Me, a flight attendant?

There I was, trying to stand tall but looking at least three inches shorter. Underneath the uniform and the full makeup, I was hoping no one could see that I was not really a flight attendant. Although the whole time, I knew my height (or the lack of it) was a dead giveaway.

I was in uniform and full make up, ready to do a role play for a day. Just for two legs (flights), I was going to become Cebu Pacific’s flight attendant and the moment I stepped on to the airport, I was already on the job.

Just a few hours earlier, I had wandered into the Airline Operations Center (AOC) of Cebu Pacific wearing my casual clothes and looking nothing like a flight attendant. And then I walked into the Inflight office and it all began — my transformation.

Putting on the uniform was quite easy. There was the orange and yellow polo blouse from Bench with its matching khaki skirt. Well, that was fine except that I had to struggle to put on a pair of beige stockings with it, too (that’s required). And then came the Cebu Pacific signature belt, which had to be fastened tightly around the waist. Next came the hair and makeup – ponytail kept neat for the hair and full makeup for the face. After a round of foundation, blush on, mascara, eyeliner, and lipstick, I emerged looking like the girls around me. Now, just one more thing: the shoes. Hush Puppies is Cebu Pacific’s women flight attendants’ official shoe outfitter. Each one receives a pair of brown or black high-heeled closed shoes, to be worn around the airport and one pair of brown flat closed shoes, to be worn inside the aircraft.

With my outfit on, I headed to the office of Rosita “Titit” Menchaca, Cebu Pacific’s vice president for Inflight Services for a very brief briefing: “You must always remember to smile. You will assist in cleaning the plane before passengers board, then you will greet passengers when they board, serve snacks, do the FunFlight games, assist in the onboard shopping, then greet passengers again when they leave the plane. In between those times, you will also have to retouch your makeup starting when you get to the airport.”

Whether a girl has a chance to become Cebu Pacific’s flight attendant or not, Titit has the final say. She takes pride in the airline’s inflight staff and she believes only the best can qualify. So wishing me good luck, she hands me a name plate. For the day, I will be known to everyone as “Karen.”

Afterwards, I met the four real flight attendants who would be onboard that day – our lead cabin crew Abigail “Abby” Aligang, Christine ”Tintin” Hernandez, Abigail “Abby” Rose Mary Capay and Priscilla “Pres” Aquino plus cabin crew supervisor, Christopher “Tupe” Tajanlangit. Tupe headed our briefing where he explained that I would be conducting the flight’s FunFlight games. It would just be a simple game of “Bring me.” “Up to you if you would like to give it a twist,” Tupe hinted.

And so after meeting with the crew, we went ahead for another meeting with the pilots. Captain Jose Donesa was the pilot for my flight that day along with First Officer Amelito Cobcobo. The captain’s instructions were swift and brief. Our flight to Legaspi was going to be rather short, approximately 55 minutes. Weather- permitting, we should be able to conduct our FunFlight games for the passengers. And in case of emergency evacuation and they are unconscious, we are to evacuate the passengers first. Other than that, we are all set.

As the crew boarded their shuttle to Terminal 3, I boarded a cab to enter the airport as a passenger since I was flying as a ticketed passenger, only in uniform. At the passenger entrance in the airport, people were somewhat bemused to find me there. After all, you don’t really see a flight attendant this side of the airport so often. As my friends from Cebu Pacific went ahead with check- in, I stood outside the counter, waiting until a woman tapped me on the arm and asked if she could already check in for her flight later in the afternoon. That was when it donned on me that I really was on the job already!

Minutes later, I arrived at the gate of my flight, flight 5J327 bound for Legaspi. All the other flight attendants plus the pilots were already there. And soon after, we boarded. Now comes my flight attendant crash course…

When we got inside the plane, we were greeted by the flight attendants who had just flown into Manila. They greeted us, “Safe flight,” before leaving the plane with their huge bags. And soon, Abby, Abby, Tintin, and Pres started preparing for the flight. They checked the cabins for any item that was left behind. They also checked the seats and pockets for trash. The snacks for sale were checked and soon, we started boarding.

