Stewardess Ieva from Dubai: about choosing a job, exclusive trips and what is important in selections | Life

Ieva captures her daily life, reveals unexpected and interesting facts about her work in the “Stewardess Diary”. When asked how she chose a profession above the clouds, Ieva says that she has always been fascinated by both airplanes and flight attendants, but that she will fly herself
didn’t think

“After school, I studied business management and administration. When I finished
studies, I started to think, what to do? What to do? Then it happened
the idea that I could work as a flight attendant, travel like that, and then maybe
the realization of where to turn next will come.

I decided to try myself in the selection, but that time I was not selected, I did not get a job. It’s true that it was 2020, when the pandemic was raging, airlines were laying off employees, so I think everything turned out the way it did,” recalls Ieva, who currently lives and works in Dubai.

The second selection is successful

After graduating from university, the girl worked as a financial analyst in Vilnius for a year.
“I felt that I was out of place, especially when I saw people on fire
colleagues. I wanted a change, so I went into dentistry out of the blue!
I don’t know why – maybe I was so eager to get out of office work that
decided to try an unexpected area for me?

I returned to Kaunas to study and eventually felt that my decision was wrong. I felt even worse and thought – why did I quit my job? Although everyone tried to support me and encouraged me to study further, I knew that it wasn’t for me after all,” says Ieva.

The woman admits that at that stage she had an idea that she had already forgotten – after all, she wanted to be a flight attendant and travel around the world! The Covid period had already ended, so Ieva decided to go when she learned that the selection of flight attendants conducted by one of the largest airlines in the Middle East would take place in Warsaw.

“I remember telling my mum about the plans and I thought she was going to try to talk me out of it! But she was very supportive. This time I got the job – a week later I found out that I was accepted and I left for Abu Dhabi”, recalls Ieva.

Airlines in the Middle East are known for being high
level of service and exceptional attention to customers, so get the job
it’s not easy here. Eve also adds that to these airlines
auditions in major cities around the world are attended by thousands every year
people who want to become flight attendants. Unfortunately, no luck
for everyone

She says that it is still difficult to answer why she was chosen for this job
one person or another, so sometimes it’s just a lottery. Eve until now
remembers the Emirates audition that took place in Dubai.

“We submitted our resumes first. After their review, some candidates dropped out and were offered to come back in 6 months. The rest of the participants, including me, had to complete the task.

Let’s say in my case the task was to assign one of the passengers the one seat left in business class and we had to choose between a senior citizen, a pregnant woman, a celebrity, someone who flies a lot, etc. There is no right answer, but the point is how you communicate with your possible future colleagues”, shares Ieva.

Later, after this task, there was a personal interview, which lasted about 40 minutes, and an English language test.

“It is interesting that girls who have already worked as flight attendants, who have all the necessary competences for this job, come to the auditions, but for some reason they fall out at the first stage of the audition. So it’s really hard to say why one or another employee is chosen. On the other hand, it proves that flying experience is not mandatory to work as a flight attendant in the Middle East.

True, there are certain nuances – you must be at least 21 years old, height – from 165 cm, some require you to have experience in the field of customer service. You’re not allowed to have tattoos yet – I know some girls have covered up their tattoos but lost their jobs because of it.

In any case, I think just taking part in the airline selection can be a very interesting experience and I wish all young people who are at least a little interested in this career direction to do it. I still remember the Emirates selection – the atmosphere was very pleasant, it didn’t even feel like a job interview, and the representative of the airline, who conducted the selection, was extremely friendly with all the candidates, Ieva shares.

The training lasted two months

Having worked for almost a year in airlines, whose base is also located
was in the UAE, Eve eventually moved to Dubai and joined the
Emirates teams.

“When I transferred to the current airlines, I had to go through the training again, which was a bit exhausting. The courses are really intensive because they last every day from morning to evening and everything is taught in English. It is interesting that we are trained to work on a certain model of aircraft, for example, I have a license to work on Boeing 777 and Airbus A380.

During my studies, I learned a lot of different things that you wouldn’t even think about, for example, how to put out a fire that started in different parts of the plane,” the girl shares.

What were the first days of work like? Ieva says that after starting work
Emirates, she was waiting for her first trip with the largest passenger plane to
Amsterdam.

“It was not only the first flight, but also the first
a visit to such an aircraft. I remember getting on that plane and him
really surprised with its size, the number of passengers, the luxurious business class, the fact that there were several floors, and many other things.

By the way, since it was the first flight, I had to observe the work of my colleagues, and take-off and landing were in the cockpit – this is how newcomers are introduced to work”, Ieva did not hide her admiration.

She tells us that she has two types of flights – in one case, the flight
takes 3-4 hours, returns on the same day, the other when the flight lasts
longer than 5 hours, flying away and staying for several days.
In the latter case, there is an opportunity to visit the city and explore it.

