Back to: Crew Crosscheck

Rise and shine — or, just rise. That sodium-orange, flickering streetlamp, that’s your new sunrise. Welcome to the witching hour that is the cabin crew lifestyle.

Lesson Objectives

We’re not here to rehearse ordinary. We’re here to train for a career that begins before the purple fades to red, stretches past orange, and chases daylight across time zones. But how do you prove you’re built for it — not just in theory, but in practice? You need evidence. Stories.

Get ready to:

• Experiment with small, intentional routine changes.
• Gather evidence that demonstrate consistency, discipline, and foresight that you can shape into talking points.

Arriving by 8:30am? Strong move. Staying overnight? Smart.

Or was it? From the outside, I look like a planner, a go-getter, right?

Reality. I was desperate to avoid getting up too early, because who in their right mind gets up at 3am? — Oh, right. Flight attendants do.

Yeah, I hadn’t considered the lifestyle at all. Well, actually, that’s not quite true. As far as I was concerned, my life would be divided into three fabulous parts: 1) I’d live a third of my life at the Virgin’s charm farm in Crawley, 2) another third in California, and 3) the final third, I’d be a trolley dolly aboard a near empty Queen of the Skies 747 with chocolates delivered by Milk Tray Men.

Full disclosure, it wasn’t early mornings I hated, it was midnight makeup.

If application photos weren’t stressful enough with my self-image concerns, applying makeup without the perfect ratio of day to artificial light was a disaster just waiting to happen. Too much eyeliner. Half-blended foundation. And even if none of that happened, I’d spend the day feeling self-conscious about my delusional half-blended mess anyway.

Besides, I needed time for my face to warm up, for the pink in my eyes to fade so I didn’t look permanently stink-eyed — not exactly ideal for a job that relies on eye contact and a “warm presence”.

Even today, if I have an international flight, I shower in the evening, do my makeup, and stay awake all night just to avoid that early morning makeup problem. This would not fly with Emirates, whose trainers recommend, “Remove and reapply makeup on long-haul flights to avoid looking noticeably smudged or worn.“

So, what does this mean for my becoming cabin crew? Good question. You’re thinking like a recruiter. But I wasn’t thinking about any of that. In my fairy-tale delusion, we’d be chasing the sunset across time zones and I’d never have to worry about midnight makeup.

Just wait until we get to CrossAir and Emirates. That’s when you’ll see reality play out.

Being a flight attendant isn’t just a job, it’s a lifestyle.

Let me pull back the curtain for you. Not that it matters, it’s dark outside. Street lamps are your new sunrise.

Your flight departs at 6am and it’s your first international route. As with any passenger, you must arrive at least two hours prior to departure, which means arriving at the airport by 4am — ouch. This means your journey begins at 3:30am, assuming, of course, you had the foresight to relocate to an apartment near the airport.

Your alarm will buzz at 3am, but only if you are wildly irresponsible or work for a regional airline without tight constraints. Except you did not set your sights on mediocrity. No, you aimed for glamour, prestige, and the unyielding discipline of a premier airline. Therefore, you have an eight step skin and makeup routine ahead of you. And you can expect full grooming checks before flights, so you’ll want to be polished.

If you’re dreaming of a spot with an airline like Emirates or Singapore, assembling their entire wide awake and polished illusion will eat up a solid hour, assuming everything goes well when your eyes are red, puffy, and hurt from being forced open at the inhumane hour of 2:30am — 2am if you are wise and hope to eat breakfast before boarding.

In all, this is a tight and efficient schedule with no buffer or room for error.

How are you at waking up at 2am? scraping the sleep off your face, dolling yourself up under the ghastly glow of your bathroom light, and smiling like you mean it for five, ten, twelve, sixteen hours? Meanwhile, breakfast is at 3am, lunch at 7am, dinner at 1pm, bedtime at 5pm.

Recruiters want to know. You should too.

That can’t possibly be true. 2am, 3am wake-ups? Twaddle.

Time to crosscheck these absurd claims.

• Aren’t there noise curfews to prevent jets blasting off over sleeping civilians at ungodly hours?
• And do flight attendants truly rise at the unholy hour of 2:30am for a 6am flight?
• Do flight attendants have to report two hours before an international flight, or is that just passengers?
• Isn’t the rule for international flights actually three hours before departure?
• How common are these brutal early-morning schedules for flight attendants — is this a rare case or business as usual?
• Does a full skin and makeup routine really take an hour? Or is that just for Instagram influencers?

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Crosscheck: Seatac Hours. Luton Hours.

Oh, great. So 2:30am is a real wake-up time. Not a punishment. Not a prank. A normal, scheduled part of crew life. Wonderful.

And the first flights out of airports? That depends on the airline and airport.

Heathrow, being a civilised establishment, keeps flights to reasonable human circadian rhythms. But other airports? They’re unhinged. Luton Airport (LTN) have flights at 00:30 and 05:25, and Seattle Tacoma Airport – SEATAC (SEA) is absolute anarchy — Planes launching whenever they feel like it. 12am, 1am, 3:30am., some at midnight, 1am, 3:30am. Wait, did I repeat myself? I’m still wiping the crust from my eyes. The witching hour means nothing to them.

Which begs the question: when do you actually wake up for a 3:30am flight? Yesterday? Last week?

