Stewardess

Exotic, adventurous and filled with new sights, experiences and people is how Hayley Currell would describe her current job.

Hayley 28, works for Etihad airline as an air stewardess based in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

Quite a contrast from how she described her former role, “working as a dental assistant confined to white walls and fluoride.”

Five years ago Hayley made a life-changing career choice that took her to live in the Middle East

“I had girlfriends who were stewardesses. I remember flicking through an album of wonderful photos, looking at all the fantastic, fascinating places they were going to. I was just itching to do something new and here was the opportunity,” Hayley said.

She swapped Brisbane for Bahrain and a crew position with Gulf Air, before landing her present job with Etihad in Dubai. She has never looked back

“The lifestyle is fabulous. I don’t know how I can ever reform. I was only planning on doing 12 to 18 months, but it’s addictive. I can’t imagine going back to a nine-to-five job.”

A real perk of working for a company like Etihad is the subsidised travel the airline provides its staff.

“We get 90 percent off tickets and they’re unlimited,” Hayley said.

Days off are spent globe trotting. “London, Frankfurt, Casablanca, New York Johannesburg, Toronto – I’ve been to all of them. I can wake up and decide whether I want to buy a fake handbag in Bangkok or the real thing in Paris.”

Hayley has also had some memorable in-flight experiences. “One of the better trips was when I met my future husband. He was a passenger on Gulf Air. Another time one of the passengers shouted the whole crew a bottle of duty free perfume. There were 13 of us.”

Long hours in-flight have also taught Hayley the importance of taking care of her body; “eat proper meals, don’t have too many big nights, look after your skin using good moisturisers and on the flight, hydrate with lots of water.”

With Etihad’s new Sydney to Abu Dhabi flight, Hayley is looking forward to catching up with family on a more regular basis

“I don’t see them a lot and my sister is pregnant so I’m going to make Sydney a monthly flight request, which means I can now zoom up to Brizzy,” she said.