The flight had 127 passengers that afternoon plus one infant. I stood by the aircraft’s entrance greeting everyone as Tintin did most of the boarding pass checks. Some would smile at you and greet you back while others would just walk you by. And surprisingly, not everyone would readily prepare their boarding passes for checking. To add to my initial anxiety, Tintin and I encountered one of those grumpy passengers who asked what took the boarding so long. And it would only be later, during the pilot’s announcement, that the matter was cleared up — a VIP’s private plane had to take off first.

Before takeoff, the ladies would do an initial compliance check – cabin storages must be closed and latched, window shades must be up, seat belts must be fastened, and everything must be stored under the seat in front. Nothing should also block the aircraft’s aisle. In case of emergency, passengers should readily be able to walk through it.

Upon takeoff, we waited for the seat belt sign to go off, allowing us to continue with our service. For some time now, Cebu Pacific had established itself as a premier low-cost carrier (LCC) in the country, changing its mission from providing a flight experience full of amenities to guests to providing guests with an on-time flight schedule that takes them to and from their destination in utmost safety. Becoming an LCC though has never stopped Cebu Pacific from caring for its passengers. In fact, its service continues to be warm and full of smiles.

At last, the seat belt sign goes off and I’m on for my next assignment, selling and serving Cebu Pacific’s snacks for sale. With a Chippy and a Nova in hand, I walked through the aircraft with the food cart rolling behind me, as I cheerfully announced, “Snacks for sale, snacks for sale!” I never expected so many passengers to be so hungry because at the end of our trip through the aisle, I had personally sold various bags of chips, a few croissant sandwiches, a cup of instant noodles, a few bottles of C2 iced tea, a Pepsi Max, and cup of coffee. Phew!

Now, once all were settled with their food and drinks, it was time for me to play host to Cebu Pacific’s famous FunFlight games. Tupe and I had been planning this moment since the plane’s takeoff. First, I had to do a brief intro and then, it was on to three rounds of a game of “Bring Me,” except this time, passengers weren’t coming to me. Since we were on a flight, we asked the passengers to raise the item up instead. The first one to raise it up wins the prize. Up for grabs that day was the hot pink Cebu Pacific photo bag.

“Good afternoon, you are onboard Cebu Pacific flight 5J327 bound for Legaspi,” I announced over the plane’s PA system as I began. “And it’s once again, time for Cebu Pacific’s fun games. Today, we’ll be giving away some Cebu Pacific photo bags. Now, are you ready?” I asked an excited crowd who was already eyeing the prize. They cheered yes and off the game went.

I only asked for three things, a boarding pass, a safety information card, and a cellular phone charger. The crowd went quite crazy, especially for the last one. And for those who did not win anything, we said they could still get something through our onboard shop. I joined the lady crewmembers as they walked through the aisle again with a cart full of Cebu Pacific souvenirs. The girls all put some shades on, to which Abby C. said, “Helps us sell the item more.” In my case, I grabbed a replica of the aircraft which is prized at P500 and a cute cube puzzle for kids. And then, we took one trip across the aisle.

Before long, we would be landing and the Legaspi skies were quite turbulent. Since I was dressed as a flight attendant, I could not run in panic as I made my way back down the aisle during this time. Instead, I calmly did my best to do a final round of compliance check as I made my way back to the front of the plane.

As the passengers disembarked, it took the cabin crew less than 30 minutes to prepare the plane for the boarding of guests bound for Manila from Legaspi. Cebu Pacific flies the Manila to Legaspi route three times daily and Cebu to Legaspi four times daily. In fact, it is the only airline flying between the Visayas and the Bicol region.

And so, after a brief glimpse of Legaspi and its famous Mayon Volcano, we took off again. We were headed back to Manila and my day as a flight attendant was coming to an end. Soon after, I heard Tintin’s announcement which wrapped up my day, “This have been Abby, Abby, Pres, Tintin, and Karen. Thank you for flying with us.”

* * *

If you are 18-25 years old and at least 5’3” in height, you may apply to become Cebu Pacific’s flight attendant. For the moment, the airline is hiring female flight attendants only.