A Day In The Life Of A Etihad Cabin Crew

I thought i would share with you guys of how it was when i was a cabin crew with etihad…a look inside a day of being a cabin crew, so you guys could get a picture of how it is.....some procedures might have changed since I resigned back in 2012…but I will go through every step of the way from my alarm clock goes off to coming back home from the flight…..

Anyhow i chose: Muscat,Oman to write about … because its one of the super easy short flights we ever had…and its easy to go through….and I remember it as if it was yesterday…lol

the hours & timings might not be so accurate but I tried to remember as much as possible regarding the timings….

So here we go follow me on this flight:::: :-)

Muscat, Oman

Flight Departure 12:15pm from AUH (Abu Dhabi) airport

My alarm on my cell would go off at 07:45am in the morning....

I would get ready, makeup up done, hair done, earrings and a watch is obligatory to have…. uniform on, name tag on…wing pin on…hat on, the small carry on luggage ready to go with the handbag…at the beginning when I was a new joiner…as a crew…these stuff would take ages…to do……i would get up hours and hours before to do this all in a perfect way....

Cause if its not in the right way, we have this grooming manager at the airport that checks every crew for grooming/attire ect....and if you have been lazy and didnt do the things correct you can get a warning/ be reported....by the grooming manager...

But after let say 2months of flying….i found my routine….it didnt take me a long time to do my makeup and hair or remembering what to wear and all the other things cause it became so natural by than..we had no other choice of colors or shoes or whatever...so you know exactly what to wear and put on...simple as that...

 ….by now we all got used to this and had our own ways to fix all of this…MULTITASKING and having a good eye for details and being aware of things..time management skills.....those skills are needed here...and more...lol

09:00am

 my pick up would be down stairs….picking me and other crew in the area up…we all had to sign this paper…on the bus..our names and destinations…so the driver would know and others ect…..some buses would stop at various crew accommodation to pick up other crew too….it all depended on where your accommodation would be at…but ur never alone in the buses.....their is always another crew going wherever....you might know her/him or u might not.....

I arrive at the airport approx 09:30am….

Just as every passenger goes through customs…so does the crew…we have this customs especially for staff/crew….

Than at the crew rooms,,,

We have these tv screens, where we can check which briefing rooms belongs to which flight….so we would know where to go to..to have our pre flight briefing….

After this…

we have this post room…where we all crew got the post….so before every briefing I had..i used to go to that room to check if I had gotten any letters….we don’t have any mailboxes at our buildings or by our apartment doors….all crew mailboxes are at this special post room at the airport…of course you can get a own mailbox for bigger packages sent to you or whatever...but i have no clue regarding this regulations or how that went ...cause i had no need for that....

By now the time is 10:00am

 Than I go to this beefing room….and wait for the other crews that will work only on my plane and with me, cabin manager will be there too...….we have this 10min briefing…where the cabin manager and crew starts to introduce themselves..where we are from and what languages we speak…the cabin manager inform us about the passengers or info regarding other things.....the cabin manager will also ask us each 1 safety/security/ aviation health question…that each and one of us has to answer….if we cant answer it...we get another question...if we cant answer that on...i think we get another 3rd chance...if again we cant answer......

 we get off loaded…its stressful during those moments , its like a mini exam you go through before every single flight….but after a while you get used to it….the questions that they ask us is the exact same questions you get on your exams during the training…so if you did well on your exams during your training you will sure do well during these briefing questions…if you wasn’t a good student like i wasn’t…it was stressful heheheehe to remember all that heheheeheh but you learn as years go I think….and after 6 months or more…you wont be as stressful as you were before….for some its easy….for others more difficult……

…than we get the info about  what positions we got…onboard….cause each cabin crew is responsible for one door….one crew sits by one door …the same exact door to and from the destination…

….thats our area of responsibility…. Than we talk about the flight ect…than at the last minutes the captain and first officer comes in the room and talks a little bit..than we all walk out from this staff area…goes to the main area in the airport…..

Again we have to go through customs…the same custom area passengers go through…..but we don’t stand in line…like the passengers…we go before them….

Than we board the plane…around 1hour  or 40min before the passengers comes….

by now the time is…approx 11:00am…..

