Cabin Fever: The Sizzling Secrets of a Virgin Air Hostess

by Mandy Smith, Nicola Stow

The secrets of the Mile High Club revealed …

Mandy Smith spent twelve years strutting down the aisles as one of Richard Branson’s sexy and sassy flight attendants. In Cabin Fever she tells the good, the bad and the downright naughty tales of life in the air.

From dealing with projectile vomit and celebrity tantrums to sipping Manhattans and shopping in New York, this is riotous good fun. Set against a backdrop of exotic locations, the cast of zany characters includes everyone from Courtney Love to Sir Richard himself. Mandy’s jet-setting job allowed her to search the globe for Mr Right, which led her to many steamy love affairs. She even joined the Mile High Club, though not with a clumsy quickie in the toilet but a leisurely bonk in a Cessna. She’s no Virgin, and in-flight entertainment has never been so risqué!

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Travel, Biography, Aviation, Autobiography, Humor

304 pages, Paperback

First published March 26, 2014

About the author

Welcome! My name is Mandy Smith and I would like to invite you into the Pink Fluffy-Cloud-land of High Flying, where glamour and escapism are all side effects of the job. So whether you are looking to be an airhostess yourself or you are just interested in what we get up to; Cabin Fever may be of interest to you.

This is a little bit of a guide book on how to be an airhostess, with all its trials and tribulations and a little bit about the escapades of a group of friends who help each other through the good and bad times, that go hand in hand with their search for love - from city to city and up in the skies. All of the names have been changed to disguise the guilty, the lovely and the naughty. In this series of stories based on real life events which have happened to us all around the globe at one time or another in our career at Virgin Atlantic Airways.

I have been very lucky to live my life's ambition of 'having more fun than everyone else'. Meeting so many amazing people along the way. I am now a wife and a mum and SO happy that I managed to do everything I wanted to do, before settling down and have now surrounded myself with all of these amazing people - my amazing support network of friends, who I could not live without. (You know who you are)

Spending the rest of your life with someone is actually an awfully long time... a fact which; had never really entered my head while I was searching for Mr Right. A search that took me around the world quite a few times and yes you guessed it ... he was right here in Beautiful Brighton all along!

Cabin Fever has been nominated for The Peoples Book Award this summer & has been in the top 50 of Amazon kindle downloads for July, August and September. Wow ... I never really thought anyone would buy my little book, but I am so glad you all enjoyed my journeys.

After an amazing amount of Publicity and interest in Cabin Fever I am now looking forward to the PR slowing down slightly... lots of Breakfast TV, Radio & Newspaper coverage and getting back to reality and the best thing about it all - being able to get on with more writing.

I enjoy reading romance & chic lit novels to relax and unwind (when I get 5 mins to myself) or writing poetry. I have always enjoyed writing songs and poetry since Sixth Form College and have recently discovered that one of my songs is still being played by my friends band up north. This made me smile when I heard this by chance from a fellow air hostess who had married this friend, whom Id long lost contact with, as I have very fond memories of cutting classes and sneaking down to the local park with a note pad and a guitar to write in the sun - what a small world it is!

Ive had a lot of interest from people for me to write another book, so Im now writing a sequel to Cabin Fever, which is at present 55,000 words in and counting! Lots more stories - some which were left out of the original and a few more for good measure!

I look forward to meeting some of you on your travels around the world.... getting up to adventures that could have been inspired from reading my book or even if we only meet on paper....

x Happy reading x

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Being an air hostess isn't a job for just anyone; it takes stamina, commitment, patience, and a level-headed attitude to cope with the pressures we 'dollies' are up against on a daily basis. In addition to serving tea and coffee, you're expected to be a first-rate nurse, therapist, policewoman, and negotiator - and to smile throughout every trauma and mishap." -- from the epilogue, on page 287

When Ms Smith stuck to focusing on her work-related experiences and responsibilities - from 1999 to 2010 she was a flight attendant (a.k.a. 'hostie' and/or 'trolley dolly') on international routes for Virgin Airlines - her memoir was not too bad. However, after the initial chapters it drearily devolved into something that could've been more accurately titled Cabin Fever: The Sizzling Sex Life of a Virgin Airlines Flight Attendant. The rigorous training aspects and various anecdotes / vignettes from her 10+ years up in the air will keep a reader's interest early on, and even some of the hi-jinks from the crew blowing off steam on their down time in various locales were amusing . . . at first. However, as many other GR reviewers have noted the narrative then hits some severe turbulence by increasingly / repetitively centering on the fabulous shopping trips, drunken partying, explicit sexual activity, and much pining away about finding a wealthy potential husband during the stops at several ports of call. Want a terrible analogy? This one soared on take-off but then crash-landed, leaving no survivors.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for a tell-all book, especially ones disclosing all the gossip from industries & careers I've daydreamed of working in.
Since I was a little girl I've always been fascinated by the glamorous cabin crew members and what amazing careers they had.

