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WHAT happens when a flight attendant falls in love with her supervisor and starts to demand more that she should?

This and other tales are revealed in "Fasten Your Seat Belts" - a no-holds-barred tell-all book packed with tales of sex, lies and alcohol from the narrow aisles to the cockpit. The author, Boh Tong, is a veteran cabin crew member who has worked for more than 30 years with a leading international air carrier. Here's one of his stories:

Good Prevails
by Boh Tong

Tim was as an inflight supervisor. He was gentle and soft-spoken but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be strict when it came to dealing with his subordinates. He had an honourable character, which was why his cabin crew members appreciated working with him. He was always fair when it came to distributing work duties among them.

Bella was a stewardess who had just joined the airline. She had flown quite regularly under Tim’s supervision and like the other cabin crew members, she looked up to him for his excellent work ethic. But unlike the others, she had fallen quite hard for him and she didn’t hide her feelings from him. (I will add here that a lot of flight crew have seen the upside of dating their superiors, as doing so typically helped them get special favours during a flight.) Bella and Tim became an item.

When Bella was assigned to serve in economy class under Tim’s supervision, she asked him to change the assignment so she would serve in the business class cabin instead. She knew that the workload would be much lighter there. He refused and explained that it was not her turn to serve in business class yet. Bella reacted like a spoiled child.

“F*** you,” she said. “What’s the point of being your girlfriend if you can’t make me happy by giving me what I want?”

Realising that Bella’s affections came with a price, Tim regretted having fallen for her. He would never have used someone he loved to get what he wanted. He eventually broke up with Bella.

A few weeks after their breakup, Tim was surprised to receive a summons from the office.

Management had received a complaint from a certain stewardess claiming that Tim had molested her during a long-haul flight.

>> NEXT: Find out what fate befell Tim

“Bella complained about you,” his manager told him. “If her charge is proven to be true, we will have no choice but to terminate you.”

Tim was devastated. His service to the company had been impeccable, and now, Bella had chosen to destroy his reputation and take away his livelihood with a lie.

It didn’t matter that it wasn’t the truth—word spread like wildfire and soon everybody in the office had heard the story. Tim couldn’t walk around the office or the staff canteen without getting funny looks from his colleagues. Still, many in the cabin crew didn’t believe Bella’s story.

A disciplinary panel was set up to hear the charges and determine the fate of Tim. Witnesses came forth to give their testimonies. Thanks to his exemplary character and good work as a supervisor, many of his subordinates shared their feelings on the matter: Tim could not have been capable of such an act.

The verdict was passed: Tim was innocent and the case was thrown out. Good character is indeed your best defence.

Tim was thankful that his name was cleared. After the incident, he continued to be a model flight supervisor that everyone who had the opportunity to work with him, respected. An embarrassed Bella soon left the airline as she was now the one getting the funny looks.

(Names of the people in this account have been changed)

Reprinted from FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS BY BOH TONG with permission from Marshall Cavendish Editions. Book retails at $18.60 (before GST) in all major bookstores.

Cabin crew confessions

AsiaOne | Sun, Jan 16 2011

A tale of misplaced affections in a revealing new book by a former flight steward from a reputable airline.

Keywords

flight attendant

crew

pilot