Page 2 of Flight of Fancy

“Ever heard of Royal Asia? We have a proposition for someone as impeccable as you.”

A small piece of paper passed into Arianna’s hand. One of her subordinates, a Flight Stewardess in a blue kebaya, caught them but said nothing. The look on her face was clear as day, though. “Share it with me, and I won’t tell the manager.”

Arianna waited until she was in the First Class galley with her subordinate Charmaine before unfolding the piece of paper.

On January 11th, 2024, Arianna stepped out of the shower and opened her closet in the flat overlooking Changi Airport.

She removed her new uniform from its crisp white cover and hung it before the window. Several kilometers away, an airplane branded with blue and gold eagle wings came in for landing.

Arianna blew dry her hair. She combed it up in the same sleek bun she wore outside nearly every day of her life. She then applied her makeup with minimal changes from before – each of them decided upon by both her and the new Flight Attendant Mama, Ms. Chiang. The biggest change was the absence of her classic dark pink nail polish. Ms. Chiang told Arianna that she had such an elegant womanliness to her that only bold, dark red would do from now on.

Her lips were crimson red. Her eye makeup was dark but soft. The blush that once pinked her cheeks now ushered her toward her thirties. This new routine added five minutes, but Arianna knew it would soon become such second nature that it would be back down to ten in no time.

After prepping her underwear, she pulled her uniform off its hanger and inhaled.

Like many other Asian airlines, female flight attendants wore the sarong kebaya that hugged a slender figure and tapered off right above the ankles. Still, it felt foreign on Arianna’s body, and she stood in front of her standing mirror long enough to adjust the hem of her top until the shoulders flattened to her standards. She took a closer look at how her new lip and blush shades matched the intricate design of the deep purple and blue coloring of her uniform. She had to agree with Ms. Chiang – she looked like an elegant young woman who was independent enough to decide her life while still being approachable to those who dared to behold her.

“Hello,” she greeted her reflection in English, practicing her new lines that would soon override the old one Singapura had drilled into her over a decade. “Welcome aboard. My name is Arianna, and I will be taking care of you today. Do let me know if there is anything you request.” She slightly bowed her head, ensuring that her uniform did not unduly wrinkle with movement. “Please relax and enjoy the flight. Our estimated flight time to Los Angeles is fifteen hours and fifty-five minutes.”

Once satisfied, she grabbed her bags and did her usual sweep of her flat, ensuring everything was unplugged and that she did not forget anything. Yet unlike her other departures those past ten years, she was not off to Changi Airport to join the other Singapura Girls as they gathered for their preflight meeting. Today, Arianna stepped out of her sister’s car in a new uniform, a new name badge, and new tags on her bags.

People turned to look at her. Some gasped in delighted surprise. To the tune of rolling bags, idling taxis, and plane jets booming overhead, Arianna Song lifted her head and marched into the airport as one of the inaugural crew of Royal Asia’s route from Singapore to Los Angeles.

True perfection had finally arrived.

Chapter 2

“Istill can’t get over it,” Charmaine said as she grabbed a drink for a Business Class passenger. Behind her, Arianna inspected her bun in the galley mirror and wondered if she should redo her eyeliner. The Los Angeles smog always instigated her allergies and made even the most impervious of eyeliner brands weep. “Here we are. It really feels like a step up, right, Boss?”

She still called Arianna that in Mandarin, the language the Malaysian and the Taiwanese most easily shared. More than once, Arianna reminded Charmaine that their new supervisor was Esther Tan, also known as Boss Tan. She was another one poached from Singapura Airlines, although she and Arianna rarely shared a flight. Unlike now, where they were both assigned to the First Class crew between the weekly Singapore and Los Angeles flight. Arianna knew she had no hope of starting up higher in the food chain and happily ate the decrease in rank at Royal Asia in return for an extra USD 1000 a month in her paycheck. Who could say no to that? Not Charmaine, who had only been working at Singapura for three years when she and Arianna decided to attend the recruitment conference after receiving their fateful flyer.

