journeyswithj-blog

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No Regrets

December 6, 2019

As we approach my final shift on December 8, I’m looking back and reflecting on how crazy of a ride the past two and a half months have been. From passengers yelling directly in my face because of how long they have to wait in line to drop off their bags, to helping out the sweetest, most polite passengers at the kiosk machines, I have no regrets with my decision to complete my coop placement with Cathay Pacific.

I had two day shifts per week and the photo above was my view every single time I looked out the window. Unlike some parts of the terminal where you don’t get to see the apron, we, Cathay employees, always have this view. It’s always a beautiful sight to see because my inner 5 year old self would come out from time to time by saying, “Oh look! Airplane!!!” I may be 25 now but I’m always a kid at heart. (Brownie points are awarded if you can spot the Marilyn Monroe Towers!)

In addition to having two day shifts, I also had two night shifts per week - that’s when coffee became my new best friend! I definitely wouldn’t have been able to get through my night shifts without it. Anyway, putting coffee aside, pictured above is the super quiet departure level at Terminal 3 at 1:00 am with the Sheraton Gateway Hotel located in the background. This was where my best friend from high school would always pick me up after each night shift. If it weren’t for him, I had to settle with taking the GO bus back home, which isn’t the most ideal mode of transportation that late. He’s the real MVP.

150 hours later, I don’t think I would go back and change anything. This was possibly the best decision I’ve ever made and the experience has been like no other. With one chapter closing, another one will definitely open up; this is only the beginning of my career in the aviation industry.

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Closing in on an Exciting Journey

December 5, 2019

... And then there were two - exactly two shifts left in this coop placement! Where has time gone? It feels like our orientation took place just yesterday and it’s starting to hit me.

I remember heading to the airport on orientation day just over two months ago, excited to get started but not knowing what to expect. There was a lot of information that came our way which made me feel nervous and want to perfect all my duties. But realistically, I knew that wasn’t going to happen instantly. When you learn something new, you’re always going to struggle at first which is the first step to making improvements, and that was exactly what I went through. As the saying goes, “If you don’t fail, you won’t succeed.” This quote pertains to me the most because I made many mistakes, all of which were fixable, so I made the appropriate adjustments to ensure that they won’t happen again.

With two shifts remaining, I can say that I’ve grown as a customer service ambassador. Although I’ve been working in the customer service industry for approximately eight years, working at Cathay Pacific has really taught me specific skills that will be extremely beneficial for me in my future career in the aviation industry. 

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Baby, It’s Cold Outside

December 1, 2019

Yup… It’s that kind of day again. The first of December, which means we’re inching closer and closer to Christmas! This type of weather makes me want to stay inside and sip on hot chocolate while sitting by the fireplace.

Anyway, these photos were taken just two hours apart:

I came into my shift expecting a ghost town-like atmosphere like the previous snowstorm we had a couple weeks earlier, but boy was I wrong. It seemed like passengers wanted to get to the airport as quick as possible to avoid long lines, and I don’t blame them at all. On days like these, it’s a must to spare lots of time to commute to the airport. Passengers kept coming in minute by minute, unlike most Sundays where its typically slow at first but picks up drastically after the first hour.

The weather is also a simple, yet fun conversation starter to have with passengers. I would always joke around with them, saying: “You’re lucky that you’re escaping this weather, take me with you!” Being exactly one week away from completing my coop placement, I could really use a vacation right now.

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Inside the Boeing 777!

November 20, 2019

Today was probably my most memorable day at Cathay: after weeks of putting off my application, I finally got my RAIC! As a coop placement student, we were lucky enough to be sponsored by Cathay in regards to obtaining a RAIC. But let’s rewind a few hours.

I had an 8:00 am class which everyone dreads, and it’s especially tougher for me because commuting all the way from Mississauga to Markham is no fun that early. The moment I woke up, I immediately couldn’t wait to get back home and take a nap. However, I remembered that I had already completed my RAIC application, had it signed by one of our duty managers, and had to go to the permit office. This was the ideal day to go there because class ended around 11:00 am, so I hopped on the GO Bus and made my way directly to the permit office in Terminal 1.

I wasn’t sure what was worse: waiting in line for them to call my number, or waiting in line at a Service Ontario location because the wait time was ridiculous. An hour and fifteen minutes later, my number was finally called. The receptionist reviewed my application, ensuring every little detail was accurate. Upon signing more papers, the last thing I had to do was complete fingerprint scans. After all that was done, I was officially given my RAIC!

