Danielle Murnane

Hello from the other sideeeeee! I am currently imprisoned in my apartment on home standby so I figured updating my blog would be a nice way to kill time.

If you have been reading my blog posts so far (which I’m sure you have hehe), you will know that I have finally finished the long and arduous training and have now commenced flying!

My first flight
My first flight was a turn around to Islamabad, Pakistan on the large Boeing 777 aircraft departing Doha at 8pm and arriving back at around 5.30am. All in all, it was a very stressful and tiring experience. The flight was full so the crew were extremely busy which meant that there was no time for anyone to assist me and show me the ropes. I was given a zone to take care of and pretty much just thrown into the deep end to sink or swim. I remember sitting on the jumpsuit on the way back into Doha and thinking “hmmm, I’m not sure this job is for me”

My second flight
After finishing my first flight, I came home and had very little rest before getting picked up for my second flight, which was another turnaround flight to Multan, Pakistan. However, this time I was flying on the much smaller Airbus 319 aircraft. Thankfully, this flight was a billion trillion times better than my first flying experience. My faith in flying has been restored! The crew definitely were the reason for this. We were a small crew of six but we all got along so well and everyone was really helpful and patient towards me. As the flight wasn’t busy, I got to spend some time with my supervisor and I also got to visit the flight deck. I even got the opportunity to do my first manual safety demonstration on the flight back to Doha because the plane wasn’t equipped with TV monitors. I was so nervous, but I think I managed to somewhat look like I knew what I was doing in front of the passengers 😛

My first layover – Beijing, China
My first layover in Beijing was amazing! I don’t think I could have asked for a better layover with better crew. Of course I had to visit the Great Wall when I was there. It has been on my bucket list for some time now and I can’t believe it’s only taken me 3 flights to tick it off my list. I didn’t even bid for the flight so thank you rostering gods! I was blessed with a really great crew and the passengers on the flight were so nice to deal with. I will definitely be visiting China again in the future, however I hope to do so when it’s a little bit warmer. I think it was about 1 – 2 degrees during my stay in Beijing, which is far too cold for me.

Cape Town, South Africa
My second layover was in Cape Town, South Africa. Again, I had an amazing time on my layover – without a doubt I know I will be visiting again soon. The only downside to my layover was that Table Mountain was closed due to the crazy wind that day. I think we would have literally been blown off the mountain. Despite this, a group of us organised a tour to the Cape of Good Hope and to see the penguins at Boulders Beach. I had a great time although the wind was very intense (and that was at ground level). My hair had never seen so many knots. After this, a few of us went to the waterfront to eat a nice seafood dinner. Probably, my most favourite thing about South Africa is the food. The quality of the produce is amazing and it’s so cheap! The wine and beer is also great. I have heard good things about the wineries here so the wine lover in me is very keen to visit them sometime.

Upcoming – February roster
So now we are approaching the end of January and I only have one ultra long haul flight to go which will be a 4 day trip from Doha to Sao Paulo, Brazil (layover), then a turn around flight to Buenos Aires and back to Sao Paolo (another night in Sao Paulo) and then finally back to Doha. I’m excited to go to Brazil, another country I have never been to. The foodie in me is very excited to try the Brazilian cuisine….mmm meat! It will also be nice to finally get some sun (believe it or not, the desert is actually cold this time of year and I have been living in my winter wardrobe)

Exhibit A: fur coat

Yesterday my February roster came out. It’s looking quite nice… I’d like some sunnier destinations but I really can’t complain since my layovers outweigh my turn around flights. I am also adding another 4 new countries to my country count. Before I even thought about becoming a flight attendant, my goal was to reach 30 countries by the age of 30… I did the maths and by the end of February my country count is going to be 30 so I think I need a new goal…

I won’t bore you with my turnaround flights but here are my layovers in Feb:

1. Hanoi, Vietnam
2. Stockholm, Sweden
3. Copenhagen, Denmark
4. Dhaka, Bangladesh
5. Zanzibar, Tanzania

So so so excited for Hanoi, Copenhagen and Zanzibar!

Stay tuned for my next update. Ciao ciao xxx