I saw that author Mandy Smith had an interview on Sky News ahead of the release of this book and knew I'd have to read it.

The book starts out very strong, and I loved Mandy's description of the recruitment process and the people she met. The stories of the wild parties and the demanding customers were also hilarious and at time shocking.

However, half way through the author seems to run out of funny anecdotes and concentrates on her sex life, describing acrobatic sex marathons all around the world, giving particular attention to positions and number of orgasms achieved. I'm no prude, and can be partial to some erotica, but her sexual stories seemed out of place for the book. I'd bought what I thought was a gossipy collection of stories about diva customers, randy pilots and how those working in customer service 35,000 feet in the air coped.
What I got was a low rent 50 Shades wannabe.

It took a turn for the worse in the last third when Smith begins to self indulgently describe all of the rich men she dated. I don't know whether this was supposed to make the reader jealous of her fabulous life, or make us feel sorry for her that she could never find the right man, but all it made me do was roll my eyes.

Overall there were some interesting stories of the fun and frolics of being a 'hostie' but the author quickly lost her way and, after a couple of chapters, the 'look at my fabulous life' tales leave a very bad taste in your mouth.

[Tim Allan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Are you looking for a book was about the frantic struggles and stresses of manning a passenger plane 30,000 feet above the ground. Well don't look here! This book is about drunken shenanigans I expect from underachieving college students with too much time on their hands. I could even forgive the author if it was entertaining and well written. Unfortunately, Green eggs and Ham has a larger vocabulary and the events are well, just a bit boring, streaking through hotel lobbies and games of truth or dare.

Who will like this book: Readers of Closer and the Daily Mail.
Who won't: Anyone with a IQ greater than their shoe size.

[Liralen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, that was...about what the reviews promised.

Alternative subtitles:
Sex, Booze, and Boys I Banged
Sex, Booze, and Sophomoric Shenanigans
Sex, Booze, and Spitting in People's Food
Sex, Booze, and a Total Lack of Professionalism
Sex, Booze, and Nymphomania
Sex, Booze, and Cattiness
Sex, Booze, and Name-Dropping

Occasionally Smith remembers that the book is ostensibly about being a flight attendant rather than Sex, Booze, and Trashing Hotel Rooms and she tells a story or two about passengers behaving badly midair, tsk tsk tsk, look how cheap and tacky they were, and then she gets back to Sex, Booze, and Hypocrisy. (The lack of self-awareness is pretty staggering; the book flips right from talking sneeringly about passengers who act entitled because they aren't in economy...to busting out that same sense of entitlement when talking about trashing hotel rooms and generally making a public nuisance of oneself.)

Obviously Smith is an adult with free will and should do whatever consensual coitus she's into, but maybe the next book about being a flight attendant should actually be about...like...being a flight attendant? She had a long enough flight career that I have to assume that she was competent at her job. It's probably just as well that she retired from being a flight attendant before publishing Sex, Booze, and Why You Shouldn't Fly Virgin, though, because I can't imagine it went down terribly well.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why oh why do I get suckered into reading these kinds of tell-alls? I just can't help it...

I love to read these "industry-insiders" memoirs to get the scoop on what life is like in certain professions, and while the first part of this was informative in that regard, the rest of the book's focus turned to Mandy's alcohol-fueled parties, sexscapades, and eventually the search for a lifetime partner.

[Kenneth · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn’t finish it …. Usually if I don’t like a book I’ll power through but this one I couldn’t. I got more than half way but found myself constantly looking at how many pages I had left and I realised I clearly wasn’t enjoying it.
Don’t get me wrong I have nothing against the author but I just was not uninterested in how much ‘orgasmic sex’ she had and how many parties she went to. I think she overly portrayed cabin crew in the stereo typical light of being promiscuous, shallow and immature and that may be her experience but it didn’t make a great book. It became more of the same stories moulded into different chapters … parties, alcohol, nudity and sprinkled with her own relationships describing unnecessarily her own sexual exploits. In most cases sex sells but this lacked lacked class and there is something about writing your own biography and glorifying your own sex scenes which just screamed of Jay from the Inbetweeners.

The author is telling her story and maybe is being as true to herself as she can be, but the reality of it is that your profession doesn’t make your life interesting. Having a party and drunk sex is the same in New York, Johannesburg or London.