Fast forward some twelve hours later, I finally went to the boarding gate. The best part about this is that I had the opportunity to step foot into the Boeing 777 and take a quick tour of the aircraft! This was an awesome experience for me because (fun fact) I’ve never been on a wide-body aircraft before; I’ve only travelled within Canada and the US, so only being on narrow-body aircrafts would make sense. Because of that, it felt different seeing so much room around me while on the 777. This is definitely an experience I will never forget.

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First Snow Day

November 13, 2019

It’s the most... wonderful time... of the year! But not if you work in the airline industry - OTP is important!

The first major snowstorm of the season has finally come, and commuting to the airport was treacherous. Strong wind gusts, major traffic jams, people driving extremely slow (thankfully), you name it. This also affected bus service, which I usually rely on. The bus I always catch to get to the airport showed up late, making me nervous that I’ll show up late for my shift. As a coop student, it’s always important to make good first impressions to let them know that they can trust you and that you’re reliable. Like the saying goes: early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable.

When I started my shift, the airport was almost like a ghost town. I was working at the kiosk expecting the usual amount of passengers to show up, but I guess the weather really impacted their commute. I can’t really complain though because this was one of the easiest shifts I’ve had since starting coop.

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SSBD Nightmare

November 6, 2019

I worked SSBD today and about a month and a half into this coop placement, I’m getting more comfortable with the help of my fellow Cathay colleagues. They gave me tips on not only how to ensure a smooth flow with SSBD, but also how to make it more relaxing and easy for me.

The night started off nice and easy with no problems at all. Some people were able to drop off their bags without any assistance and while others needed my help, it didn’t affect the flow of everyone else dropping off their bags.

However, about an hour and a half into my shift every SSBD counter pictured above stopped working, hence all those red lights. Initially I had no clue what the issue was, so I tried restarting the belt but it didn’t work. After calling GTAA baggage control, they came to attempt to fix the problem, and while they were doing that, we had to redirect passengers to our assistance counters to drop their bags off there. I was later told by my colleague that there was a motor jam that occurred downstairs in the baggage handlers’ working area, a problem that was totally out of our control.

I had an instinct that the passengers would get frustrated at this issue because they had been in line for quite some time. But thankfully that wasn’t the case. I explained the situation to them and thanked them for their patience, and surprisingly they were being empathetic towards us.

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Airbus A350-1000 Inauguration

October 27, 2019

This day marks a special day in history for Cathay Pacific! Not only have I reached the one month mark of this coop placement, the Airbus A350-1000 makes its first ever departure from Toronto! As you can see in the picture above, we had a beautiful balloon entrance to the kiosks and our check-in counters.

Because Cathay Pacific only flies to Hong Kong from Toronto, our usual fleet used to consist of just Boeing 777′s. However, the A350-1000 now serves our day flights (Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays at 1410), and the Boeing 777 now serves just our night flights (every night at 0115).

This historic day also calls for some celebrations! To mark the A350-1000′s first flight from Toronto, there was cake provided at the gate and a beautiful backdrop of the aircraft, so all 334 passengers were in for a treat (I wish I took a photo, but I didn’t have my RAIC yet!).

In addition to our new aircraft, 2019 also marks the 25th anniversary of Cathay Pacific being in service in Toronto! It’s an amazing accomplishment for such an iconic airline in the biggest and busiest airport in Canada. With Toronto being one of the most diverse and multicultural city in the world, I don’t see this accomplishment as a surprise whatsoever. 

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Two-week Update!

October 16, 2019

Wow, we’ve already hit the quarter mark of this coop placement. What a crazy ride it’s been so far, and it’s only going to get crazier.

Pictured above is me at the SSBD counters 509 and 510, taken shortly after just my second SSBD shift! The nerves that were running through my mind were inexplicable because I knew that everything had to go right. This is also crucial because I obviously didn’t want any passengers losing their luggage so I wanted to make sure the process of dropping off their bags went smoothly.

There is so much practicality involved because we have to make sure passengers follow the proper procedure (loading their bag onto the belt, scanning the luggage tag, then the corresponding boarding pass), and most importantly ensuring that their bags weigh 23 kg or less. If all goes well, their bags will go through with ease. However, that’s not always the case. We also have to identify any oversized and overweight bags, and the options we had to provide our passengers if their bags fell into either category. They are able to check in up to two bags at no charge, so if they’re only checking in one bag and it’s overweight, they have the option of putting things into their carry-on. If not, we can provide them with a separate box that counts as their second “bag.”

