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Airlines, flights and Cabin crew(II)
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The plane took off on time and after the mandatory safety demonstration, I waited for the drinks to be served, which were served very well. Time to watch the main screen, I thought but there was no sign of any entertainment there, much to the dismay of the school boys some of whom were flying for the first time and couldn't wait for the movie to start.
The controls of main screen entertainment were on the baggage space near my seat. The stewardess was trying to fix something and from her exasperated "O No! O Gosh!" sounds I could make out that the big screen wouldn't work.
The announcement to that effect came soon, much to the disappointment of the school children. But the apology that followed from the cabin crew was straight from the heart. The stewardess who apologized said that the big screen system failure had happened for the first time and that she wasn't able to fix it because the system was a new one and she wasn't an "Engineer" by training and that she was really sorry about it.
The apology was so sincere that it melted the hearts of all concerned. Many questions started flying in my mind though. If the system was a new one, why was the crew not trained on fixing up small problems? Are the Flight attendants of other airlines "Engineers"?
The moot point, however, is that the stewardess had saved the day for the airlines. The food was served which was OK to me since the chicken with rice meals had run out of stock and only rice with beef was there to be served. As I don't eat beef, I thought that I would have to remain contented with just bread, butter, salad and dessert. Suddenly a male steward with the most honest smile sprang to action and said that there was a vegetarian meal in their stock and that the same could be given to me.
The flight attendants of Virgin Nigeria are really very good human beings, I thought.
Having taken my customary two cans of beer and eaten the delicious vegetarian meal I went into a deep slumber. I must have slept for the next 3 hours and when I woke up, the announcement for landing was being made.
And then came a very important announcement.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, the man walking down the aisle is Flight Attendant Adebola. He has completed 2 years and 2 months with Virgin Nigeria as Flight Attendant. Today is his last flight with our airlines" The voice was dramatic and there was a momentary silence and then it went again. "As a flight attendant that is! From tomorrow Adebola starts his paid leave and would be going to the Pilot Training academy in Florida. So Ladies and gentlemen, if after a few months, you find a certain Captain Adebola flying your aircraft as a co-pilot, please remember that it would be the same Captain Adebola, who is presently walking down the aisle as a Flight Attendant."
There were thunderous clapping and shouts of "Congrats man. You done it man. Keep it up Captain." The old lady who had complained of her feet aching while she stood in the queue for fifteen minutes exclaimed, "Wow. What a nice company to work for. Looks after its employees so much! "
I heard one school boy say that when he grows up, he would want to work for Virgin Nigeria.
The "Captain-in-waiting" shook hands with almost all the passengers. I felt elated when he came to shake hands with me.
There was a standing ovation for the young man and I could see that all his colleagues were genuinely happy for him.
What was it that was most remarkable about the last leg of the journey? What aspect of it impressed people the most? That the airline was sending a deserving employee for training so that he could move up in life is indeed remarkable. How ever what was most remarkable was the way the other colleagues celebrated his success. This is what impressed me most. I don't know if they were trained to celebrate the success of Adebola like they did and even if they were it doesn't take away any credit from that set of joyous cabin crew.
With a crew like that Virgin Nigeria can afford many bigger screen failures
The controls of main screen entertainment were on the baggage space near my seat. The stewardess was trying to fix something and from her exasperated "O No! O Gosh!" sounds I could make out that the big screen wouldn't work.
The announcement to that effect came soon, much to the disappointment of the school children. But the apology that followed from the cabin crew was straight from the heart. The stewardess who apologized said that the big screen system failure had happened for the first time and that she wasn't able to fix it because the system was a new one and she wasn't an "Engineer" by training and that she was really sorry about it.
The apology was so sincere that it melted the hearts of all concerned. Many questions started flying in my mind though. If the system was a new one, why was the crew not trained on fixing up small problems? Are the Flight attendants of other airlines "Engineers"?
The moot point, however, is that the stewardess had saved the day for the airlines. The food was served which was OK to me since the chicken with rice meals had run out of stock and only rice with beef was there to be served. As I don't eat beef, I thought that I would have to remain contented with just bread, butter, salad and dessert. Suddenly a male steward with the most honest smile sprang to action and said that there was a vegetarian meal in their stock and that the same could be given to me.
The flight attendants of Virgin Nigeria are really very good human beings, I thought.
Having taken my customary two cans of beer and eaten the delicious vegetarian meal I went into a deep slumber. I must have slept for the next 3 hours and when I woke up, the announcement for landing was being made.
And then came a very important announcement.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, the man walking down the aisle is Flight Attendant Adebola. He has completed 2 years and 2 months with Virgin Nigeria as Flight Attendant. Today is his last flight with our airlines" The voice was dramatic and there was a momentary silence and then it went again. "As a flight attendant that is! From tomorrow Adebola starts his paid leave and would be going to the Pilot Training academy in Florida. So Ladies and gentlemen, if after a few months, you find a certain Captain Adebola flying your aircraft as a co-pilot, please remember that it would be the same Captain Adebola, who is presently walking down the aisle as a Flight Attendant."
There were thunderous clapping and shouts of "Congrats man. You done it man. Keep it up Captain." The old lady who had complained of her feet aching while she stood in the queue for fifteen minutes exclaimed, "Wow. What a nice company to work for. Looks after its employees so much! "
I heard one school boy say that when he grows up, he would want to work for Virgin Nigeria.
The "Captain-in-waiting" shook hands with almost all the passengers. I felt elated when he came to shake hands with me.
There was a standing ovation for the young man and I could see that all his colleagues were genuinely happy for him.
What was it that was most remarkable about the last leg of the journey? What aspect of it impressed people the most? That the airline was sending a deserving employee for training so that he could move up in life is indeed remarkable. How ever what was most remarkable was the way the other colleagues celebrated his success. This is what impressed me most. I don't know if they were trained to celebrate the success of Adebola like they did and even if they were it doesn't take away any credit from that set of joyous cabin crew.
With a crew like that Virgin Nigeria can afford many bigger screen failures
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