I caveat this review by saying I have not completed the book in its entirety. I didn’t like it but there will be readers who surely will. Personally though I felt it was gossip girl magazine quality writing masquerading as a book and could have been so much better.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoy reading "behind-the-scenes" books that give you the insider view of a particular industry or career. Waiter Rant and Heads in Beds are two that immediately come to mind; the back cover of this book even compares itself to Waiter Rant. However, I found this book to be more a recounting of the author's quest to get laid, than a true behind-the-scenes look at being a flight attendant for Virgin America.

I expected more on-the-job stories, but the ratio of the author's partying sexploits to actual in-flight happenings was about 4-to-1. This book was WAY more raunchier than I expected; I'm no prude, but honestly, am I supposed to believe that most flight attendants spend their off-hours drinking, partying, running around naked, and having sex with anything that moves? This book was less about being a flight attendant, and more about crazy parties and sex.

If Cosmopolitan is your favorite magazine, you'll probably love this book. Otherwise, I suggest giving this one a pass.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really 1.5 stars - there's some redeeming value here ... just, buried among the tales of explicit sex and general crew hijinx of which she seems proud, but struck me as the behavior I'd expect from the lowest class of drunken frat boys. I want to emphasize that the sexual angle is very explicit, as in detailed descriptions of sex organs, and then some. Besides all that, the stewardesses seem to pin their hopes on landing a guy who's a) rich, b) very good looking and c) interested in them (though I suspect a and b may carry more weight). I must say that I felt this book gives flight attendants a pretty bad name. The "just" part above has to do with some stories of actual working situations, that were indeed interesting.

I can't imagine any of my Goodreads friends liking this book.

[Caroline Aziz · Rating 1 out of 5]

This could have been so good! I love true stories, and finding out about interesting jobs and places. I though this was going to be great, potential to find out loads of behind the scenes stories and travel tales.
It started well, but then just turned into a sex diary. The latter part became a diary of rich men aged dated.
It came across as someone wanting to show off, a lady who is now settled with a husband and baby contemplating her past life.
Should probably change the description of the book to avoid disappointment.

[Shannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did you know you can't un-select a book on the First to Read site? I accidentally clicked the wrong book and that led me to read an absolutely terrible book. It should have been called "fucking around the globe".

[MRS R BAILEY · Rating 1 out of 5]

not quite what I expected full of bragging about celebs and getting drunk not what i was wanting to read

[Mehsi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Follow the adventures (as I would call them) of Mandy Smith, who used to be an Virgin Air Hostess.

While on vacation I was reading a nice stack of Cosmpolitans and came across an article about air hostesses, it was quite an interesting article, and they even had some excerpts from the book and recommended it to everyone. Of course I was interested though I had to wait until after my vacation until I could see if I could find it.

And this was a very interesting read to read, or at least for most. I loved reading about what happened on the planes with the passengers, I loved learning about the training and how these girls were selected and what kind of things they had to learn and exams to pass. It was great fun seeing people's reactions to the girls in various locations. At first I also quite liked the relationship with Jonathan and seeing a couple of the parties and what happens there.

However at some point it started to be more about sex sex sex sex and more sex and more parties and more sex and I just got bored. Then later she even went to detail her love life, talking how she went after rich guys and how she eventually met her hubby. It was nice, but it got boring and besides I didn't come here to read about her sex/love life. Which is a shame. I definitely had a few moments that I wanted to drop the book despite having come so far.

I did love how strong Mandy was, she had a terrible experience and she came out even stronger than before. She fought to get the job she wanted and got it. She worked hard, studied hard, and got to a new place, a new family, new happiness.

We also see what happens/her feelings when 11/9 happens. How she was lucky to have been able to transfer to another flight, otherwise she would have been underway to New York... My heart stopped for a moment when I read that.

But again there were tons of fun, exciting and hilarious, oh and shocking things to read and I did think it was mostly interesting. Though I do wonder how much of it is true. It seems a bit too much at times and unbelievable.

All in all, I would still recommend it to those interested to read more about air hostess stuff and see what kind of stuff happens in the air (and on ground with the parties).

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Tamara Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whenever I try and see flight attendant walk by, I often think how cool it would be try be a flight attendant and be able to fly to various exotic locations. After having finished this book, I have a new respect for flight attendants as well as the work that they do and have no desire to become a flight attendant.

Having read Mandy’s first hand accounts of flying from 1999 to the 2000s, she shows how much of her job requires a large amount of acting ability in interacting with passengers and putting them at ease during stressful situations. Through this book, Mandy also shows that for all the glamour of traveling, constantly traveling eventually takes a toll on one’s body, romantic relationships and spirit.
Mandy shows the ups and downs of being a flight attendant including unruly passengers, pilots who have medical emergencies and other similar experiences while maintaining grace as well as a sense of humor.

