Danielle Murnane

Hi everyone,

I just completed my first month as cabin crew with Emirates and it’s been an interesting one. It’s a weird feeling going back to the beginning and once again being the most junior  onboard. I’ve been a bit cheeky and have been milking the situation a little. It depends on my mood but for most of my flights I don’t tell the crew that I am an ex flyer and just play a little naive. It’s fun receiving compliments on how great you are for someone only one month flying, “you’re such a fast learner” they say… hehehe!

This is me on my first A380 operational flight to London Gatwick… This was a nice flight considering it was super busy and completely full. However, I had an even better layover as I met my friends in London for a lovely dinner in Chelsea.

I had sooo many roster changes this month! One thing they do here at Emirates which is a little annoying, is if they need to remove crew from a flight, it’s always the most junior person to be removed. Therefore us newbies tend to receive the highest amounts of roster changes (usually due to operational reasons). I was removed from my Vienna and Copenhagen flights which I was looking forward to and instead received another London layover (my third in one month) and another India turnaround (third in one month). I don’t want to complain, but in terms of destinations it hasn’t been the most exciting of months. Other than visiting London three times, I also visited Glasgow and Manchester in the UK. The only flight I operated that wasn’t in the UK is Moscow, Russia. I was really hoping for some nice sunny destinations as I hate the cold but there’s nothing I can do about my roster at this stage. For the first 6 months of joining Emirates you are on probation and one of the conditions is that we aren’t allowed to bid or swap our flights. I’m also not allowed to travel outside the UAE during this period except for work of course. I’ve been here for 3 months now so it won’t be long until I can finally have a tiny bit of influence on my rosters and begin travelling again on my days off. I really miss exploring new cities and countries around the world.

On the plus side because I haven’t been able to leave the UAE, I have been enjoying getting to know my new home and boy do I love it here. Dubai really feels like home to me, I know it sounds crazy coming from an Aussie but one thing I found difficult living in Qatar was how small and quiet it is. I am born and raised in Melbourne and I’m used to a fast paced city where there are lots of people and places to see. Doha was definitely more slow paced and not as happening as Melbourne so I found it very boring most of the time. Dubai on the other hand is much bigger than Doha, there are so many people here and so much to do and see… I really think its going to take some time before I am bored of this place. I am excited for my friends and family to eventually visit me so I can show them Dubai. I really love my new city!

Christmas in Moscow

Definitely one of my favourite layovers last month was Moscow, even though it was FREEZING cold. I couldn’t resist going into the city to check out the beautiful Christmas displays all over town. I thought I had missed the Christmas markets last year as I didn’t begin flying until Boxing Day, however I was lucky that Orthodox Christmas runs a little later and I was able to experience a little Christmas spirit before the season end.

I have never seen so many Christmas displays in one city, it was absolutely stunning! I felt very blessed to have been given the flight this time of year.

Sooooo many people out and about

All the shop fronts were beautifully decorated! All I want for Christmas is Cartier #helpmeimpoor

UK BOUND again and again and again

Aside from Russia, the rest of my layovers have been UK, UK and you guessed it… UK!

In particular, I visited London 3 times (all 3 airports might I add – Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted), Glasgow and Manchester. Don’t get me wrong, I actually enjoy my UK flights and layovers – it always feels like home away from home since I am not visiting Australia often. I’m not sure if it’s the English language, the food and shops, but I definitely get a home like feeling there. It would just be nice to visit some new destinations since my main motivation here is to travel. I’m hoping the next month is a little more exciting for me destination wise.

I have visited London plenty of times I’ve lost count and this was my third time to visit Manchester. The only new city for me to explore was Glasgow in lovely Scotland. It was a shame about the weather as it was freezing cold and raining on the day I was there but I managed to get out and about as much as I could cope since it was a new destination for me. I have travelled to Edinburgh a few times and I absolutely love it there! Glasgow wasn’t as cute as Edinburgh in my opinion, but it definitely had some of the same charm. The gothic like architecture for one was very similar. It’s definitely one place I would love to come back in the warmer months.

Gloomy days in the UK….

I warmed myself up in the cutest cafe called Singl-End with these yummy baked eggs.

On my third London flight I decided not to go into the city as I normally would and instead went to explore Cambridge as one of the girls on my flight recommended it since London Stansted Airport (where we stay) is not so far away. Again, I was struggling with the cold wet weather but I managed to walk around the cute town and visit the famous Trinity College. I think this place would be a lot nicer in the summertime as there are lots of nice parks to visit. Perhaps I’ll be back if I have the flight again in summer.

FEBRUARY ROSTER

Thankfully this month, I’ve been given much less UK flights… only one to Manchester can you believe! However, as I mentioned earlier it’s not impossible that the following destinations might change so let’s see in next month’s post where I end up going.

Layovers:

1. Hamburg, Germany (new destination)
2. Warsaw, Poland
3. Bangkok, Thailand x 2 (yay heat!)
4. Copenhagen, Denmark
5. Manchester, UK

I’m also operating 2 turnaround flights to India and my first ever Saudi flight!

I’m happy I finally have an Asian destination as this European winter is killing me. I’m not a winter person at all!

That’s all for now xxxx