Latest news with #stewardess
The Sun
16-06-2025
- The Sun
Six times you should never recline your plane seat, according to ex-BA flight attendant
A FORMER British Airways hostess has explained the six times you should never recline your plane seat. The real villain of the skies isn't the humble armrest – it's the reclining seat, and on almost every long flight, you can spot passengers arguing over a reclining chair. 3 3 Most passengers try to be considerate about when they lean back but there are still those among us who insist on reclining as soon as they have boarded the plane. It's a debate that divides travellers, and causes many a row in mid-air. And according to a former British Airways steward, rows over whether you should recline your seat is the most common cause of in-flight flashpoints. But Jane Hawkes, who now works as a leading consumer and travel expert, says the turbulence can be easily diverted by following a few ground rules. She said: 'The etiquette around reclining seats on aircraft is very divisive and causes more rows than anything else. "As a stewardess I was forever trying to calm down passengers bickering about it. 'The fact is it is OK to recline. But there are guidelines and rules to follow. "Rather than just pressing the button and slamming your seat back fully and abruptly, take a look behind you first. 'If the passenger behind you is working, eating or sleeping this can be particularly disruptive and you could cause spillages or even injury. "It's not a big deal to wait until the person behind you has finished whatever they are doing, so don't make it one. Shocking moment passengers clash over reclined seat in mid-air rumble "And if you do recline your seat, do it slowly and carefully.' Jane explained that most of the arguments happen when someone insists on having their seat reclined for the entire duration of the flight. She added: 'I always say to passengers only recline your seat when you need to; for example, to sleep on long haul flights. 'There is no real need to do so on shorter flights. Are reclining plane seats dying out? A number of airlines are reducing how much seats can recline, or even scrapping seats that recline on flights entirely. Budget airlines scrapped the option for passengers to put their seats back years ago, with Ryanair ditching the option back in 2004. This is less of a problem for travellers, as the flights are often short haul and never overnight - so the need to get comfy to sleep isn't an issue. But other airlines that offer longer flights and ones where shut-eye is a must are also quietly removing the function. Instead, seats are "pre-reclined" so they operate between fully upright and fully reclined. Jet2 was one of the first to utilize this back in 2009, with new technology at the time created by Acro allowing the middle-ground seats. British Airways flights that are shorter than four hours also have the "pre-reclined seats" while Delta seat reclines were reduced from four inches to just two inches back in 2019, along with United, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines. And Finnair even introduced a new business class seat that had no recline function, which Sun Online Travel tried out. "You should also avoid putting your seat back when meals are being served or when passengers are still boarding the flight. "One of the most annoying things is when you see someone reclining a seat within a few seconds of them sitting down and then staying that way until landing. "Unless it's a night-flight or the person has a genuine need to recline all that time, it's pretty inconsiderate to behave like that in my view." But how do respond to complaints if you are the one reclining? Jane said: 'If someone complains about you reclining your seat, be measured in your response. 'A member of the cabin crew may have been asked to intervene and it's not considerate or wise to antagonise them. 'You should consider adjusting your seat to accommodate fellow passengers should they ask and risk the situation escalating. "You're going to be sitting in close proximity to each other so it's wise to keep the peace. "It's not a private jet so the space on board should be shared with appropriate consideration and care. 