AB: Flexibility is not part of the United Arab Emirates dictionary unfortunately.We’re more at the mercy of passenger loads and the current economic environment than anything else. Like recently, I was informed (I actually checked my online roster the night before) that I was pulled out of a Dusseldorf layover for a Chennai turnaround (4 hours there, 4 hours back with a 90 minute ground time in Chennai) without any notice what so ever. Not really happy about it but, not able to complain, we’re basically forced to do it… What keeps me flying in the deepest crisis the aviation industry has to face at the moment is definitely the human factor. The people I fly with (the crew) and the people I fly (the passengers). Most of them have mind blowing stories. Like this girl I flew with today who has a 13 year old kid back home and she’s working her ass off here in Dubai to make the most for his education, and she’s like 5 years older than I am…. It’s plenty of stories like this. I’m only 23 years old and having a good old blast at work. Whatever the conditions, whatever the situation. What can a 23 year old complain about ? You are living in a luxurious apartment, you have transport and every month you get pocket money ! Not bad I say.

FP: I had no idea that your schedule structure was so different from ours in the States. Everything with an American carrier is based on seniority, it sounds like you all bear the load of reserve. What kind of schedule do you have, what kind of trips do you like to fly?

AB: We fly all kinds of trips. Back to backs, turnarounds, and layovers. Most of them within our legal flight time regulations…[ah em]… This month I flew 110 hours block (chock to chock), not counting the actual duty hours. But a usual month would contain some layovers, and some turnarounds. Every 7 month we’re supposed to get a reserve month waiting by our Land line. Thankfully, this year, they’ve skipped mine for a decent roster (NYC, LHR and some other cool layovers). So can’t really complain. Dubai being a 24hour running airport we can leave at any time of the day or night, thus getting our body clocks a little mental. But most of us deal with it pretty well.

I personally like to fly medium haul European flight. Why? : morning departures, easy passengers, and laid-back atmosphere in the whole cabin. Try and do a red-eye Bombay turn with a full on service within one hour and 45 minutes. Tricky. Suicidal in fact.

Certainly medium haul like a Frankfurt! Dead easy and so much more fun !

FP: Wow, it definitely sounds exciting! I love when you post your roster every month and I get to see all the amazing places you’re flying! What is your biggest passenger pet peeve? How about biggest crew pet peeve?

AB: My worst nightmare with passengers are the ones sitting at the exit rows and leaving their trays on the floor for us to pick up during clearance. My brain says : “I gave you a nice looking tray hand in hand, why wouldn’t you make the effort to pick up the tray you got there on the floor and give it to me with your hands… mutual respect ya know… save my back at the same time you’d be grateful”… Then, because of the SOPs, I say “How was your meal Sir’, can I get you anything else while you’re watching Transformers or should I say Megan Fox in her boob tube??” Then I pick up the tray with the customer’s defiant smile… and carry on with the Kevin’s (Kevin : generic name I give to flying 7 year old little devils) behind playing a rather intense battleship game on the Inflight system.

Most annoying crew pet peeve : Asking me why I have an English Passport when I’m actually french. I hate repeating the story on each and every flight I have. To put the record straight. My mother (MotherOfSodwee) is English, FatherOfSodwee is French. Thus enabling Sodwee to have both passport in accordance to both countries regulations about Dual Nationality. I AM french, and I hold a French and British passport…

FP: Ok, I will have to agree with you on that one, I don’t like picking up trash off the floor either, but I would never have anyone pick my trash up off the floor for me. I think sometimes people forget, “Do unto others….” As you know I’ve had some strange happenings on my flights, what is the most bizarre thing you have seen on a flight?

