Cabin crew life: meet Niall

Some people have travel in their blood, and our Manchester cabin crew member Niall is definitely one of them! Check out his story and find out what working at Monarch means to him, as well as what he gets up to on a daily basis.

Hi Niall! First things first, tell me a little bit about you and how you ended up working for the big M!

My Name is Niall, I was born and bread in Liverpool. I grew up in the Aintree area not too far from where the Gran National takes place. I left school always knowing what I wanted to do, however to get to the job role that I wanted, I had a couple of roads and options to take. Eventually I decided to start my travel career at the age of 16 as a travel agent and foreign exchange advisor. I left the company aged 18 to join Thomas Cook Airlines as cabin crew. I was put on long haul fleet covering Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jamaica, Las Vegas, Barbados just to name a few. I left Thomas Cook in 2012 to come and join Monarch. I now live in the Wirral, over the water from Liverpool.

If your friends described you in three words, they would say…

Well…I have just put this to the test over Whatsapp and the answers I have received are “hysterical, honest and crazy”!

What made you want to become cabin crew?

I had always wanted to be cabin crew since I was little. Every time I went on holiday with my parents I watched the cabin crew at the gate and onboard the aircraft – I was amazed by them. I remember my mum asking me at the age of seven what job I would like to do (in fact we were sat on a plane going to Gran Canaria) and I replied by pointing at the crew. She called the cabin crew lady over to our seats and told her that I would like to join the team. The things mums do…I was very embarrassed especially when I had just told my dad I want to be a footballer!

How long have you been working for Monarch?

I have now worked for Monarch for four years and I can reassure you that time literally flies. I started on a fixed term basis and I have stayed here ever since. I am now a full-year working cabin crew.

What does your day-to-day job look like?

My day-to-day involves offering advice and providing exceptional customer service. Safety is also a massive part of my job role and we must make the aircraft safe for our customers (as well as our colleagues) at all times. We achieve this by making sure our responsibilities onboard the aircraft are to the highest levels of standards meeting all company expectations. Whilst in the air, I also promote products from our onboard range of food and duty free items.

What are some of your proudest achievements?

My proudest achievement was becoming part of the recruitment team at Monarch, which I love. I think at this stage I’m also meant to say my wedding is another of my proudest achievements. It took place last July, and it was designed around an Alice in Wonderland theme. It was amazing!

Any advice for those thinking of pursuing a career similar to yours?

All I can say is there are big changes happening all the time at Monarch and we have great teams on the ground and onboard to create one of the best airlines in Europe, which means better opportunities for the all employees. If you’re willing to work hard, want something different and want friends for life then the role of cabin crew could be perfect for you!

Thank you so much Niall! Finally, on Monarch’s scheduled network, which is your favourite destination and why?

This is the hardest question so far as we fly to so many destinations but I am going to have to say Gran Canaria. The resort of Puerto Rico offers sand, sea and year-round sunshine with a family-friendly buzzing resort. I LOVE IT!