su.per.nu.mer.ar.y
Adjective
present in excess of the normal or requisite number, in particular.
Noun
a supernumerary person or thing.
Synonyms
extra - additional - odd - superfluous - redundant
The supernumerary flights, or SNYs for short, were basically the training flights we had to go on before we embarked on our solo* flying careers.
During the SNYs, we were considered extra crew with inconsequential** work positions. We shadowed a full-fledged crew on these flights and tried to learn as much as much as we could. Each female crew is paired with one other batchmate and assigned to a couple of training flights. Male crew members completed their SNYs alone.
Some of my batchies were assigned flights to Europe/America (they were considered lucky), some to India/China (not so lucky) and others had regional turnaround flights (sway).
In October 2008, Lena and I operated flights to Seoul and Shanghai.
Outstation, the two of us had to share a room while other full-fledged crew each had their own room. I learnt later that many other airlines did not offer individual rooms to their crew (SNY or not) and did not put them up in 4/5 star hotels like my company did.
We had heard horror stories about “zapping” and “crew culture” from friends and during our time at the training school. But during these two flights, we were initiated into the crew culture and witnessed first-hand what being “zapped” meant.
The purser we met on our Seoul flight was alright but the purser on our Shanghai flight was a little crazy. He was screaming at the crew to speed up the service but especially at the two of us newbies.
Some people believe that being nasty is the best way to teach new crew. Stuck in a job they probably hate, they revel in what little power they have and enjoy it when people scuttle around them trembling with fear.
I believe that these people who seem to suffer from permanent PMS are either mentally disturbed or going through some kind of personal crisis (very likely a cheating spouse). How do people like that find partners anyway? Are their partners equally evil or have they been hoodwinked into thinking their spouse is an angel?
Perhaps they were ill-treated when they first started flying and now that they are more senior, they want others to suffer like they suffered. I hate people like that.
I do not advocate harsh and sadistic teaching methods. It is shocking that service staff can be so nice and patient to customers but when their backs are turned, they become monsters to their own colleagues. Pretentious much?
Luckily for us, most of the crew were nice enough. Some were exceptionally patient and taught us how to play our cards right, focus on our work and stay out of harm.
As junior crew, we were always expected to be half an hour early (to copy out flight information on the briefing room whiteboard), to help collect tips for the bus driver/porter (who helped with our cargo bags) and to call the senior crew when we were outstation (to organize outings/meals).
For the next 6 months of probation, some of us practiced all these with diligence while others didn’t give two hoots about it. I didn’t consider arranging outings for senior crew part of my job scope. What was more important was that we learnt our work well and kept our noses clean. No MCs and no complaints (from passengers or crew).
Honestly, I find it ridiculous that some senior crew expect the junior ones to call and invite them for outings/meals when they have been less than civil to us during the flight.
*We consider our job "solo" because we are not paired up with anyone familiar. With a pool of about 8000 flight attendants, we are all randomly assigned flights. I guess we are more fortunate than people with deskbound jobs who have to face the same boss from hell (if they are so unlucky to have one from hell) all the time. With random rosters, every flight is a lucky draw and if we meet the devil, we only have to put up with him/her for the duration of the flight.
** Each aircraft type requires a certain number of crew and has a certain number of fixed work positions. Generally in each galley (kitchen), we have one supervisor, one responsible for the left aisle (amenities/newspapers/magazines/headsets/menus), one for the right aisle (toilets/towels) and one for the galley work. Most aircrafts have at least 3 galleys.
