or, Kevin Really Didn't Like His Dinner

There's so much to blog about since I last did an in-depth post, that I don't really know where to begin.

So, let's start with every crewmember's favourite- Vomit. (Note- this post is not for the squeamish- so read at your own risk)

It all began fairly normally. The flight was a cross-country red-eye. We started out with a bbit of a delay in the terminal, which of course the passengers loved at that time of night. Most of them were ok, and boarding for once went pretty quickly, with only a few of the usual hiccups that happen on a widebody plane when it's full in back AND front. Of course there were one or two of the 'I fly all the time & I ALWAYS have four bags with me' type, but I handballed that one to the gate agents, as I feel they need more practise at this issue in this port, and need to stop leaving it for me to deal with!

The flight was absolutely chockers in economy, with a few passengers not happy that they didn't get their preferred seats. The good thing is, each boarding pass shows a 'sequence number', which tells us how far down the queue they checked in. So the ones who try to fib and say they checked in early, when we know they were 3rd last on a full Boeing, don't get far with the complaints when we tell them we know they checked in after all the aisle & window seats were gone. Sure, you hate that seat, but SOMEONE has to get it, and you were number #257 to check in. Sorry buddy.

We got through the service, which consists of a cart service serving hot meals & drinks, followed along by the tea & coffee. Lots of wine drinkers on this flight. Usually are a lot on red-eye flights, particularly on cross-country flights, because the drinks are free. Some of course try to take advantage, and ask 6 different crew for the same drink, but we are on to that! :p

After the service, we turned down the lights so people could sleep. I had done a water & juice round with one of the other crew, and I was just leaving the mid galley curtains to go to the aft galley when a kid came running up the aisle toward me. At first, I thought Kevin was just being one of those kids who has to run around the plane annoying people. As the kid got closer though, I could see he was crying. My next thought was 'lost child'- happens all the time on such big planes.

Then I noticed Kevin was crying AND holding something rather disgusting. Yep- Kevin's cupped hands were full of vomit (EW). One look at Kevin & I knew the vomit volcano was about to blow. No way was I letting that kid get in the galley to puke his little guts all over our crew haven- we still had a good 4 hours to go!

I whipped Kevin around quick smart and pushed him towards the lavs, telling him "Go to the toilet, quickly mate!" As we rushed back down the aisle, Kevin could contain it no more.


Bleeeeeuaaaaarghhhhhhh..... all over row 34. I grab his head and hold it down so any more spew goes on the floor, and not on my unfortunate pax, who look as though they are about to do the same. It's like one of these dreams where you're running but getting nowhere- the lav looks a thousand miles away, and Kevin is still puking for all he's worth. The pax sit there like stunned deer, not hearing or ignoring my demands to give me a sick bag. Fine- we soldier on, and finally get to the lav, only it's locked. I whip Kevin inboard, towards the disabled lav, which, thank god, is blissfully empty. Ufortunately, he throws up right as I do this, so the crossover & a good portion of the floor at Doors 3 is covered in sick. I fling open the door & the lid of the toilet right as Kevin goes again- except instead of doing as I thought, Kevin considerately decides to throw up in the basin instead. Guess we can consider this bathroom useless for the rest of the flight. Poor engineer, well someone has to get the chunks out of the drain right?

I leave him to it, and pop my head around the bulkheead, ding a call bell 3 times, and when I see a crew's face appear around the rear galley curtain, I hold up my hands & wave my fingers, mouthing the word GLOVES!!

The other crew arrive brandishing gloves & antiseptic wipes. One goes off in search of Kevin's parents, while the other cheerfully informs me that 15 rows worth of the plane aisle is covered in the remnants of Kevin's supper. Lovely. Just then a rather steamed frequent flyer decides to tell me I am not doing my job because the aisle is full of vomit. I apologise and explain that my hands are rather full. Right at that moment, Kevin emerges from the toilet and pukes all over the guy's shoes.

Have to give the little tacker a 10/10, I haven't seen that much sick come from one person ever, much less a 5 year old. I don't know, he must have eaten more than his dinner to end up like that!

In hindsight, it was kind of funny.

Travel Fever...

Hello blog world... I know... I'm so lazy... got so much to blog about (that I promised to blog) but I seem to have a writer's block or something...

