Tea, Coffee or Corpse Sir? (Air Babylon - Imogen Edwards-Jones)

Member Name: Lunah_C

Product:	Air Babylon - Imogen Edwards-Jones
Date:	07/06/07 (186 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Learn the tricks of the trade. What to do and not.

Disadvantages: You might just never fly again.

I had never heard of Imogen Edward-Jones before so was not at all familiar with her work when I picked up this book. Perusing the book aisle in Tesco, I had firstly picked up Hotel Babylon. I was familiar with the title having watched and enjoyed the TV series. This book Air Babylon had been stacked behind it. Unable to decide I picked up the two at a cost of just under £4 each.

I am a curious person, or nosey some may say, and love to know what really goes on behind the scenes, so these books seemed perfect for me.

The book covers a period of 24 hours in the life of a duty airport manager. Each chapter takes you an hour at a time through their arrival at the airport, their double shift and then finishing with their flight to Dubai to spend a day at a top hotel celebrating the birthday of one of the staff.

In each hour various incidents occur and trials set to stress the staff and manager. The book takes you behind the scenes to look at how these situations are sorted.

The book is made up from a collection of true stories and events told to the author by various people in the industry. Although the book is set over a 24 hour period they have actually been condensed and although I have never flown before and only had a small glimpse into life at an airport I would guess that life is normally somewhat quieter and less stressed than portrayed in the book.

Though the events are all true the airport and airline are ficticious, and all but the famous have had their name changed.

Ask any airport staff and they will say that one thing seen on a daily basis is the stroppy passengers and the late arrivals who demand to be put on the plane. Also those that feel despite having bought an economy ticket should without any question be upgraded. What the book hilariously does though is show you exactly how these situations are dealt with, and that even though the member of check in may be sweetly smiling whilst being verbally abused they are in fact already plotting revenge, all without the passenger having any inkling of what is going on.

The passenger will probably never be any the wiser either. The coffee will just taste rank due to it being on an aeroplane and therefore a cheaper brand than they would normally experience. The funny tummy is probably a result of flying and the awful smell that has just escaped into your face would never have come from the hostess would it! However a read of this book might just give you a clue as to why the stewardess is smiling away at you even though you gave her a right dressing down just moments earlier.

It also tells how the crew manage to be chirpy and bright all the way through their long shifts as well as how they keep themselves entertained sometimes at the passengers’ expense.

You might also want to check out the person at the back of the plane next time you disembark. Are they really ill, all wrapped up in a blanket with an oxygene mask or might they have already have lost the battle some hours ago and sat quietly alongside you for the ride. Time to bring out the tea trolley I guess......

I found this book a really good read and read it through in two days which for me is a real achievement. I am one of those that will never get beyond the first chapter if I have not been hooked in the first page or two.

It has a very humorous tone to it throughout which I think is what keeps it going. It only seems to go downhill for the last couple of chapters of which I felt weren’t really necessary to be added to the book. I also felt that there was far too much strong language throughout. I realise it is suppose to be reflecting real life and often those who turn up ten minutes late for check in to tend to resort to colourful words, I felt that the excessive amount used when conversations took place between colleagues was just not needed.

On the whole though a very good read and can be picked up quite cheaply. They would make ideal holiday reads though maybe not for the nervous passenger!

Summary: An insight of life behind the scenes for staff of an airline.