Not all it seems - Cabin Crew British Airways Employee Review

I first applied for cabin crew with British Airways as it came up on my Facebook when one of my friends had shared the link. I had just been through an awful break up and believed this was a sign to do something amazing. 6 months later, I got the job and I was over the moon. The training process was a nightmare for me as we were one of the first groups to become ‘apprentices’ and so the training was very different and new. During my training I met some amazing people that are still close friends of mine and I did thoroughly enjoy it. However, this job is not all it seems. I only found this out once I got on board and started flying. CSM (customer service managers) are in charge of crew and so what they say goes. HOWEVER you never know what crew you’re going to get before a day at work and everyday you meet new colleagues. This would always give me anxiety before going into a briefing room as I’m about to spend the next few days somewhere far away with people I have never met nor know of. I’m quite naive and believed I would get along with anyone so this never bothered me at first. Until I would have a bad trip with bad crew and the anxiety would come rushing back. When I say ‘bad crew’ I don’t mean people I didn’t click with. I mean CSM’ s that have given me instant feedback due to my name badge being ‘too far along to the right’. CSM’s giving me feedback because I was wearing my cardigan because I was cold or I didn’t have any lipstick on in the taxi on the way to the airport because it was 4am and we had an hours taxi journey... The pettiness created from so called ‘CSM’s’ due to the power that went to their heads was ridiculous. And don’t get me wrong not every CSM was like this, and it was great when you really got on with a CSM. However, their are some out there that will take it too far. If they don’t like you, they can write anything about you, called ‘instant feedback’ and there’s nothing you can do to challenge. The thing that affected me the most was being away from home for sometimes a very long time. Not being able to get along with the crew or worrying that someone doesn’t like you etc... they single you out when you’re new and it’s very difficult to almost ‘prove’ yourself worthy, because as soon as they hear ‘apprentice’ you’ve already been downgraded on the friend list. I used to commute from the south west when I worked here. There was an awful time I was late for work due to witnessing a car crash and then a few days later I had some problems with my car on the way to work and I was late again. These things all seem to happen at the same time and I apologised and explained what had happened. An IBM (can’t remember what that stands for) called me over for a chat as I had missed my flight and been put on standby. She was very short with me and didn’t want to hear why I was late, I explained the car crash earlier in the week and she didn’t even ask if I was ok. She was just too concerned about me being late twice and that my jacket wasn’t done up. It made me feel empty and alone, like the company never cared about me and yes I was late twice. But what about all the time I was delayed in another country due to cancelled flights etc! You never got a thank you for that but then if the shoe was on the other foot you never got help or an understanding boss! They say they’ve got crew care on standby which is a phone service where you can speak to someone. It’s very good if you feel down/upset/angry about anything work or not work related. However my mental health declined rapidly whilst working here due to long hours and personal changes in my home life. I approached my manager for help and explained my increase in dose of sertraline and that I was struggling. He sent an email back a week later that simply said ‘please contact crew care’ - I felt ‘fobbed’ off by him and like I was just another staff number to him. I’ve never felt so low in my life working here. And I would not recommend it to anyone who is sensitive like me. I’ve never physically cried so much at work in my life and I would not wish that on anyone! I did meet some great people and see some amazing places including the Bahamas! However, you are never there long enough and you don’t share these memories with people that are close in your life, you share them with people you met 24 hours earlier, who you may not even get along with. It’s not as good as it sounds and I got such a shock when I started flying. I would say it’s only for a certain type of person! And if it suits you, you will thrive! I just want people to be aware of my experience and maybe think twice about applying for something like this!