Customer Reviews

Air Babylon

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I didn't have any illusions when I picked up this book. I worked for two airlines for a total of 13 years. I thought things might be exaggerated a bit. I expected it. I laughed my backside off in Airplane and I can take a joke about my job.

I wish I could give this sorry book negative stars. It was just pathetic and insulting. It was so full of misinformation. No plane would be allowed to fly like that. The only person I ever knew who drank onboard was fired. The only death we had was treated with dignity (she wanted to see Paris one last time). She was kept in her seat, shielded from view (not with garbage bags) and removed with an ambulance gurney, not a drinks cart. F/A's spend hours with the defibrillator and passing the test is not easy. No one would have been fumbling with it. It's not given over to another passenger, doctor or not (functions very differently than those in the hospital). Doctor's licenses are checked. No one would put anything in anyone's food because guess who gets to clean it up?!? I could go on but I wont.

Even the terms were wrong. Business class, for instance, was always referred to as "Club", which is what British Airways calls theirs'. I've never heard the term "hosties" even though I worked at Heathrow for 6 years. I wont even comment on the Flight Attendant "inspections". F/A's are not allowed to have green hair, but give us a break!

I did "surf" though once. Ferrying a plane is a rare treat and ours' was a military charter. Sure there are also couples who dive in the toilets but most F/A's couldn't give a toss. We have things to do and barely enough time to get it all done, let alone sit on customers' faces.

Getting a job with the airlines isn't easy. There's a lot of competition and those chosen are definitely not "office people" or "9-5ers". I worked with some pretty colorful characters and some really interesting folk. We were often rolling in the aisles, and not because of drinking or sex. There are some really funny people working up there at 30,000ft but the author missed that point entirely. There are some funky situations and some sad. Then there are the layovers all over the world... Those who want a boring job, need not apply!

She missed the magic and fun of working in this field. I, personally, think the whole book is made-up as a joke on the readers.

Don't be a sucker. Don't waste your time.

This is definitely not a book to read while on a flight to somewhere, especially if you are seated in economy class and beginning to come out of the far side of middle age. The book describes many antics that those in the industry get up to, the incidents that occur on flights and the somewhat casual approach many crew have towards their profession. A lightweight yet enjoyable read that provides an insight into many of those incidents that all air travellers have experienced from time to time at airports, or in the air but couldn't quite get a grip on. And a final warning, don't be rude to the check-in folk or you will definitely regret it!

After reading Hotel Babylon, I had to get my hands on a copy of Air Babylon. The pilot's hungover, the flight attendants are drunk, the passengers are coked up, there's a corpse in the galley, and children spray vomit from row A to row K.
Supposedly, this has all really happened. On board, any annoying first class passengers won't be delighted to know where their steak might have been, and economy meals are usually too sloppy to hold, so offenders will simply have their stew spiked with Dulcolax. The advice on scams is handy, too. Look out for those duty-free designer watches: it's all too tempting for flight attendants to replace the genuine article with unspottable $5 fakes from Thailand and pocket the difference. And any regular traveller will be interested to hear how check-in staff, exchanging e-mails with the boarding gate, casually conspire to smooth your way or ruin your flight, according to their whim. It really does pay do be nice to people in the service industry. Overall, I thought it was a fun, guilty pleasure!

I work in the airline industry, and when you are on "the other side of the check-in counter," there is no shortage of surprises. I found the book interesting, good for a light reading at an airport or a long haul flight. I felt some exaggeration in the misbehavings of the ground/flight staff.

This is classified as a non fiction book but there's too much extreme stuff happening in one 24 hour period and some of the stuff which does is pretty implausible for it to be so. Plus the narrator is revealed to be a guy about a quarter into it and not the girl on the cover or the supposed author Imogen Edwards-Jones. Unless she got a sex change or something between that day and becoming an author or is still a guy but writing under a female penname, Imogen similar to Imagine could be I guess, anyway who knows it's a bit confusing.

So anyway this fictional story is set in Heathrow airport for most part, then on board a cut price airline on route from London to Dubai where every possible thing that can go wrong does. Basic story is a ground staff duty manager is recounting their day, from parking their car, to dealing with her/his own hung over staff, other airport personnel such as baggage handlers, airport chaplains, customs, wildlife officers and of course passengers. His assistant is a flamboyant gay guy (the constant stereotypes for all workers in the airport leads me to further believe this is pure fiction) is reliable but likes to sneak off for paid breaks, to drink or have sex with celebrities in the toilets (like you're really going to think you'd get away with that unnoticed if this wasn't a work fiction). Anyway it's his assistant's 30th birthday, and although he doesn't want to go, thinks he should accompany his friend on a flight to Dubai and help celebrate the milestone.

