Secret sleepers

Ever wondered where Qantas cabin crew nap on long-haul flights? Alex Greig reveals their hidden compartments...

LIPSTICK perfectly applied, suits uncrumpled, eyes bright – how do the Qantas cabin crew manage to look so put-together at the end of a long-haul flight?

Turns out they’re not a special breed built to withstand jet lag, dry skin and cabin hair. They’re just really well rested, thanks to comfy bunks hidden from view in the crew rest area.

The whereabouts of the bunks depends on the plane. On the A380, they’re down a ladder, below the economy seats. On the 747, the rest area is in the tail of the aircraft, up a set of stairs. Crew punch a code into a keypad and – hey presto! – a door (left) opens to a room full of bunks with curtains for privacy, plus a dressing room.

Qantas onboard manager Roslyn Calgarossi says sleeping in a bunk suits her just fine. “The beds have a pillow and a duvet and when you get down there, you’re so tired that just being horizontal is amazing,” she says.

At any given time, there could be 11 Qantas crew resting on an A380 – roughly half the 21 crew on board. The cabin crew tag-team their breaks, which means someone is responsible for rousing their colleagues during the changeover. “They get the horrible job of sticking their hand through the curtains and shaking everyone awake,” says Calgarossi.

Depending on the length of the flight, crew have two to three hours of rest time then perhaps another hour and a half later on. So don’t feel too bad about looking dishevelled when you’re farewelled from the plane by a cheerful, unrumpled crew member – they probably just woke from a blissful slumber.