Meet Bob Brain (yes, that’s his real name). Mr Brain is a Purser for easyJet. If he looks familiar, you may recognise him from the UK television series, Airline. In season 10, episode 1, Mr Brain casually mentions waking up at 3:30am for a 12-hour shift. (Timestamp: 8:22)

Now, let’s be clear. Mr Brain is not waking up at 3:30am to devote an hour to perfecting a winged eyeliner so sharp it violates aviation safety protocols. And easyJet is not an airline that requires its crew to painstakingly attach a silk scarf at an artful 47-degree tilt. This uniform is, at best, a school uniform. No offense, school uniform was my favourite garment once-upon-a-time, and I even wore one to…oh, pardon my excitement, we’ll get to that in good time.

The point is, easyJet is a short haul carrier, with no absurd rituals and Bob is not your average influencer type. But, still, Bob wakes at 3:30am.

Welcome to Airport Time. It’s relentless and we’ll be diving into it several times along our journey.

Recruiters know the flight attendant lifestyle is brutal because they live it.

Many are working senior crew, former flight attendants, or cabin crew trainers. They’ve done the 3 a.m. wake-ups, the sleepless nights, the constant pressure to look polished when you feel anything but. And they’re trained to sniff out applicants like me who show up starry-eyed, clutching a Pinterest board of glamorous layovers, with zero clue about sleep deprivation, or the fact that “presentable” is non-negotiable even when you’re dead on your feet.

But they won’t catch me. No, I’m too clever for that. I’ll stroll into Virgin HQ at 8:30 a.m., with glowing, and perfect makeup and not a pink eye in sight. They won’t know I strategically booked a hotel just to avoid the morning struggle.

Except, they’ll figure it out eventually because at some point — directly or subtly — they’ll probe. Their job is to make sure we understand what we’re signing up for. The last place in the world they want to figure this out is 2 a.m. at SEA airport, where they now have to summon standby crew.

So, can you outmanoeuvre the recruiters? Sure. But that’s the wrong question. The real question is, can you outmanoeuvre the job? Nope.

And let’s be real: Would you trust eighteen year old me to arrive on time for a 6 a.m. flight? Will I be an effective member of Virgin’s cabin crew team? Perhaps not.

Well then, how can you prepare for this?  I’m glad you asked. But you may not love the answer…

Ever slipped into bed when it’s still daylight? Woken up before the streetlights turn from purple to red to orange? Didn’t know there was a purple before red? No?

You should, because maybe there isn’t one. Is there? Huh?

Imagine the recruiter asks: “How do you feel about working ungodly hours?”

You could spin them a fluffy little fantasy that goes something like: “I know all about the responsibilities. I’m enthusiastic and am willing to do whatever it takes to succeed because this is my dream job.”

Or you can give them a true and grounded story that goes something like:

“I wanted to know if I could handle it, so I tested myself. I set the alarm for 2 a.m., three days running, and treated each like a real shift. No lounging in unicorn onesies — full skincare, intentional makeup, disciplined hair, tailored suit. Day one was brutal. Smudged makeup by midday thanks to too much moisturiser. Day two hit harder than the first because the novelty had worn off. What surprised me was that by day three, my body found its stride. I realised some amount of discomfort could be overridden by small, consistent rituals: clothes laid out, skincare prepped, intention set the night before. Through this experiment, I found myself preferring early mornings. Now, I rise two hours earlier than I used to and find it far easier to perform those 2 a.m. experiments.”

Guess which answer they prefer?

Anytime you have a story — especially if you tested yourself intentionally to see how you’d handle the flight attendant lifestyle — it tells the recruiter you’re proactive, you understand the demands of the job, and you take the role seriously. It tells them, you behave like cabin crew already.

And even if you don’t get to tell them anything about your midnight mayhem, you will know you did it, and these experiences begin to shape your habits and your confidence in ways you will come to appreciate.

But before you can deliver that lovely little story, you have to actually do it. Oh dear lord.  If you’ve never had the pleasure, imagine trying to stop peeing mid-stream.

Step 1: Select Your Shift

Level 1: 4 a.m — You’re easing into it. We’ll allow it.

Level 2: 3 a.m. —  Ah, Paris, first class, international.

Level 3: 2 a.m. — Oh, look at you. The stories you will have.

Bonus points if it’s on a workday. Double bonus if you can do it more than once.

Step 2: Ready Yourself For The Day

Whatever your time, resist the temptation to lounge in a unicorn onesie all day. Toddlers can do that. You’re here to condition for crew life — and that calls for uniform-style elegance, from head to toe.

Start with skincare: fresh, deliberate, awake.  

Follow with intentional makeup — polished, practical, photo-ready.

Hair: disciplined, smoothed, styled, and secure.

You don’t need to replicate the exact flight attendant look — but you do need to be interview ready. Workday presentable.

Now, go about your day as per usual, and be sure to keep notes.

Step 3: Reflect

• What helped you get up? Was it routine, mindset, preparation, or sheer will?
• Did you find a method to override your resistance?
• What choices did you make to stay sharp and positive?
• Did you reach for coffee, cold water, affirmations, a playlist?
• What adjustments did you make to stay fresh and alert?
• How did your posture, face, and energy shift once you got into ‘crew mode’?
• Were you frustrated, spaced out, impatient?
• Did you notice yourself becoming irritable or sluggish?
• How did you regulate that without snapping, slumping, or giving up?
• What changed in how you carried yourself that day?
• What cracked first — your foundation or your willpower?
• Would you hire you?

These raw notes can later be polished into interview answers that demonstrate motivation, preparation, insight, and authenticity — without a single cliché.

Step 4: Debrief

Share it in the forums — the win, the wobble, the second wind. No detail too small. What saved you — was it the lipstick? The playlist? The trousers with pockets?