Business Class to Manchester

I recently flew my very first trip working in business class. When I got my October roster I have to say I wasn’t particularly excited at the prospect of 3 UK flights, and the whole month on the A380.

However my best friend Lucy has recently finished uni and moved to Manchester, so I had something to look forward to after the flight!

Luckily the flight was only half full in business, so it was a great way to start. The service is so different to working in economy; it’s very personalised and you work more with your “buddy” for the whole flight. I had a great buddy who was very understanding that it was my first flight and that I had no clue where anything was!

Once we landed into Manchester we stepped out of the plane to a beautiful sunny day and crisp fresh air.

IMG_6449

While we were waiting for the bus we were sat watching all of the planes taking off and landing, lovely!

IMG_6550

Lucy managed to get the afternoon off work (I think she may have promised her boss free tickets, not sure how I’ll manage that one!) and came to meet me at the train station. It’s only a short ride from our hotel into the city so we had most of the afternoon and evening to spend together!

And of course we did what we do best…. shopping! I’m pretty sure at one point we got lost in Primark, that’s how big it is in Manchester!

For dinner Lucy suggested a restaurant that she’d been to a while ago called The Splendid Sausage Company. As you can guess from the name it specialises in all sorts of posh hot dogs!

IMG_6452

Our very friendly waiter extended happy hour for us and we shared a bottle of wine for less than the price of one glass in Dubai!

IMG_6453

I know I just said the restaurant specialises in hot dogs, however when I saw one of the burgers I just couldn’t resist. (This is probably why my uniform feels a bit tighter every flight! πŸ˜‰ ) It was smothered in melty cheese, pulled rib meat, caramelised onion, bacon, coleslaw and more! SO yummy!

IMG_6460IMG_6468

Even though we were absolutely stuffed it would have been a crime not to share one of their delicious waffles!

IMG_6469

We sat enjoying the rest of our wine before realising we should probably start heading home, as I had a train to catch and Lucy had to get a tram and then a car journey to get home.

The next day I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before getting ready for the flight home. I was assigned to work in the bar/lounge which I was looking forward to! I’m a pretty chatty person so I was excited to be making drinks and just chatting to the passengers.

I had briefly mentioned that we would be landing on my birthday, so towards the end of the flight one of the girls came and told me she’d arranged for me to sit in the cockpit for landing! So exciting!!

As the captain made his PA that we would be starting our descent into Dubai, I quickly packed away my things, grabbed my hat and headed downstairs to the cockpit. The jumpseat is right in-between the pilots’ seats so I had an incredible view flying over Dubai and landing into the airport.

IMG_6476

Coming over Dubai you can actually see the Burj Khalifa sparkling, usually I see it from my jumpseat but it was even better from the cockpit!

IMG_6483

Once we landed in Dubai (and I turned 23!) I went back upstairs to help with all of our post-landing duties. All of the crew in business class were waiting in the lounge and they surprised me completely with cake, chocolates and a card signed by everyone! So sweet πŸ™‚

IMG_6521

All in all it was a great first flight in business – I got to see my best friend, sit in the cockpit for landing and got a lovely birthday surprise! And best of all – I didn’t spill red wine or tomato soup down anyone!

P.s. For more regular updates please follow me on Instagram and Twitter @rachelwwilson!

24 Comments

  1. Anonymous
    October 18, 2014 / 3:17 am

    how is the service different in business class compared to economy? πŸ™‚

    • October 25, 2014 / 11:07 pm

      I guess it’s a lot more personal; we introduce ourselves to everybody individually, we take meal orders (more like a restaurant) rather than just going through the cabin with the carts, all the crockery is china/glass rather than plastic, those sorts of things! πŸ™‚

  2. October 16, 2014 / 3:05 pm

    Flugbegleiterin war immer mein Traumjob als Kind. Ich stelle mir das aber echt stressig vor! Ist es stressig? Wie ist es denn wenn man nen Partner hat? Wie sieht denn so ein Monat von dir aus?

    • October 25, 2014 / 11:05 pm

      Ja es kann schon stressig werden, aber es macht spaß also ist das ja recht egal πŸ™‚ Naja es ist jedes Monat anders, z.B. in November fliege ich nach JFK, London, MΓΌnchen, Singapur, Beijing, Paris!

