The Dubai Diaries

My life as a flight attendant in the Middle East!

January Roster

Just like that, 2020 is upon us! The past year flew by so quickly, and I feel like sometimes I just live waiting for the roster each month.

Whilst I haven’t made any New Year’s resolutions as such, I will try my hardest to make the most of all of my layovers, and get out and explore as much as possible!

As for this month’s roster, here goes:

  • LIS – Lisbon, Portugal
  • PEK – Beijing, China
  • SYD – CHC – Sydney, Australia & Christchurch, New Zealand
  • KUL – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • JED – Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (turnaround)
  • ARN – Stockholm, Sweden

Sadly I didn’t get a single one of my bids, but I did have my top bid month in December, so wasn’t expecting too much. Not my favourite roster I’ve ever had, but it could be worse!

I started the month (and year!) off with a flight to Lisbon – although it was quiet it was very long at just over 8 hours there. Having been to Lisbon on holiday previously, I had a quiet layover with a bit of browsing round the shops, although it was super busy with post-Christmas shoppers.

Next up is Beijing – a destination I haven’t visited in a while. I tried to swap this flight but with no success, so I’ll see what the rest of the crew fancy doing when I’m there. 

Following on from that is a multi-sector trip to Sydney and Christchurch. I also tried to swap this one as I’ve only just been to Sydney, and I’d rather do shorter flights, but there are so many swap legalities that it was impossible. Hopefully the smoke from the awful bushfires doesn’t get any worse. 

After my multi-sector down under, it’s back to Asia, with a trip to Kuala Lumpur. It’s actually been a year since I last visited, but the timing of this flight is not ideal – we fly through the night from Dubai and get there early morning.

Then I have a quick turnaround to Jeddah and back, let’s hope it’s uneventful. Once again not great timing – leaving Dubai at midnight and getting back at 8am.

My last flight of the month is to Stockholm, the one I’m looking forward to the most! I’m really hoping for some snow, as I haven’t been anywhere with snow yet this winter.

And that’s it for January 2020… I wonder where else this year will take me!

P.s. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter for more day-to-day updates of where I am in the world! 🙂

Christmas Markets in Vienna

Vienna at Christmastime is truly special, and I feel very lucky that I was able to visit twice in December! 

Of course the main thing I wanted to do was visit the Christmas market, or “Christkindlmarkt” as it’s known in German. Having lived in Austria for 6 years, I know how festive and pretty they are.

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Unfortunately the market in Vienna has strict timings, and closes at 9pm on the dot, unlike what I remember from Klagenfurt (where I lived) where the Glühwein stands would stay open much later.

We made our way straight from the hotel after landing to catch the last hour os so before they closed and be able to enjoy a festive mulled wine.

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Brunch & Beach in Melbourne

I had a great layover in Melbourne, Australia not so long ago. My cousin Sarah, who lives there, was able to get a day off work, so we could spend the day together exploring!

Having visited Melbourne quite a few times now, I’ve seen a fair bit of the city, so Sarah decided to take me out to the beach.

Not before a hearty brunch of course, what Melbourne does best!

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December Roster

The final roster of 2019 is here! It’s been a great year and I’ve visited many of my favourite destinations, as well as a few new ones.

I’ve also worked my way up from FG1 (first class crew) to CSV (cabin supervisor) which has been a new challenge but something that I am enjoying so far, although it’s very different!

I haven’t been posting much on here the past few months as I’ve been preparing things for my CSV “pool”, as it’s called – the 6 month probation period that we have to pass. 

For the last month of the year I’ll be heading off to some familiar destinations and hopefully enjoying the Christmas spirit around the world! My roster next month looks like this:

  • SEP 
  • VIE – Vienna, Austria
  • SYD – Sydney, Australia
  • CAI – Cairo, Egypt (turnaround)
  • AMS – Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • Leave
  • VIE – Vienna, Austria

First up are my annual exams – time to get studying! We have 2 full-on days of exams every year and this time it’s at the beginning of the month, which means I can get them out of the way before Christmas.

Then I have a trip to Vienna which I’m very excited about – I love Austria at Christmastime and I’ll definitely be checking out the beautiful markets and drinking some Glühwein!

Following on from that, a 43 hour layover in Sydney. This is a bit longer than our usual Australian layovers so I’m very much looking forward to 2 days Down Under. While I’m there it’ll also be exactly 7 years since I joined Emirates and moved to Dubai!

After that is my one turnaround of the month, Cairo. A fairly long day as the flights are around 3,5 – 4 hours each way … but at least it’s not as long as the two Istanbul turnarounds I’ve just done!

Then I have a flight to Amsterdam – I think it’s been around 2 years since I last visited. I’ll definitely be going into the city and having a wander around as it’s such a beautiful place.

That’s the last flight before my leave, which I’ll be spending at home with my family of course! It’s over Christmas which I’m very happy about, and although we usually spend it in Austria I think we’re planning to stay in England this year. Looking quite unlikely for a white Christmas but you never know!

My final flight of the year is another layover in Vienna. I’ll be landing back into Dubai  just before midnight on New Year’s Eve – so I’ll most likely be bringing in 2020 collecting blankets and headsets on the plane! 

Thanks as always for following along with my journey at Emirates and reading my blog!

P.s. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter for more day-to-day updates of where I am in the world! 🙂

November Roster

The second last roster of the year is already here! I’m sure I say it in every post but I just can’t quite believe how quickly this year has sped by.

I have so many posts to catch up on – mainly from my incredible holiday to the Dominican Republic with Lizzie, my sister, but I promise I will get round to posting them eventually.

As you may know, I started my new role as Cabin Supervisor in October. It’s been a big change and a new challenge for me but so far I’ve been thoroughly enjoying it!

Rather annoyingly I got barotrauma and was signed off for a week by the doctor, so missed out on one of my flights home. Of course, health comes first and there’s nothing worse than flying with blocked ears.

As for next month, I got quite a few of my bids (as well as some not-so-desirable turnarounds thrown in there!) so I’m quite happy with my roster. I’ll be jetting off to:

  • ZRH – Zurich, Switzerland
  • ZRH – Zurich, Switzerland
  • MRU – Mauritius
  • STN – London Stansted, UK
  • IST – Istanbul, Turkey (Turnaround)
  • IST – Istanbul, Turkey (Turnaround)
  • STN – London Stansted, UK

Starting off with two trips to Zurich, Switzerland. By this time Autumn will be in full swing and I’m looking forward to some crisp cold weather and perhaps a delicious cheese fondue!

In between the two flights I have a few days off and my cousin Sarah is coming to stay with me in Dubai, so it’ll be round two of tourist duties, after my brother and his girlfriend came in September. We’re having a little staycation for one night in a hotel though so I can’t wait!

After that is Mauritius – a destination I haven’t been to in quite a while! I can’t wait – we stay at a lovely resort right on the beach and I plan to fully maximise my relaxation time.

Following on from my mini holiday in the sun, I have a flight to Stansted, home! Sadly the layover has been reduced from 30 hours to 24 hours (due to the launch of the second daily flight in summer) but it’s still great that I get paid to fly home and spend time with my family. 

Next up – two turnarounds to Istanbul! I’ll be honest, not my favourite flight, as it’s a very long day (4,5 hours flight time each way) and quite tiring. I actually had Beirut (also a turnaround) instead of the second Istanbul, but just got a roster change. 

Last up is another Stansted layover. Some of my siblings should be at home at the same time which will be lovely.

Before we know it it’ll be time for the December roster, Christmas, New Year’s, and then 2020! 

P.s. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter for more day-to-day updates of where I am in the world! 🙂