Miles to go before I sleep: International model Mukta Chopra
1. What do you do for a living?
My work is that of a flight attendant with an international airline based in Hongkong. I have been passionately involved with the fashion industry for some years as well as a model and as a fashion consultant.
2. How would you describe your work?
Professionally my work spreads from customer interactions to safety procedures to leading my team in flight etc .
What I do however is not limited to just my profession , as I said I also model and that involves lot of work too. There is networking to do , people to meet , lots of learning to do and of course this does not take away from what I do at home . I bake for my kids and try and spend as much time as I can with my family.
3.What does your work entail?
Flight attendents have both service and safety responsibilities on airplanes. You have to be highly attentive and friendly to perform the job of a flight attendant and you need excellent communication and customer service skills.
4.What’s a typical work week like?
Well, what’s exciting about the work that I do is that there is no typical work we do. The entire schedule depends on the flights I have to do that week. Sometime I work twice or thrice a week and sometimes only once.
5.How did you get started?
A little over 2 decades ago my sister applied to the airline industry on my behalf and that’s where my journey started .
6.What do you like about your work?
I love interacting with people from different parts of the world and ofcourse shopping from all around the world.
7.What do you dislike?
Every job comes with it’s ups and downs and like life there is no perfect job but we learn to take it in our stride and keep our face up sunny side.
8.How do you make money or how are you compensated?
I have been a professional woman for the last 2 decades and that’s how I make money.
9.What skills are needed to do this?
For my profession the most imp thing is composure and a congenial attitude , addition to detail and of course an absolute focus on customer and an outward looking prospective as well.
10.what is most challenging in your work?
In my profession,we meet people who are coming from different backgrounds and different emotional situations. To be able to handle all of them with composure and to be face of hospitality can be challenging if we ourselves are not equipped to do so.
11.What is most rewarding?
Each flight wherein the passengers get off happy, each flight wherein all company protocols are followed thoroughly gives us a very satisfying , very accomplished feeling .
12. What advice would you offer someone considering this career?
My advise would be that be prepared for really hard work. There is no easy way to success. Flying , customer service has to be a passion if you are looking at this industry and not to miss that there is no typical week.
13.How much time off do you get?
Again Depends on my schedule ..can be anything from 10 to 15 days a month .
14.what else would you like people to know about your career?
Apart from the glamour and the travel its important to know that this job requires a lot of hardworking in terms of constant updating/upgrading yourself with the latest policies and protocols and also being completely aware of company guidelines.
The job calls for constant composure under very challenging situations. It also calls for being in constant state of courteusness and to be completely aware of the environment and the competitors.
15.what is a common misconception people have about your work?
People always think that it’s a glamorous job where we get to see the world but it involves lot of hard work too, including being awake at night and standing for hours all together .
