Humble individuals who, despite their success, continue to inspire me greatly. I have met a lot of successful people in the airline industry who continue to remain humble to this day. I usually tell them, “You deserve your success.” This is why I constantly remind aspirants to always remain humble and keep their feet on the ground once they earn their wings as a full-fledged cabin crew.
Just recently, flight attendants from a low-cost local airline shared a story. On one of their domestic flights, during boarding, they encountered a passenger who immediately went straight to her seat without presenting her boarding pass to the flight attendants on duty. As part of their standard operating procedure (SOP), flight attendants are tasked with checking the boarding pass of every passenger while boarding before heading to their seats.
This certain passenger decided to disregard this and head straight to her seat. The flight attendants then followed the said passenger to her seat to check the boarding pass. A few minutes later, the passenger stood up and went to the flight attendants in front saying “why did you ask your lead crew to follow me to my seat? I am an international flight attendant.”
After the flight, the cabin crew of that local airline’s domestic flight decided to validate the passenger’s claim of being an international flight attendant out of curiosity. Sadly, it was confirmed that the said passenger is a flight attendant of a foreign airline.
And more stories started coming in
I then posted this story on my social media. After posting it, more flight attendants began reacting and even sent me private messages sharing their similar encounters with passengers who end up being cabin crew of foreign airlines. Messages like “kung sino dapat nagseset ng halimbawa, sila pa ang ma-attitude” claimed a flight attendant of another low-cost airline in the Philippines.
Another cabin crew of a local airline also shared, “dati napaka united ng batch namin dito sa (local airline). Ngayon na naglipatan na ang iba sa (foreign airline), nagkasira-sira na ang batch namin kasi marami sa kanila nagsilakihan ng ulo. Sinasabihan kami ng ‘kayo hanggang 4-legs Caticlan pero kami layover sa Paris'”.
Another cabin crew, also from a local airline, shared about her former collegues who transfered to a foreign airline, “hindi na namamansin sila. Tuwing ko kinukumusta, panay seen zone na kami pero post sila ng post sa myday nila”.
A few flight attendants from our local airlines requested that I write something about this. At first, I was hesitant to do so because I thought it was an isolated case. However, my personal experiences with some people, together with all these stories shared by different flight attendants from the local airlines, have prompted me to write something already.
Always remain humble amidst your success
To those “international airline crew” who look down on our local airlines and the people who have decided to work there with pride, I think you guys should stop it. Never forget that when you board an airline, be it a legacy or a low-cost one, you are still a passenger who is bound by the country’s aviation laws and the airline’s safety rules and procedures. Even if you flash your foreign airline ID to the flight attendants of our local airlines, they can still have you offloaded and arrested if they deem you unruly and a threat to the safety of the flight.
Earning your wings from foreign airlines does not give you the right to disrespect the policies and the crew of the local airlines.
I am sure you would not like it if passengers do the same to you on board your flight so please do not do that to other cabin crew members.
To all cabin crew aspirants, and new hires in the airline industry, I do understand that it is already normal to see people who become bigheaded once they achieve success, but this doesn’t make it right.
Always remain humble once you earn your wings.
Once you have achieved success, always remain humble and keep your feet on the ground. You will not always be victorious. Experiencing straight victories will not exempt you from failures and challenges later on. If you achieve greater success, inspire others to do so too, and do not look down on them. If you ever become an international flight crew, never forget the local airline that gave you the experience and shaped you to get there.
Never forget where you came from, especially the local airline that gave you your first wings. Do not burn bridges with them and your former colleagues because you’ll never know when you will need them again. Never forget that they hired you not because of experience, but out of confidence and trust in your abilities.
If you want to impress people, then remain humble. I have met a few flight attendants who have achieved so much in their flying careers. Yet, they continue to remain very humble and down-to-earth. I always tell them, “You deserve all your success.”
Earn your wings and soar high, but always keep your feet on the ground.
First love never dies. I fell in love with airplanes and aviation when I was a kid. My dream was to become a pilot, but destiny led me to another path: to be an aviation digital media content creator and a small business owner. My passion for aviation inspires me to bring you quality content through my website and social accounts. Aviation is indeed in my blood and blog!
