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[jhoanicelsabado]

My Last Day of Coop 🫶🏼

Woah! can’t believe this is my last day as PSA at Cathay. To CX team, I just wanna say thank you for support since day one, I’ve learned a lot from your advice which helps me during this placement.

I will miss the busy terminals, the teamwork, and the satisfaction of helping passengers. But I’m leaving with wonderful memories and valuable lessons.

Again, thank you Cathay family. Wishing you all the best! ☺️

[jhoanicelsabado]

Another Delayed Flight 🌩️

The flight today was delayed because of the storm in Hong Kong, so the plane will be late. Most passengers didn’t come after getting the update, but a few still arrived and checked in.

During the briefing, Boris planned to move to Check-in Counter 3 around 2 PM since passengers were expected to arrive around 4 PM for check-in. We couldn’t stay at Cathay Pacific’s regular counter because Saudi Airlines was using it, so we found an empty counter (Flair Airlines’) and decided to operate there until 5 PM. We set up the counter quickly before the passengers arrived.

Two students couldn’t stay because they had another job after this shift, so I decided to stay until the end to assist with the passengers. After we finished checking in all passengers, I went to the gate with one of the Cathay agents. We noticed that passengers were already lining up even though boarding hadn’t started yet, so we informed them that boarding wasn’t open and advised them to take a seat.

Once all passengers had boarded, we were all hungry 🤤🤤, so one of the agents bought Wendy’s and Starbucks for everyone afterward. I was happy to get free food!

[jhoanicelsabado]

Delayed Flight 👷🏻

Today's shift was very busy and tiring 😣. The three of us (students) had to stay at the gate the entire time to assist passengers due to a delay. The original departure was 15:30, but it was rescheduled to 18:50 because of an unexpected engineering issue. Many passengers were confused and kept asking about their connecting flights in Hong Kong—they were worried about what to do next.

We prepared some snacks and drinks and distributed them to the passengers. After that, they finally settled down and sat quietly. However, after two hours, passengers started asking for updates again. So, we handed them a printed notice with details about the delay and their connecting flights in Hong Kong.

Just before the boarding announcement, a passenger handed us a letter and a chocolate—it was the sweetest thing I’ve ever experienced. She said she understood that delays like this can happen, and she wanted to thank us with the letter and chocolate. That was the best part 🥹☺️💕

[jhoanicelsabado]

Busy Shift ( ◠‿◠ )

Working as a PSA is always interesting—some days are smooth, and others (like today) come with surprise. At first, everything was going fine. Bella and I helped travellers print boarding pass, check bags, and answer questions. Bella is great with people—she stays calm and makes passengers feel welcome.

Today, both Bella and I are the only assigned at the kiosk, as soon as the delay happened passengers started coming to us and some annoyed.

In the end, we both stayed patient and friendly, even when passengers were upsets. We helped each other, which made everything easier. I’m glad I could help, and Bella was a best teammate! 💕

[jhoanicelsabado]

Regular Day Shift ☀️

Today was full flight, when I started my shift it was quiet but around 11 am, many passengers arrived and kiosk got busy.

I noticed that many passengers didn't want to use the self-service kiosk to check in. But it's actually very easy!

You just scan your passport, print your boarding pass, and you're done! I tried to encourage passengers to try it, and those who did were happy with how simple it was.

But it wasn't just about helping passengers at the kiosk. I also had to keep an eye on everyone to make sure they were heading to the right place. Sometimes, passengers would try to go to the wrong area, so I had to quickly run over to guide them to the kiosk. 🏃🏻‍♀️💨

That’s my day! See you next blog 😉😊

[jhoanicelsabado]

With them (๑>◡<๑)(๑>◡<๑)

My shifts went smoothly. I worked with different classmates 💕💕 (btw these pictures are from May 28, 30, 31, June 5, 9 and 11) and it was nice to collaborate with them on managing passengers especially at Kiosk. I learned from Boris that tagging luggage isn’t the main focus; instead, it’s important to inform the passengers about viewing their seat. This way, they can change seat or verify their seat numbers before printing the boarding pass.

