Love at FIRST FLIGHT!
美佳之窗His Window 89（ Jan–Mar 2020 ）
Text by Myra Ho
Are flight stewardesses glamour girls or mere waitresses? That being said, I had been called with the snap of the fingers, hand claps or ‘hello- hello’ non other like in a Chinese Restaurant. There was also a case where an elderly Chinese lady smacked my bottom to ask for a blanket. But I had also been bowed to by first time travellers (easily identified by their look of astonishment as they take the first step into the aircraft cabin). To me, etiquette is a reflection of who we are deep inside. Politeness leads to hospitality.
‘’ A soft answer turns away wrath, but harsh word stirs up anger’’. –Proverbs 15:1-
In my 10 years of service with an international airline back in 2000, one of the perks that I enjoyed most (other than shopping overseas) is to be able to meet people. On many occasions ,I met celebrities i.e Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, Nicholas Tze, Kwang Liang, Usher, R Kelly, politicians and ministers, and even royalties.
I was really privileged to have the opportunity to serve our very own Perak Royalty, the then Crown Prince, now; Duli Yang Maha Mulia Sultan Nazrin Shah on a day flight to London. The Inflight Supervisor and all crew were briefed in advance for the arrival of the Prince with special arrangements made to cater for the Royalty.
His Royal Highness arrived swiftly with a smile on his face accompanied by his Personal Assistant Throughout the twelve hours long haul flight, His Majesty was very pleasant to the crew. He even called me by my name as all of us wear a name tag. The serving crew had to face His Majesty whenever approaching him and when taking leave, we, the crew would have to bow, then
take three steps backwards from His Majesty before turning our body to walk away. I was rather surprised and yet delighted to find His Royal Highness seat as neat as it was when he first boarded the flight. He placed the seatbelt back to its original position, and fluffed up the pillow given to him.
This reminds me, when we are the heir of God, HIS prince and princesses; how are we carrying ourselves in our daily life?
In-Flight Emergencies.
I am not trained just to SERVE. I am trained to SAVE.
I served 9 months in the Narrow Body (NB) fleet and was a junior stewardess then. Right after take-off, another steward and I hopped off our crew seat to start preparing for the drinks service. The seatbelt sign came on and the Captain announced through the P.A, ‘’Cabin crew, be seated’’. The initial bumpiness turned into a fierce turbulence. My colleague and I flew up mid-air towards the ceiling of the galley and dropped down on the floor. Along came the orange juice splashed from the top! (Mandi orange juice!). Then came the second lift. This round, I landed on the steward. I am not sure if I should thank him for cushioning me, but I was embarrassed enough. The fact is, there wasn’t time to react to such embarrassment. We immediately climbed up to our crew station and fastened our seatbelts as fast as we could. I turned to look into the cabin to check that my passengers were all alright. My kebaya was drenched wet, my hair bun was slanted, and I smelled sweet and sour from the orange juice. I was glad there were no casualties and soon after; the aircraft landed safely at Subang International Airport.
Then came the time I received my promotion to go up to the Wide Body (WB) fleet. During the airline safety training, I was told that my role went far beyond looking pretty. I also had to assume the role of a medical first aid personnel in case of emergency, be it childbirth, cardiac arrest, choking, epilepsy, air sickness, bleeding, etc.
My first encounter with a medical emergency was on a Madras-bound flight on a Airbus A330. I was heading back to the galley after doing my routine cabin check when I saw a man get up from his seat. But the moment he stood up, he collapsed with a thud. My immediate reaction was to rush towards him. First to sight, first to fight. I quickly thought of what to do next. The thought of performing CPR was at the top of my mind. The first response to lifesaving was to check for his consciousness before I locate his pulse vein or check for breathing to decide if he needed resuscitation. His unconscious body took up the whole aisle. I knelt down near where his head was to assess his condition, held a firm grip over his shoulder, shook him while calling out to him, ’’Sir, are you ok, are you alright?’’ To my great relieve the passenger regained consciousness. He opened his eyes and mouth real big to gasps for air. That was when I smelled the stench of alcohol from him through his bushy moustache. I repeatedly pressed on the call button by the arm rest to alert my other colleagues. The passenger was able to sit up and slowly went back to his seat. My colleagues brought him some water. It was a case of inflight dehydration and he was kept in close observation throughout the flight until we arrived at destination.
The Captain was informed and no mid-air diversion was required. I thank God once again for saving him, and saving me from performing CPR on him.
What is the meaning of ‘SERVE’ and ‘SAVED’ in your personal context?
There are many more interesting aspects to life of a cabin crew. The initial idea of writing this article was after the release of ‘The Captain’ movie on actual inflight turbulence incident. But now, the world has its attention on something else; the Corona virus Pandemic. I have two of my beloved family members serving in two different airlines. Crew life may always look beautiful and are paid to travel the world, but their job is physically and mentally demanding and exhausting, having to face many risks and potential job hazards while flying for a living. The areas I can do for them is to commit them into my daily prayers for protection from the ‘seen’ and the ‘unseen’.
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand’’
- Isaiah 41:10
What is my purpose now? My purpose is to provide a home with God in the center, a safe place filled with love and care, reliable, healthy and comfortable, hopefully with a tinge of humor in the environment for my family to grow together. This is my desire, my drive and passion to provide and keep my family tightly as one unit.
MYRA HO
Former Stewardess for 10 years with an International Airline.
Currently a homemaker, by choice in the beginning. Then, by no choice.