Flight Attendant’s Façade Cracks at Emirates

Cabin crew members for Emirates once called the airline “amazing.” But one flight attendant says that the glamour has faded, and claims of living tax-free in a “luxury apartment” never came to fruition, leaving her to commiserate with her coworkers about what life looks like outside of the Dubai-based carrier.

One Emirates flight attendant is accusing the carrier of lying to her about working and living conditions, while sharing allegations of difficulty managing employees inside the company. The blog airline-morale-never-lower-heres/” target=”_blank”>Paddle Your Own Kanoo published the story of a flight attendant who claims the airline is no longer the carrier she once longed to join.

The cabin crew member, going by the pseudonym “Agnieszka,” told the blog she was once excited to join the airline on promises of living in a “luxury apartment” in Dubai, while flying for one of the world’s premier airlines. When she was accepted for training, she left her European home to live in Dubai and take on the role that so many women vied for.

The “luxury apartments” turned out to be specially built tower apartments for Emirates’ crew members in the deserts, miles away from the downtown and beachfront. She told the blog that medical insurance plans force attendants to pay 30 percent of their own hospital bills, which can be exorbitantly high. If flyers take too many sick days, they can also see their pay grounded: Agnieszka claims that taking 15 days of sick leave results in a 50 percent pay cut.

What about flying accommodations? The anonymous flight attendant claimed that remodeled A380 aircraft no longer holds bunk room, leaving crew members to rest in jumpseats with only a curtain for privacy. Cabin Service Attendants, who take care of the shower spas on the Airbus A380 and are often often promised a future promotion to full service flight attendant, are allegedly paid a salary of $368 monthly with a low hourly flying rate.

Agnieszka tells the blog that while morale is low, flight attendants have no avenues of recourse. With no union, she claims flight attendants can get punished or even fired for speaking out against their bosses. Furthermore, she told the blog that she feels like she has “no freedom,” claiming the airline installs up to 18 surveillance cameras on their A380 aircraft to spy on employees. While she calls her previous memories “amazing,” she said there is little optimism things will improve.

This is not the first time Emirates has faced bad publicity over their alleged human resources policy. In 2014, a HuffPo interview airlines-groom-regulate-enforce-the-look-of-flight-attendants.html” target=”_blank”>revealed Emirates’ beauty standards, which were called into question. Emirates has not publicly responded to the flight attendant’s allegations.

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