'It's also worth bearing in mind that disruptive behaviour on board an aircraft can have serious consequences, both legally and financially. "Airlines and authorities take these incidents very seriously to ensure the safety and comfort of all passengers and crew. "Offenders may be arrested upon landing and prosecuted, face fines and/or billed for diversion costs.' And a budget airline is increasing flights to an affordable holiday destination - less than a year after they first launched. Plus, a brand new airline gave a sneak peak into their cabins featuring a 'Sky Pub' ahead of their Scottish debut flights. 3
The Sun
25-05-2025
- The Sun
BA cabin boss ‘is a serial sex attacker who assaulted women colleagues after boozing with them', a court has heard
A BRITISH Airways cabin boss was a serial sex attacker who preyed on sleeping air stewardesses, a court has heard. Amardip 'Amo' Dhariwal, 54, allegedly assaulted three women colleagues in separate incidents after boozing with them, it was said. The in-flight lead is on trial for a single attack on one — but a jury has heard from two others who say he raped them on foreign trips. Dhariwal, of Southall, West London, denies the allegations. The sexual assault took place in Bracknell, Berks, in May 2022, it was said. Dhariwal invited his alleged victim to his home for a catch-up over dinner at which they downed beer, wine and whisky. The woman, then engaged and now married, said she dozed off as they watched a film and woke to find Dhariwal touching her intimately. She pretended to be asleep before fleeing when he went to bed, she said. The woman described the meeting as a 'date' in a post and had referred to Dhariwal as her 'work husband'. He told cops: 'Anything that happened was consensual.' The jury heard Dhariwal allegedly raped a second colleague at his Singapore hotel room in March, 2020. She woke naked in his bed, she said, confused at how she got there and what had happened. When she confronted him on Facebook, Dhariwal, was said to have replied: 'You didn't say no in bed, hun.' police, it was said. The other stewardess said she was assaulted while asleep and drunk in a hotel room Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2018.
Malay Mail
15-05-2025
- Malay Mail
Indian student gets jail time for molesting SIA stewardess on Perth-Singapore Flight
SINGAPORE, May 15 — A 20-year-old Indian national has been sentenced to three weeks' jail after pleading guilty to molesting a stewardess on a Singapore Airlines flight. The incident occurred on February 28 when Rajat (one name only), a university student in Australia, was traveling from Perth to Singapore, The Straits Times reported. At 11.20 am on the day, while the stewardess was cleaning a restroom and bent down to pick up toilet paper, Rajat placed both his hands on her hips near her buttocks and pushed his way into the toilet, forcing her inside as well. A female passenger who witnessed the incident quickly pulled the stewardess out of the restroom and took her to the back of the plane to help her recompose and avoid further contact with Rajat. Despite his actions, Rajat later requested to speak privately with the stewardess. Rajat was arrested upon the plane's arrival at Changi Airport. Deputy Public Prosecutor Eugene Lau, who sought a prison term of three to six weeks, noted that the stewardess suffered psychological harm, feeling afraid, disgusted, and humiliated by the incident. The prosecution highlighted the aggravating factor that the offence was committed on an aircraft, describing commercial air travel as "a high-pressure environment involving close physical proximity" where it's harder to detect unwanted contact and victims have no means of escape or access to law enforcement mid-flight. Defence lawyer Ranjit Singh argued for a fine or a short one-week custodial sentence, citing his client's clean record and good conduct at school. Under Singapore law, those convicted of molestation can be jailed for up to three years, fined, caned, or receive any combination of these punishments.
