Air Babylon

This is classified as a non fiction book but there's too much extreme stuff happening in one 24 hour period and some of the stuff which does is pretty implausible for it to be so. Plus the narrator is revealed to be a guy about a quarter into it and not the girl on the cover or the supposed author Imogen Edwards-Jones. Unless she got a sex change or something between that day and becoming an author or is still a guy but writing under a female penname, Imogen similar to Imagine could be I guess, anyway who knows it's a bit confusing. So anyway this fictional story is set in Heathrow airport for most part, then on board a cut price airline on route from London to Dubai where every possible thing that can go wrong does. Basic story is a ground staff duty manager is recounting their day, from parking their car, to dealing with her/his own hung over staff, other airport personnel such as baggage handlers, airport chaplains, customs, wildlife officers and of course passengers. His assistant is a flamboyant gay guy (the constant stereotypes for all workers in the airport leads me to further believe this is pure fiction) is reliable but likes to sneak off for paid breaks, to drink or have sex with celebrities in the toilets (like you're really going to think you'd get away with that unnoticed if this wasn't a work fiction). Anyway it's his assistant's 30th birthday, and although he doesn't want to go, thinks he should accompany his friend on a flight to Dubai and help celebrate the milestone. Have no idea if the author actually did any research, has worked in the industry her/himself or is just recounting tales they heard from airline workers in a bar or even on the reality behind the scenes airport TV shows, but truthful or not there's some entertaining tidbits of what, may or may not go on behind the scenes. Obviously like any customer service industry it is not a very intelligent thing to do to have a go at those behind the counter or on the plane as they are ultimately in control of how great your experience until you get off the plane is. If Imogen is to be believed the check in staff have chat windows open to gossip about the passengers they are serving and alert the others to ensure if they are having a go at them they get seated next to a fat person or a screaming child and all other staff at the gate and on the plane can read the message on the screen or print out and act accordingly where laxatives can be slipped into their drinks, flatulence made in their faces by attendants bending over while under the pretext of helping nearby passengers and so on. If they are nice at check in, they are upgraded or given some sort of special treatment. This is plausible but if true would leave behind evidence that could easily be used in civil action against the airline for compensation by the passengers or the very least to fire employees so I doubt they'd actually do it. Also apparently in relation to those that arrive after check in has

Having read Hotel Babylon, I'll say Air Babylon is even better (perhaps this is because I don't have much luxury to stay in a 5-star hotel but I do fly a couple of times every yr). Takeaway from the book: be nice to the airline staff (even the ground staff checking you in) or you'll regret on the plane - I'm not sure if what the book says is true, but better be careful.

I work in the airline industry, and when you are on "the other side of the check-in counter," there is no shortage of surprises. I found the book interesting, good for a light reading at an airport or a long haul flight. I felt some exaggeration in the misbehavings of the ground/flight staff.

After reading Hotel Babylon, I had to get my hands on a copy of Air Babylon. The pilot's hungover, the flight attendants are drunk, the passengers are coked up, there's a corpse in the galley, and children spray vomit from row A to row K. Supposedly, this has all really happened. On board, any annoying first class passengers won't be delighted to know where their steak might have been, and economy meals are usually too sloppy to hold, so offenders will simply have their stew spiked with Dulcolax. The advice on scams is handy, too. Look out for those duty-free designer watches: it's all too tempting for flight attendants to replace the genuine article with unspottable $5 fakes from Thailand and pocket the difference. And any regular traveller will be interested to hear how check-in staff, exchanging e-mails with the boarding gate, casually conspire to smooth your way or ruin your flight, according to their whim. It really does pay do be nice to people in the service industry. Overall, I thought it was a fun, guilty pleasure!

This is definitely not a book to read while on a flight to somewhere, especially if you are seated in economy class and beginning to come out of the far side of middle age. The book describes many antics that those in the industry get up to, the incidents that occur on flights and the somewhat casual approach many crew have towards their profession. A lightweight yet enjoyable read that provides an insight into many of those incidents that all air travellers have experienced from time to time at airports, or in the air but couldn't quite get a grip on. And a final warning, don't be rude to the check-in folk or you will definitely regret it!