Working as a steward or stewardess abroad: what is it, why would you do it, and where is the best place to go?

What is working as a steward or stewardess abroad like?

• Working as a steward or stewardess abroad means that you are responsible for the service, safety and comfort of passengers or guests during a trip or stay.
• This could be, for example, on an airplane, on a cruise ship, on a luxury train or in other forms of international transport or hospitality.
• Your work revolves around hospitality, service and problem solving. You ensure that guests feel welcome, that travel runs smoothly and that any problems are resolved quickly and professionally.
• The work can range from serving meals and drinks to answering questions, guiding passengers and dealing with unexpected situations during a trip.
• You often work together with an international group of colleagues and temporarily stay in different places around the world. This can be intensive, but it also provides unique and fun experiences.

Responsibilities

• Welcoming and guiding passengers or guests.
• Serving meals and drinks.
• Explain safety procedures.
• Answering questions and solving problems.
• Calming passengers in stressful situations.
• Checking safety and comfort during the journey.
• Collaborate with colleagues to ensure the service runs smoothly.
• Reporting incidents or details.

Working conditions

• The salary is usually a full salary with additional benefits.
• Sometimes you get free or heavily discounted flights and trips.
• Staying in accommodation provided by the organization or at the company location is not uncommon.
• Expect long working days and irregular working hours due to flights, sailing schedules or services.
• Sometimes a minimum age of 18 or 21 years, a minimum or maximum height and a ban on visible tattoos.

What are the reasons for working as a steward or stewardess abroad?

• To strengthen your empathy: by working in a different culture you often strengthen your own ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes. The differences in culture, working methods and ways of communicating ensure that you are much more likely to accept or accept others as they are. 
• To become more stress-resistant: working in busy situations, different languages ​​and under time pressure helps you practice staying calm when things don't go as planned.
• To get to know yourself better: working outside your familiar environment lets you discover where your qualities lie and what you find important.
• To increase your environmental awareness: by living and working in special places you experience new cultures in a much more intense way than as a tourist.
• To stimulate your sense of involvement: you often work intensively for a longer period of time with an international group of people, sometimes you also sleep in a room with them, and you share joys and sorrows.

What skills and motivations do you need to work as a steward or stewardess abroad?

• Communication: being able to communicate well with guests and colleagues, often in multiple languages, is often a must.
• Flexibility: working hours, weather conditions and unexpected situations require adaptability. You often need a good physical condition due to the sometimes difficult working conditions (jet lags, long days or nights).
• Environmental awareness: taking different cultures, rules and customs into account is inevitable wherever you work.
• Professionalism: this revolves around service-oriented work and an eye for details, even during busy moments.
• Collaboration: being able to function well in international teams and under the leadership of supervisors is important.

What are the best countries and locations to work as a steward or stewardess abroad?

• Airlines: worldwide, with major hubs such as Bahrain (home to several international airlines, including Gulf Air). Dubai (known as home to major international airlines such as Emirates).
• Cruise ships: worldwide, through organizations that mediate work on cruise ships, you can work anywhere in the world, from the Caribbean to Alaska and the Mediterranean.
• Other hospitality and transport: International luxury trains, Ferry companies, Yacht and charter companies

What are the risks of working as a steward or stewardess abroad, and are you insured against those risks? 

What are the risks of working as a steward or stewardess abroad, and what happens with some regularity:

• that you have to deal with fatigue due to long working days, jet lag or irregular working hours.
• that you work in busy or stressful situations where decisions have to be made quickly.
• that minor accidents can happen while operating equipment or during turbulence or bad weather.
• that you can develop health problems due to sleep deprivation, time differences or intensive travel.
• that you can become emotionally burdened by conflicts with passengers or emergencies during a trip.
• that medical care can be expensive or difficult to access in some countries.
• When you work in the aviation sector, you may be exposed to greater financial or legal risks as soon as you start performing your work under your own responsibility. It is advisable, as far as possible, to also inquire to what extent your local employer is adequately insured for accidents, technical errors, or misjudgments. Of course, this is not always the case, nor can it be always ascertained in advance. Take this into account as much as possible when deciding whether to perform certain risky tasks.

Are you insured while working as a steward or stewardess abroad?

• There may be several reasons why you need separate insurance when working abroad.
• Local employers generally offer limited or no supplementary insurance.
• During work, internships, or volunteering abroad where you receive compensation or a salary, your own health insurance coverage in your home country may lapse. See the pages on: insuring paid work, internships, or volunteering abroad.
• See also: insurance for working as a steward or stewardess for paid work, for internships and for volunteer work abroad.