Great Aussie Reads
  • Home
  • Why Read Australian?
  • Bookshelf
  • Reviews
  • Contact

Confessions Of A Qantas Flight Attendant by Owen Beddall (Reviewed by Simone)

18/8/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Having briefly contemplated a career as a flight attendant, I was eager to read this "tell all" account. Unlike a previous book I recently read which did not disclose the airline involved, Owen Beddall has not shied away from dishing the dirt on our national airline Qantas. Having left the company after a serious injury he is fair but forthright when he gives us a glimpse into the world of the flying kangaroo.

I love to travel and as I just mentioned I did briefly contemplate a career as a flight attendant. Fortunately for me a chance meeting with an old school friend who had just left the industry gave me enough insight to realise that being a flight attendant may look glamorous but in reality it is far from it. Owen confirms this as he details the decade he spent airborne both domestically and internationally. Such things as toilet emergencies and the hazards of the food trolley are explained with humour and honesty.

Owen joined Qantas after studying law at University and working in Hong Kong and London in recruitment agencies. Starting out on domestic routes, he later moved over to the more coveted international sector. He soon realised it was a very different experience for many reasons. Sure the destinations were much more exotic and back then the pay, allowances and general perks were much more generous but there were other things to contend with like dealing with nightmare passengers for fourteen hours straight, lazy fellow crew members and managing constant jet lag. 

As a gay man, Owen found acceptance in the industry and happily embraced the party lifestyle in hot spots around the world. He soon learned the right combination of pharmaceuticals to co-ordinate sleep/awake time and where they could be purchased. It was interesting to hear how the seniority system worked within Qantas and just why your years of experience counted not only in getting the best flights, but maintaining the superior employment conditions that were beginning to change shape quite rapidly. 

Naturally Owen encountered many celebrities during his years in the skies and speaks about his favourite encounters with several stars. He also speaks honestly about his brushes with management as he and other staff members were unwillingly coerced into accepting different working conditions and pay as the previous perks once enjoyed in Qantas began to erode quite rapidly. It is an eye opening insight into just how the flying kangaroo has recently faced a severe financial crisis as it struggles to compete with cheaper labour worldwide. 

All in all this was a very interesting account that gave me a whole new insight into the world of a flight attendant. While they must always look the part, it is quite clear that behind the scenes there is a whole other world operating behind the galley doors.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    We love to review Australian fiction and have taken part in the Australian Women Writer's Challenge for the past several years. Check the links below for our reviews and be inspired to try a new author or two.
    Picture
    Join The Australian Women Writer's Challenge
    REVIEWS BY YEAR
    2017 Reviews
    2016 Reviews
    2015 Reviews
    2014 Reviews
    2013 Reviews

    REVIEWS BY TITLE
    • Third Offence
    • Sixty Seconds
    • The Fifth Letter
    • Redhanded
    • The Golden Child
    • All For My Children
    • Beyond The Orchard
    • The Other Side Of The Season
    • Truly, Madly, Guilty
    • Labour Of Love
    • Heartlines: The Year I Met My Other Mother
    • Evergreen Falls
    • How I Met Your Father
    • Out Of The Ice
    • Reckoning
    • The River House
    • Remembering Anita Cobby
    • Darkest Place
    • All That Is Lost Between Us
    • The Grass Is Greener
    • Surfacing
    • Room 46
    • The Secret Daughter
    • Six Degrees
    • She's Having Her Baby
    • The Lost Swimmer
    • Outback Midwife
    • Through The Wall
    • The Girl Who Lived
    • The Sand Dollar
    • Useful
    • Season Of Shadow and Light
    • Missing You
    • The Country Wife
    • Arkie's Pilgrimage To The Next Big
    • Leila's Secret
    • Hindsight 
    • A Fortunate Life
    • Cliffy  
    • Distance
    • The Devil's In The Detail
    • The Lost Girls
    • A Long Way Home
    • The Beach House
    • Distance
    • Nurses Of The Outback
    • Through The Cracks
    • Thornwood House
    • The Cry  
    • How To Do A Liver Transplant
    • Losing Kate
    • Walking On Trampolines
    • The Unknown Woman
    • Simmering Season
    • Short Story Collection
    • Lost and Found
    • Returning
    • Confessions Of A Qantas Flight Attendant
    • Can You Keep A Secret?
    • Already Dead  
    • Will To Live  
    • Big Little Lies  
    • Further
    • The Anna Meares Story
    • Where Is Daniel?
    • Bush Nurses
    • My Journey
    • Through My Eyes
    • If I Should Lose You
    • Losing February
    • Come Back To Me
    • The Beach House
    • Greatest Mysteries of The Modern World
    • The Secret Keeper
    • The Rules of Conception
    • Get Well Soon
    • The Lavender Keeper
    • Bitter Nothings
    • Shallow Breath
    • Sisters Of Mercy
    • Dark Horse
    • After The Darkness
    • Bay Of Fires
    • Sisters of Spicefield
    • Four Small Stones
    • A House For All Seasons
    • A Few Right Thinking Men
    • Miles Off Course
    • Three Crooked Kings
    • The Big End Of Town
    • The Devil’s In The Detail
    • Heart Of Stone
    • Unsolved Crimes: The Crimes That Haunt Australia
    • The Satin Man
    • The Bark Cutters
    • A Changing Land
    • Into My Arms
    • Missing You
    • Traces Of Absence
    • Peace, Love and Khaki Socks
    • Every Parent's Nightmare
    • Educating Alice
    • Love, Sweat and Tears
    • No Place Like Home
    • Blood Secret
    • Confessions Of A Hostie
    • Ugly
    • JFK: The Smoking Gun 
     
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.