Journey of a Reluctant Air Steward: Unique insights into the airline industry: For men who want to fly...

By Simon J. Marton

As featured in The Sunday Times: "Small Ads: Big Story"; The Daily Mail, The Express, BBC Radio, Business Insider, Sorted magazine, The Sun and The Daily Star. For anyone interested in what goes on behind the scenes in a cabin crew member's world. The tale of a young man's foray into the airline industry, coming in without any qualifications nor any experience, save a restaurant that he nearly burnt down by mistake, and working a summer season on a Greek island which gave him the confidence to start the ball rolling. The adventure unravels, telling how he got his foot in the door of an industry which seems so glamorous, but is a little bit taped-up behind the scenes. His interviewers resemble Freddie Mercury and even his dog cries when he lands his first contract. You see him get trained, developing and climbing up the ranks, and have his first hand sensation of being slightly out of control and vulnerable up there in the skies. He explains how the industry learns from tragedies to improve safety, how he was looked after in Baghdad, and what a TCAS alert is. Later, he is given a radio and a Ford Fiesta with a flashing light on top which is the pinnacle of his career thus-far. He describes the science of aircraft weight and balance, opens a private Greek-Cypriot taverna behind the Avis counter, and shows how foraging works on a quiet afternoon. He exits the airline field a while as he engages in humanitarian work, ending up in the Caribbean, Africa and the Middle East. He explores the psychology of passengers and crew members, and how typical flights work from a crew member's perspective, and tries to put himself in a traveller's position to understand the stresses of actually making it through the airport to the aircraft itself. Facts and anecdotes about colleagues and particularly memorable flights are interspersed with frequent comedy and occasional sadness, as you realise that he is a straight man who feels somewhat lost and bereft of identity, just like Spiderman. Except Spiderman probably never had to deal with gay guys wanting to see what colour underwear he was wearing in an aircraft galley. 'Empty Airports' centres around the soullessness of modern airports he has visited and insights into their backgrounds. He expounds on terrorism/rocket-propelled grenades, sneaking back into the airport to sleep somewhere and avoiding Barbary apes. He returns to the industry but finds it a disappointing experience and lasts 18 months, but in that time stands his ground with First class passengers and colleagues who try to undermine him. Long haul, short haul and travel to and from work all play a role in his health as he has more on his plate than most, being a family man a hundred miles away from his base. He retires from the industry not with a week at a 5* in Dubai, but with a modest family holiday to the Isle of Wight. But he still looks up when a Boeing goes overhead....

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1075242754
• ISBN13: 9781075242755
• Release Date: June 2019
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 247 Pages
• Weight: 0.73 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.6" x 5.5"