So, I will just write here & whatever comes out... is what you get. Ehehe.

parked on the couch with a doona (quilt for my non-Aussies) laptop and cable tv. Plenty of trash tv to be had. Now that my tax cheque has finally cleared, I'm investing in a few things for my trip.

On my list:

* Comfy travel pillow/blanket (Wanted a Pambee, but a bit out of my budget right now)
* Memory card backup (in case camera gets lost/stolen, & don't have to carry 10 cards)
* A travel bag (Pacsafe, for the anti-pickpocket features... good for Italy!)

I found the CUTEST travel pillow/blanket set, by Lug Travel, called the NapSac. Kinda like the PamBee, but in plush fabric. They don't ship to Australia (boohoo) but a kind FA on Twitter has offered to send it on for me if I order it & send it to her. Yay for crew helping crew!!

I found the Pacsafe bag I wanted on sale, but being a girl, I hated the puke-green colour (black was not on sale) and I figure it will get dirty, besides we all know black goes with everything! Good old eBay turned up the bag I wanted, in black, for half the price it costs here, INCLUDING postage from the UK. Woot!

Of course I am the queen of eye shades, travel-sized toiletries & all that jazz, so no need to buy any of those. But looking is still fun! :D

At the moment, I'm at the mercy of Scheduling, being on reserve, and so far it's been pretty quiet. Lots of crew have picked up trips, but not me. I'm hoping to pick up one to Melbourne when Airboy is there, so we can have a blogger's meetup. We'll see!!!

I have some blog posts to make about recent flights, but some of those will be on the Galley Curtain blog (due to bitching gossip about pax & other crew) So stay tuned for those.

Some of the things I have to write about:

* Super-disrupted layover where we ended up 1000miles from our intended destination
* Cute non-regular hotel we got to stay in, wish it were our regular hotel!
* The most vomit I've seen come from one human being EVER...
* Bitchy colleagues & lazy-ass crew members
* Love-life gossip (not much of my own, sadly)

A Few Little Snaps & Tweaks...

Just a few snaps to share from various other flights, nothing too controversial, only things I found interesting out of the window. Mainly clouds, as some of you will know these are my favourite! Always different...


(Kind of just... gross...)


Thiis one was really pretty, flying away from the rising sun =)

I have made a few small tweaks to the blog, namely adding a few new blogs to the Airline Alliance, and fixing some out-of-date links to point to the new addresses for other blogs. I have also made a couple of posts to the Galley Curtain blog, so make sure if you're on the F&F list that you check it out if you haven't already. Have a cool slideshow of travels in there as well as some work gossip! =D



I'm currently on a few days of home reserve (yuck!) but at least it means I can get all those jobs like washing uniforms & vacuuming done. I also am updating my manuals for SEP next month, as well as doing to some research for a little idea that I am having. More on that later. Now, it's back to work for me!

A Sign of Things to Come..?

So to continue the last post, about the trip with the nice passengers etc...

Once arrived at the airport, I had to stop a couple times to help some of the passengers from our flight who got lost in the building. Once they were on their way, it was on to the crew bus and to the hotel. Then of course as I wrote, drinks and dinner with the crew. Next morning we were all bleary eyed for the early morning departure, our passengers were pretty much the same so we just fed everyone breakfast and then let them sleep, only coming through to bring water and such every now and again.

Before we had taken off, we had to sit on the taxiway for awhile as the airport was busy with morning departures. The captain even made a PA saying it would possibly be 10 minutes. At that point I knew I could lean forward in my seat and look out the viewing window on my door to watch what was going on outside. We moved forward a bit in the takeoff queue, and when I next looked out of my window I saw one of these:


Interesting. If I was one of those people who believed in signs, I might make something of it. *grin*

In between flights I've just been doing the usual. Studying for SEP, meeting up with friends for coffee, and yes, I did do a tiny bit of shopping. I've been pretty good though. I only bought a jacket which I've been wanting for ages, and with winter coming I think it was a good buy. I've got it with me at the moment, and wearing it around on my layover, I was so glad I bought it. I also used two reserve days to organise my bedroom, categorise my shoes and mark ones out to be got rid of- though no doubt I'll be regretting it next year when all of those said shoes become 'in' again and worth a bit of money! isn't it always the way!

One last bit. A post on Twitter got me thinking about tips to help remember to take all of one's belongings when leaving a hotel room.

