HIGH-FLYERS

HIGH-FLYERS

Airline pilots have high social status and earn a great deal of money. Air hostesses have an uncertain status and earn little. For those recently qualified, the basic pay is as little as $300 a month. This is little to balance against the possibility of a disaster. So why do they do it?

I went to see Diane Humphreys, who is responsible for all Dan Air’s cabin staff based at Manchester airport.

One reason why air hostesses don’t get over anxious about flying may be that they’re so busy, before, during and after a flight.

On a Monday morning, a hostess might have an early morning flight, perhaps at 7 a.m. She has to check in 1.5 hours before the flight. That might mean leaving home at 4 a.m. Before the flight hostesses have to prepare the cabin and toilets and make sure that the food and drinks are aboard. Dan Air don’t do long distance flights and so there aren’t overnight stopovers. There’s a 45 minute turn around interval, when the hostesses have to prepare the plane for the return flight. Depending on where you’re flying, this can make it a 12 hour day.

During the flight you’ve got no time to relax, the safety instructions have to be demonstrated and the food and drinks served. So one day you might have an early morning flight, the next an afternoon flight, the day after you might be on relief duty and have to be ready to work if someone else becomes ill or there is an emergency.

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