Anonymous interview: stewardess. Experienced flight attendant: “Stewardesses sleep in secret rooms on the plane that passengers don’t know about”

During long flight In Asia it is important to be able to sleep. But how to relax for the crew members? It turns out that the Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft have a secret ladder leading to a tiny windowless compartment where the flight attendants and pilots' bedrooms are located. After all, they also need to sleep and rest during 18-hour flights. Passengers are not allowed there, and many are not even aware of the existence of such cabins. But now we have the opportunity to look into it.

1. This is the official presentation of the Boeing 777 stewardess bedroom.

2. On this "diagram" you can see that the secret bedrooms are located in a small area above the main cabin.

4. Passengers are not allowed here. This tiny door leads to the main compartment of the plane.

5. Behind the door is a secret staircase.

6. On the 787 plane, this staircase leads to such a hatch ...

7. Having passed the hatch, you find yourself in such bedrooms.

8. This is what the bedrooms look like in the tail section of the Boeing 787.

9. Boeing does not allow more than one person per bed.

10. The Boeing 777 has a long narrow corridor with bunks on either side.

11. It is unrealistic to straighten up in the corridor to your full height.

15. Each compartment is approximately 1.8 m long and only 60 cm wide. Upstairs there is a reading light.

Despite all the romanticism of professions, the work of pilots and stewardesses flying from one country to another is not always beautiful views heaven, but also hard work. Therefore, even for those who work high above the clouds, comfortable conditions for relaxation are needed. TravelAskу decided to tell you about the life of the crew on board the aircraft.

The most difficult in the work of pilots and stewardesses are non-stop flights, and this is over 15,000 kilometers of distance and more than 18 hours in the air. Few planes are capable of covering such huge distances, so the Boeing 777 and Airbus A340 falls on the shoulders most of transoceanic directions.

However, such long flights require solid endurance not only from the equipment, but also from the crew itself. Their work is connected with great responsibility and making important decisions, they should always be calm and cheerful. A separate menu is provided for pilots, so that in the event of food poisoning from one, the other could take control. And of course, the main factor that allows staff to withstand the stress of long-distance flights will be healthy sleep.

There is always one pilot in the cockpit, and a flight attendant in the cabin. At the same time, during the entire flight, both pilots and flight attendants are entitled to up to 5 hours of rest. To make the holiday as efficient as possible, airlines are trying to create everything the necessary conditions. Although the crew will not be able to stand up to their full height, but you can stretch out on a soft bed and have a sweet sleep. Depending on the aircraft, the lounge is under passenger compartment, above it or in itself. Despite the fact that the main goal of all airlines is to create the largest number of seats for passengers, the crew does not have to huddle in cramped quarters either.

For example, on board the Boeing 787, the stewardess lounge is located above the passenger cabin and is equipped with 5 berths. It is called CRC (Crew Rest Compartments).

When creating the project, it all seemed cozier and more colorful.

However, such an arrangement of a place to rest pleases passengers with the spectacular appearance of stewardesses after a rest.

For pilots, similar apartments have been created here.

But in the Airbus A350, the lounges were located under the passenger compartment, but in the latest models to increase space luggage compartment they were moved to the top.

For pilots, the room provides not only sleeping places, but also sitting ones.

Huge size Airbus aircraft A380, designed for 853 passengers, more beds are required. The designers decided to use the height of the liner as rationally as possible, so they placed 12 beds, 3 one above the other. It may not be as comfortable as on the Boeing 787, but it gives you the opportunity to stand to your full height.

"Apartments" for pilots in the Airbus A380 are much more convenient - these are single rooms.

The sleeping area of ​​the Boeing 777-200LR is provided for 8 employees. The plane flies on such routes as Johannesburg-, distance - 13,582 kilometers, - Los Angeles, distance - 13,420 kilometers.

The video will tell you more about this airliner.

However, unfortunately, the rest rooms for the crew of transoceanic aircraft are not always so comfortable, there are also such:

As passengers, you blindly trust the crew, because you want to be sure that you are flying quite safely at a great height. Therefore, it is rather surprising that so much information about the world passenger aviation still shrouded in mystery.

We asked Annette Long, a flight attendant with 13 years of experience, to talk about how flights work and who guarantees safety. A little lower are questions, the answers to which you will probably be interested to hear.

What is the most attractive direction for a flight attendant?

This is a controversial issue, because to each his own. When I shared a post on Facebook that I was flying to Beijing, one of my colleagues wrote: “It's cool that you are flying, not me.” She likes to work for domestic flights, and many others too. Conversely, there are people who love more international flights. I like to fly to Beijing and Tokyo from Washington and back. In addition, in Beijing we are given 52 hours to rest, so I can go shopping and have a good rest.

How do long-hour flights affect you?
By the time you arrive home, you are very exhausted. You really get so tired that you don’t even have the strength to sit on social networks. It happens that after a long flight you do not want to answer the phone or open the door. You want to cancel all plans and just lie in bed.

Can you sleep on long flights?

Yes we can. For example, on a 14-hour flight to Beijing, we have a 4-hour break. We serve drinks, then food, then dessert, and then we can rest for a while. Half of the team is sent to rest bays while the other half is at work. These compartments are very small and cramped, it is even impossible to sit down there. To be honest, they look like a coffin. But, in principle, you can lie down there, listen to music and relax a bit.

Is it possible to sleep well there?
One of our newcomers recently fell asleep so that she did not hear three alarms, so anything is possible. And I, for example, can only sleep for a couple of hours, and after that I feel so-so.

What happens when you get into turbulence while in the rest compartments?
We have special seat belts there.