During my third week shift, I focused too much on tagging passengers and forgot to remind them to print their boarding passes or review their seats, which caused the screen to go back to the main page. (Thanks to Boris I corrected this mistake and applied his advice which I found it helpful during my shift now. 😌😌)

I was happy, too, since I’m somewhat familiar with the other airlines counters in Terminal 3. This is very important when passengers keep asking where their airline is, and I can guide them in the right direction to find the airline they’re looking for.

See you in my next blog 🤗🤗

[jhoanicelsabado]

Chill Day☀️

Today’s 5:30 am shift was pretty chill and smooth — except for the paper cut I got from a luggage tag while helping passenger attach it to their bag 😅.

I’m working in the Queue position, greeting passengers and directing to the right line. What I love most about this role is that it helps me improve my communication skills, which is something I really want to achieve. Sometimes, when I greet passengers, their smiles and friendly reply make my day ☺️🤗.

[jhoanicelsabado]

🌙 First Night Shift at Pearson’s SSBD: Lessons From a (Small) Mistake

Tonight was my first night shift as a Passenger Service Ambassador at Toronto Pearson Airport, and I was assigned to the Self-Service Bag Drop (SSBD)—where passengers weigh, tag, and send their luggage with our help.

One passenger, a friendly woman heading to Hongkong, handed me her suitcase and said:

“Could I get a fragile sticker for this, please?”

- I grabbed the fragile sticker from the counter.

- Forgot to take her bag off the scale first.

The moment her boarding pass was scanned the belt started moving.

So I slammed the stop button, grabbed her luggage and apologize while sticking the sticker.

What I Learned:

- Always remove luggage from the scale before handling special requests.

- Double-check the belt status.

Next time I’m gonna be careful not to do that mistake again. 😅😅

[jhoanicelsabado]

Nervous, Clueless, but Totally Excited!

Today, May 13, is my first day at Cathay Pacific 🤗😊😊😊. During today's shift, I was with Beryl, who was assigned to 5S, and Rolando, who was in 5K. I was also assigned to 5K. I arrived at the office a little early, and exactly at 10:30, our briefing started. To be honest, I didn’t understand much of what was discussed 🥹😅.

After the briefing, we set up the dim sum cart, and a few minutes later, we went down to start our shift. I was assigned to the kiosk, where I assisted passengers with check-in and printing luggage tags. Unlike my other classmates, who had started their first week on May 5, this was my first time, so I was a little nervous since most of them already knew what to do. However, I was thankful that some of the gap students were still there to guide us ☺️.

My job was to help passengers print their boarding passes and luggage tags. Attaching the tags to their luggage was easy, but I struggled when passengers asked me questions because I didn’t always know the answers 😅😅. Luckily, the other students were able to help me.

Later, I got to try working at the SSBD (Self-Service Bag Drop), where I helped passengers weigh their luggage and complete drop-off. This part was more confusing for me because there were a lot of things to learn, such as the procedures for handling special items (like fragile luggage or large boxes) and the weight and size limits for checked baggage. Hope I can figure it out next time! 😌

[jhoanicelsabado]

Orientation day ✈️✈️✈️

After finishing the Winter semester, I headed back home to my parents house in Winnipeg, thinking I’d have a long break before my summer semester. But then-surprise!-I got the exciting news about my placement orientation in YYZ Airport. Without hesitation, I bought a ticket back because there was no way I was missing this special day.

-THE BIG DAY-

The orientation took place on Sunday, and 21 of us gathered to learn everything before we start our schedule. The energy was amazing everyone was eager, curious, and ready to dive into this new experience. The session covered everything we need to know for our roles, understanding between economy, premium economy, and business class, the expectations for our service, and the standards for our grooming and uniform. Finally, we got to choose our schedules for May.

CAN’T WAIT TO START ☺️✈️✈️✈️