http://sg.news.yahoo.com/is-being-a-flight-attendant-all-that-glamorous--052402100.html?page=all
In a three-part series on the inflight service industry, Yahoo! Singapore finds out that it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be.
For the purposes of this series, only first names have been used as most flight crew are bound by confidentiality agreements. This is Part 1...
A glamorous life in the skies, jet-setting to exotic cities like Tokyo, London and Paris -- and being paid (very well) to do it.
To many, the perfectly coiffed and immaculate airline crew have it all – striding confidently and elegantly through international airports and being able to picnic at the Eiffel Tower one week and then be on safari in South Africa the next, all the while staying in five-star luxury hotels.
But ask the flight stewards and stewardesses themselves and you get a very different picture.
“Supermodels in uniform? Most of the time, we feel like waitresses – just further above ground,” scoffs a senior stewardess Vanessa K, 34, who flies with a well-known Hong Kong carrier.
Honeymoon first year
The first two years of a flight attendant’s career are apparently the happiest years.
“When you first join, it really feels like the best job in the world – everyone envies you,” said Singapore Airlines girl Marie T, 26, who has been a stewardess for nearly five years.
“Firstly, the pay is really good. For SQ, we can easily hit S$4,500 a month with allowances. Secondly, we get to travel the world without paying a single cent. All your colleagues are outgoing and good looking – it feels like you’re perpetually on holiday.”
For Marie, who only had ‘O’ level qualifications, a salary of S$4,500 was far more than what her peers were earning. She had previously worked part-time jobs doing sales and administrative work for less than half of her current pay.
“The lure is really easy money. You don’t have to work 9-5, and when you’re on your days off, you’re really off – you don’t bring your work home. On top of that, the pay is good, and if you’re single, it’s super fun to hang out with pretty girls and travel all the time,” said Emirates steward Daniel, 29, who left his S$2,600 job as an accountant to take to the skies.
Travel fatigue
Two years in is when most flight crew start finding their job to be more a burden than a joy. Those who are married or in relationships start feeling the strain of being away from loved ones, while others find it hard to maintain friendships or find a potential spouse with their irregular work schedules.
“It is the worst when we are away during festive seasons like Christmas and Chinese New Year. I’ve seen many stewardesses crying in their hotel rooms because they can’t make it back for reunion dinner or a good friends’ wedding. Travelling is fun, but after a while I keep wishing I had my loved ones with me enjoying all these beautiful places. The feeling is really empty,” said ex-stewardess Jasmine Yeo, 34, who left her Hong Kong-based airline employer to get married and start a family three years ago.
Alcohol-fuelled parties – once an attraction to newly ‘graduated’ flight crew -- become tiresome for those who are married or attached and want to stay faithful. Most end up staying in their rooms alone to recuperate from their long hours on the plane.
Broken relationships, affairs
This loneliness is what leads many flight crew to resort to short-term flings or affairs when they are at work. All 15 this reporter spoke to said that they had been propositioned by fellow stewards or stewardesses before and that sleeping around was fairly common, especially among the younger crew.
“If we’ve got chemistry working together on the flight, we usually hang out after we touchdown – if both parties are single and willing, sometimes one thing leads to another. No strings attached, of course. It’s an unspoken rule,” said Qantas steward Jonathan, 35.
Not all obey this rule, however, and Cathay Pacific stewardess Y.L Tung, 28, told Yahoo! that she has seen cases where flings or affairs turn ugly.
Some common pick-up methods used by male flight crew include invitations to “watch a show in my room together” or a lot of “accidental” body contact in the crowded flight cabins.
Lower pay, poor job prospects
Earlier this month, it was reported that Singapore Airlines would be adjusting its flight allowances according to new exchange rates – cutting the allowances received for working on flights to Europe and America by as much as 20 per cent.
The change would severely impact the salaries of many of their flight crew, who draw low basic salaries of about $2,000 and rely on their travel allowances to support their lifestyles.
For flight crew with other work experience and higher education, the immediate response has been to quickly start looking elsewhere for employment – a trend that has resulted in a steadily growing turnover rate among airline crew all over the world.
“I’m worried about the cuts, of course. It affected morale among us quite badly,” said Marie, who said she had considered leaving Singapore Airlines but felt that she would not be able to make as much money elsewhere.
“I only have ‘O’ levels. If I quit and work somewhere else, my pay will be less than half. I have monthly installments to pay on my credit cards. I cannot afford to quit,” she said bluntly.
“Even my parents don’t want me to quit. However, if I could turn back time, I would have just continued studying and getting a degree. My thinking was too short-term and now I am stuck.”
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