Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

How Hong Kong’s former cabin crew members are taking off in new jobs

How Hong Kong’s former cabin crew members are taking off in new jobs

People skills, ability to deal with difficult customers, a plus for landing public-facing jobs.

Ivy To Wing-ying remembers being on the Cathay Dragon flight last July to Xiamen, in mainland China, as rumours swirled that the airline was about to shut down.

She was a flight attendant on board and, sceptical about the pessimistic talk, did not join in when the other cabin crew posed for photos as keepsakes.

Then the worst happened. In October, Hong Kong’s flagship carrier, Cathay Pacific Airways, axed more than 5,000 jobs in the city and closed its regional sister airline, Cathay Dragon.

The Covid-19 pandemic has crippled air travel and led to thousands in the aviation industry losing their jobs.


“We lost not only our jobs, but also our dreams,” says To, 30, who wanted to be a flight attendant from the time she was a child, and had been at the airline for seven years.

Overnight, she became one of thousands of cabin crew members who lost their jobs as the Covid-19 pandemic halted international travel, causing record losses at airlines everywhere, including Cathay.

Starting over in diverse new fields has been tough for many, but employers say the polish and professionalism from their airline experience have given former cabin crew a leg up in landing new jobs.

Ivy To is convinced her experience as a former cabin crew member has helped in her current job.


Amber Suen Tak-yin, vice-chairwoman of the Cathay Pacific Airways Flight Attendants Union, says the past six months have been difficult for those laid off.

“Some have stayed in the service industry, many have started jobs in the food and drink sector. Some have switched to administrative work,” says the 31-year-old, a flight attendant too. The union helped by providing information on courses and career talks.

Six weeks after being made redundant, To found work as a venue manager for Italian restaurant Crit Room, in Sheung Wan. Working from 11.30am to 10pm, five days a week, was a big change, but she is convinced her airline experience has helped.

“I don’t feel panicked if a customer is suddenly angry. We are trained to be calm no matter what happens,” she says.

Crit Room owner Barrie Ho Chow-lai, an architect, has hired four other former flight attendants, men and women, to work part-time at the restaurant.

“We do not have to worry about their standards,” he says. “The way they have been trained is absolutely perfect for the hospitality industry.”

Starting afresh is tough for some


After almost nine years at Cathay Dragon, Jasmine Lau was at a loss when she had to start looking for a new job last year.

The Hong Kong resident in her 30s says she sent out hundreds of resumes. At interviews, prospective employers often told her she was not the first former flight attendant shortlisted, and asked what made her exceptional.

“I had nearly nine years’ experience in customer service, but some employers disregarded that and treated me as a fresh graduate,” says Lau, adding that she became depressed and cried a lot.

She had worked in a bank for three years before becoming a flight attendant and was keen to go back to that sector. Two months into her job hunt, she was hired for a customer service role in an insurance company, earning slightly less than she did previously.

Her first day at work proved somewhat stressful, when she found herself with four other new hires all in their 20s. She recalls watching in amazement as her younger colleagues’ hands flew across their computer keyboards, while she typed much more slowly.

Michael Gazeley, managing director of Hong Kong-based cybersecurity firm Network Box Corporation, at his office in Kwai Chung.


Four months on, she says she can type just as fast. “I’m really proud of it,” she adds with a laugh.

Several major insurers have hired flight attendants and ground crew to cash in on their hospitality training and experience in dealing with customers face-to-face.

As of December 2020, Prudential hired more than 60 former airline workers. AIA, the largest life insurer in the city, also hired more from the industry last year.

Lau’s department at her new workplace includes four other former Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon cabin crew.

She says the soft skills they learned from flying, especially when dealing with demanding customers, are an asset.

Elaine Tsui Yuk-ling is confident that most former airline crew will land on their feet.

She spent only two years as a flight attendant for Cathay Pacific nearly two decades ago, but says the experience gave her a solid foundation for a 20-year career in public relations and marketing.

“The interpersonal skills I learned were priceless,” says the 45-year-old.

She is the co-founder of TeamStork, a start-up launched in January to provide “personal care assistants”, similar to traditional live-in Chinese confinement nannies who assist new mothers after childbirth.

Tsui has hired former Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon cabin crew and ground staff to work as personal care assistants.

Michael Gazeley, managing director of the Hong Kong-based cybersecurity firm Network Box Corporation, has interviewed seven former flight attendants for roles in marketing and sales.

“As a group, they generally speak several languages. They are incredibly professional. They are used to dealing with the most difficult of people in the most difficult of circumstances,” says the 54-year-old, who was born in Hong Kong.

He hopes to fill five roles, with former flight attendants being among his top choices.

Hobby turns into new business


When flights were grounded last year, flight attendant Grace Chiu Sze-nga used her free time to work on her hobby, decorating cakes using the Korean flower piping technique. It led to her starting her own business, LazyG Cakes.

Married with two children, Chiu, 41, developed her passion by watching YouTube videos in 2019, using soy bean paste from Korea to make intricate flowers and bouquets to arrange on cakes.

Unable to fly, she began practising three hours a day, often going to the Mong Kok flower market to buy fresh flowers to try and recreate, with roses being her favourite.

She now makes about 30 cakes a month at a factory in Tuen Mun, selling them for between HK$690 (US$89) and HK$1,300 each, and also runs workshops.

Former cabin crew member Grace Chiu.


Chiu markets her cakes online over Facebook and Instagram, shooting photos herself on her iPhone.

She started working for Cathay Dragon fresh out of Chinese University in 2001 and has no experience working anywhere else. Looking back, she says she never had the confidence to go into business until being laid off freed her to try.

She now feels fortunate to be doing something she loves and earning about the same as before. “It is a blessing,” she says. “God gave me another door to open.”

On days when she spends too much time at her workshop, she glances at a picture drawn by her six-year-old daughter, displayed on top of a refrigerator. It shows Chiu in a field of flowers, flanked by her daughter and 11-year-old son.

Grace Chiu has started online cake company LazyG Cakes.


“It is to remind me to go home,” she says.

While Chiu and others have put their flying days behind them as they embark on new paths, Isaac Leung Ka-fung cannot wait to take off again.

The 38-year-old worked for seven years as a ground staff before achieving his goal of becoming a flight attendant, and rose to purser over seven years of flying.

In January, he found a job as a personal steward to a Taiwanese businessman, managing the daily operations for the family.

He earns a decent salary, but says he misses the camaraderie with his cabin crew mates and is biding his time until the aviation industry recovers.

A new carrier, Greater Bay Airlines, may bring opportunities, he hopes.

“Once there are vacancies for cabin crew, I really want to go back to the airline industry. It is my dream,” he says.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×