How time flies… (pun intended) I am graduating in exactly 11 days and on Saturday 13th of January I have my first flight as operating crew…pwah! I am excited and nervous but mainly excited. The last 6 weeks of training have been exhausting and I’m ready for a new challenge (though the next challenge will probably be even more exhausting :P)
Training Update
In my last post, I spoke about undertaking the SEP component of the training, which involves all your safety, security and aircraft types. FYI – I successfully passed all my exams and scored 100% on all of them…yay #StarofQatar! This was the most intense part of the training in terms of study and exams so I was very relieved to finish this component. Following this, I completed training in First Aid, Grooming (including how to wear the uniform), and Crew Resource Management. I am now undertaking the last component of the training, which is Cabin Services (hospitality and customer service, etc.) The last 10 days of training are going to be intense, we have a lot of exams and since we are nearing the end of training and heading out into the real world, the microscope is definitely on us!
Uniform
I received my uniform last week which comprised of 2 burgundy jackets (ground), 3 navy jackets (cabin), 2 pants, 2 skirts, 6 blouses, 1 belt, ground shoes (heels), flat shoes (cabin), and of course the famous hat! Merry Christmas to me 😛 I think this is the most excited and proud I have been to wear a uniform. Trust me, after wearing a black suit and white shirt for almost 5 weeks straight; it is definitely something to be excited about. If I ever come back to the corporate world, I swear I will never wear a black suit again – I am officially scarred for life.
What Christmas?
Christmas this year was a little different than usual to say the least. Usually the highlight of my Christmas day involves spending time with the family but more importantly devouring my Nonna’s cooking and going home a few kilos heavier than when I first arrived at her house. Instead, Christmas this year involved attending a normal day of training… eh! On the flip side, my batchmates and I decided that we would have our own Christmas party after training. We held the gathering in a spare room in the apartment foyer and everyone brought along a plate of food. Of course, I baked my famous cheesecake (for those that have eaten it) – a cookie dough edition! It may have been a poor man’s Christmas compared to what I’m used to, but it honestly felt so special celebrating with all the girls. There was such a good energy in the room even though we were all away from our families. After spending so many weeks together, we have become each other’s home away from home.
First Roster
Now on to the most exciting part of the blog…. the announcement of my first roster! Last Sunday I spent about 2.5 hours refreshing the intranet page waiting for my roster to be released because I was so eager to see where I would be travelling to in January. So here it is:
- First flight is a turnaround to Islamabad (googled it… it’s in Pakistan)
- Second flight is turnaround to Multan (again googled … it’s Pakistan)
- Beijing, China – layover!
- Cape town, South Africa – layover!
- Turnaround to Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Last but not least, I will be ending the month in San Paulo, Brazil – layover!
I am super dooper happy that I have 3 layovers and they are all destinations I have never been to. That’s exactly why I came to Doha! It will be my first time in China, South Africa and South America. I’ve already started mapping out what I can do in the short period of time I have in each destination. If you know how I travel, you’ll know that I always do extensive research and utilise every last second that I have to explore a country. I’ll let you know what I get up to in my next post 😉
But first…
Before the layovers, I need to complete my first two turnaround flights to Pakistan. These flights are my “observer flights” – essentially, I will work both flights as operating crew but I will be under direct supervision of the Cabin Senior or Cabin Services Director who are in charge of the flight. Unfortunately, both flights are night ones so my body is going to be put to the test straight away. It’s my first time working night shifts so I’m not sure how I will cope since I am usually a morning person and have always been routine orientated. But I knew coming here that this would be one of the challenges of the job and I’m hoping that my body will be able to adapt to the change. Wish me luck because I’m going to need it!
Well that’s all from me for now… until next time when I am an official global citizen.
Happy New Year to everyone reading! May 2018 be your best year yet. I have a good feeling about this one 🙂
Danielle Murnane 
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