Ex-flight attendant recalls mile-high chaos and secret romances

A former flight attendant who spent about three years in the cabin crew has told Daily Mail Australia about a range of experiences from the industry, including a fatal in-flight incident and rumors of romantic liaisons among pilots and crew. Alanna Pow, now 23, joined the airline at 19 and mostly flew short domestic routes before leaving the job in 2023. She has since relocated to Bali and described what she calls some of the most shocking moments she faced in the air. Pow emphasizes the level of responsibility and the fast-paced, unpredictable nature of the job, which she says requires ongoing training and composure even during routine services.

Pow describes the in-flight death on a Melbourne-to-Cairns journey: an elderly man spent roughly half an hour in a plane’s toilet. When the cabin crew opened the door to check on him, his body fell onto a colleague. The team attempted to resuscitate him with the onboard defibrillator, but the man was unresponsive and died before landing. Pow, who was 21 at the time, recalls the shock of the moment and the difficult decision to keep the man’s body on the cabin floor until the aircraft touched down. She notes that crews are trained to respond to medical emergencies and that the episode underscored how quickly a routine flight can become a life-or-death situation, with flight attendants bearing significant responsibility for passenger safety and dignity in a crisis.

Pow also discusses what she describes as a culture of socializing and flirtation that can emerge during layovers. She says she had romantic encounters with three pilots and was even handed a business card by a first-class passenger that led to a subsequent date. She notes that long-haul and international layovers can bring crews together in social settings, with stops in destinations like Fiji where colleagues would spend time at the spa and socialize into the night. While she acknowledges that dating within the industry is not unusual given the long hours and constant travel, she says many pilots are “flirty” and that some colleagues warned her about certain pilots who were not faithful. Pow describes a dynamic in which names on crew sheets and cockpit access could create opportunities—and temptations—that blurred professional boundaries during trips across time zones and continents. She adds that pilots, who are in charge of the plane, could exert a perceived social leverage during takeoffs and landings, a facet of the job that she says colleagues sometimes discussed cautiously given safety and professional standards.

On pay, Pow says she earned about $61,205 a year as a flight attendant while on domestic routes. She left the industry in 2023 to pursue modelling for adult content, a career she says can bring in up to about $81,607 a month. She describes a life of travel and camaraderie that she valued, but also notes the early mornings, long hours, and frequent time away from home could be exhausting. Domestic flights, she adds, could feel repetitive, which contributed to her decision to explore other opportunities. Pow says she loves flying and traveling, but does not anticipate returning to a traditional nine-to-five job. She now resides in Bali and reflects on the experience with a measured perspective, acknowledging the training and discipline required of cabin crew while pursuing another line of work. The account offers a glimpse into a profession that operates largely behind the scenes and is not always visible to the public, yet shapes the lives of those who work in it.