The Sun
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
The seedy underbelly of luxury yachts, where billionaires get escorts to whip them on deck and openly take cocaine
STANDING on the deck of a £500,000 extremely luxurious 'floating palace', I thought I was going to throw up. Not because I was out at sea and couldn't find my sea legs but because I was witnessing a fully grown man in his fifties sucking on a baby's dummy. 6 6 6 Worse still, instead of normal underwear he was proudly wearing a nappy and the woman beside him had been tasked with changing it. It's a strange world when you're seen as the lucky one because your job is simply to wash the dummies and feed the man his milk. It was just one of many shocking sights I witnessed during the five or so months I worked onboard a luxury yacht as a stewardess last summer. And one of the reasons why I'll never go back, despite being paid an eye-watering fortune in tips, up to £7000 a week for each charter. From liaisons with sex workers on deck to cocaine binges and used condoms left lying around, nothing was off limits. It truly was an eyeopener and one I'm in no rush to repeat. I was working in a low paid job as a waitress when a friend first introduced me to the scene in March last year. She raved about the pay - the salary and tips combined were around £8000 for the season - and although she did warn me that it could be seedy onboard, nothing could've prepared me for the reality. First, I underwent a week-long training course in Spain which involved learning fire drills, evacuations, water survival and first aid. It cost around £2000, my mum covered the cost, and then I was ready for my baptism of fire, literally thrown in at the deep end. I was already on board with three other female stewardesses when the owner, a 60-year-old oligarch, joined us. The demands came thick and fast: 'Find me three escorts for me and two friends at our next port.' he barked. "I want blue eyes, blonde hair, slim and classy looking, nothing trashy – we want the girlfriend experience.' With no clue where to start one of the other girls who had made similar arrangements before, guided me through it. We found an escort agency - who seemed very familiar with the request - and the women were paid £2000 each, per day. The day they arrived, I met them on shore to bring them onto the four-bedroomed luxurious yacht. They were stunningly beautiful and seemed so comfortable I knew it wasn't their first time. 6 6 6 Not only were they expected to have sex onboard but they were there to look decorative too - the filthy rich men loved to show them off when the boat moored in different locations for dinner at night. And this wasn't just a one off. When that rental ended after a week, the men who hired it next made similar requests - sometimes swapping women daily for their pleasure. Nearly all the men were very rich businessmen, none of them were instantly recognisable, and a couple of DJs. The jobs the hired women were expected to do were horrific and I still get flashbacks to the adult baby scenario I was unfortunate enough to witness. The woman, a sex worker, didn't flinch as she dutifully performed her job of swapping one nappy for another. Neither did another escort who had to chase one of the men round the boat with a whip. These men had no morals. Aside from hiring women they'd also arrange their own – influencers or models, dripping with diamonds and designer gear. Some of the more reserved types brought along their wives or girlfriends, all ridiculously stunning. Once during my stint onboard we sailed from Marbella to Ibiza and the businessman who had hired the yacht took his wife one way and swapped her for his girlfriend on the return leg. I was paranoid that I'd get their names mixed up. Sometimes they even brought both the wife and girlfriend on board and I recall the captain telling one very good-looking male crew member that it was fine to sleep with the oligarch's wife, but touching his girlfriend was forbidden. The wives just turned a blind eye, presumably because they loved the lifestyle so much to risk losing it. Regardless of who they were with, these men had no qualms about having sex on deck, including group sex. 'Humiliating' Often fuelled by cocaine - they'd openly take drugs in front of us - the men would ogle the crew girls and 'accidentally' touch our breasts and bottoms far too often. Truthfully - and wrongly - we put up with it, because the tips were so good. We certainly earnt our tips too – the work was back breaking - and we had to be up at 6am, well before the passengers, if they'd planned an early breakfast. First, we had to clean all the decks and lay the tables to perfection. Breakfast would be full of exquisitely prepared fruit platters, all the pastries you can possibly imagine as well as cold meats and cooked breakfasts. The options were endless and champagne was on tap. One of my most humiliating moments was when a guest spat out the food he didn't like and demanded I clean it up. Each day was exhausting both mentally and physically. We'd often be working into the early hours before collapsing into our bunk beds, waiting for the morning to start all over again. Being a yacht girl is a thankless task, and all the money in the world wouldn't be enough to entice me back for another season Yacht crew member The jobs were degrading too, these men had no shame. Sex toys and used condoms were left on the bed, and crew girls like me were expected to clean the toys before putting them on the bedside table. When I reflect, it turns my stomach, and when I stopped being revolted and came to think that what I was doing was 'normal', I knew my work on board was done. I haven't gone back since and now I'm happily back working as a waitress while I save up to go to university, no longer treated like a skivvy. Being a yacht girl is a thankless task, and all the money in the world wouldn't be enough to entice me back for another season. My feet are staying firmly on dry land from now on.