“I don’t have to have a bob anymore.” Charmaine was still giddy as she tidied up the galley and prepared to deliver the hot drink. “First thing I’m doing when I grow my hair out more is wear it like yours, Boss.” She turned to Arianna, grinning. “You are my inspiration.”

Arianna lowered her hand from her hair and returned Charmaine’s friendly smile. “You flatter me too much.”

“It’s true. Even in Singapura, every girl to ever fly with you would say, ‘Did you see Miss Song? She’s the pinnacle of femininity. I’m a dog compared to her.’” Charmaine bit her lip. “How do you not have a boyfriend, Boss? If I looked like you, I wouldn’t fend off the suitors!”

“That’s a personal question, Miss Huang. Focus on getting your passenger his drink. You shouldn’t keep him waiting. Traveling businessmen have a long road between continents and must stay alert.”

“Right. Sorry.” Charmaine picked up the tiny teapot and accompanying porcelain cup doled out to First and Business Class. “Thank you for your time, Boss.”

“Come on, don’t let Boss Tan hear you saying that.”

“Give it time.” Charmaine grinned at her senior. “You’ll be in her position soon enough.”

Arianna knew that the only reason she wasn’t offered the title and duties of cabin First Class Manager was because there were other poached flight attendants from other airlines who outranked her in experience. Although Royal Asia was a joint venture between Singapore and the USA, most of the playbook came from the classic Asian airline structure where age and seniority were king above merit. Besides, Arianna didn’t mind. There was a giant spotlight on this inaugural crew, even three months in. She refused to be at the bottom of the ladder like Charmaine but would take having a set schedule in First Class and the pay boost that came with it even if it meant a demotion in title. It gave her more to achieve in a brand-new company that promised to take on more Western hiring and promotional ideals like thirty not being the end of a flight attendant’s lifespan.

Arianna could keep on keeping on for as long as she wanted. Hell, Boss Tan was thirty-one and only getting started!

By all accounts, leaving Singapura for Royal Asia had been exactly what Arianna needed, even if it still felt like the strangest betrayal of her life. Everyone she left behind at Singapura was shocked that Arianna departed on this note but couldn’t blame her. Her managers and friends in the administrative offices wished her luck and shed a single tear on her last flight between Beijing and Singapore, one week before she began her new training at Royal Asia right there in Singapore. That was where she bumped into Esther Tan, not yet knowing she’d be calling the thirty-one-year-old “Boss Tan” by the end of the month.

The competition during training had been fierce. Royal Asia had done their due diligence in recruiting some of the best talent from the service, mechanical, and piloting sectors of the commercial airline system, garnering high interest across the globe. The hard marketing launch at the end of 2023 was the talk of the City of Lions, where Arianna couldn’t walk five meters without encountering a poster, a commercial on a screen, or a crowd of people discussing “Singapura’s new big competitor,” although Royal Asia had a slightly different market. There were a few among Arianna’s old crew who considered her a traitor, but they quickly got over it when one of their own was promoted to now open positions.

Royal Asia was “luxury meets affordability,” although Arianna knew how ticket prices worked behind the curtain and felt even more compelled to give top-tier service to the First Class passengers paying the equivalent of a year’s rent. The crew working Economy had it a little easier, and sometimes Ariana had to cover for someone if an ankle rolled or a sore throat sent a crew member to the bunks. For the most part, though, she was second only to Esther in First Class and an easy fill-in for Business Class. Her one-month and three-month reviews were glowing with very few critiques, and even those were limited to her still getting used to some of the new ways of doing things.

And everyone clocked her as a Singapura Girl whenever she knelt to pick something up or bowed to deplaning passengers. Charmaine sought to emulate her; Esther never stopped remarking on it.

“Keep up the good work and you could have my job soon enough,” Esther once quipped when they sat in their jump seats. “They’re supposed to start offering new routes next year. They’ll need someone for the rumored New York route.”

---