To still feel like a child and dream of being an Air hostess/cabin crew..

[JimmyChooChoo]

I have 2 dc under 4 and currently a SAHM but also a part-time student studying anatomy/massage etc.I hope to have a mobile business in massage and some beauty(studied that a decade ago!)
My DH is 13 years older and while a very clever man he kind of 'messed up' during his twenties an early thirties by packing in great jobs to travel around the world.He also lived in Marbella for a year with his ex and sent her dd to a lovely private school...another ex he moved to LA for her to 'get her dream career in modelling'-it never happened..(Now 'we're' left to deal with debts and a bitter man lol!)
We have recently go on the property ladder with help from borrowing money from his parents.
I didn't know(stupid me)when I met him he was £90k in debt and it's still being paid off!So after mortgage/money to his parents and outgoings debts we're left with nothing!To add insult to injury he isn't doing well at his job and has had his first official warning an they've given him '10 weeks left at best'.
.He went to uni and hs parents sent him money while I was kicked out as a teenager and had a very nasty bullying father and a selfish mother(I wrote on here last year about my mother not bothering turning up for my wedding!)
Btw this is not a 'poor me poor me' thread honestly!Just that I would love to travel and get a good job.Does anyone have any tips/stories/advice about cabin crew jobs?I am late twenties/have 2 ds's/no family living nearby...is it possible at all?Would love to earn money and be independent and not dependant on him!

I would love to have done this myself... I think it's a great first job and must build terrific confidence. :)

You're in a very precarious position if your sole earner is in danger of being fired and you already have a mountain of debt to worry about.

Have you looked at the training requirements for cabin crew? Could your DH give up his job and take on the stay-at-home role whilst you worked?

I feel this way!

Apparently cabin crew does not earn very much any more. According to rumours from a cabin crew-friend of mine BA is trying to get rid of their old staff with good wages to be able to take on lower paid staff instead.

My fb status last night - "when I grow up I want to work on a PanAm plane" - then I realised I am already grown up.

I completely understand OP!

My ex MIL still calls Air Hostesses 'Trolly Dollies'

I don't know if it's possible OP, only you know really if you and your DH can manage the childcare/finances for it.

I had always wanted to do that as a young girl. Now I sit on the plane and watch them up and down up and down serving tea, meals, smiling sweetly. Sit for 5, then up and down clearing away everyones shit etc. It ain't all glamour.

The uniform and the cruising through the airport makes it look glam, but the actual job, well cafe assistant springs to mind.

So, I went off the idea!

I think it's probably a pretty shit job, actually. Anything customer-facing is hard, added to the fact that when people fly they are often not in the best of frames of mind. Nah, not for me

It used to be a very glamorous job. But the truth of it is now that cabin crew work hard, have to tolerate very rude passengers, clean up after them and put up with a lot of crap. Also gone are the days of a week lay over in a 5* hotel, now most just turn around and get back on the next plane. It might be different if you worked for a private jet charter company?

my friend became at air hostess at age 45

she had one small child still at home and a useless OH but it was her dream

as far as i know she is still doing it, she loves it to bits

Disclaimer: I don't like flying as it makes me feel sick, and also, not being able to sleep and having to sit amongst 100 or more strangers' farts for hours is not my idea of fun. Having to be nice to the f*ers would be v. difficult.

What is it about the job that appeals to you?

Are you sure you understand the humdrum momotony of flying to (say) Brussels or Dublin 3 times a day, dishing out tea, coffee, snacks. Then sitting in a small compartment waiting for the plane to land, then a wait couple of hours, and then do it all again... never losing that smile and humility

I don't think you get much of a chance to get out and see the places you fly to, unless you are on a long haul (lots of competition for these position).

There is, of course a lot of training to complete before hand, would your childcare providers be able to cope with this, and the irregular hours should you actually get a job.

I don't think I have ever been this negative in reply to an OP, I'm sorry, but I just don't think you have thought this one through.

What is it that appeals? I am genuinely mystified by why it is something exciting/glamorous?

