Read Online Confessions of a Hostie by Danielle Hugh - Free Book Online

constantly facing and interacting with the general public. On occasions, I have done over twenty hours duty, thanks to delays or diversions.
    Helen is a school teacher, albeit part-time now. I once asked her, ‘Can you imagine teaching the same classroom of children at one go for over 20 hours, and you get only one break to freshen up?’
    She couldn’t, she said. I don’t think anyone could, I said.
    The hardest thing about the crew-rest bunks is the ‘walk of shame’ once you have finished with your nap, or at least trying to close your eyes. Often, when you enter the cabin, after being asleep in a dark and shaky environment whilst dreaming of plane disasters, you find that the lights are on. Everyone in the cabin is awake and awaiting the next meal service. Also, a queue has lined up outside the toilets, which just happen to be right next to the crew-rest area you’re stepping out from.
    Not only can you not use the busy toilets, but you need to walk through the cabin with hundreds of eyes staring into you. Make-up is usually smeared all over your face, and your hair looks like that of the lead singer from the band, The Cure. You put your head down and walk as fast as you can toward the toilets at the front of the aircraft, only to be greeted by another queue there.
    I have done the walk of shame so many times, and I still haven’t gotten used to it.
    I see that I am well ahead of time for the Singapore flight. I park my car and join my crew for the pre-flight briefing. This is the time I get to meet the crew, to renew acquaintances as well as meet new people. This is also the time when I can find out whether I can look forward to having a good trip ahead of me.
    The crew is very senior; in fact, I realise that I am the most junior one there. It is no wonder the crew are so senior – we have a seniority-driven bidding system for our rosters, and everyone wants to do this trip. It is, also, no wonder that I made this trip my priority bid. This is the trip that will get us home for Christmas, so everyone wants to do it. Another incentive is that this flight mainly involves daylight flying, and we get home Christmas Eve with minimal jetlag to contend with. Not only did I get the dream roster of having Christmas off, but also get to spend New Year’s Eve in New York – my next trip is to the Big Apple. I like my job most of the time, but right now I love it!
    The great thing about working with a senior crew is that everything onboard runs like clockwork. They deal with problems swiftly and effectively. They may sometimes be a little curt with passengers, but then if something does go wrong, they will save the day. Junior crews are enthusiastic, but are often a nightmare to work with.
    It is not just the lack of experience that’s the problem with the junior flyers. Working with the Y generation brings a lot more problems to the trouble. They are probably called the Y generation because they are always asking ‘why?’, also usually followed by ‘how?’, ‘what?’ and ‘where?’.
    Senior crew ask very few questions, and get their job done quickly. Also, they are a whole lot of fun. Several of the older men I work with – some even old enough to be my father – are incredibly young at mind and at heart.
    As one of the guys on this crew, who is actually older than my dad, jokes, ‘I am only twenty-two. I’ve just had an extra thirty-five years of experience.’
    They can be a little flirtatious and naughty at times, I am not offended the least; in fact I enjoy the attention. It becomes obvious that these guys are not used to working with anyone under fifty, and it is also obvious that they are just having fun. These men are experienced enough to know how far they can go.
    The only trouble with crew that have been flying thirty-plus years is that their patience with passengers is getting as thin as their hair. I understand their