On short-haul flights, it's usually a busy time in the cabin and galley, so cabin crew don't take rest during these flight unless it's very quiet or a four or five hour flight. This would be just five minutes or so sitting on your crew jump seat and probably grabbing a meal and some water, whilst the second crew member monitors the cabin. Mostly though, a meal would be taken on the ground during a turnaround (where the flight goes back to where it left on the same day.)

Long-haul and crew rest

For long-haul cabin crew, it's a different matter. Cabin crew servicing these longer flights get between an hour and three and a half hours of rest time, depending on the length of the flight. It differs from aircraft to aircraft as to what crew rest facilities there are. Sometimes it can just be a back row of curtained-off seats in economy, which is not easy for sleep, so cabin crew might just watch some inflight entertainment or listen to music to try and relax.

Crew rest and comfort

On larger aircraft types you can find a crew rest area either in the tail, in the cargo area or sometimes above the cabin. These facilitate sleep, and on ultra-long-haul flights, the sleep is much needed. Most cabin crew will make the most of their rest time and be well-prepared with their own pillow and duvet - usually a child-size duvet that can fit into their bag. A small hot water bottle is often a good idea too, as it can get quite cold. Some crew also bring pajamas for maximum comfort and rest.

Other options

Some cabin crew do not like the claustrophobia of crew rest areas, so might try and sleep on their jump seat and curtain off the door area. It's not easy but not impossible to make a makeshift bed using the 2 crew jump seats, an atlas box and a couple of cushions. Not all cabin crew can sleep during their rest period, so some might choose to read or listen to music or just rest their eyes.

Pilots crew rest

The flight crew have their own crew rest area close to the flight deck. On ultra-long-haul flights there will be supplementary crew, so they can take turns to take rest. Sometimes, depending on the aircraft type (if no crew rest area), business class seats will be curtained off so that the pilots can sleep.

Final stages

Once crew rest is taken, another crew member from the current working crew will come to the crew rest area to wake everyone up. This is usually about 10 minutes before the actual time to allow the cabin crew time to tidy hair and brush teeth, replace make-up, spray some scent, and whatever else is needed to freshen up. The working crew will then swap with those on crew rest to take their rest period.