"Ladies and gentlemen! On behalf of Vietnam Airlines, member of Sky Team Alliance….. "

Those were the first words of our 12-hour flight from Paris to Ho Chi Minh City.

After closing the plug door, the crew and passengers who were strangers, now became close on the Airbus/Boeing “iron bird”, together traveling to new lands. Every flight is full of memories and smiles that behind it is every crew member’s effort.

Instructor, Chief purser Nguyen Thi Bach Nga 6.

I still remember the days when "dream comes true" is like a movie.

In 1991, we had to go through a tough national competition to become a flight attendant. It lasted for months, from pre-qualification to English test, communication test and health check.

I remembered those days vividly, girls who are 18-19 years old like me didn’t know how to do makeup, just enrolled the competition without wearing any cosmetic which was also a mandatory requirement of the competition.

The communication round was extremely challenging. There were a dozen of judges keep asking questions about society and other knowledge. But the most stirring part for all contestants must be the vestibule examination.

After being spun around for who knows many rounds, at the moment you left the spinner, you were going to be asked to take 5 – 6 steps and answer the judges’ questions loud and clear while your head was still spinning around.

After being recruited, you had to spend more than a year to study English for aviation, and other training such as flight safety, security, first aid, evacuation, interpersonal skills… before going out in the field.

That was a pretty bumpy road. However, after graduation, many of us flight attendants left because they couldn’t stand the pressure of “having to please everyone”, jet-lag, homesick,… and especially the pressure of the company incessant tests.

Nowadays, toward the sky, the plane is our home sweet home, crew members are family, passengers are friends.

We, the flight attendants, are the birds who are never tired of flying, wishing our next generations will have enough enthusiasm and passion for the job.

Ms. Nga (short hair, middle) photographed with crew members on a flight.

Being a flight attendant has taught me so many things from being mature, exploring new places, meeting wonderful friends… And this is also how I found the love of my life.

Spending one’s entire youth to fly and to love someone is real. I don't know what tomorrow is like, but I do know that I love and feel bonded with this job.

We are truly grateful to receive the support from our family/ parents/ wives/ husbands/ siblings/ children/ friends… who have to confront many difficulties without us by their side.

I always feel terribly sorry for not being able to attend my children's first day at school, family reunion, Lunar New Year, or special days like my best friend’s wedding,…

Every job will demand sacrifice, and this job sometimes requires even more than that.

I wrote this confession as a celebration to myself for being a flight attendant for the past 26 years as well as my fellow colleagues/classmates who are in class 10, and promise to continue flying and “reach further”.

Nguyen Thi Bach Nga 6-Crew