What it’s really like being an International Long Haul Flight Attendant
And if it’s for you…
Hire a Ferrari for an hour and drive around Beverly Hills on your LA layover - a must-do!
Being a flight attendant was never the plan. In fact, I never had a plan for what I wanted to do in life. Whilst I always imagined what it would be like to be an international flight attendant, when I flew across the world to visit home (Australia) I always was so fascinated by Cabin Crew, asking them questions about where they are from, how many times they work a month, if they enjoy it.
I spent 5 years in my early twenties living outside of my hometown, Melbourne.
It started when I went backpacking around Europe for 4 months and ended up in Berlin for three of them. Running out of money and insufficient German, I left jobless returning to Australia, however, I wasn’t keen on living in cold Melbourne. I spent a few months working a cafe job saving money and eventually applying for a retail management job in Byron Bay. Landing the job, I packed my car and left my beautiful flatmates in Melbourne. I loved Byron Bay, the people, the live music, my circle of friends, house parties, pub sessions, spending every day with my crew.
Me, 20yrs old living in Byron Bay, Beach rituals.
I lived in a converted commercial warehouse with my flatmate in Byron Bay.
In the middle of winter in Byron Bay, I suddenly got the traveller itch and ended up back in Berlin but this time for good, as I was determined to get a job. Something was different this time and I managed to settle in with my own apartment and score an English-speaking job.
Me @ Modersohn Brucke, Berlin, for sunset drinks, 22 Years old
3.5 years later, I moved on from Berlin and resettled in Amsterdam where I thought I wanted to be a Denim Developer. I earned a diploma in Fashion Design and Development specialising in Denim. Continuing to work for Soho House Amsterdam, during the entire time, I was burnt out and broke. Student life was hard. However, it did lead me into the thriving hospitality career I had before COVID-19 hit.
Me, 24 years old, in Amsterdam, and actually have studied something.
I spent a month in Hong Kong opening Soho House Hong Kong and six more months in Soho House Amsterdam as a floor manager - ditching my fashion internship which paid only 500 Euro a month for 40-hour weeks (this should be illegal really). I got 3 hours of sleep every Monday and Wednesday night before I started my next shift on my internship at 8:30am.
Me in Amsterdam, 2019
My weeks looked like this; Monday to Friday 8:30am-5pm @ Denham The Jeanmaker as an Intern (Shout out to Jason Denham thank you for the opportunity, ever so grateful) and every Monday, Wednesday and Friday 6pm-3am at Soho House as Head Waitress. To make my 1100 Euro a month which 500 euro of it went to rent. I was living skint on sleep and money. I made it work but sometimes I think of what I could have done with the money I spent on my university tuition, now that I don’t use it.
Me, at my happiest, at Hong Kong Disneyland on my 24th Birthday, 2019
In March 2020, all of the Netherlands and most of the world was stood down globally. The international borders were rapidly about to close to Australia. I returned home and the question came about, do I stay here or move back overseas?
The idea came to me, if I’m a flight attendant, I can be home and be overseas too.
Life as Short Haul Cabin Crew
A four day layover in Perth on standby gave me a day to visit Rottness Island.
I started as a Short Haul Flight attendant in 2021, it was the tail end of COVID and the hardest part of my job believe it or not was arguing with customers to keep their facemasks on. It was grim and unnecessary.
In 2024 I landed the job that has always been part of the ultimate life and work balance dream. International Long Haul Flight Attendant.
The job I worked for as a short-haul flight attendant (International and Domestic) was the hard yards. It was a budget airline and without trying to stereotype them, there are some difficult folk out there, and it’s not just because of the person they are, doing four sector days, you are bound for delays and cancellations and that puts you in a position of having to cop the backlash.
Up close and personal with a Quokka, a native animal to Rottness Island.