Now every crew goes to their area of responsibility by each door….and starts to do their safety and security checks…count safety equipments, ex count how many infant seat belts there is, or how many fire extinguisher you have in your area and more...ect…we do these checks by looking at this manual book we have…we always have to read this book and have it with us…so you do these checks by this book…..and we do these checks in that area we got…

if the window blinds are down we have to put them up…we put headsets on the seats…but with this short Muscat flight that only takes 45min…(the original flying hour from take off and landing is 1h and 10min, between muscat and abu dhabi, but with 45min i mean from the time the seatbelt sign goes off and we start do our service until the seatbelt sign goes on and we sit down on our jumpseats cause the plane is descending...not landing yet but descending  ) we don’t put headsets on the seats…sometimes we put those small earplugs on their seats…but not always.......longer flights of course we put headsets on the seats…

if the overhead bins  are closed we have to open them….we go put some lavatory amenities in the lavatories…wc´s are called lavatories….

If you are responsible for the galley, which is the kitchen….than u have to check and arrange and fix some stuff in the galley..and sign and talk with the caterers when they come and fill and change….only one crew is responsible for the galley….but others can help of course….and should help too cause its team work even if this person is signed to this area…..many crew loved to be a the galley operator as they called it…I didn’t….its actually loads of work to be done in that area…..sometimes the galley operators doesnt have to do the service on board like serving....cause they have to stay in the galley...some do both...depending on flights and situations ect.......

Now the time might be approx: 11:45am…..

Now the passengers are arriving, …everyone is standing at their area of responsibility…hats on and looking all smiley…grooming must be great here…we help passengers board….help with baggage’s…if needed…but not a must….give baby seat belts if there were any babies onboard… we would inform those sitting on exit seats…some info to them…..we would confirm to some guests who had ordered special meal….ect

When that’s done….its time for the plane to start moving…and leave their parking spot….

Now the safety demo is on…so each crew will stand by their special demo spots…and will show the exits or other stuff if needed…..than we go check if everyone have seatbelts on…window blinds up…seats upright, tray tables up, foot rest up…no one walking around or in lavatories…..

Than we go sit in our own jump seats and hats off,,,seatbelts on…..but still having jackets on….

It is always one crew that speaks arabic on board….so this Arabic speaker starts to do the announcement in arabic….and when he/she is done….one of the other crews will do the English version…..

Now we are up in the air…..when the seatbelt signs goes off we will get up and change clothes to our onboard aprons/scarf and will take off the jacket and shoes, and change to our onboard shoes….

Now we will help the person who is responsible in the galley to set up the carts and on longer flights we always hand out food menus…but during my time we didn’t do it on these short flights…perhaps now they do…I don’t know…..but on Muscat flight we didn’t do it….we would always give out special meals and kids meals first to those passengers who had a special order for it....

There is always 4 crew on board these A319-320….sometimes 5..but usually 4….2 is in economy…2 in front…a flight to Muscat they usually have a A319-320 …which is smaller….thats why we are always 4 crew….cause this A319 has only 4 doors….1 crew for each door…..

Usually on Muscat flight we used to serve bottle of water or juice…and a sandwich….easyyyyy peasy and such a smooth service/ flight….we have time to talk with the passengers, check the lavatories…we can even sit in the galley and have a tiny break…eat something perhaps and drink loads of water/soda lol…..hand out passenger survey cards perhaps…ect

During all my flights to Muscat we never had so many passengers on board either….like never full..so it was always  a very non stressful flight…enjoyable too..cause the flight is so short 45min...45min to Muscat and 45min back to Abu Dhabi…..but it gets stressful if the plane is full and we have to do the service for 45min....and on top of the service do other things too....

Before 45min, before the plane is soon reaching its destination, before the captain does his announcement..….we have to put the carts away and fix the galley and change clothes….do the announcements..make sure all the bags or whatever the passengers have infront of their legs is up in the overhead bins…locking the lavatories….check seatbelts…up with window blinds…make sure the seats are in upright position and all that….the foot rests up…the tray tables up…no cells on…ect ect….making sure onboard the plane is secured landing...so to speak.....

And before we know it…we are already sitting in our jump sets…having jackets on…and scarf off…doing announcements…..changed to the other shoes…..