Here's an inside crew trick (especially good for newbie crew, or those who don't travel often, to get into the habit of checking) I learnt this one very early on after losing jewellery and an mp3 player in hotels...

When you put your stuff in the hotel safe (whatever it is, you obviously value it, right?)

take one of your uniform shoes and place into the safe also. Voila! Even if it means two minutes of blind panic searching for your shoe so you don't miss pickup, you will eventually remember where you put it, and thus discover that your precious belongings are still in the safe.

Another method I use is to switch on every light and lamp as I get ready for pickup. As i pack, and check each area is free of belongings, I switch off the light, leaving the foyer light until right before I leave. Right before I close the door behind me, I know that if I see a light on, there's stuff I've forgotten.

Those are just some of the things I've learnt in my flying career.

One last tip? If you forget something, and recall it while you're still in the hotel GO BACK YOURSELF. This ESPECIALLY applies in hotels where they 'hot bed' the rooms...

by the time you get to reception and ask, the maids could be in the room and if they're dodgy, you'll never see your stuff again.

Happy travels!

Pictures: Etihad A340(griffs0000 @ Flickr) Safe(Hotel Management Network) Hotel Maid(msnbc.com)

Postcards, Tour Groups & the Dedicated Spotter Award

Well, where to start?

I had a great trip, with a really good crew, and awesome passengers. We had a daytime flight on the biggest Airbus my company flies, and were preparing to be pretty busy as is usually the case on these daytime trans-continental flights. Normally on the "Bus" we fit about 270 or so down back, but on this flight we were full in the front cabins and only had about 200 down the back. So it wasn't so crowded as to be crazy-busy.


I was still expecting things to be pretty full on though, as we serve complimentary alcoholic drinks as part of the premium service. Of course the passengers take full advtange of this and enjoy a wine or two with their lunch or dinner. (We have to be careful, as some will ask each of us for two or three drinks, potentially getting 8-12 drinks in a flight, so we must pay attention)

The crew were great, we were from 3 different bases which can sometimes be hit and miss, but these guys were fine! I flew with 2 girls from my base who I hadn't flowm with before, and they were really fun. We had time to chat on our break and just had a good time. We had some cute families on board, and a really nice elderly couple whose daughter was travelling with them. They were such dears, we had to open their cutlery and ice cream for them because I don't think they'd ever seen a Cornetto before! At the end of the flight, I found out that their daughter was turning around and going straight home again, she just wanted to make sure they'd be ok on the flight over! Isn't that sweet? (Not to mentione expensive! But, it's the only way to do it if you want to be absolutely sure they will get everything they need, as we sometimes get so busy we can't stay to help even if we want to)

One of my colleagues happened to mention a passenger who had asked if we could find out some information from the captain. This passenger was a bit of an aircraft enthusiast, and he had a folder with lists of all the aicraft types, airlines and registrations he'd EVER flown on, as well as departure airports, arrival airports and anything else you could think of. (AviationCrazy, you would have been impressed!) So of course we offered to take his folder up to the guys up front, who wrote all sorts of things down for him including altitude, speed, fuel figures, all those facts only "plane nerds" like me would appreciate.

I went for a rummage through our amenity box and found a company pen which we gave him. I also went on a mission to find the rare writing paper and envelopes, plus a pack of playing cards, but sadly they hadn't been loaded on that sector. My last idea was that I vaguely remembered putting a company postcard in my bag on my last international trip, so I was hoping to find it and pass it round the crew for them to sign. But again, it wasn't there, and then I remembered that I had to throw it out when a juice spilt in my crew bag :(

Still, the passenger was thrilled when I told him to stop by after landing to say hello to the crew in the flight deck (this is allowed at my airline) and he had the chance to take a few snaps in the flight deck. I wrote down the name of a company that used to do tours of the airport (runways and such) and told him to visit the airport museum. At least one person left the flight happy! While I was in the airport later, I took the chance to drop by the gift shop and bought about 10 postcards to put in my bag, just in case. I never have any in the aircraft when I need them. Besides, I like to be able to bring out something like that as a surprise!

