Planes made too bright and cold to boost sales
ITALIAN stewardess Giulia says she was told to sell more snacks and scratchcards onboard to be moved to an airport closer to her ill grandmother.
The 28-year-old asked to be moved from her base in Sicily to nearer her home town of Pisa when it became clear her relative was seriously unwell.
She said she had numerous requests declined, and that she was told priority for transfers was based on selling performance, not family circumstances.
Her grandmother died before Giulia was granted a transfer. She quit her post this year suffering from depression.
Giulia, who has asked to withhold her surname, also worked at Stansted Airport on a contract for third-party agency Crewlink between 2012 and 2013.
She described bosses relentlessly pushing cabin crew to hit increasingly unrealistic sales targets. Techniques designed to improve sales were said to include leaving onboard lights bright even on early morning and late night flights and making repeated announcements over the public address system. Heating on the plane would also be turned off in the hope this would keep passengers awake.
This was to ensure cabin crew had the best opportunity to sell Ryanair’s array of scratchcards, food and perfumes. She said: ‘If we said [to a supervisor] passengers were sleeping, she said we should have woken them up. It was ridiculous. We were pushed all the time. It was all about up-selling. If someone purchased a hot chocolate you had to ask if they wanted a Twix. Passengers would get angry.’
Of her bid to be relocated, Giulia, who says she now earns the same salary working as a waitress in Italy, added: ‘I deserved to be moved because of my seniority and I had a good sales record.
‘You aren’t shown any respect as all they care about are sales.’