Not only do passengers have bags to drop off, they also have full-sized boxes. In this case, we have to be extremely cautious that they don’t drop them off in this area. Whenever we notice a passenger with these boxes, we have to notify them that all boxes, no matter the size and weight, must be taken to the “oversized baggage” drop off.

This role definitely isn’t a walk in the park. Even though it’s self-serve, we have to be there for passengers in case they need our assistance to ensure a smooth flow. It may seem easy on paper, but when you’re actually on the floor working this position, it’s like a good cardio workout with all the back and forth walking from each SSBD counter. I know I’ll get better the more I work in this area, so I just have to take it one step at a time.

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First Shift - CX825

September 29, 2019

A quick two days after orientation came my first shift as a customer service ambassador (from 1130 to 1530) by assisting passengers with the kiosks. Although I was excited at first to get started, nerves started to kick in. Just like any job, the thoughts that were running through my mind were: “I think I’m going to mess up” and “I don’t know if I can do this.” I was doubting myself because I didn’t think I had enough confidence, especially knowing how busy flights can be. But I took a breather - calming and relaxing my mind, and receiving positive encouragement from the Cathay staff. They said to take my time with everything, helping passengers one by one while also learning how to use the kiosks for our own benefit. However, it’s called a self-service check-in kiosk for a reason: although we should help passengers needing assistance, we shouldn’t do all the work for them.

As the shift went on, I became more comfortable in this role. Helping passengers felt natural because of my previous customer service experience. It’s always important to have an approachable and friendly personality and less of a “robotic” one to show that we genuinely care about them: being genuine goes a long way and leaves a positive impact. This brings us back to first semester where we were told that as customer service agents, we are passengers’ first point of contact so we must always create excellent first impressions.

Little did I know that the time had already hit 1445 - one hour before departure which meant that check-in counters were closed! We were able to pack everything up, thus signalling the end of my first day as a customer service ambassador at Cathay Pacific. It’s a great feeling to work in a fast-paced environment because time truly goes by very quickly. You literally don’t even realize it with the craziness that goes on at the airport.

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Orientation!

September 27, 2019

I had the honour of landing a coop placement position with Cathay Pacific, and this day marks the start of a new chapter in my life: orientation day. I, along with thirteen fellow Seneca students, met up at the Relay store in terminal 3. There were some familiar faces and also some who I’ve never seen before. Establishing chemistry with new coworkers is an important thing to do, especially with people you’ve never met before, so I was sure to do that by giving everyone a quick introduction of myself.

At 2:00 pm, our wonderful orientation leader and Cathay Pacific employee Claire, who was also present at the group interview, gave us a brief walk around of the kiosk area, check-in counters, and the self-service bag drop (SSBD) to familiarize ourselves with the environment in which we’ll be working. While doing so, she also introduced us to the Cathay employees who were working on the floor at the time. First impressions a big thing and the fact that everyone was so welcoming to us made me really eager to get started, even though we hadn’t reached the meat of the orientation yet!

We were brought up to the head office and led to the conference room where space was nonexistent. Because there were fourteen students, plus Claire and Winnie (one of the duty managers), it was hard to move around. But that was the least of our worries because we were all treated with Timbits and drinks, and provided with our own lanyard and name tag - you can’t go wrong with those at all!

Throughout the orientation session, I was able to grasp an abundant amount of information, including how to assist passengers using the kiosk machines and the SSBD, the size/weight restrictions for checked bags, and the process of how to get a RAIC, to name a few. This session really intrigued me and I could not wait to put on that uniform and get to work.

Oh, did I mention “uniform?” That’s right. Even we, coop students, were provided a full uniform which included a vest, a blazer and a tie! That was the cherry on top and was probably the best part of the orientation session. That way, we already feel part of the team, thus increasing our confidence.

Although I felt anxious on the way to the airport for orientation, those feelings went away almost immediately because of the warm hospitality provided by Claire, Winnie and the rest of the Cathay Pacific team. Personally, I cannot wait to see how much I will grow, as both a person and a customer service ambassador, and to apply all the skills and knowledge that I’ve gained during my time at Seneca.