[Sammyboy.com, RonRon] Gracious, elegant, friendly - a few terms that come to mind when thinking of a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight attendant, better known as the Singapore Girl. Yet, when The Straits Times Online met chief stewardess Jessie Keuk Suet Ching for this feature profile, the words passion, ambition and unpredictability encapsulate her as a Singapore Girl, 24 years after joining the airline.
For Ms Keuk, 44, unpredictability isn't just the thrill of travelling all over the world. Experiencing a myriad of cultures keeps her going. As she said: 'Every flight presents a new challenge and I enjoy that no day is ever the same.'
As a chief stewardess, Ms Keuk wears the vibrant red sarong kebaya. She is in charge of the leading stewardesses who don the green sarong kebayas as well as the flight stewardesses in the cobalt blue uniform, the most recognisable kebaya among the three rankings. This blue kebaya is most associated with the Singapore Girl's trademark look, that for this story, Ms Keuk wore it for ST Online's profile shot of her.
Ms Keuk's role as chief stewardess is to determine how the flight service is to be run and ensure that the inflight team provides excellent service according to the needs of each class. Besides her leadership responsibilities, Ms Keuk supervises the newest class on board the Airbus A380 - the Singapore Airlines Suites.
The exclusive nature of the Suites compared to the Business and Economy classes, requires the cabin crew to pay special attention to passengers, such as preparing the full-sized bed whenever passengers desire to rest. Prior to take-off, flight attendants carry out a final check - after earlier safety and security sweeps - to ensure there are no dangerous items on board. As Ms Keuk aptly put it: 'We are the last line of defence.'
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