Ask the experts: How we became cabin crew

Julie Reynolds, In-Flight Manager

I grew up not far from Heathrow and I used to cycle to the airport every weekend to plane spot. We were an aviation family and I knew from an early age what I wanted to do. I left sixth form college on a Friday in June 1976 and started with British Airways in a secretarial role on the Monday. I was in the office one day and they were recruiting for cabin crew. I said to the other secretary, “That’s what I've always wanted to do.” She disappeared and came back with the personnel manager who said, “Right, young lady, when’s your 18th birthday?” I told him it was 3 March. He replied, “OK, there’s a course starting on the 7th. You’ve got an interview at four o’clock this afternoon.” And that was that. I was in the right place at the right time. I was the youngest person ever to fly for British Airways – I still hold that record.

When I joined, I was acutely shy, but British Airways brought out the butterfly in me. My confidence blossomed. As I’ve gone through the ranks, one of the biggest skills I’ve learned is that anything can be thrown at me and I just deal with it. I’ve probably ticked every box. Safety is paramount. You must be able to save a life. You must be able to fight a fire. You must be able to evacuate an aircraft in 90 seconds. We always joke that we wear a fireman’s hat, a nurse’s hat, a doctor’s hat, a psychologist’s hat... You need physical and emotional resilience – you’re going through different weathers, different time zones, dealing with different people.

I was going to say there isn’t any part of my work that I don’t love, but there is. It’s when people are disrespectful about the job, when they come into it for the wrong reasons. To be cabin crew, you need a little aviation geekiness, in my opinion. Or maybe you love the customer-facing experience. Basically, you’ve got to get a kick from doing it. The travel aspect should be the icing on the cake rather than the goal. Also, I still learn something new on every single flight. When I take my team briefings, I say, “There’s no such thing as a silly question.” And I tell the team I don’t care if a passenger is in row 1 or row 54, you treat our customers like they are a member of your family. I want my team to look after everybody the same, regardless of cabin.

I have grown up with British Airways. I didn’t do A-levels, I didn’t go to uni. It’s been an education in itself. It’s given me so many strings to my bow that I couldn’t even quantify. When I first joined, I remember my lovely dad saying to me: “Never change”. Just before he passed away, he said, “You’re still who you are, you’ve just blossomed.” I think that’s what British Airways has done for me. I’m so blessed that it has been part of my life for the past 50 years. If I had my time again, I’d do it exactly the same. It's made me who I am today.

Max Steele, In-Flight Lead

I come from a flying family – my mum worked at British Airways and my dad was cabin crew. I’d hear all these amazing stories and it sparked my love for aviation. When I was in sixth form, I did a work experience placement at the Global Learning Academy – the British Airways training facility at Heathrow T5 – before becoming an Inspire Ambassador [part of a British Airways initiative designed to bridge the gap between education and careers in aviation]. I joined British Airways when I left school, which involved an application, assessment day and a conditional offer subject to background checks. Then you start your training, which is broken up into safety and emergency procedures and customer service – which is the day-to-day job – and aircraft conversions, which teaches you the ins and outs of a specific aircraft type.

The training can be overwhelming, especially if you’re a young adult who hasn’t been in a corporate environment. You go from zero to a thousand – plus there’s the realisation of the responsibility. That’s when you need lots of positive affirmations, telling yourself that you can do it. You wouldn’t have been selected if you didn’t have the ability. Also, British Airways offers a lot of online resources; it supports you through it. The first six months of the job are the hardest because your body is adjusting to the new lifestyle – working through the night is a massive change. It would be very easy to just give up but, if it’s what you want, stick with it.

If I had a pound for every time someone says we’re waiters in the sky… That’s the smallest part of our job. We aren’t doctors by any means, but we undergo medical training so we can assist customers if they become poorly on board. We’re given a lot of information and tools to tackle different scenarios. We are very good at working as a team. You also need to be a great multitasker, catering to all different ages and needs. I always say that if someone is frustrated with you, they’re shouting at the uniform and not you as a person. I do a lot of listening. Crew need to be kind and approachable. This little 18-year-old didn’t quite realise how fast he would have to grow up, but the job brings out your maturity and confidence.

You have the opportunity to travel, which is such a perk. We get to put in destination requests – it’s not a guarantee, but it’s a nice thing. Cape Town is always my number one in our winter. We’re usually in a destination for 24 hours, or two or three nights if it’s west coast America or the Far East. Sometimes you might not see a crew member from drop-off until pickup – for example, in New York often everyone has their routine – so you need to be comfortable with your own company.

Eduardo Machado Santos Pereira, In-Flight Lead

I moved to Brazil aged six because my parents relocated there and we were travelling every week, just between cities. I was flying so often, talking to crew, and it sparked something in me. I was always the little boy that loved airplanes. I’ve been with British Airways for more than ten years now. One of the hardest parts of training was switching from the procedures of the airline I worked for previous to British Airways. It was intense having to retain as much information as you can in a short period of time. People think our job starts when we begin boarding, but there are so many things we do before – reading updates and notices, having a briefing, going through security. So, on average, we start our job up to two hours before actually taking off.

Communication in this job is key. You don’t need to be the loudest person in the room when you’re going through the recruitment process, but being able to communicate clearly and naturally is important. I love to meet different people every single day. It’s all about the connection and I’ve learned how to bond with others in a more efficient way. As crew, we can walk into a room full of strangers and we’re always going to be the ones who chat. Being original is also important – we’re all different and British Airways wants us to bring the very best of ourselves to the job. That way, as a team we will reach a lot further than if everybody is the same.

We sightsee a lot and can provide the best travel tips, but we always prioritise our rest down route. We try to mirror our routine at home. So we go to the gym, we go to the supermarket. Then your body doesn’t think you’re in a strange place. It also helps your mental wellbeing. I like to get to the destination and feel out of my comfort zone, embracing a new culture. I get to see great things, but also areas of the world that are not as well off, and it makes me appreciate what I have at home. Leaving the dog behind is one of the most difficult parts of the job for me. It’s hard missing family, friends and special occasions. At British Airways, we’re very fortunate to have flexibility with the rosters and schedules, but it’s not guaranteed all the time.

One of the main things I have learned is to delegate. Maybe because I was an only child, I always preferred to do things by myself, but you learn that working as a team always brings better results. In this industry, because we are multitasking so often, it’s impossible to do everything yourself. Whether you’re the main crew or a manager, you need to know how to ask for help and to trust your colleagues.

Got a flying question you’d like to ask cabin crew? Email theclub@cedarcom.co.uk and we’ll try to answer it in a future column