Aside from creating beauty content, you can find me 10,000 feet in the air traveling the world as a Flight Attendant. Every day isn't all glitz and glamour, but overall the benefits make everything worth it. To be completely transparent, there are bad days. You'll be away from your friends and family, customers aren't always nice, the days are long, and you're always on the go. On the flip side, no day is the same. I meet so many different people on a daily basis and I get to travel anywhere with whomever I want. The world is literally at my fingertips.
One of my favorite things about being a flight attendant, besides the travel of course, is the flexibility. Some days start earlier and some days start when the rest of the world is ending theirs. I can choose what type of trips I want: if I want to go away for a few days, I can; if I want to come right back home, I can do that too. I personally prefer three-day domestic trips. I like to see a couple places and then go home, but that can also change depending on what my plans are. To balance out my creative schedule with my work, sometimes it's necessary for me to go to work and come right back home.
My schedule varies a lot so it's important that I make planning a priority. There's no such thing as a routine for me and I like it. I love knowing that every day is going to give me a new thrill and nothing ever becomes mundane. Today is one of those days, I decided to do something completely different, challenge myself, and make a little extra cash so I picked up an international trip to Amsterdam. Picking up a trip is as simple as checking our board to see what flights need to be staffed. I want to make more money so I'm looking for high-time (high hour trip because we get paid by the hour) and international because we get paid more for those flights.
Now, follow me on my three-day work trip to Amsterdam.
Monday
The first day probably won't be the most exciting, it will consist of a lot of preparation. Keep in mind I can't share as much as I would like because of security reasons (a girl ain't tryna lose her job) but I will share as much as possible.
10:00a: I wake up and check my phone (Instagram, emails, texts, etc.); not the best habit in the morning but I'm working on it. I also check what time I'm supposed to get to the airport, which is 18:50 aka 6:50 pm.
10:15a: Brush my teeth and wash my face. Then, I charge all my devices: work phone, camera, computer, and personal phone. Next, I check the weather: it's looking like it's going to be 40-55 degrees in Amsterdam while I'm there.
10:30a: I make a cup of coffee and some breakfast. Then watch my training materials on international trip service. I don't do international trips often, so I need to reacquaint myself with the material. I've also never been on this plane so I also need to get familiar with that.
11:45a: Start ironing my uniform, pack my bags for my trip, turn on my diffuser, listen to music, set my intentions, and get ready for the day. This is the self-care part of my day so I spend a lot of time just getting my mind right.
Courtesy of Krissy Lewis
1:00p: Squeeze in a quick 45-60 minute workout. I'm going to focus on just abs and cardio today. I get on the elliptical machine in my garage and get it in. It's hard to create an actual schedule so I squeeze in workouts as often as I can. I should also mention that I just got back into working out again after a month-long hiatus.
2:00p: Start getting ready for work.
3:30p: Eat again and finish working on articles.
Sidebar: My days are long AF! You see my day has started way before my actual work day because there are still personal and creative things that need to be done. I also had to review some material for work. Even though we're trained for multiple aircrafts and services, we don't use them every day so it requires a little reviewing.
5:00p: Head to the airport, go through security, and head to the crew lounge.
6:50p: Meet my crew and pilots then do our briefing for our 7hr 48min flight to Amsterdam. I can't spill too much about our briefings but that is where we go over the need-to-know of our trip before we actually head to the plane.
7:40p: Get to the plane and check our emergency equipment, and set up the in-flight amenities.
7:50p: Start boarding.
8:44p: Takeoff.
9:15p-ish: We've taken off and we start our service. I worked up front in first class as the aisle flight attendant. Aisle flight attendants usually interact with the first class customers, serve meals and beverages. I wish I was able to take more photos but this part of the flight happens so fast there just wasn't enough time. Once in the air, we begin bar cart with beverages and warm nuts.
9:30p: Now it's time to bring out the food. I serve all the meals and bring out our base cart. This cart has soups, bread, and more drinks!
9:50p: Pick up all the trays and meals and get ready to serve dessert.
10:10p: Now it's time for me to serve dessert. For this service, I serve fruit, cheese, ice cream, cake of the night, and teas/wine.
It's back-to-back so we can take care of the customers, give them everything they need before they go to sleep.
10:40p: Clean-up all the trays and galley area.
11:00p: First crew rest break. This isn't my break but the first set of flight attendants take a break and we cover for them until their break is over.
Tuesday
1:30a-ish: It's my turn to take a break. On international trips, we have a crew rest area that allows us to take a nap. We have 2 sets of breaks, crew rest 1 and crew rest 2. I was a part of the second round and I slept for about 1 hour and 20 min before I started service again.
3:20a: We begin our pre-arrival breakfast service.
5:02a: We land in Amsterdam. It's technically 11:02a in Amsterdam.
Courtesy of Krissy Lewis
Let's switch over to CET (Central European Standard Time)
12:15p: We check into the hotel and get settled. I took a shower and changed so I can start my 24hr layover. I usually take a nap but since I got in later than expected, I want to head out.
1:40p: Head out to the city. I took the Ferry out into the city and explored.
I visited the Red Light District, Primark, and tried some french fries. Amsterdam is known for its french fries and mayo, so it was only right that I try it!
Courtesy of Krissy Lewis
Courtesy of Krissy Lewis
Courtesy of Krissy Lewis
I want to include this because it's important. I explored alone and before every trip I make sure I'm prepared to travel and have fun alone. The crews that I work with don't always want to do something and that's fine. So, it's important to be comfortable and open to going out solo.
I also visited over the edge to take in the beautiful view of Amsterdam.
Courtesy of Krissy Lewis
Courtesy of Krissy Lewis
Courtesy of Krissy Lewis
6:00p: Took a holiday light boat tour. (Sorry, I couldn't get much pictures because it was so dark and rainy).
8:00p: Got back to the hotel and got ready for bed. Getting ready for bed includes: removing my makeup and doing my bedtime skincare routine, showering, preparing my clothes for work, and unwinding in my thoughts.
Wednesday
Time to go home!
11:00a: Get picked up from the hotel. We have drivers that take us to and from the hotel whenever we layover anywhere.
11:45a: Arrive at the airport and go through security.
12:15p: Get to the plane, brief with the captain, and start setting up and boarding to head back to Atlanta.
1:11p: Takeoff.
1:30p: We're starting service. As a crew we tend to rotate positions, so instead of working in first class, I'll be working in the main cabin. The first step in our service is to distribute menus and water. I'm working on the left side of the main cabin so I make sure every passenger has menus, water, and silverware. We continue service for about an hour and a half.
3:00p: It's time for the first crew rest break. Because the flight is longer (9hrs going back to Atlanta) and we finished service a bit earlier, our rest is 2 hours.
5:00p: The next crew takes their break and we start preparing for the second service.
7:00p: We start our pre-arrival service.
8:30: End service and prepare for landing. By this time it's 3:30p est time.
Switch over to Eastern Standard Time.
4:20p: We land in Atlanta and clear Customs.
5:10p: Get home and unwind.
This wraps up my three-day trip to Amsterdam. It's a pretty long three days but, to me, it's definitely worth it. I can travel and stay in nice hotels on the company's dime, I can check out places in and out of the country to see which ones I may want to travel back to for leisure and it exposes me to so many things — culture, self-revelations, travel, etc.
Featured image via Krissy Lewis