What do you do when someone gets really sick or someone dies during a flight?
We contact the medical company and the doctors tell us what to do. They ask questions, we answer them, and together we decide what to do. Every firefighter has an automatic external defibrillator on board.

And those who died on board, you leave in their chairs?
Yes. Thank God I have never been similar situation and I don’t even know a single person on whose flight someone would die. But I think we'd cover the body with something so it wouldn't draw so much attention. It's all very sad.

What happens when a passenger refuses to fasten their seat belt when the "fasten seat belts" light comes on?
When the "Fasten Seat Belts" light is on but not flashing, some passengers don't care at all: they want to go to the toilet - no, they don't want to look rude and impolite - they just want to go to the toilet. OK. I will not physically detain anyone. But I am simply obliged to inform the passenger of the following: if the captain believes that the indicator should be on, then it can be dangerous to unfasten the belt and, moreover, get up from your seats.

What do passengers need to do to be kicked off the plane or to have the plane make an emergency landing?
If on pre-flight screening for some reason they didn’t notice this and you got on board drunk, and we saw it before departure - you will have to leave the plane. We don't need you to suddenly stand up and start rioting at a height of 10 kilometers above the ground. However, in order to be kicked out of the plane before takeoff, you just need to start behaving aggressively - you will immediately go home, accompanied by security officials. If you are injured, in principle the plane can be redirected, but I do not make such a decision.

What's the strangest thing you've come across while working?
My flights were mostly pretty quiet, nothing out of the ordinary. Although there were a couple of incidents. One day I saw a passenger fall and hurt his face. He didn't even have time to grab something with his hands. Although it's not very strange. I was also told about one case when from the shelves for hand luggage blood dripped. It turned out that someone was trying to smuggle a goat's head in a bag. This was, of course, before the introduction of modern pre-flight screening standards.

Have you ever wondered how the staff of passenger flights endure long flights of 18 hours? It is impossible for flight attendants and stewards to be on their feet all this time. They are not robots.

Of course, you might have noticed that the flight attendants are changing. Most likely they work in shifts, but where do they go from the plane? This is what we want to find out.

Everything is quite simple and obvious. Recently the company Boeing held a conference at which they showed a presentation that shed light on the issue of rest of flight attendants. We were shown invisible to ordinary passengers crew compartments in long-haul liners Boeing 777 And Boeing 787.

On the official map of the planes, you can see that the staff bedrooms are located above the cabin. A small staircase leads to them, imperceptible to prying eyes.

This is how comfortable sleeping places for flight attendants look like. Modern, comfortable and safe. In crowded but not mad.

And this is how the beds located on both sides of the narrow corridor look like. It is rather cramped: 60 cm wide and 180 cm high. Pay attention to seat belts, they are designed to be fastened in case the aircraft enters the turbulence zone.

Tables and handles so that employees can move safely in tight spaces without getting hurt.

Those same beds close-up. Pretty ascetic.

These conditional sleeping places are equipped with climate control and lighting, in case one of the staff wants to read before bedtime.

Here comes the stewardess with the steward for whom this compartment is intended. This is their home for long-haul flights.

This is what the secret staircase to the recreation area looks like. Passengers are not allowed to enter.

Aircraft pilots rest in such comfortable chairs. They are laid out, which allows you to take a nap for an hour or two.

Staircase, on which the rested flight attendants return to the passengers. It looks dangerous, tired or drunk it is better not to go down.

Life-size view of the aircraft itself. Hulk, which can accommodate several hundred passengers.

One of the nooks and crannies of the very compartment in which you would not want to be. It is better to stay in your comfortable seat until the end of the flight.

And this is how the leisure of the liner personnel goes. Very similar to train cars.

In modern airliners it is difficult to find even a couple of unused centimeters: maximum rationalization - and no frills. But the planes still have rooms hidden from passengers for resting personnel during long journeys. "ZagraNitsa" tells where the stewardess' bedrooms are hidden and what they look like

They are smiling, friendly and always ready to help during the flight. I'm talking, of course, about flight attendants. Sitting in comfortable (or not so) chairs, most passengers do not even think about how and where the attendants rest and whether they rest at all. If the flight lasts several hours, there are no special problems, but on a long flight you can’t do without a break.

Few people know that in such a case, modern airliners have "secret" rooms where crew members can sleep for an hour or two. Passengers are not allowed here, but we will show you these secret bedrooms.

It turns out that the Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft have a secret ladder that leads to a small windowless compartment. Here are the bedrooms of pilots and stewardesses. On the Boeing 777, they are usually located above the first class cabin.

A discreet sign says that behind the door is a resting place for 8 crew members.

This is what the secret staircase leading to the staff bedroom looks like.

In Boeing 773 aircraft, you can get into the "secret" room through a small hatch resembling an attic.

Upstairs, there is a small windowless bedroom for staff with 7 or 8 (depending on the aircraft model) beds.

The Boeing 777 bedroom looks quite cozy and can accommodate 6 to 10 beds plus lockers for personal belongings.

But at Boeing pilots 777 - personal double "apartments" with beds, business class chairs, lockers and a toilet.

Crew beds are usually separated from each other by thick curtains.

To avoid embarrassing situations, the strictest rule "One crew member per bunk" applies.

Also in the lounge there are reading lights, mirrors and a place for personal clothing. And in some compartments, in addition to blankets and pillows, there are even pajamas.

The arrangement of the staff room depends not only on the model of the liner, but also on the air carrier. This is what the bedroom looks like in a Boeing 787 owned by Dreamliner Air Canada.

And this is how crew rest areas are arranged in the Boeing 773 from the American Airlines fleet.