AB: Don’t really know if I should share such a story but I encountered a snake on one of my flights. A passenger came up to me at one point during the cruise and told me he saw something quite “abnormal” in the lavatories. Went there, saw nothing. Went back to the passenger and asked again. He swore he had seen something. I go back to the lavatory I was in charge of. I look closely and see an awkward looking beast lying there. Half of it hiding in the bin compartment and the other half lying on the lavatory floor. It was a bloody snake ! A meter long (100cm), sandy color. Called my seniors to inform them of an unwanted passenger on board, they took it as a Grade 2 (junior) joke. Called them again and told them it was for real. They then came to check for themselves. They all shat in their pants not knowing what to do until the we had the bright idea of treating it as Dangerous Goods and sealed the toilets and leave it as it was until we landed in that heavenly island located in the Indian Ocean. Passengers got quite anxious at the crew gathering wanting a sneak peek at the thing. We said nothing in order to keep the masses at bay and at a reasonable panic level. Ended up on that island and got the vets and a snake charmer on board to look at the thing. Turns out it was not a venomous snake but a rather harmless little fella looking for humidity and water (I didn’t know you could find decent H2O in the lavs….!) But that definitely made my day and Samuel L Jackson’s at the same time ! We were in the local newspaper the next morning, we were having pina colada on the beach when a waiter came up to us and showed us the front page. We simply said “It’s all lies, but yeah, that was our flight…”…. *cough* *cough*

FP: Yikes! Just like the movie;-) I hope they caught and released the poor guy? Where’s your video of that?…probably too much excitement to pull out the camera, huh?! What can we find in your carry on?

AB: Carry on? easy : Crew Emergency manual (it’s a requirement within Emirates Airline). We must have it or we’re offloaded. Soundproof headphones for my killer tunes. FULLY CHARGED iPod ( I stress on the fully charged part), you never know when a delay strikes. My service waistcoat, nicely folded. Cigarettes, usually 2 packs of 20s. Never know when you gonna need them. Whether on a raft in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean or in Tullamarine (Melbourne, Australia) airport. My beloved and always faithful Apple MacBook 13 inch black version ! Pens, Paper, all sorts of international adapters. Luggage tags, service standards updates by the dozen and a whole load of worthless crap I trail along. Oh and Canon Ixus camera just for the sake of taking pictures of where I’m at…

FP: We have a FAA regulated manual that we have to carry too. If we are caught by the airline without it we are also pulled from our trip, if an FAA Inspector catches us without it, we are fined a $10k personal fine…for each leg we have flown without it! Can we find you at the hotel bar or are you a slam clicker?

AB: Definitely the Hotel Bar depending of course on what kind of crew I had to deal with on the inbound sector. If not interesting, I would slam click my door, order a Club Sandwich and log on to Twitter and other blogs to catch up on the gossip. If the destination is worth a stroll around the city (i.e., Beijing, Sydney, Rome, Singapore and others), I’m more than happy to wonder on my own and discover. Of course with my iPod and camera in hand. I’m especially fond of taxis. The drivers definitely have some stories to tell. Judge a city by it’s taxi drivers, not by the amount of tourist they hold !

FP: What is your favorite vacation destination?

AB: Paris, France, in the summer. It’s empty of Parisians, it’s beautiful in the summer, and sooooo laid back. Enjoy a pint at any given terrace and look at the world go by. Otherwise somewhere busy like Tokyo. I need to be entertained in a good way. I need some kind of buzz going on or I’ll get pretty bored quickly. Finally a chill out remote beach with a kick ass cocktail nearby and some cool tunes banging my way isn’t too bad either !

FP: Well, on my next trip to Paris, I will definitely be looking to you and popping into a FROGPUBS! How does your spouse/partner feel about you flying?

AB: Single. Didn’t quite work out with me flying and her studying.

FP: Ahhh, so he is single ladies! Probably, pretty hard to pin down though;-) What is your best travel tip?

AB: Pre-effin’-pare for you air travel. Don’t go asking for a luke warm milk bottle for your sweetheart when I’m the middle of a lunch service. Don’t ask me which carousel belt your luggage will appear, I don’t have a clue ! Choose you’re preferred meal choice when I give you the nicely printed menu just before we take-off, not when I come up with my meal cart and repeatedly ask you if you want Chicken, Lamb or Pasta when you have you’re headphone on and bluntly say “What?????”. Don’t ask for 5 different drinks on the first round, I have 300 other thirsty passengers after you, and I WILL come round for seconds. DO NOT hand me your dirty hot towel when I’m bear handed and trying to secure my area.

FP: Thank You, Ben! I love your blog and I really enjoyed your answers…Cheers!

AB:Thanks again for asking me to take part in your CREW BRIEFING, It’s an honor !

You can check out Bens Blog, Airboy and also find him on Twitter!