Practice English Listening B2 Exercises – Flying high

1   Because she always wanted to travel, and saw an advert in the newspaper.

2   customer service (= how to look after passengers), relations (= public relations)

3   safety training (e.g. how to deal with fires, evacuations, water landing, passengers) and immediate care.

4   someone outgoing (= extrovert), who can work well in a team, someone who is competent and confident in what they do

5   Good side: you see the world. Bad side: sick bags (i.e. passengers being sick), gruelling on your social life (= it’s hard to have a normal social life)

I = interviewer, H = Hayley Levine

I    Hayley Levine is a flight attendant for First Choice Airways. What made you want to be a flight attendant?

H   I never really wanted to be a flight attendant, I just kind of knew that I always wanted to travel, always had this idea that I wanted to see the world, saw an advert in a newspaper, went for interview, got the job and loved it. So, and it’s definitely for me, definitely.

I    What kind of training did you have?

H   Hi order to become a flight attendant, you have your group interview first, you’re singled out, you have a one-on-one interview, and then if you pass that stage, you go on to your training which is five weeks: first week’s all about customer service, relations, things like that, and then you go on to all your safety training which if four weeks’ intensive training, you know, how to deal with fires, evacuations, water landing, passengers and then you’re also, you’re quite well trained on immediate care, so you know, that’s quite an important part of our job, if something happens up in the air, something medical, you know, you need to be trained to deal with it quickly, efficiently.

I    What kind of person do you think the airlines are looking for? I mean what kind of person makes a good flight attendant?

H   I don’t know exactly what they’re looking for but I can only think they look for someone who’s quite outgoing, someone who can work quite well in a team, you have to be a certain kind of character to do what we do, I mean you fly with different people every day, you know, you go into work anything could happen, there’s thousands and thousands of crew, you don’t work with the same people, you need to be able to just get on with people that you’ve never met before, work under pressure sometimes, so I think they’re looking for someone who is, you know, quite competent in what they do, quite confident, just someone who’s a team player really.

I    Tell me, what do you think are good and bad sides of the job?

H   Good sides, obviously I get to see the world pretty much for free. I mean it’s amazing, you couldn’t ask for anything more really.

Bad sides, would be sick bags, probably, and obviously it’s really gruelling on your social life, it’s more like a way of living than a job. You know, you have to work around it. So…, but yeah, it’s good. I wouldn’t change it for the world.

I    Are there any other downsides?

H   Probably the jet lag, that’s quite bad. Definitely, you do suffer a lot, but you know, it’s part of the job. You just sort of get on with it.

I    Have you got any tips for dealing with jet lag?

H   Tips? I don’t wear a watch, sometimes that helps. And if you’re going sort of east, just try and stay up, just try and fight the jet lag, that’s the best way. There isn’t really a cure for it. I definitely find it easier going east than I do west. I don’t know why that is.

1   Try to talk to them and calm them down.

2   They usually let you know, they walk on shaking, or ask for vodka.

3   There was one man who was very scared of flying. She tried to calm him down but just before take-off he had a panic attack, and tried to open the emergency exit door. They had to take him off the plane.

4   She has never had to do it and hopes she never will. She never feels nervous or afraid. She feels really safe.

I    You must come into contact with a lot of passengers who are afraid of flying. How do you deal with this?

H   A lot of passengers are afraid of flying. There’s not really a lot you can do. Just try and sit and talk to them, calm them down. I think your confidence is sort of always a good booster, as well if they know that you’re competent in what you do, I think that helps. Most of them are OK after take-off, it’s just that initial getting into the air, and then they’re all right.

I    How can you tell if someone’s scared?

H   If they’re a scared flyer, they do usually let you know, or they walk on shaking so much that it’s pretty obvious that they’re scared of flying. You do feel sorry for them. Everyone’s scared of something. But, yeah, they usually make themselves known. Or some straight up and ask for vodka. That’s when you usually know someone’s scared of flying. I did have a guy once, though, just before take-off and he was really really scared of flying and I’d spent a good half an hour with him before the flight trying to calm him down and we just got towards take-off and he tried to open the emergency exit door. He was having a panic attack. So, yeah, that was probably the worst thing. He didn’t want to fly, we got him off. Poor guy, I felt really sorry for him.

I    Have you ever been in a dangerous situation, for example, have you had to evacuate a plane?

H   I’ve never had to evacuate an aircraft, never, and hopefully never will. But we’re trained to do that, so, you know, really well trained to do that, but hopefully nothing like that will ever happen. Never even remotely come close to it. So, that’s good.

I    Have you ever felt nervous or frightened on a flight?

H   No, not really. Never, actually. I think the worst thing is probably a bit of turbulence, but to be honest, that’s an excuse to sit down and have a cup of tea. So, you know, no, I’ve never really felt frightened in the air. I feel really safe up there, really safe, otherwise I wouldn’t do it.