TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Indonesians share their experiences as international cabin crew members
Change Size
Monica, an Emirates cabin crew member from Indonesia, in Emirates' business class cabin. (JP/Indra Budiari)
W
hen Ronald Hartono Wibowo first arrived in Dubai, UAE, for his job as a new member of Emirates cabin crew, he faced some challenges: living far away from his family, language and cultural barriers with his colleagues and adjusting to the life in the Middle East.
Now, 18 years later, Ronald is a leadership training specialist at the Emirates’ Cabin Crew Training Center and is married to a Filipino woman he met in Dubai.
“I have to admit it was not easy at first. At Emirates, people speak English well, but I had never before heard the language in so many accents,” Ronald told The Jakarta Post at the Emirates’ Cabin Crew Training Center recently.
He is among the first Emirates’ recruits who came from Indonesia and while being a flight attendant seems luxurious, he said the privilege came with the challenges. Cabin crew members must be able to maintain their emotions in every circumstance from serving a crowd of passengers in economy class to serving the fewer yet more detailed customers in first class.
“I really miss Indonesia sometimes, but this job is my passion,” he continued.
Emirates cabin crew members' careers begin with eight weeks of training at the training center, which include cabin service training, medical training, emergency procedures and duty free sales training. Afterwards, the new recruits will be ready to take their first flight in economy class and after 12 months of their career, they will be able to take a test to advance to business class and to the first class cabin in another 12 months.
Monica, another Emirates cabin crew member from Indonesia, said flying internationally almost every day also made her homesick every once in a while. However, as the airline has recently assigned her as a business class cabin crew member for the Jakarta-Dubai-Jakarta flight, she can see her hometown quite often, even if it is only for 24 hours at a time.
Becoming a cabin crew member for one of the largest airlines in the world was not an easy task for her. She worked as an accountant for three years before Emirates cabin crew recruitment caught her attention.
“I always wanted to see the world. So, why not give it a try?” she said. At first, she did not expect to be hired as the airline would only accept two out of more than 50 applicants in Jakarta.
“But somehow I got accepted! I am really glad I took the chance,” she said. (evi)
