A Day in the Life of a Crew: After the flight is before the flight

In our today’s article of the redblog series “A Day in the Life of a Crew”, we join our crew on flight OS156 on its way back to Vienna. But first, the aircraft has to be prepared for the return flight. Because after the flight is before the flight….

Preparing for the return flight

Sabine tidies up the seat pockets

The passengers have only just disembarked at Düsseldorf airport, when the preparations for the return flight start. The cabin crew check the luggage compartments and make sure that nothing was left behind on board. A cleaning crew from Düsseldorf airport boards the aircraft, and our flight attendants lend a helping hand. The floors are vacuum-cleaned, the seats are brushed off and leftover waste is discarded. Maria, Sabine, Sarah and Thomas tidy up the seat pockets and see to it that each holds the necessary items such as the security measures leaflet and the board magazines.

Meanwhile, Captain Christian and co-pilot Thomas are in the middle of their preparations for the return flight. All technical data are checked, and the latest flight information and weather reports are gone through. There are only a few minutes left for a private phone call, as boarding is about to begin.

Co-pilot Thomas prepares for the return flight

The Return Flight

Barely half an hour after arriving at Düsseldorf Airport, boarding for the return flight begins. Right on schedule at 8:05 PM flight OS156 takes off towards Vienna. The usual board service routine sets in. Here are a few impressions from our return flight:

Shortly before take-off

Shortly after take-off – a spectacular view from the cockpit

Flight attendant Maria is making an announcement

Arrival at Vienna Airport

After the Flight

With a magnificent view over Vienna we touch down at 9:45 PM at Vienna airport. The passengers leave the aircraft and again the crew makes sure that no hand luggage was left behind. Cockpit and cabin crew tick off the last items on their to-do lists and then disembark as well. The crew bus takes them back to the Austrian Airlines Head Office.
There, the crew meet one more time for debriefing in the briefing room. At the end of the day all flights’ events are being summarized. As there were no particular incidents on flights OS155 and OS156, debriefing is quickly done. The crew say goodbye, exhausted but satisfied, their working day ends around 10:30 PM. We are exhausted too, and just realize what a job our flying colleagues have to cope with every day.