“True, many think that we fly away and dive into the evening
life, trips or parties. Far from it – you just are
tired that on the first application you go to sleep and rest. However, at least for now,
I always try to explore new places as much as possible,” he says
Eve.

Pros and cons

The girl says that many have a stereotype that flight attendants are very
happy, and their work is a dream come true. “I have to agree a lot
many flight attendants who are not satisfied complain but for some reason
don’t want to change anything.

I’m not one to complain yet. I try to look at everything positively, especially when you get new directions. For example, flights to the United Kingdom are not my favorite, but I recently had the opportunity to visit Melbourne, which left a great impression on me. Sydney, Bangkok, Singapore are waiting for me next month… So far, I’m very happy about it and smile on every flight,” says Ieva.

Although at first glance it seems what each day brings
innovations, interesting passengers, countries, but the work on the plane does not change.

“It doesn’t matter if you fly to Singapore or Lisbon, lunch is served
do you pour the same drinks? Another nuance is that you feel enough
alone in a foreign country, so everywhere has its pluses and minuses”,
says the girl.

She shares that there is a lot going on at Emirates in general
opportunities for career growth. At first you start working
on a satellite flight in economy class, may be upgraded later
to business or first class, and later even to become a chief stewardess,
who is responsible for the work of the other flight attendants and all the service on the plane. oh
those who feel that they no longer want to fly can try to switch to work in
office or become, for example, instructors who train
future flight attendants.

Ieva admits that she personally does not particularly like night parties
flights, because at that time it is the most boring (most passengers
therefore sleeps and works a little less on the plane). “To use the phone
you can’t, read a book as well, so all you have to do is eat (laughs), so
no wonder it’s easy to gain weight,” laughs Ieva.

True, free days are really enough to travel
explore other cities, engage in a desired sport or hobby, communicate with the Lithuanian community, etc.

“I really like Dubai so far. Of course, I hear different experiences,
for example, that they are fed up that there is a lot of pomp and uncertainty here.
Today, I’m really happy with my choice, although sometimes it hurts
anxiety – what will I do next?

Both the flight attendant job and life in Dubai are not forever. But as long as I still like what I do and enjoy it. I would definitely dream of working in business class or private airlines – it would be a very interesting experience. Either way, everything will come together naturally. All I know is that I wouldn’t want to go back to the office, because work from Monday to Friday is not for me,” shares Ieva.

New colleagues every time

In the media we can read the most diverse thoughts about
the work of a flight attendant, for example, that there is an ax in the cabin of the plane or that they are extremely
dirty And how is it really?

“For example, many people don’t know that I have to work with new people every time
colleagues. Even when I worked in past airlines, sometimes
I used to meet the same people, but now that I’ve moved to
Emirates, I fly with new colleagues every time. In these
more than 21 thousand people work in airlines. flight attendants out of 140
countries of the world!

You can only imagine how diverse and international it is
The Emirates team. It’s a wonderful experience, because every time you meet new colleagues, you can learn something new about other countries,
cultures. It’s partly good if you don’t like one or the other
person, but on the other hand, it is sad if colleagues are interesting and friendly
people.

In recent cases, we exchanged contacts, planned to meet, but in reality you usually don’t find time for that, or people have their circle of friends and family. On the other hand, it must be said that every time you get to know each other and tell your story, it really gets boring,” the flight attendant shares.

She laughs that there are quite a few stereotypes about her work. “I am myself
I read that the flight attendants supposedly have a clock that they use to count
boarded passengers or examines, who could be a doctor, so that if necessary
could help other passengers. However, this is definitely not true. Although us
are trained that when passengers board, we have to find one that will crash
would be physically strong in the event of a situation and would assist in evacuation if necessary
for the weaker ones,” says the girl.

She says that during long flights, flight attendants sleep in a special room that has all the necessary equipment that could be needed. “So, theoretically, if the door gets stuck or there is another danger, we have a special ax – these talks about it are certainly not out of the question”, laughs Ieva.

And what kind of passengers do you have to deal with? “Each city has its own
passenger profile, as some are very demanding, others are constantly snacking,
third – extremely polite, quiet and restrained, so you have to adapt every time”, –
says I.Balčiūnaitė.

When asked how her relatives and family value her work, Ieva shares that they do
the choice did not surprise the family. “Sometimes I talk to my mother that
I get tired, but it reminds me that I once dreamed about this and this
really motivates me! Maybe I was afraid about choosing a profession
to tell his older brother, but he was also very happy.

Family support means a lot to me! My mom even encouraged me not to be afraid to share content on Instagram. When I am in Lithuania, people constantly ask about my work – from … to. So I thought, why not try to tell you what I live for and answer the questions
to people who are interested in my work. I am very glad that mine
creating content is so interesting to people because I was really scared to start!

And I get a lot of questions, from where the coffee is tastiest to
what requirements are most important in the selection. It’s nice to see that what
I share, people are so interested!”, says Ieva.