Memoirs of a Flight Attendant

 

Memoirs of a Flight Attendant: Finally i have the nerve to do this. i actually nursed the idea years ago to put my experience into a book, but the demands of the job made it impossible. Well like they say…”what we fail to confront at some point will confront us”. Am happy i have finally taken the step to piece them together.

Hmmm….really amazing how time flies…what i wanted to do for a year has turned into years…and still counting.. Could be mind boggling sometimes you know. When i was in active flying, the junior Flight Attendants could not fathom how i ended up flying for such a long time. I recall how they use to ask me what kept me going…. Majority of them swore that they would not fly more than a year. Funny enough most of them as of today have crossed 10years and still flying…..You want to know why? I guess that should be a story for another day. Truth be said, i had times when i actually asked myself same questions….but only one answer made sense. PASSION. I realised that i actually had great Passion for flying. When I was young i use to be thrilled each time i saw Flight Attendants. I admired their uniforms, their frequent trips, their guts and always dreamt of becoming one. Though i loved the job but frankly i had no intention of flying for this long. i had envisaged that after a year i would return to School to further my education after which i would move to my second love which was Media and Entertainment.

Now hang on,  i know you cant wait to hear how i got into flying. Well here is the story: I applied for the job when Okada Airlines advertised vacancy for the role in 1991. The interviews were usually conducted by Chief Igbinedion and his lovely wife Lady Cherry. There were so many applicants and different interview stages to scale through. To God be the glory, i was sucessful.

Lagos here i come. From January – March 1992 we were subjected to rigorous training. We wrote test every week before the finally examinations. Those who failed were to be shown the way out. Overall the trainings were really intense.

After the training we started the Line Training. As trainees we wore black skirt and a white shirt. We were called SNYs. It was easy to spot us as the Greenhorns onboard. There was much “Respect” then between the new Crew and the “Senior Crew”. Lol……

But some seniors sha. They use to leave most of the task to the trainees. Imagine watching your senior Crew sitting down with legs crossed and instructing you to go do the service and clear.

I can never forget a particular senior Crew who use to take our allowances. Way back the procedure then was that the senior Crew Member signs for allowances for all Operating Crew. Since we had no official communication regarding entitlement to flight allowance as trainees most of us were unaware that we were being ripped off. But at some point we found out.

Worthy of note was that the seniors were all united. When you disrepect one you disrepect all. It was a case of one for all…all for one. Subservient was the word. Any act contrary would predispose the concerned trainee to combined efforts of harrashment from the seniors. The only choice then was to chew the humble pie. But Surprisingly we still had some very amiable and understanding Seniors who would take time to put us through things onboard, accommodate some of our actions and inactions and correct us appropriately. It was a case of enjoying some flight because of the nature of who you were flying with or have a miserable flight due same reasons. It was a a remarkable phase in my flying career that helped to shape me into who i am today.

Hmmmm…such an exciting and interesting moments. I got lots to share. unfortunately i can not tell it all in one post. So watch out for this space as i take you through my experience from Trainee days till date.