Crew on Reserve

Reserve line is one of the peeves of cabin crew. Sometimes, it can be advantageous, but most of the time not. Reserve means being on standby or on-call, waiting for a call from the check hostess or crew scheduler who will assign you a flight to any destination.

There are 2 shifts given to us. A Shift starts from 3 am until 3pm, whereas B Shift is from 3pm-3 am. You should be ready in between. Because sometimes, you only have 10 minutes to prepare. Usually, you are the substitute for crew who is sick or simply cannot operate the flight.

I, myself, never wanted to see this on my roster. But I did last July.

My supposed-to-be flying partner Jessica and I unfortunately had reserve lines. We were not the most junior thou! But marked by my lack of responsibility, we passed the bid sheet after the deadline (which we were not aware of).

Gloominess pervaded in us.

Our schedule was a headache. We even got low flying hours, which is equal to low salary. Cabin crew are paid an hourly wage after reaching certain minimum flying hours. We prayed to get 2 or more layovers. Jessica got Cochin layover. And guess what? Manila layover was given to me.

I spent my days off in the Philippines from July 13 until 19, 2015. On October 22, I was sleeping soundly. I had been snoring since 6 pm. Suddenly, I received a call from the check hostess at 3 am, telling me I need to prepare within 10 minutes because I will be having a 47-hour layover in Manila. Yay! I was shaking while packing my things. I got rattled and giddy at the same time.

Manila flights are mostly operated by our Filipina seniors who are flying for 5-15 years and are already Manila-based. Of course, I was nervous working with these highly experienced crew. Everything was smooth and organized. Wow!

Before the aircraft took off, I just inboxed my sister about my unexpected layover and also asked her to relay it to my parents.

 

Rain was pouring when we landed. The supervisor, purser, and I were accompanied by Sofitel personnel to their hotel. When I disembarked the van, I saw my parents, cousin, and Uncle June all smiles and all eyes on me. I could feel how proud they were as they eyed me on my blue uniform. It was their first time to personally see me in it.

I just took my room key card, had dinner at MOA and went with them to Pampanga. The could stay in my hotel room. However, due to this sudden occurrence, they were not able to bring clothes and my little sister was still in school. I slept at home and went on an errand the next day. Jet lag has no room for flight attendants like me. Lol!

In the afternoon, my whole family with my cousin and his daughter drove me back to Sofitel. They mellowed out by the pool. After 2 hours, we dined at MOA. Then, dropped me back to the hotel.

 

I had wonderful Zzzzz's. I woke up early the next day to have my breakfast at the Spiral. Woooow! I was stunned by their buffet. They serve different dishes. And I like the idea of this crew biking around and offering newspapers PLUS the magtataho inside. Yay! The only thing I hate about Sofitel is the prohibition of DSLRs. One lady guard forbade me to use my DSLR. The reason she said was the camera creates a high-resolution images that can be zoomed in closer to the people in the background. Sofitel must be supporting the Anti-Selfie bill. Peace!

 

Afterwards, I just prepped myself for a flight back to Riyadh.

Before, I was not attracted to roster with Manila flight. I was like "Been seeing Manila ever since. There's nothing special about it. I'd rather choose Europe flights". But I ate my words! It is one for the books.

That's how I ended month of July with a reserve line. I am very, very happy with the layover I got but please no more reserve lines for me. Please? I will be responsible. I will always submit bid sheet before the deadline. Please?