So after the gift shop we jumped in the crew van to the hotel. Was good chit chat with the girls, and as we were on a min rest we decided to just pop over to the restaurant next door and have a drink and a bite to eat. I got a crew discount cocktail (hehe) and we had wedges, fries and some thai entrees. It was really good. But soon it was off to bed for our early pickup. I had a whole Chinese tour group staying on my floor, and boy were they noisy! They were going in and out of each other's rooms, talking loudly and laughing. But bless them, I couldn't be angry, they were probably on the trip of a lifetime, so I just turned up the ocean soundtrack on my iPod louder, and nodded off to sleep pretty much right away.

More about the trip home, and an interesting sign, a little bit later!

(Pictures: A330 Cabin- Swiss Airlines)

Just Quickly...

Yes, I am still here, I just haven't got a lot of time at home at the moment. Off again on a trip soon, but it's a quick 2 day trip so I'll be home tomorrow, and I've got some posts up my sleeve! Had them planned for a few days, but just had a lot of stuff to do so haven't managed to get them down in here yet.

Hope all are well, see you in tomorrow!

In work-related news, I'm starting to freak out, as I know I have SEP next month, but I don't know WHEN... seeing as we're up to 6th May already, I had better get studying, in case they give me SEP first thing in June! Argh...

Bikes, Bookings & Beach

Well. Where to begin. Such a lot to update on, I've nearly forgotten all the stuff I wanted to post about!

Exercise: I've been pretty good lately, yes ok I admit I've slacked off some days, but overall I don't think I've done too badly. Once in Perth I did a fast walk from South Perth (near the Mends St jetty) up to the park near Burswood Casino. And back. Not too bad. I was getting a little sick so haven't been riding the bike as much, but I did get out with my friend J yesterday and we did 45 minutes before deciding the weather was so nice we'd rather be at the beach! =D

I think the ride was overdoing it a bit as when I got back tot he car I had to lie down and put my feet up, feeling lightheaded. While I was lying there some guys playing football nearby kicked their ball over and it nearly knocked me out! Haha! But they were kind of cute so I forgave them.

J and I dumped our bikes in our cars then headed for the beach. Much better. The water was a little cold but it was really refreshing, being the Easter long weekend, it was really crowded but it was so nice just to be there, floating on the waves and talking. I also took the opportunity to take my new (waterproof) camera for its first test drive for underwater shots- as we were near the shore it wasn't too interesting underneath the water but it was fun to be able to have it with me and not worry about someone stealing it from my bag. The only drag to the day was that I was on call reserve, so had to keep checking my phone, but luckily I didn't get any calls so it was all good in the end.

Once we got too cold in the water we took our towels up onto the grass and just got some sun for awhile. I think I needed it after spending a few days mostly sleeping in bed. Once we dried off we decided we were both really hungry and went to get fish and chips. The line for the most popular place was really long, plus we decided it was a bit too expensive. There was a simple kebab joint down the road which also did fish and chips for half the price of the trendy place, so we got our food then sat down on our towels on the grass and ate. Our reward for being good about exercise was a really pretty sunset, which we watched the end of while going for a quick walk down the beach and back to work off the fried fish :P

Some lifeguards were training in their powerboat and it was really funny when they rounded a corner too quickly and threw the female lifeguard off the dinghy. Of course she screamed as she went over unexpectedly and the guys had to go pick her up out of the water, red faced. Hehe.

I've also done a couple of work trips which were really good, one to Singapore with some new crew which turned out to be a huge trip, mainly because we went out on the town the first night and stayed out til 3am (I only had 3 drinks the whole night as I'm kind of not into the drinking thing anymore, it doesn't do much for me, plus I already had a massive headache from work that day. SO I just had a vodka tonic or two and watched everyone else. We went to the bar Clinic which is decked out like a hospital, and you get drinks in drips and test tubes. But it was kind of expensive so really we sat around dithering over the menu while taking photos of us mucking around in the wheelchairs. All was good until two of the crew who had had more drinks than us decided it would be fun to take off in the wheelchairs down the street. So we got the 'move along' and then headed back for the hotel. On the way some of the crew decided it would be fun to go on the Reverse Bungy ride. Fun for all, even if you're only watching! Hehe


Singapore at night!

Next day I shopped a bit, had a fantastic pedicure (including leg massage and heat treatment), stocked up on my faves from the Body Shop (which I can't buy here at home) and found a fantastic pair of shoes to go with a new dress of mine. (More about the dress later!)

