No worries :-)

Equal? No. But I don't consider myself better, or the passengers better.

I serve meals, drinks, sell duty free, take call bells, clean the toilets and aisles. If the passengers have any requests I do my best to meet their expectations.

But at the same time, I expect them to listen to me when I am giving safety instructions. To listen to the onboard safety video/manual demo about what to do in an evacuation. To not disrupt me with trivial matters when it is very clear I am dealing with a serious medical case. To not get so disgustingly drunk that they cannot walk off the aircraft themselves or cause disruption and danger to themselves, the aircraft, me and my collegues, and other passengers. To comply with my requests to fasten seat belts, seat in the upright position, devices off, etc.

When I work on board, I don't consider myself better than anyone else. When I welcome you on board, I have no idea what you do for a living, where you come from. And whilst I cannot speak for all of my collegues, at least from MY perspective, I treat everyone the same no matter which cabin I serve. Whether they're a frequent flyer in First Class, or a deportee in Economy, they will get service with a smile and no negative attitude from me whatsoever.

I'm not entirely sure, it is a term that is very commonly used here, and within other airlines from what I understand. We use the term 'civvies' quite a bit when referring to non-uniform clothing, for whatever reason. I'm sure if I go looking through my years of notes and manuals I'll find the term used there quite a bit.
I feel as if I must point out, that under no circumstances do I have any lack of respect of anyone serving in the armed forces or with the police. My father spent over 20 years with the RAAF, and growing up a 'military brat' I have nothing but absolute respect for those that serve and protect my country and keep her streets safe.

This term is what is commonly used within our industry to refer to non-uniform clothing.

I believe it is 6 feet 11 inches, but I am not too sure. I'm pretty sure there are online converters around if you do a simple Google/Bing search...

With my airline, the oldest one I flew with was 52.
I have met older FA's, mostly American, but I didn't ask what their age was.

The latter. But I've met plenty of crew who were the former.

Actually I just got rostered the training! It's totally different now as everyone has to apply.

Oh don't get me wrong, I've seen them too. But there are signs outside the malls for a reason. And security have every right to talk to someone about their clothing if it infringes with the rules posted. It's a matter of showing respect, not a matter of seeing what you can get away with... that's why I suggest the knee/elbow as a general rule of thumb.

About a 2...

About an hour, both times. At outstations it is entirely dependent on immigration.

Awww thanks :-)

Yes, we have a bulletin board where you can advertise the flights you want or want to get rid of. You can also do a search for, say, NYC flights leaving on the 7th of March, the system will show who is operating that flight. Once you've sent a request, the system checks whether it is 'legal' or not, then it goes to the recipient. You can only swap flights and days off, you cannot swap reserve days, can-use, leave (which has a seperate system) nor training days.

Virtually everyone speaks English here. I've never encountered a situation where I've struggled with the language barrier.

Yes I have, only once before this job, and many layovers to Bangkok since the job.
I cannot speak Thai fluently. I can say enough to be polite, and I can count reasonably well.

We never go through the terminal in DXB whilst on duty. When we enter the aircraft it is done airside by bus to the aerobridge.

About 25%

From memory (I haven't done SFO in over 6 months) there will be one Main meal service, one Light Snack service and one Breakfast service. I cannot remember if the Main is served first or the Breakfast, but it will be one of the two. I think it is the Main.

From about a 15hr flight time, the Main should be served 30-45 min after take off, the Breakfast served 2.5hrs before landing into DXB and the Light Snack should be served 4.5hrs after the Dinner Service. There is also usually some snacks available in the galley during the flight as part of the 'social area', some whole fruit/crisps/chocolates etc.

The times of course vary with the flight time and how long the Main service takes, as all other timings are determined from the length of the first service.

The best thing is obvious - the travel! Love, love, love travelling, never get sick of it.
The worst thing? When someone has a go at you for matters totally beyond your control.

Yes it is. Women still do wear shorts, skirts, sleeveless attire etc, however they shouldn't be shorter than the knees and elbows out of respect. Any shorter than this and you risk being stopped by the 'Fashion Police' aka Security if you're in, say, a shopping mall. There are signs posted outside the establishment usually if there's a dress code in place.