Ahead of this Mother’s Day, a TUI flight attendant based in Birmingham has revealed how she followed in her mum’s footsteps to fulfil her childhood dream of taking to the skies.
Eloise Arbuthnott became TUI cabin crew in 2022 after being inspired by her mum, Joanne, who is currently a Cabin Manager and has worked for the airline for 31 years.
Eloise discovered her love for travel after seeing her mum explore the world and hearing of all her fascinating stories of life as a Cabin Manager.
Eloise said: “My whole life my mum has been a Cabin Manager so from a young age I have always been interested in travel, it’s all I’ve ever known. I used to run around the house in her uniform because I wanted to be like her when I grew up and I loved listening to the tales of what she got to see and experience in other parts of the world. I always knew I wanted to follow in her footsteps.
“Throughout all my training she was my biggest supporter, and I loved being able to confide in her or ask her advice whenever I needed. Having her by my side the whole time has definitely made me better at my job.
“Like all families, we’ve had our challenges over the years. But mum took everything in her stride and gave her work and our family 100% all of the time. She is a huge inspiration to me and the reason I love what I do so much, I’m really proud of everything she has achieved as a mum and at work.”
Joanne said one of her best memories while working as a Cabin Manager has been when she and Eloise flew to Montego Bay together.
Joanne added: “My dream was always to fly with my daughter, and we managed to do this in Eloise’s second year. We flew to Montego Bay and watching her in action was a really proud moment. The customers loved that we were a mother-daughter duo, and it was topped off by getting to spend some quality time together while we there.
“Knowing that I’ve inspired her to do something she genuinely loves brings me a lot of joy as a mum, and it’s even better we get to work together at our lovely Birmingham base.”