The job of a flight attendant is often perceived to be quite the glamorous career choice. What’s not to marvel at when travelling the world to some of the most unique destinations is part of your daily routine? This is the story of how Shahril Abdullah went from working in corporate banking in Malaysia, to the world of hospitality as a flight attendant at Singapore Airlines.
This Bachelor of Corporate Administration graduate had a childhood dream, and it was to be part of a cabin crew. Nevertheless, Shahril recognised the need for higher education regardless of the career path he chooses to pursue. “Education is very important, I needed to have a degree. It helps in the application for any job”. His exposure during his diploma and degree days had taken him to corporate working life, which built the foundation of his work ethic and discipline, the two important factors that helped tremendously during the four months of intensive training as a cabin crew member and subsequently as an official flight attendant.
Life as a cabin crew
After two years of working in corporate banking, Shahril took a leap of faith to follow his dream of being a flight attendant. When making this decision, Singapore Airlines was an obvious choice, as this Johorean shared that he wanted to ensure he could travel home easily to see family on his days off. The first four months of his new career were dedicated to extensive cabin crew training, which also happens to be the longest compared to other airlines.
While Malaysia and Singapore share many cultural similarities, there’s nothing quite like home, “Singapore is about the same, but dia sama tapi tak serupa”, he explains. The transition to this new life came with a set of challenges, from being away from family to adapting to a new life entirely. However, as the saying goes, ‘nothing worth having comes easy’.
Interesting perspective not commonly heard is that part of the job is “like studying human behaviour”, explains Shahril, who views meeting passengers from different countries and cultural backgrounds as a learning opportunity. This role keeps him on his toes and exposes him to unique scenarios, enriching his experience as a steward even after eight years of flying.
As exciting as travelling and exploring the world may be, this job is no easy feat. Ever wondered what a 4-sector flight to New York looks like? Shahril shares some interesting insights. The first leg of the flight begins at night on a 13-hour flight from Singapore to Frankfurt. Cabin crews are expected to report 2 hours prior for a briefing session where they go over list of passengers, special requests and frequent flyer profiles. After an overnight layover at Frankfurt, they are off on a 9-hour journey to New York. Every so often, he gets the Singapore-Manchester-Houston-Singapore roster, which comes up to a whopping 12 days of travel altogether.
Clocking up career milestones
The travel and tourism industry endured some tough times, especially during the pandemic, which affected airlines globally. Nonetheless, it was during this period that Shahril experienced one of the highlights of his career. During the peak of uncertainty in the early days of the pandemic, he was part of the cabin crew that ferried multiple Airbus 380 flights to London to bring Malaysian and Singaporean students home. Hearing students say, “Wow, you all are so brave to come to London to bring us back, you’re our hero” is something he will never forget.
When discussing the differences between Malaysian and Singaporean hospitality, Shahril advises that there isn’t a major difference between the two, which is understandable considering the cultural similarities shared. That being said, “Cabin crews come from different countries, so when people ask me if I’m Singaporean, I always say no, I am a proud Malaysian”. There is no denying that his uniqueness shines through his colourful and warm personality, especially when meeting Malaysians onboard.
From the perspective of someone who is in the airline industry, he strongly believes that local carriers can improve in terms of providing better in-flight services, connectivity and maintenance of new aviation hardware to compete with other airlines.
Hopes and dreams for Malaysia
Even after living in Singapore for almost a decade, Shahril remains a very proud Malaysian. He still comes home to do his duty as a responsible citizen, such as voting during the general election. Learning about MyHeart was exciting, he shares, as there isn’t anything quite like it, and he sees potential in its growth – “!” Being part of a Malaysian community is important to him, especially since living abroad, and being able to do so via MyHeart is exciting. He hopes to see more job opportunities and features that can benefit Malaysians globally.
“Who wouldn’t want to return to Malaysia and serve your own country?”. Like most Malaysians, Shahril hopes to see Malaysia’s economy thrive for the betterment of the people. Given the chance, he would be delighted to return home to work, given how close he is to his family and his sense of attachment to Malaysia.
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