Working as cabin crew is an exciting prospect for the right type of person. Combining great people skills with an unrivaled opportunity to travel the world is, for some, a dream come true. However, one airline really offers an unusual and enriching experience, more so than regular network carriers. Here's what makes Hi Fly's cabin crew some of the most well-traveled in the world.

A very different crew experience

Hi Fly, as you may know, is a Portuguese wet lease specialist. This means that the airline doesn’t serve any routes of its own, rather it operates routes on behalf of other airlines, sometimes just for a day, other times for many months.

This means cabin crew working for Hi Fly never know what they’re going to get. A bit like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates, their next assignment could be flying short-haul for six months or heading to South America for a week.

Simple Flying caught up with CEO of Hi Fly, Dr. Paulo Mirpuri, to find out what’s different about working for Hi Fly as a member of cabin crew. He told us,

“Cabin crew flying for Hi Fly have a much more diverse working pattern. We are not an individual network; we operate on the network of other airlines. We have 140 customers all over the world, and our aircraft are introduced in the networks of those airlines.

“We also have around 30% of our business is Government or contracts which a normal airline doesn’t do, so that is also very special. We fly globally, so the cabin crew are exposed to 140 airline networks, 140 airline ways of operating, ways of thinking and I think it’s a very enriching experience for them.”

Hi Fly crew ladies
Hi Fly crew work for 140 airlines! Photo: Hi Fly

Enriching indeed, but probably also fairly challenging. One day they could be running a no-frills transatlantic service for Norwegian, the next operating a full-service charter flight to the Middle East for a tour company. Being cabin crew for Hi Fly means wearing many hats, and being able to swap them out at a moment’s notice!

What makes a great member of cabin crew for Hi Fly?

Clearly it takes a special sort of person to work as cabin crew for an airline like Hi Fly. Dr. Mirpuri told us what Hi Fly demands of its staff, saying,

“We believe that our cabin crew needs to be a specific type of individual. It needs to be somebody that likes to travel. It needs to be somebody that understands that the job is not like a 9-6 back home and is not returning home every day, or every few days. Most other airlines return the next day, or even the same day. Our crews can stay out for 20 days.”

Of course, Hi Fly operates some longer leases. Indeed, Estelar Airlines has an A340 on long term wet lease, rotating on the London-Madrid-Caracas-Ezeiza route. In cases such as this, crew can often take the opportunity to live more permanently in another country. Mirpuri said,

“Once we rotate them, sometimes we even base the cabin crew with an agreement in a different country for one month, two months. So, it’s a balance between a life with a bit of adventure, knowing the world. So, I think it’s very appealing for the right person.”

Hi Fly crew member
Crew stay on location for up to 20 days, or longer if in agreement. Photo: Hi Fly

To us, it sounds like a dream cabin crew job! Clearly, it’s not for everyone, but if there are no ties to home and adventure and exploration are the order of the day, then working as cabin crew for Hi Fly is really something else. Dr Mirpuri summed up, telling us,

“They fly different types of aircraft. They get in touch with different cultures so they see the world a lot better. But it has to be the right type of person.

“If someone is looking for a 9-6 job where they come home every day, or every few days, Hi Fly is not the airline to fly for. On the other hand, if the profile is seeing the world, getting exposed to more experiences, different types of aircraft, then this is a top job.”

Would you like to crew for Hi Fly? Let us know in the comments!