Air Babylon and Cabin Crew

I've just finished reading Air Babylon which I actually picked up at Heathrow thinking it was the Blogger book that is mentioned on V-Flyer.

It is a 24hr snapshot (actually many years condensed into 24hrs of chaos) of being Ground Staff for an airline at Heathrow and an interesting read. It doesn't paint a particularly good view of Cabin Crew.

Has anyone else read this? And I'd be interested to know if this sort of behaviour really does happen, maybe some Crew could shed some light if they have read it[:0]

Do you have the publisher name and author name I'd like to read that!

[preiffer]

Amazon link here.


I got it a while back. I thought it was OK - not great, but OK.

[honey lamb]

I read it too. It was only OK

Originally posted by Monkey
Do you have the publisher name and author name I'd like to read that!

Pub: Bantam Press
Author : Imogen Edwards-Jones and Anonymous
ISBN: 0593054563

Some of it really seems far fetched, like putting dead bodies in the Loo but it is a funny read.

Is that by the same author as the one that did 'Hotel Babylon', which was on BBC1 recently, with Tamzin Outhwaite ?

All about life in a hotel. I quite enjoyed it !

Originally posted by lovetoholiday
Is that by the same author as the one that did 'Hotel Babylon', which was on BBC1 recently, with Tamzin Outhwaite ?

All about life in a hotel. I quite enjoyed it !

Yes it is but its not as good as that. But for regular flyers its "interesting"!

[RichardMannion]

I bought it a while ago, and couldn't put it down until I finished reading it. I enjoyed reading it, and while some of it may seem far fetched, it is accurate; you just have to remember that they have condensed several years of events into one day to serve the format.

You onlyhave to watch a few episodes of Airport to see its relevance!

Thanks,
Richard

P.S. - I bought Hotel Babylon at the same time, and that too was a fab read. I lent both books to my mum, who loved them!

Well I might just buy it for my upcomming IAD trip!!

Yeah Ive read it and Hotel Babylon.

The hotel one was better than the airline I thought. Hotel just seemed more believable then the airline one. I do still debate how much some of it is just exegerrated under artistic license in the airline book. Or if as Richard says its just that its condensed into 24 hours which makes it seem unbelievable.

Either way both are probably good reads for frequenty travellers.

[Scrooge]

I have not seen either book,but will order them now.

When dealing with the public anything can and will happen.Some of the stories I can tell,well I couldn't put them on here.

Well from a Crew Members point of view the book was full of rubbish.
It was an insult to both Cabin crew and Ground Staff.

That stuff they were talking about inthe hotel in DXB NEVER happens. If only

I would not waste money on it. Its sheer rubbish.

Originally posted by virgin is the best
Well from a Crew Members point of view the book was full of rubbish.
It was an insult to both Cabin crew and Ground Staff.

That stuff they were talking about inthe hotel in DXB NEVER happens. If only

I would not waste money on it. Its sheer rubbish.

I'll def agree with you there - it was the biggest load of rubbish I've ever read too.

Advice to anyone - don't waste your time reading it![:X]

I totally agree with VITB and Tinkerbelle.

It's much better to read one of the many books written by current and retired Cabin Crew. I can identify with many of the events in these books as oppose to nothing in Air Babylon.

Originally posted by Jetstreamer
I totally agree with VITB and Tinkerbelle.

It's much better to read one of the many books written by current and retired Cabin Crew. I can identify with many of the events in these books as oppose to nothing in Air Babylon.

Can you recommend one?

I'm having trouble remembering some of the authors as I've just lent my copies to a friend, but hopefully a title search on Amazon might bring some answers. Anyway here goes....

Around The World In a Bad Mood by Rene Foss
InFlight Entertainment by Elliot Hester (I think!)
Flying By the Seat of My Pants by [?][?][?][?]

I will add more when my brain [i] is less overcome with jetlag

[preiffer]

Originally posted by Jetstreamer
InFlight Entertainment by Elliot Hester (I think!)

Oooh - I read that one [y]

It's funny (and quite a good book, too ).

Two aviation related books I can highly recommend are:-

Beyond the Blue Horizon by Alexander Frater

- history of the Imperial Airways flyingboat routes Asia.

Beyond Lion Rock by Gavin Young

- the story of Cathay Pacific Airways.

For those of you with a nautical interest, (thinking of Sailor:)), Gavin Young has also written two very interesting books.
Slow Boats to China
Slow Boats Home Again

These two books are about the author "hitching lifts" on various modes of marine transport to the Far East and back. Similar in ways, but prior to Michael Palin's "Around the World in Eighty Days"

shoreside

I loved "Inflight Entertainment" (I think it has a different title in the US) and "Around The World In a Bad Mood" as already stated you can relate to a lot of the stories in them unlike NONE in Air Babylon.

There is a list of questions that cabin crew always seem to get asked in "Around The World..." which I know most crew can identify with as I remember a couple of us in the galley killing ourselves in the galley laughing at them all!![:X]

Who is the author of 'Around the world in a bad mood'?

[mitchja]

Around the World in a Bad Mood

Flying by the seast of My Pants

Regards

I've read Air & Hotel Babylon and liked them both although I thought some of the stuff in Air was far-fetched. Any ideas what airline it was?