Being employed by a budget airline was actually really fun. The work culture was awesome, the people were awesome, and my manager was lovely. My work weeks for 5-6 days a week of 8-12 hour days of 2-4 sectors (Sector means single direct flight). I’m a money chaser so I worked large months of crazy hours on minimum rest. the most hours I did in one month was 185 🤯🤯🤯. I look at that number now compared to what I do as an LHI-FA (Long Haul International Flight attendant) and I think holy cow, wow.
Grateful for every person I worked with at Jetstar. The people made each duty.
Why it’s better being a Long Haul International Flight attendant
…But is it?
Without boring you too much on the job and trying to understand what we call the ‘legalities’.
The aviation industry is strongly driven by the Union which does a fantastic job at making sure our job is safe and we are looked after. We are bound to our contract and our requirement to perform our job safely, in safe conditions. Therefore, many rules must be followed to ensure our work conditions are safe and we are attending to our role well and healthy.
If you’ve flown any flight longer than 4 hours or across a time zone you will definitely know the effects it has on the body. Jetlag is a B**** but can you imagine if you were working on the flight instead of resting?!
Seeing a live rodeo at Dallas Fortworth, on a Dallas layover.
If this blog gets any more views than intended then can I just speak on behalf of the entire industry that our role is not just “Chicken or Beef?”. The job can be glamorous but let’s just say it’s similar to being a swan. We may seem calm above water, but underneath we are paddling fast.
We are not waiters, we are not attendants, we are not there to look pretty. We are first responders, just like any other first responder, we are qualified to fight a fire, manage a hijack, provide senior first aid, de-escalate any violence on board, and let’s not forget, qualified for an emergency landing, on the worst day, on water, surviving for days on end of not being found.
Nervous fliers reading this - have no fear, we are exceptionally well-trained for anything. Turbulence ain’t got nothing on us.
I cannot begin to tell you how much jetlag and fatigue impact my days off. 24-hour layover in Japan? Awesome! Let’s sleep for 12 of them because that flight over was busy AF. Hold on, I have to nap for the last 2 hours because shortly after I’m operating a 10-hour overnight flight home where I will not get a full night’s sleep. That brings my layover to a total of 10 hours to enjoy Tokyo. We must get our rest before a flight to perform at our best for any scenario that may arise.
And if you happen to get any more than a 24-hour in Tokyo, venture out to Kyoto and do a geisha makeover.
Being a LHI-FA we are forcefully making our bodies sleep at times we shouldn’t.
My favourite aircraft to fly on is the 787, we have cosy bunk beds we can sleep on during our rest breaks! Also on the A380 aircraft, there are 12 bunk beds for the crew. On a Melbourne to Dallas flight, we might be lucky enough to score about 6 hours rest, that’s if you can get to sleep.
One of my favourite perks that I didn’t get as a Short Haul Flight Attendant, is we have transport provided to and from work for 90% of trips. I have a driver in a nice car pick me up and drive me to work, and from the airport when I land to return home. The reason for this service is that it’s not safe to drive home fatigued.
The roster of long-haul flying compared to short-haul is completely different. I work 15 days a month with five days as a blanket standby day (you will only be used if you owe hours to the company, if you don’t owe hours it’s a day off!)
One of my favourite perks of being an international flight attendant is the shopping you do overseas, I always love doing grocery shopping in Japan and bringing home fresh sashimi (which you can declare and bring into Australia) as well as Korean Skincare.
Let’s not forget that when you’re on your layover, you’re free to do as you wish. Accommodation is provided and transport to and from the hotel. You can even catch a staff travel flight to another destination for your layover period if you have time. It’s a great opportunity to see the world.
I flew to New York to visit my best friend Sarah, on my 72-hour lay over in LA.
It’s not your average Monday-to-Friday job. You do spend time away from home, but if you need more time at home you can always reduce your hours to part-time which is about 60 hours a month (2 trips roughly). Full-time hours are about 100 hours a month.
I love my job, it’s not for everyone but it’s certainly for me.