Yesterday marked a significant milestone for 44 individuals in the Philippines, as they earned their wings and officially became cabin crew members. Among them, 20 joined AirAsia Philippines, while 24 embarked on their journey with Philippine Airlines. Each batch and individual has their own unique stories to share about their path to becoming a cabin crew member. I was overjoyed to witness their emotional graduation ceremonies yesterday, as they shed tears of happiness and pride, finally able to call themselves cabin crew for their chosen airlines.
AirAsia Philippines Cabin Crew Batch 48
I hold a special place in my heart for this particular cabin crew batch, as I witnessed their entire journey – from lining up at the AirAsia Philippines walk-in cabin crew recruitment event on January 21, to finding out they passed the selection process, and eventually becoming official AirAsia cabin crew members.
The 20 individuals in this batch each had unique journeys to earning their Red wings. One of them was previously an AirAsia Philippines cabin crew member who was retrenched in 2021, joined Qatar Airways during their recruitment in 2022, and then resigned from Qatar Airways to rejoin AirAsia Philippines. While some might question why he chose to leave a position at Qatar Airways to return to AirAsia, I commend this flight steward’s decision. I’m not only aware of the working conditions at Qatar Airways, which I won’t delve into here, but I also admire his determination to return to the airline he first loved and considered his home.
Another new crew member in this batch is a TikTok influencer with over 2 million followers. Despite her online popularity, she chose to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a flight attendant and joined AirAsia as an Allstar. Given AirAsia Philippines’ recognition of its crew members’ diverse talents, I am confident they have plans to utilize her as one of the company’s in-house influencers.
This experience marked the first time I witnessed an entire cabin crew journey, from aspirant to successful candidate, and ultimately, earning their wings. It was an important reminder that dreams really do come true. Observing others achieve their dreams has been an eye-opening experience for me, proving that with determination, hard work, faith, and prayer, nothing is impossible.
Philippine Airlines Cabin Crew Batch AICCT2301
AICCT, or Abridged Initial Cabin Crew Training, is a training program used by PAL specifically designed for those who already have flying experience. In this instance, the batch consisted of cabin crew members from PALexpress, all with previous flying experience, ranging from those who started in 2019 to those with over 19 years in the skies. Despite some of them returning as juniors in Philippine Airlines, they didn’t mind, as their long-term goal was to fly for PAL.
Each member of AirAsia Philippines Batch 48 and PAL AICCT2301 has their own unique and inspiring story. One individual has been flying for 19 years, starting her career with Air Philippines before transitioning through several name changes and ultimately joining PALexpress. Even though she’s now a junior in Philippine Airlines, her dream has come true by flying with her preferred airline.
I interviewed two flight attendants, one who took 17 attempts and another who took 19 attempts to finally become cabin crew members for the Philippine national flag carrier. They never allowed discouragement or failure to deter them from pursuing their dreams.
All these flight attendants, from both Philippine Airlines and AirAsia Philippines, have their own stories to share. However, there is one common thread that stands out to me: flying is not solely about money and layovers. It’s about the love of serving people and ensuring their safe journey from point A to point B. It’s about helping others, discovering your passion, setting high goals, dreaming big, and doing what you love.
Congratulations to Philippine Airlines AICCT2301 and AirAsia Philippines Batch 48! I can’t wait to be a passenger in one of your flights soon!
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!