Plans for holiday going well, got my leave approved so now just waiting on booking confirmations. Singapore Airlines are having an awesome sale which will get me to London and back for around $1499. Emirates had a similar offer which I really wanted to do as it had a stopover in Dub-Dub, but I had to pay by tomorrow and my bank transfer won't be through by then. Oh well! SQ it is! I do like a Kebaya, and I'll get to fly on the A380. (I'm such a plane nerd, just had to include it so I could check it out.)

I plan to make a few posts today while I can as I am off on another trip tomorrow, so be sure to scroll down and check for the others =) Will also add some photos, once flatmate gets home with her work computer which isn't so slow as this one!

Argh Where Has the Week Gone?!

I've been meaning to make a post for the last few days, but for some reason I seem not to have had any time. There's a few things I want to write about, my I haven't really a) felt like posting and b) wanted to do battle with flatmate's crappy slow laptop.

The good thing is, I finally got my laptop back from the repairers. It seems to be mostly running ok, except they seem to have changed the Bluetooth settings so I can't actually send photos from my phone without resorting to SMS, which isn't free. Oh well, I'll just have to play with the settings until I get things back to how they were. I also have to try restore the data from my backup disk. But the space bar isn't working which is really really annoying me!!!!

I also had a good work trip which I'm planning to blog about, oh and of course a shoe post for the JS blog. Got some pictures to post once I have got everything back onto the laptop.

I thought I was getting the flu the last few days, but I chucked down some cold n flu tabs, drank heaps of water and I think hopefully I've kicked it before it got too bad.

Alright, better go back to house cleaning!

Adventures!

Wow, what a busy few days! So much going on this week, I don't know where to start!

I had some great times with friends- shopping with the girls, movie nights, and general fun fun fun! It was nice to be social again, even though summer is officially over, I feel like I still need to make the most of the nice weather.

Work has been great, I got some really good remarks from passengers, and we had so many famous people travelling, too many to poke a stick at!

One of them was someone who has been a favourite celebrity of mine for a long time, sorry, can't say who for obvious reasons, but this person was very nice and down to earth, and I think they liked being treated just like anyone else. The celebrity actually came to the galley during the flight and had a chat with us. It's funny how much someone like me has in common with someone like them, even with all their fame and whatnot. I guess deep down they are just like everyone else.

Towards the end of the flight, our guest gave us the card of their manager/PA and said if we had time while in Sydney to come visit at the hotel for a party that they were putting on, to let them know and they would put our names on the door. Awesome!! Of course it had to be totally top-secret, as letting anyone else in on it would lead to mobs of screaming fans at the hotel. But it was sooooo hard not to tell the rest of the crew, hehe. Lucky us!!!

Let's just say a great time was had by all, free drinks, awesome food, plenty of celeb-spotting aside from our guest, all in all I think the best night that has ever come out of having my job. Did I mention I love my job??? I am just itching to post a picture but of course I can't, in the name of professionalism. (Darn)

And you know the best part??? During the evening the celeb's manager got talking to a couple of us crew, and mentioned that they might be looking for one or two to work as crew on the private jets that their client uses! Apparently they want someone a bit different, and think having some Aussie crew is just what they need. Of course we handed over our numbers, emails, you name it!! The conversation sounded very promising, and the opportunities would be fantastic. I can't wait to hear back from them.

So of course today seems very dull indeed. I have to do boring things like clean house, do washing, run errands and pack for my next trips. Will let you know as soon as I have any updates =)

Jetlagged & Jostled

I have a case of nuclear jetlag at the moment... it's soooo bad... been a long time since I had jetlag this bad! I suppose it's a combo of some super-busy flights, early morning and red-eye flights, and the summer heat. (I don't sleep so well in summer)

Yesterday I got in from my latest trip, the last leg of which was an all-nighter red-eye, at around 8am and I zonked out immediately. I was so tired on the flight that I started doing really dumb things like trying to pour OJ into coffee cups instead of the glass. I nearly fell asleep landing. Of course I've filed a report to the airline- most of us did. The trip we worked is not for humans!


I was so tired I can't recall how I actually got home (I drove, but can't remember actually doing it). I collapsed into bed, pretty much kicking off my uniform and shoes onto the floor, didn't even bother putting pyjamas on. I think I even went to sleep with my stockings still on, well they were on when I woke up, sooo... and naughty of all naughties, I didn't take my makup off first.