Have no idea if the author actually did any research, has worked in the industry her/himself or is just recounting tales they heard from airline workers in a bar or even on the reality behind the scenes airport TV shows, but truthful or not there's some entertaining tidbits of what, may or may not go on behind the scenes.

Obviously like any customer service industry it is not a very intelligent thing to do to have a go at those behind the counter or on the plane as they are ultimately in control of how great your experience until you get off the plane is. If Imogen is to be believed the check in staff have chat windows open to gossip about the passengers they are serving and alert the others to ensure if they are having a go at them they get seated next to a fat person or a screaming child and all other staff at the gate and on the plane can read the message on the screen or print out and act accordingly where laxatives can be slipped into their drinks, flatulence made in their faces by attendants bending over while under the pretext of helping nearby passengers and so on. If they are nice at check in, they are upgraded or given some sort of special treatment. This is plausible but if true would leave behind evidence that could easily be used in civil action against the airline for compensation by the passengers or the very least to fire employees so I doubt they'd actually do it. Also apparently in relation to those that arrive after check in has closed, the radio call starting "We Have ...", will always be met with the response no we're full but if they say "Any chance ..." then the answer will be yes.

Apparently also if you don't eat the airline meal you get flagged for customs officers who will make an assumption you've swallowed drugs and detain you for questioning or glove action since those who have swallowed drugs don't really feel like eating.

I did find the supposed behind the scenes process interesting, but like I said I have no idea what is fact and how much is pure fiction based on hearsay or TV watching. It's an entertaining book that will make you think twice before having a go at an airline employee if this is something you do, but I wouldn't be quoting anything inside if doing research for an assignment, feature article or anything like this.

This is an entertaining look at air travel. It takes you through 24 hours in a fictional UK airport and a flight to Dubai with the alcoholic, drugged and oversexed airline staff.

I'm sure that there's a grain of truth in most of the stories in this book though it's unlikely you'd encounter all these problems in 24 hours I'd hope. It's common sense to be polite to check in staff though I'm sure many people are not - and if they are nasty you'll pay the price according to this book, but maybe not in ways you expect.

This book is easy to read as the author has an engaging style, but I have to admit if I worked in the airline industry I'd probably be horrified after reading this. However for a light read that will maybe make you think about what *do* you do when someone dies on airplane? this was an enjoyable book, but not one you are likely to read twice.

I used to work for an airline and some of these stories are completely true. This book is great fun and if you take it with a grain, full of stories you can think about the next time fly. It's not a history book, but it's a good time nonetheless. .

Edwards-Jones' `Babylon' books began with the now infamous `Hotel Babylon' which subsequently became a popular British UK series a couple of years ago. This is the third book I have read, after Hotel Babylon and Beach Babylon. The books tell the story, hour-by-hour, of one employee in the industry.

I have to say, I hate flying. To me, there's nothing enjoyable, pleasant or fascinating about it. I used to need a valium just for an hour long flight and I would spend weeks before the flight stressing myself to tears, and nearly cancelled several holidays, and one memorable time ended up in a pharmacy, hysterically begging for drugs and crying `I'll never be able to go home!!'. Now, after many long-haul flights from Australia to the Netherlands, I'm not so hysterical, but I still hate flying with every fiber of my being. So was it a good idea to read this book? Maybe.

Air Babylon is told by a deputy manager in an anonymous UK airport. The stories are of baggage handlers, security staff and ground staff who work `on the front line' in the airport, in addition to the stories of flight attendants (hosties) and to a small extent, pilots. There are some passenger stories, insights into the world of drug-smuggling, animal transport and what actually happens when someone dies during a flight.

There are some interesting facts throughout the book, which when explained by the narrator make complete sense, and others which have you shaking your head and thinking `WTF?!'.

Personally, I would have enjoyed more stories about the passengers, and a little less about the pranks and relationships of the airline staff (I don't want to even think about whether some of these things are true or not!), and for me the ending was a little absurd and abrupt.

Overall, this is a fun, light read, but maybe not the best choice if a) you are a nervous flyer or b) about to take a flight (especially long-haul!). The characters are funny and realistic and the reading is easy.

Seems more fictional than factual, but that's probably because all the crazy and unlikely events that happened over a long period of time, here happen within 24 hours. That's the format of the book. Still, for all it's feeling of unbelievability, it was a fun read, and the book's events will, no doubt, come back to me vividly the next time I arrive at an airport.

Having read Hotel Babylon, I'll say Air Babylon is even better (perhaps this is because I don't have much luxury to stay in a 5-star hotel but I do fly a couple of times every yr). Takeaway from the book: be nice to the airline staff (even the ground staff checking you in) or you'll regret on the plane - I'm not sure if what the book says is true, but better be careful.