Sabina niyazbekova Purser

In May 2012 I was getting ready for my final exams at university. I remember sitting with three friends at a table in the students’ dining hall and wondering what we were going to do next. One of them suggested going to the capital for an interview with Air Astana. I thought I would go along to keep them company. We bought four train tickets and took an evening train from Kokshetau to Astana. The next morning, I took my CV to the Intercontinental Hotel. There were so many girls there! They were all beautiful, well-groomed, in high heels and looking supremely self-confident. I thought I didn’t have a chance and so stopped worrying about it. However, after each interviewing stage, the recruiters kept calling my number. During the final interview, I was asked to scream out with all my might “Lean down! Protect your head!” I screamed so loudly that everyone in the room looked at me. A couple of days later, I received a call saying that I was the person they were looking for. The irony was that out of the four of us it was only I, who had never dreamed of becoming a flight attendant, who got the job. Since then my life has changed dramatically. I moved to Astana, trained here and in Frankfurt, took my first flight, the first relay race with passengers, flight attendants, suitcases, airports, hotels… I fell in love with the sky, with airplanes and travel. I met so many interesting people, and really professional people, who taught me to be positive, open and self-confident in any situation. I like that Air Astana brought us all together, so different but strong and enthusiastic, with each of us bringing something unique, making an impact both on our future and the future of the company.