In the 1950/60s then yes or if you were working on Concorde I can see the appeal, but I can't imagine being a stewardess for EasyJet, flying five times a day to Aberdeen in a bright orange polyester uniform, flogging drinks doling out microwave meals and tidying up after pissed/abusive stag parties is particularly glamorous.

I have to day, I agree with complexnumbers - I think it would be s hard job to train for, and then ultimately do unless you have great childcare.

You will then have to spend time doing very short, often domestic routes before you work your way up, with long-haul being a long way off.

Plus the work itself - waitressing. But in a tight confined space with people who are probably, en masse, prone to being more arsey than the general public....

It doesn't sound in the least bit fun to me, but maybe I don't understand the full picture...

What about working as a passenger services agent at the airport? I did this many years ago, before dts. If I had the choice (i.e. wasn't a single parent without the option of flexibility over hours) I'd be doing it now.

You start with the season for summer and your contract ends in October, but if you've done well there is often the option of going dedicated to a specific airline or becoming a dispatcher.

The hours are long, the pay isn't great but my god did we have a great time! Air crew is a long, hard go but friends I have still working there enjoy it. Unfortunately, as with all jobs now, the staff are given short shrift for massive profits instead.

I'd loved to have been a tour rep too but that is out of my reach now I'm an oldie with kids!

Hi! I thought I would add that there is a part of cabin crew that recruits for first class in areas like beauty therapy/massage as they give customers mini facials/head massages etc. I knew someone who used to do it and flew to Oz, Africa, India, America etc. Just remember though that if you pick longhaul you will be away from the UK for days on end, with only the hotel room/bar to escape to. But it does seem like a very fun job - I've watched enough Airport myself to want to do it too!!

I have worked in the industry and am now a SAHM. No way would I have ever worked for a budget airline as it is literally waitressing in a metal tube, long hours and crap pay, I have worked both scheduled and charter holiday stuff. It was honestly fantastic BUT the best bits are the longhaul trips ( and yes they are still week layovers in 5* hotels!!!) I was single though no way could I leave DD now and bugger doing constant shorthaul I was also lucky enough to do some special VIP round the world trips but they are about a month long so I couldn't see how that would work for you (none of the cabin crew on these trips had DC I'm afraid) having said all that I do have a friend with 2 DC who flies all over the world for Virgin and she still loves it (great layovers and shopping opportunities not that I am at all good luck if you do find a way to go for it! Xxx

layover???

Thankyou to everyone for your replies and stories about yours or your friends experiences in this industry!
Viennehoneymoon-I think hearing about your friend 'having 2 dc and travelling around the world'makes me too lol'.
For anyone asking me why I find it appealing I guess even though I know it may be seen as a glorified waitressing job its probably the only way I could ever see some of the world but think I'm living in cloud cuckoo land maybe(?!)
I worked for a make up company,very used to selling products,dealing with customers,(trying)to be seen as 'well-groomed' lol!
I live on the outskirts of London but I'm from Cambs way way(thats where my family live)so I have no family near me to help with childcare..I wanted to see if anyone else out there balanced it and how on earth they managed!!
Thanks again everyone

Ooh I am racking my brain here trying to find a way it could work for you, as you sound like an ideal candidate!! If your DH decided to work from home or something get a load of applications in pronto There might be some small airlines at Gatwick that just do day flights, but not as good as the longhaul etc which is obviously over nights and stand by cover would be hard too But don't give up! Everyone has their dreams and maybe you could go into it later in life like Stripey said her friend did? Or travelling opportunities may present themselves in different ways. I wish you all the best and hope your dreams come true x

... or the DH could look after the children.

Thanks Vienna for the advice(and trying to find a magic answer for me!).I think you're right about waiting til later life and trying in years to come like Stripey mentioned earlier about a lady who is 45 and has a young dc-very inspiring! Thanks tribpot-I hope and pray that dh one day can get a job that enables him to sometimes work from home.

Thanks twoifbyseathink that is a much better way of me breaking into it!Also thanks to everyone else for your replies!