Hey there! My name is Nina and I’m 30 from Slovenia, Ljubljana. I was working with Emirates for nearly 2 years and a half and I must say that those were the best two years of my life.
How did I get into this job?
I was really unhappy with my last job and I couldn’t fit in, so I was checking for other opportunities and I found out that Emirates will be recruiting soon in my home town. So I applied and went for the 3-day interview and got the job. I couldn’t believe it because everything was turning so fast and moving to Dubai was just around the corner.
What was the application process like?
First day there is a video about Emirates and the recruiters present the job itself. Then we submitted our CV’s with one passport and one full bodied photo. We had a short conversation with one of the recruiter and we had to reach for 212 cm. The one they choose were called in an hour for the next interviews. There was a lot of teamwork and fun. The whole interview was in English. Then they decided who to call further on and we continued with an English exam and essay. After that there was again another selection. And again some more challenging teamwork where everyone was confronted with some difficult situation that you had to resolve with recruiter. After that they called us later on for the final interview and afterwards we had to fill out the psychological test of our personality. The so called “Golden call” followed earlier than in a week and in two months time I was already on a flight to Dubai.
First day there is a video about Emirates and the recruiters present the job itself. Then we submitted our CV’s with one passport and one full bodied photo. We had a short conversation with one of the recruiter and we had to reach for 212 cm. The one they choose were called in an hour for the next interviews. There was a lot of teamwork and fun. The whole interview was in English. Then they decided who to call further on and we continued with an English exam and essay. After that there was again another selection. And again some more challenging teamwork where everyone was confronted with some difficult situation that you had to resolve with recruiter. After that they called us later on for the final interview and afterwards we had to fill out the psychological test of our personality. The so called “Golden call” followed earlier than in a week and in two months time I was already on a flight to Dubai.
How long does the Cabin Crew training take and what does it consist of?
Training lasts for almost 2 months and consist of First aid-from fainting to child birth on board, Safety and security on the aircraft, Aircraft type and equipment and procedures and Service. Everyone starts to work in Economy class and later on if you show your progress you get the promotion to Business class, First Class or to Management positions.
What’s my favorite stopover destination?
Oh it’s so hard to pick only one. But I think I would pick Rio de Janeiro because its diversity and amazing landscape and vibe. Of course New York has always won my heart and there is awesome Cape Town, Singapore and Mauritius, San Francisco, Sant Petersburg ext..
Training lasts for almost 2 months and consist of First aid-from fainting to child birth on board, Safety and security on the aircraft, Aircraft type and equipment and procedures and Service. Everyone starts to work in Economy class and later on if you show your progress you get the promotion to Business class, First Class or to Management positions.
Oh it’s so hard to pick only one. But I think I would pick Rio de Janeiro because its diversity and amazing landscape and vibe. Of course New York has always won my heart and there is awesome Cape Town, Singapore and Mauritius, San Francisco, Sant Petersburg ext..
What does the Cabin Crew get up to on a stopover and how long are your layovers?
A lot of things or nothing. It depends from one person to another. We got to stay in one of the best hotels all over the world and most of the time right in the city center. My goal was to have the whole experience and explore the places at the most even if I was awake for far to long. The will was just bigger than everything. The layovers were from 24 hours till 72 hours and pretty much we could do everything within that time as long as we were back and ready for the flight. So basically we did everything from Safari, mountain climbing, sightseeing, boat tours, shopping, cooking classes, meeting friends and family… amazing!
What’s the biggest misconception about the job?
I would say that maybe people think that we are only waitresses in the sky and we don’t have any education. And that is totally wrong. Most of stewards and stewardesses I’ve met have very high education, a lot of lawyers, mechanical engineers, doctors, economist ext.. but everyone has its own story why he joined. Maybe the economical crisis is really bad in their country, maybe because or salary or they were fed up with the routine life they had before, or some boyfriends/girlfriends issue. But most of us came because of travelling and the whole experience.
The next misconception is that people think that when we are not around in the cabin that we are just sitting around, reading magazines ext. That is so not true-we had to prepare trolleys and meals needed to be heated, bar trolleys to be filled up and there were 8 stewards in economy class for 427 people so we couldn’t be everywhere at the same time.
How to deal with jet-lag?
I tried to stay up with the local time, even if that meant to stay up far too long. That kept me away from waking up at Dubai time in the middle of the night… most of the time. There’ s no perfect solution, I just always ate right and tried to have at least 8 hours of sleep and a lot of working out ext.
What is it like living in Dubai?
It’s a mind blowing city and it has everything from amazingly long beaches to all culinary choices and the biggest shopping malls, indoor skiing, the biggest aquarium in the world, most amazing hotels and resorts… It’s summer whole year long and I could say that is the cleanest and one of the safest place in the world. I loved the JBR area in Dubai Marina where there are amazing restaurants and walking area with breathtaking view. My favourite part is the Old Dubai so called Bastakiya and the Creek with the Souk. Also the fountains by the Dubai mall always left me with goose bumps and the view from Burj Khalifa is just wow.
They are all over Dubai and you get one or two flatmates. Unfortunately you can’t choose when you join, but afterwards you can move somewhere else. If you get your promotion you can move into single apartment or you can ask Emirates for allowance and live outside Emirates accommodation. The apartments are new, big and cozy, fully furnished and you get your own bedroom and bathroom, you only share living room and kitchen with others. They are clean and well maintained and secured, but after you move in you have to clean after yourself (there is no maids like in the hotels) and there is no bills to pay. Even the transportation in arranged to the airport every 10-30 minutes (depends on location).
How long is a contract? Can you extent it or leave early?
You get the contract for 3 years, but you can leave every time with 30 days leave notice period or you can extend you contact and make it a career.
You get the contract for 3 years, but you can leave every time with 30 days leave notice period or you can extend you contact and make it a career.
What’s the weirdest request I had from a passenger?
Haha, I remember one guy coming to our galley (this is how we called the kitchen) and asking us if he could get everything that is for free. We just smiled and told him that there is 500 other passengers on board and that unfortunately he can’t get everything but we still gave him some nice treats.
Haha, I remember one guy coming to our galley (this is how we called the kitchen) and asking us if he could get everything that is for free. We just smiled and told him that there is 500 other passengers on board and that unfortunately he can’t get everything but we still gave him some nice treats.
Are there any things I did not like about the job?
As with any job there are ups and downs. I couldn’t spend every Christmas, birthdays, child births with my loved ones and of course I couldn’t manage to sleep every time before or after the flight but the job still had to be done so I did it. But there were so many positive things that you forget about not so good ones-that is just amazing how our mind works.
As with any job there are ups and downs. I couldn’t spend every Christmas, birthdays, child births with my loved ones and of course I couldn’t manage to sleep every time before or after the flight but the job still had to be done so I did it. But there were so many positive things that you forget about not so good ones-that is just amazing how our mind works.
My advice to someone looking for a career as cabin crew?Go for it! The whole experience is mind blowing and I believe that you can’t get this much of experience with any other job. Be positive, stay prepared for a lot of challenges along the way, but it’s so much fun. The people you’ll meet, the places you’ll visit… everything is so worth it! Just be yourself and want this job badly and it will be yours!
