24th Oct 2013, I made my last flight back to Singapore from London as a Singapore Girl. A life long dream I’ve had and checked off. And at this point of writing, that is almost 5.5 years ago. But there are some crew habits that I still do till now as well as some lessons I had the privilege of learning from my days of flying.

I found my Kebaya recently and MANAGED TO FIT IN!!! MWAHAHAHAHaaaaa

Habits that I can’t kick till date

Toilet paper

Let’s start off with a funny one. I CANNOT stand toilet paper that is put in the wrong way round. I’ve actually subconsciously swapped some around in public toilets. Unless you have a CAT, there is no reason why your toilet paper is inserted the wrong way round.

Holding the front of my skirt when running or walking fast

This is a strange one. If you have seen the SQ kebaya, there is a slit running down the front, you can read more interesting things about the uniform here. So for some strange reason, I will grab the imaginary slit.

Things I do on flight

From packing an extra set of clothes in my cabin bag, to never wearing slippers or heels on flight, to always looking for emergency exits as well as sitting with my fit planted on the cabin floor during takeoff and landing. Yeah some things never change. That includes thanking the crew for the flight when we land.

Living out of a cargo bag for a while after coming home from holiday

This is more of a reminiscing then a habit. Maybe subconsciously I want to fly off again soon?

Cleaning toilets on flight

Not full on with sprays and gloves but I’ll make sure at least the basins are dry and there is tissue in the compartments.

Fun and silly habits aside, there are some life lessons that are precious to me even till this day. My time in SIA has shaped me quite a bit and I am proud to say I am a better person because of that.

Lessons I’ve learned in SIA

The ability to talk to anyone about anything

I re cultivated my love for reading and learning new things when I was in SIA. Knowing a little in everything from management to business to art and even politics has allowed me to be able to hold a conversation with anyone.

But the main lesson I learn is the art of starting a conversation first. This has helped me so much in business post-SIA days and it is a skill honed by taking to thousand and thousands of strangers

Smile always, that’s winning half the battle

It’s not just a plastered smile on your face but there are actually many benefits as well as research on how a smile is beneficial for you on a physical and mental level

Everything is much much better when approached with a smile. Unless your smile is creepy.. then I can’t help you. But you can practice!

Appreciate service staff

There are 2 kinds of person never to offend, your boss and the person who makes your food. Well, you know the reason for both.

But what I learn is that a please or a thank you can make someone’s day. They might have a shitty day already but just being in contact with people who appreciates them does help make work a lot more bearable

Plus it shows your upbringing!

Be nice!

There are enough nasty people in the world and being nice actually makes a difference. Everyone loves to be around a nice person, so why don’t you be just that? I have passengers who treated me like a servant before and at the end of the day, being nice to her wins me the respect of others around her. That’s priceless!

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind!

Knowing when to call quits

This came at the very end of my flying career. Being a Singapore Girl is an awesome job and when you get an off day, you really get an off day and there is no homework to bring home. but after 2 years, I knew I wanted something more. I knew I had other dreams that I wanted to chase. And knowing how damaging flying everyday is to my body, I decided to walk away from the job I loved.

But that actually taught me a lot in letting go and stepping into the unknown.

Finally, sometimes friends you have around you are who you call family away from home

I lost count how many times my crew on flight stepped in to help out on everything. I remembered a few instances.

One where I was called up to fly to Moscow in the dead of winter 3 hrs before take off for my first few standbys and not having flown to a cold country at such short notice before, there were a lot of things I don’t have to keep warm. A stewardess stepped in and lent me her extra scarf as well as earmuffs. Another leading steward gave me all his hand warmers since he is staying in and has been to Moscow many times. So I actually got to explore it first time ever!

Another was a flight to Beijing, where I was the most junior crew and was picked on by the leading stewardess (yes it happens). She got us to start prepping the trolleys when the plane was still climbing after take off. And as fate has it, she stored some bottles of wine in a compartment where she was not supposed to, and when she opened the door, the wine bottles rolled out and crashed into my head. I was knocked out for a second and thank God a steward blocked the second one that was heading for the back of my neck.

So I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed recalling my SIA days. Feel free to ask me anything regarding my time in SIA and I will try to answer as much as I can! And for tips for the upcoming SIA interviews, here is my 2 cents worth regarding one of the hardest interviews there is.

Love! Samantha