Inside Story - Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Senior Crew



Frankie

Age Range
18-25

Countries of Work
UK

Study and Career History
After taking 12 GCSE’s and 2 A-levels at school, I joined Virgin Atlantic at 19. I had always wanted to be cabin crew and particularly wanted to work for Virgin Atlantic.

How long have you been doing the job?
4 years.

Did you decide on your career path or did it all happen by accident?
I have always wanted to be cabin crew, since I was young, mainly because of the travelling involved as well as the opportunity to meet people – which I love. I found out about Virgin from a friend’s sister who worked as Cabin Crew and she told me about how fantastic it was to work for them. After looking into the other airlines I decided there really wasn’t a choice – it’s the prestige of working at Virgin Atlantic that no other airline has, so I only applied to Virgin. On the travel side – Virgin only fly to long-haul destinations, like New York, Cape Town, Miami and Hong Kong so that really appealed as well.

How did you get your "Glamour Job" ?
My friend’s sister who worked at Virgin picked up an application form for me, from that I was accepted to attend a group interview day. After that I was told that I had been accepted and I’ve been here ever since. Once I joined I started my training. It’s 6 weeks long and is pretty intensive – you need to be trained in all of the safety and medical side of things, as well as understanding the Virgin Customer Service ethic, which is really strong.

What does the job involve?
I work in Upper Class and it is all about serving and meeting the customers’ needs. In Upper Class it is much more one-to-one and you have to be able to interact with customers – being yourself, but always professional. I’ve met loads of really interesting people and a lot of famous ones too!

Describe a typical day at work.
When I’m flying my day starts at the airport, checking in followed by a team briefing. We then go the aircraft and carry out all the safety checks for our areas – I work in the bar area of the Upper Class section. The passengers then begin to board and we greet them and make sure they are comfortable. We fly to 22 long-haul destinations and each flight is different, what really changes your day are the passengers and there is always someone interesting to talk to on the flight. I have to say it can be a tiring job, so usually once we arrive at our destination, we go to the hotel and the crew will all meet in the bar or go for some food, before going to bed.

What do you like most about the job?
I joined Virgin because of the travel and I’ve been to some fantastic places – we fly to Tokyo, Antigua, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, St. Lucia and Barbados among others – my favourites are Cape Town, New York and San Francisco which are all brilliant places. The other thing is the people – I get to meet such interesting people and I love that.

What don’t you like about your job – if anything?
There’s nothing really! Sometimes it can be a tiring flight, but you usually have a few days before you fly again, so that helps. We work on a monthly roster and you usually have 6 flights in that time.

During your teenage years did you have much vocational guidance from school, university, family or friends? What was your biggest influence?
Being Cabin Crew was something I always wanted to do and my parents were always really supportive of my career choice.

If you took end of school examinations did you get exam results you were happy with from your education?
I did really well at school and in my A-levels and left after taking those at 18. I then did an IT course after school before joining Virgin Atlantic as you need to be 19 to be Cabin Crew.

Do you think that what you studied in school or in your further education was right for the career you are in now? Any regrets?
Yes, having a good level of education really helps and I studied A-levels in French and Spanish – although we don’t fly there we often have French and Spanish passengers so it is great that I can talk to them in their own language.

Have you taken further studies since leaving secondary or tertiary school. If yes, what did you study and why did you decide you needed more qualifications?
No, but then again the education about people that I’ve had while flying with Virgin beats any formal training course.

What was your first job?
This was my first job – I started as a junior and have now progressed into Upper Class and now to Senior Cabin Crew.

What has been your most bizarre or challenging job to date?
The biggest challenge so far was the training which was hard work as it’s pretty intensive. But then it has to be to ensure the safety of our passengers! I’ve had a lot of times where I’ve had medical cases on board and have had to assist doctors or administer oxygen – so it shows how important it is to be trained and confident in first aid.

What is your ultimate goal.... is this it, or do you have a pinnacle you have yet to reach?
I’m really happy with my job, it’s got everything I want for now. I’m Senior Crew now and there is promotion to Purser role on-board to work towards which I’d love.

What are your top tips for personal success?
To be Virgin Cabin Crew, you need to be confident and assertive, with a good sense of humour. You need to be able to interact with customers and be professional, but always adding your own sparkle to situations – that’s what we call Virgin flair. Teamwork is also really important and having a good time!

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