  3. October 15, 2014 / 11:40 pm

    Yay great post! I am very excited to look for this restaurant it is my birthday soon and I LOVE burgers so am looking forward to hopefully checking it out! Yay! I saw someone else asked about first class will you get to work there as well? How exciting! I got to fly on the A380 I really enjoyed it the bar was AMAZING! I also made a good new friend Karen in the bar another lady on the flight! Amanda xx http://thisluxlife.com

    • October 16, 2014 / 1:40 pm

      Aw yes it was awesome, definitely check it out if you get a chance! Hopefully I’ll be able to move up to first class within a year or 2, depending on what they need I guess! Wow glad you enjoyed the 380 and got to check out the bar! πŸ™‚

  4. Chiara
    October 15, 2014 / 9:49 pm

    Hi, i want to know if Emirates accepts girls that use glasses!! Thanks, and i love the blog!

    • October 16, 2014 / 1:33 pm

      Hi there! Yes of course, I wear my glasses onboard sometimes, mostly on night flights when I don’t want to use my contacts! They just have to conform to image and uniform standards.

  5. Anonymous
    October 15, 2014 / 6:29 am

    Hi! when can you move up to first class?

  6. Anonymous
    October 14, 2014 / 9:21 pm

    Hello Rachel, thanks for sharing you adventures! I know you’ve got many questions, but I have a little curiosity about hair standard: cabin crew with short hair -just above the shoulders for example- must have straight hair or can have wavy/curly hair too?
    By the way, do you like working in bussiness?? :)) Have a good time and thanks!

    • October 16, 2014 / 1:32 pm

      Hi there! I’m pretty certain you can have curly hair as well! The only thing with short hair is that it’s not allowed to touch the collar of the jacket, so most girls have to tie it up anyway. And yes, I’m loving working in business class! πŸ™‚

  7. kate.c
    October 14, 2014 / 4:42 am

    Hello, reading your blog, i was wondering Emirates cabin crew can get business class ticket using zed or id ticket? I heard emirates does not offer this benefit but some of my friends said, if booked to the airlines such as lufthansa, etihad, they can get discounted business class even they are Emrates crew, is it true?

    • October 16, 2014 / 1:29 pm

      Hi there! No unfortunately we can only get economy on all airlines. Pursers and flight deck crew can get standby business class tickets but not on any other airlines.

  8. JoΓ£o Ferreira
    October 13, 2014 / 3:05 am

    Goog evening Rachel

    Can you tell me if there is a maximum age limit to apply for cabin crew position in emirates ??

    I was planning on attending an open day in my country but wouldnΒ΄t like to travel 500Km for it and get sent back because iΒ΄m too old πŸ˜€ i canΒ΄t seem to find that information on the Emirates career site.

    And its a great blog really appreciate it

    • October 16, 2014 / 1:28 pm

      Hi there! I’m not certain if there is a maximum age that is written anywhere, but from what I’ve heard it’s probably around 30, although of course there are always exceptions! πŸ™‚ Good luck!

  9. October 12, 2014 / 1:00 pm

    What do the pursers do during the flight? Do they specifically help in first class or do they do other duties?

    • October 16, 2014 / 1:27 pm

      Yes they help in first class, and also in any other cabin if they have time. They are in charge of everything on the plane (other than flying it, obviously :P) so they just oversee everything and make sure it all runs smoothly! πŸ™‚

  10. October 12, 2014 / 12:57 pm

    Hi Rachel, what is a cabin service attendant? What is their role, is it different to a flight attendant and how do you become one? πŸ™‚

    • October 16, 2014 / 1:26 pm

      They are in charge of the shower spa onboard the A380. I’m guessing the recruitment process is pretty similar to cabin crew! They don’t do any safety and emergency training so they are only service related. Hope this helps! πŸ™‚

  11. Anonymous
    October 12, 2014 / 1:04 am

    Are there any Muslim flight attendants? Specifically ones that wear a hijab?

    • October 12, 2014 / 11:41 am

      Yes there are lots! However none that wear the hijab, as it’s not part of the uniform. Only the ground staff are allowed to wear it, not the cabin crew πŸ™‚

  12. Ashley
    October 9, 2014 / 7:11 pm

    Hi, I was wondering if you know any flight attendants with Emirates that have children? If so, how do they manage living in Dubai (I saw the accommodations are shared) Do you get an allowance if you choose to not live in the compound? Thanks so much- love the blog!

    • October 12, 2014 / 11:41 am

      Yes there are loads that have children πŸ™‚ That’s exactly it – if you’re married and have children you get a “live-out allowance” and can choose to live where you want!

Leave a Reply