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Do you know that feeling, not being fit and that after a long night flight you are so miserable and tired that you prefer not to look in the mirror? How is it possible that Cabin Crew still look so fit and radiant when serving breakfast, what is their secret? How do Cabin Attendants stay fit on board during the night hours, because they also have to get tired when everyone else is asleep… right?
Selma reveals a few of our secrets here and even better, what you can learn from it!
1. Good sturdy shoes
When the seatbelt sign goes out after take-off, we immediately change our heels for nice comfortable shoes without heels. So we don't walk in high heels for 10 hours. Sorry, that fantasy doesn't work! You can do this too: wear comfortable shoes and possibly bring a nice set of extra comfortable socks to wear in between. Put your shoes back on when you go to the toilet, it's so fresh!
2. To be fit is to hydrate
At an altitude of ten kilometers, the environment is very different from that on the ground, the air pressure in the cabin is kept artificially high. Because the air at a high altitude contains less water, you also get a dry air in the cabin. That is why it is important to drink a lot of water. Not only for your skin but also to prevent dehydration and to feel fitter. We therefore always try to drink enough during the flight. If we come by for a drink/food, feel free to ask for an extra glass of water.
3. Resting during the flight
On a long (night) flight, we have the right to rest (break), just like with any other job. There is one available on the larger aircraft and there are therefore beds on board. This is a special room for the crew only. Plug in your earplugs, listen to some music and relax. We are perhaps a little more used to the noise and movement of the aircraft. A good pair of earplugs and an eye mask will help you fall asleep more easily. If you have forgotten them, ask the crew if they have a set of earplugs for you (also nice if you are close to the family row).
4. Enjoy traveling
Try to enjoy the journey. We get energy from dealing with you as a passenger, but also from new or great destinations. Because we too will have to make the flight to a destination worldwide or back home. Together we make the flight more fun!
5. Get some exercise every now and then
We are working as a crew and are constantly on the move. As a passenger this will also help you! Sitting still for a long time makes you stiff. Therefore, try to get up every one and a half hours or two hours and take a short walk through the cabin (note: of course only if the seat belt light is off!); this promotes your blood flow and helps against fluid retention.
Another general tip: Plan ahead
Book a nice seat online before departure, this saves half during a long flight. Take the time to read the travel guide completely and make great plans for your trip. Choose your favorite movie and enjoy the service on board.
Happy Travels!
Source: KLM Blog – Selma Hoving
About this blogger
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Known as Khun Peter (62), lives alternately in Apeldoorn and Pattaya. In a relationship with Kanchana for 14 years. Not yet retired, have my own company, something with insurance. Crazy about animals, especially dogs and music.
Enough hobbies, but unfortunately little time: writing for Thailandblog, fitness, health and nutrition, shooting sports, chatting with friends and some other oddities.
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Moving every two hours is a difficult thing if you don't have an aisle seat and you're sitting next to a sleeping passenger.
Fortunately, those long flights are a bit over for me.
I don't think I need two more hands to count them.
Just back in Thailand from a working visit to the Netherlands. I flew with Emirates and then flew 2x 6 1/2 with a spacious stopover of 3 hours at Dubai (shorter is also possible). As a result, we can walk for a few hours over the local airport. I myself sleep during the flight like most passengers, so waking up your neighbor is only incidental and with these relatively short flights I don't suffer from stiffness or fatigue.
A good journey starts with choosing a seat
Always take a middle row seat in the aisle.
economy
better than the intermediate class of eva air personally think
enough leg room with my 184 cm and if you are lucky
three seats next to you nobody, armrest can be folded away in economy and
can you lie down.
make the trip to Bangkok three times a year
must say in recent years I am happy with the middle seat free.
After the first meal, two apirine pills.
earplugs in sleep mask
and easily sleep seven to eight hours.
ps now don't all book these seats
Relaxing and or sleeping in an airplane, impossible work if you are unlucky enough to be stuck with a large number of crying and screaming children on board. Unfortunately, the parents usually fail to get the kids quiet.
Fortunately, this is not always the case.
Yes, and then I think, I was a child myself and my children will not always have been angels. Matter of luck or bad luck. And if it might be a problem for you, you can book a seat in advance (that can also cost money these days) far away from the front family row….
Robert JG it will be like you say, reserving a seat in advance seems great, but I don't know in advance whether there are such children and they are not just in the front row.
It's luck or bad luck that's right if you're in the neighborhood with such a parent who says I can also blare it's all fun.
The preparation is important. a. do not fly with the French KLM. Their economy class seats are some of the most cramped of all airlines. This is done to sell people the more expensive economy plus seats. The latter are simply the old economy seatings.
Know that the cabin crew on the long haul flights quickly complete their work so that they can find their own sleeping places on the plane. So you have no idea how folded you are.
b. save longer and fly business class. Costs more but you have a lot more comfort and in retrospect it is definitely worth the extra price!
I can follow this story completely. I was a steward for 30 years and yes, that's how it went. As a passenger I have little trouble with a flight. I take enough reading, music and viewing material with me to get through the flight. Of course I also try the onboard entertainment, but if that's not to my taste (or just doesn't work), I can always fall back on my own arsenal. Now a VR headset has even been added, with which I can watch movies in cinema format and find myself in a room instead of in an airplane… (good for people with scary fears).
When I was still working, I was always glad I didn't have to be a passenger.
On a flight to Australia, we as a crew disembarked twice for a few days along the way (depending on the frequency of the flight). When we saw the passengers stumble out of the plane in Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok or Singapore, we felt sorry for them.
And dear Brabantman, what you write about the cabin crew that they handle everything as quickly as possible is not correct at all. The fact that they work quickly depends on the number of passengers. Everyone wants to be treated as soon as possible or sooner. The last to be served was already thirsty when the first in a row started. So we work as quickly as possible to give that person a warm meal as well.
In addition, it is one crew. When you finish faster in economy than in first or business class, you have to continue working there to support those colleagues. The other way around as well. Only when the last passenger in any class has been served may the break be allocated. Then not the whole crew, but part of it, will go to the rest area. The other part has standby duty: preparing the next service, going through the cabin with drinks, checking whether there is anything wrong with the passengers, checking toilets, checking colleagues and so on.
And most of us certainly know how scary the chair is. I always fly economy and because I fly standby, I often get the worst place (often middle place) when the plane is full.
Maybe this will help you improve your image of the crew.
I think it is as Jack says. But for the price
he pays I always want to sit in the middle seat.
Fly Business Class and let yourself be pampered
with good food and fine wines.
Then a nice blanket and completely flat.
Close your eyes and close your beak.
I've been doing it for 30 years and I really like it.
YES
For 30 years I have opted for the simplest and most efficient solution. Once I'm on the plane I take a fat sleeping pill. Your muscles relax and you feel relaxed. I usually wake up when we're about to land. I can't imagine having to stay wide awake in an airplane seat for 10 hours.
I don't care what I look like after landing.
When I fly with Emirates I am always busy sifting through the music library and listening to the music from my bygone years. Nostalgia at its best. And I'm not getting around on the 12 o'clock flight.
It's great to have some time for relaxed and carefree listening to music.