The perks and pressures of four years as an Emirates flight attendant

Cherni said she often woke three hours before a flight to prepare. At Dubai airport, staff checked that her uniform was perfectly ironed, her hair secured and her nail polish the required color. Emirates also opened a beauty hub at its headquarters, where makeup specialists, including experts from Dior, advised crew on their appearance.

Layovers brought stays in hotels in places such as Times Square in New York and beside Budapest’s Danube River. But many followed long-haul flights of up to 16 hours, leaving Cherni too tired to explore. On one Miami stop, she arrived at her hotel at 9 a.m. and slept through a planned day at Miami Beach. Overnight schedules could mean leaving home at 10 p.m. and returning at 2 p.m. the next day.

Company accommodation spared her Dubai rent, which she said could run from 5,000 to 9,000 AED a month for a decent one-bedroom apartment. But crew housing was shared, and she could not choose where to live. She was not eligible for a housing allowance to live elsewhere because she was unmarried, had no family in Dubai and did not own a home.

Her pay included a base salary of about 5,000 AED and roughly 60 AED ($17) per flying hour, bringing monthly earnings to about 10,000 AED or more ($2,700). She also received meal allowances during layovers and could qualify for an annual bonus of up to 20 weeks’ base salary; one bonus she received was 22,000 AED (about $6,000). Leave dates, however, were subject to approval, and she said she missed family occasions in Tunisia.

Cherni said she often spent days off recovering from jet lag, despite access to discounted restaurants and complimentary pools and gyms. She also developed barotrauma several times, which she described as a common condition among flight attendants caused by changing cabin pressure. Severe episodes sometimes kept her from flying for more than a month. Those health problems and sleepless nights contributed to her decision to leave, though she said the job gave her the chance to visit places including the Great Wall of China and New Zealand.