Hilarious Cabin Crew Confessions from a South African Low-Cost Airline
With 412 flights a week, kulula’s cabin crew meets some pretty diverse travellers while on the job. And, when you put so many people in a confined space you can be sure that things will get a little bit weird. Three cabin crew members let us in on some of their most bizarre experiences whilst 35 000 feet in the sky.
Bachelor banter
On a flight from Lanseria to Cape Town, crew member, Joanne Patrick, encountered a group of young, excitable men on a bachelor’s party. The tall and lanky bachelor was dressed in a neon green Borat mankini – very brave. His friends managed to persuade him to strut his stuff up and down the aisle. Thankfully his fellow passengers responded with a loud round of applause and saw the humour in the spontaneous moment.
Itchy ear
The early morning flights between Cape Town and OR Tambo are very popular for business travel. A good looking and well-dressed businessman stopped Cabin Controller Mariette van der Spuy and asked, ‘’Miss, do you have a pen?” Eager to meet his request, she was about to hand over her pen, when he continued to say, ‘’I need to clean my ears.’’
Are you frogging kidding me?
After a flight from OR Tambo to Cape Town, crew-member Sihayo Ngobese, was doing his security checks on board, to see that nothing had been left behind by any passengers. About a quarter of the way down the aisle, he opened the overhead stowage and a big, fat frog jumped out and landed right on his face. He screamed in shock and ran into the galley to get help from his fellow crew member who was also in disbelief that someone had left the animal on board.
On-board laundromat
On the red-eye flight from Durbs to OR Tambo, Mariette van der Spuy had just served coffee to a smartly-dressed businessman who had been glued to his laptop, when they hit some turbulence. After only one sip, the man’s coffee spilt all down his crisp white shirt. Mariette offered him wet wipes, but it only seemed to make the stain worse. The man decided to head to the bathroom and locked the door behind him. After a while, Mariette knocked on the door and asked if he needed any assistance. He opened the door, shirtless and clutching a soaking wet shirt which he handed to her and asked whether she could put it in the tumble dryer. He left Mariette speechless and casually strolled back to his seat… still shirtless!
Dear hostess…
After a flight from OR Tambo to East London, Joanne Patrick found a bank slip left on the plane by a passenger with a note written on it. This wasn’t just any bank statement though, the balance stated R1.8 million and the note read, ‘’your smile radiated through my heart, call me (with the number)Dr Sithole.”
There’s never a dull moment when you’re up in the air. So keep your eyes peeled the next time you’re flying, you might be in for some in-flight entertainment courtesy of your fellow passengers!