When we land…announcements has to be made again…. In arabic and English….we put our hats on…checking our grooming….help passengers with luggage’s if needed….

When the plane is empty and all passengers have left….Now we do a post safety/security check…

At Muscat airport…it varies a lot how long we would be at the airport before next set of passengers would come onboard…but usually 40min stop…we won’t leave the aircraft…..we usually never leave the aircraft on turnarounds…..but sometimes we might end up staying on board for 3hours…on some turnarounds for various reasons….

Now it depends….if cleaners would board the plane to clean quickly….and leave we would do a safety/security check again once the cleaners left....but this would most often happen on longer flights.....

but usually on Muscat flights the cleaners wont come onboard in Muscat....they will come onboard in AUH.….…..

But let say if we had a turnaround and were at the airport for 3 hours...we would do a safety/security check when the passengers would leave...and once the cleaners would come onboard...done their thing and leave we would do a safety/security check againnnnnnn

because of safety reasons of course.....so yeah loads of checks here and there heheheeh

  

Now back to Muscat....lol

Anyhow after 40min….the passengers would come onboard…and we would do the exact same things we did on the way to Muscat…now we are doing the same thing to Abu Dhabi….

Once we land in Abu Dhabi….we walk off the aircraft…the cleaners would come in....we would take the bus to the main airport…sometimes we have this post briefing meetings in the bus ..but not always……..and we always go through customs….again….passport checks ect….at the airport….in Abu Dhabi…..

sometimes the grooming manager is there too, at the airport, to check grooming...for arrival crews....it never happened to me though, she comes and goes.....its not like she is there everyday....she is there sometimes......so better be aware of our appearance at all times!!!

Now we are free to go home…there are shuttle buses waiting for the crew to take us home…every shuttle bus goes to different crew building/areas…cause not everyone lives in the same area in town…some crew accommodation is  1h away from the airport…some 30min..some 40min….ect…..so u make sure u step into the right shuttle bus….but the bus drivers is standing outside….u just ask them which bus goes where……

Approx: 05:00pm

Now ur exhausted…by now the time is probably approx 05:00pm….even if it was such a short flight…u always get tired….cause I had gone up in the morning by 07:45am….and came home approx 05:00pm…even if the flight is a total of 90min….you did other things before and after…so its like a whole day activity thing……its truly tiring…imagine than longer flights…lets say a flight to Sidney, Australia, that is 14h straight flight……so a total off 28hours…..of course you have rest hours on board during these ultra long flights…and your layover.....but I was just giving you guys a picture……

Being a cabin crew is not as easy as many think it is…not a dance on roses….i admire people who is a cabin crew for years and years….its truly hard work….i only could survive this for 1 year….for various reasons of course……..but if you can do the work…you will sure play harder…as they say….the fun parts of being a cabin crew Is beyond your dreams…trulyyyyyyyyyyyyy, so the hard work is totally worth it to than ´´play´´ and enjoy your life in Abu Dhabi....so my hat off to those who work in this industry!!!

So this was one flight of many I used to do with etihad…but this was one of my favorites..cause its so easy and short and smooth…..we usually had so much fun with the crew too cause we would be such a small team and we had the chance to get to know each other more….we were like a small family…on those turnarounds…on those small airplanes….A319-320 ect…..we truly had so much fun specially on our Muscat flights…..well i had wonderful memories from those flights.... :-)

There might have been small details here and there…I didn’t write cause its confidential or forgotten….but I think I covered pretty much everything….

But every flight/destination have various service though….but the safety/security part is the same…usually same announcement for every flight too..but some destinations they have little bit different announcements….perhaps some events going on they need to announce ect….

Hope you guys enjoyed the flight I took you all through to and from Muscat, Oman…lol

Was fun for me too…to remember and go back to my old memories of my time in etihad as a cabin crew…. 

Well thank you for reading and hopefully enjoyed this as much as I did 

I also hope this inspired you to continue and achieve your goal to become a cabin crew....NEVER GIVE UP.........but i may say this...Once you join Etihad or Emirates for that matter, you will fulfill many of your dreams....and have ONCE IN A LIFETIME EXPERIENCES....you only could dream of.....

So keep going....dont give up....You can achieve this.......good luck!!!!!!

This was a day/ flight in the life of a ex´´ Etihad cabin crew