Even after 8 hours of sleep I feel like crap, went out to get some sunlight and it seemed to help a bit. Have a day off today so hopefully I'll feel vaguely ok to actually enjoy it.

Doanli posted recently about a big pet peeve of mine- 'personal space violation' (lol sounds like a speeding ticket, doesn't it?!)

Now of course on the job, I have my personal space invaded on a daily basis- I get tapped on the shoulder, the elbow, have my sleeve tugged, people getting right up in my face, not doing as I ask and waiting when I'm trying to pass by with a tray of drinks, instead choosing to push up against me and squish past in a highly personal manner! (Guys this is directed mainly at you- I do not want to feel your bits pushing into my backside as you 'pass' me in the aisle- I KNOW you do it on purpose!!!) Especially when I ask you to wait while I pass but you do it anyway. Next time you'll get hot coffee on your jewels, I swear!!!

Anyway, I digress! :P

Doanli's post reminded me of a recent time in Singapore. Normally I love Changi airport- it's so efficient- free internet, those groovy moving walkways, duty free delivered to the aircraft to save me waiting... but this time the duty free store was hell crowded, and I had 10 minutes to get all my stuff and leg it to the plane. (Of course half the moving walkways were broken on that day- sob!)


I grabbed the booze, cigarettes & chocolate, headed to the counter and lined up. Got to the head of the queue only to have some guy lean across me, waving money at the cashier like he ws in a Mumbai market and saying 'here here, I pay you now' and really getting into my personal space. (Aside from the fact he was totally cutting the line) It was so wrong, he smelt really bad and kept pressing up against me and saying 'go away' had no effect either. (Must really learn how to insult in foreign languages)


The cashier told him to queue up, but he didn't get the message. My dirty looks didn't get through either (he was practically sitting on my back, cheeky bastard) so I had to take matters into my own hands and ram him with my trolley bag. After paying for my purchases, it was impossible to leave through the exit lane so I had to do a u-turn and fight my way through Mr Impatient & all of his ten zillion countrymen, all of them also trying their luck in cutting the line! God I love having a solid wheelie bag/cabin bag combo- it cleared a path through them in two seconds flat and probably left a few bruised toes in its wake.


Well, I can't be late for boarding now, can I???? ;)

Ok I know I know we cabin crew are meant to be tolerant and all that, fine, I get it, some cultures this is ok but I draw the line at being on the fourth date in the airport queue ;P

Note- photo of sleeping crew is example only and not affiliated with any of my colleagues

Meandering in Melbourne

On a recent trip to Melbourne, I managed to take a few pictures which I thought were worth posting. I've been having camera troubles lately, more specifically, trouble with the camera card. It's brand new, so I'm not sure why it's playing up, but the fact that it's been 'eating' most of my photos is really frustrating! It also seems to happen only to the pics which I REALLY want to share.

Oh well. I'll just have to use the old one until I can figure out what the problem is, or maybe exchange it for a new one.

As you may or may not know, Melbourne is known for its trams, which are one of the main forms of public transport. The fun thing is, there's a free 'city circle' tram which runs right nearby the crew hotel. This is handy for getting into town to shop, go get some lunch or dinner, or just to sightsee.





The most well-known train station is the Flinders St Train Station, admittedly the more traditional of the two main rail stations in the city area. When we passed there were heaps of people crowded out the front, seems like it is a meeting spot of choice and of course a transit point for getting home after work!


After a nice lunch in the trendy Chapel St area (pizza & pasta, if you must know) we headed into the main area of town to have a look around, and of course to shop! On the way there in our cab, I saw this cute set of horses and carriage taking tourists around.




Cute chandelier in the crew hotel, which some of my readers may find familiar :P


A rather modern building in Federation Square, which is one of the more 'buzzy' places in Melbourne, but unfortunately we didn't have time to visit on this trip. I hope to go back there the next time I get a Melbourne trip and have a look around some of the galleries and exhibitions there.


Of course, a trip to Melbourne wouldn't be complete without a peek at the high-end labels :P

Prada...





This pic of the Louis Vuitton store, which was being renovated at the time. I had the pic all set up, but then the walk light went green so it blurred...




I really like this picture, it's a bit clever isn't it... hehe


And again, a tram: