Smiling German enjoys high life with Air China

An Air China aircraft at Beijing Capital International Airport. Air China currently employs around 40 foreign flight attendants. [Photo/China Daily]

Sasha Brokh, a 35-year-old German, landed in Beijing on a Wednesday in May. But he didn't have any time to savor the sights of the Chinese capital.

Almost as soon as Brokh arrived, he was back in the air again and had to make two round trips between Germany and China during the next three days.

Brokh is a flight attendant for Air China Ltd. He normally works on four flights a week, spending around 110 hours in the air every month.

The reason Borkh is so busy is that Air China operates four routes between China and Germany - the carrier's busiest European destination.

But Brokh doesn't mind the working hours, since he is still based in Germany.

"It is OK for me, I still have a great deal of free time at home," Brokh said.

Many Chinese airlines' foreign flight attendants are based in their own countries, a way that carriers can cut down on costs, experts said.

"The foreign bases also make Chinese carriers as attractive as foreign airlines," said Li Xiaojin, a professor at Civil Aviation University of China in Tianjin.

Brokh has worked for Air China since 2008, after spending 18 months at Deutsche Lufthansa AG.

He left the German airline when it was laying off flight attendants in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

Brokh opted for China's flag carrier as he wanted to continue working for a major airline.

After three months of pre-job training, which was three weeks longer than Lufthansa's training program, Brokh received permits to work in four types of aircraft.

During the training, Brokh also got his Chinese name Tianlong, which literally means "Sky Dragon", but he does not know what the Chinese characters mean.

The German's Chinese skill remains at several phrases, such as "Ni hao", but this doesn't affect his work.

Fortunately, Brokh works in business class, where most Chinese passengers can speak English.

"Some of them even speak fluent German," he said.

Actually, Brokh said he likes Chinese passengers more, as they are more likely to take his advice about the risks posed by drinking heavily during a flight.

But when he meets passengers who can only speak Chinese, Brokh has to fall back on his colleagues.

"My colleagues speak good English and we can communicate very well," Brokh said.

He is also popular among his colleagues, and topped a staff poll last year for the "most beautiful smile".

Brokh's latest plan is to learn Chinese, since he wants to be a purser for Air China, especially since five of his foreign colleagues were promoted this year.

"I hope I can work here for a long time and even fly some domestic flights in China in the future," he said.

wangwen@chinadaily.com.cn