Overall, this book was amusing and entertaining although there’s a slight learning curve regarding the British slang used throughout the book. As I read further, I realized that the slang help add authenticity to her life experience.

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most fun, exciting, and salacious books I’ve read in a minute! Might I add, this was the perfect book for a trip! I read this book on a road trip and it really was the absolute perfect read. Mandy shared with us her tenure as a Virgin Atlantic long haul stewardess! Between the incredible destinations, the in air hijinx, and the pure heroism these men and women display on the daily is really incredible. So much more goes into being a stewardess than you would ever know, and it was so incredible to see what goes into that. Also, 9/11 was highlighted in this book and to hear what that experience was for people in the air at the time was so mind blowing. The next time you get up on the air you might want to treat the stewards and stewardess’ better, they deal with things you could literally not imagine!

[Yuuki Nakashima · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should have read the title and blurb closely and see the design of the cover well. When I found this book at a book store, I misunderstood that it was more about behind-the-scenes of cabin attendants. The prologue was what I expected, so I thought I could read such episodes a lot. However, it had only a few interesting stories about airline industry and most of the it was about the author’s life with wild parties and sex. It was not so interesting and the full of gossips hurt the image of Virgin Airlines (at least in me.)
It’s true that some chapters were intriguing. I enjoyed leaning about their training, how to deal with emergency, etc.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually read this on a long flight. 3 stars because I finished it. Entertaining but not very informative. Lots of sex, some of it pretty graphic.

[Bookworm · Rating 1 out of 5]

Soft porn in the skies Well, okay, not really. But the cover has a suggestive picture and a tagline that it tells the sizzling secrets of a flight attendant/air hostess. Is it?
 
Initially I had high hopes when author Smith describes leaving her abusive ex after he beats her badly one night. She decides to have a change of career and decides to join Virgin Airlines, fly the skies. I really enjoy these "inside peeks" into particular careers or experiences people had, and I don't think I've read one for airline host/hostesses.
 
This was boring. I knew quite quickly this wasn't going to be for me when it got to her describing her sexual adventures within the first 20 pages of the book. I'm not a prude, but this bores me. Great, she found great sex with the guy who helped her get out of her abusive relationship. I....wanted to read about her being a flight attendant.
 
And the thing is, it could have been great. The stuff about her work was interesting, particularly the opening anecdote where the captain collapsed and Smith ran through a list of people who could possibly assist the first officer with landing (I once worked with someone who used to work as a flight attendant and he shared some...rather interesting tales), but clearly the book was marketed and filled out with her various partying activities and sexual adventures. I'm sure that can be part of the experience, but I just kept rolling my eyes.
 
I wouldn't really know if this is a good book to use as a reference for figuring out if this is a career people would want (the back cover stated she started her career in 1999), but I guess if you want a light and arguably trashy read this would be something to consider. Otherwise I'd skip it.
 
 

[Laine · Rating 1 out of 5]

i wanted this to be so much more. the beginning of the book was the most interesting part for me - the trials and tribulations smith had to go through to become a virgin airlines flight attendant (or hostie, or dollie, as she refers to herself) were actually fascinating. i'd never given it that much thought about exactly how much rigorous training they must go through, having to be the emergency everything for all the passengers aboard. her sexcapades read a little too much like the confessions of a sorority girl for me. not to knock on sorority girls, but that all-out partying, sleep-around kind of lifestyle isn't of interest to me at all. it was a fairly easy read, especially since i skimmed most of the stuff dealing with her sex life.

one thing i couldn't stand was her attitude about the harassment and assault she's been through. she had no regard at all for the women who might come after her, not even the wife of the aggressive pilot who pulled smith's tits out in the middle of a bar. i understand the desire to move on from a nightmare situation, but smith was in a privileged position, with people willing to help and pursue her cases. she decided to discard those monster men like they didn't exist anymore. i get that these were just blips in her life, but the casual mention of these incidents and the even-more casual moving on from them... they left a bad taste in my mouth.

oh! and haha if you're gonna read this be aware of exoticism. also, smith does embody that whole idea that women should be a CERTAIN WAY and if they're not, they're wrong and not worth attention or love. which is such bullshit.

i should maybe stop reading books written by and about people i would immensely dislike in person...

1.5 stars

[Craig Sisterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not my normal type of book that I read, but I found myself, perhaps surprisingly, thoroughly enjoying Smith's tales of her airborne and ground-based escapades as a Virgin air hostess. There's a life, a 'zing', to her recounting of the many adventures she had, and it provides readers with a greater insight into the life behind the scenes of air travel. Smith seems to have a kind heart and cool personality, and a real sense of humour about herself, sharing honestly and openly moments funny and tragic, her hopes and dreams (both met and shattered). The book rollicks along, with plenty of drama and incidents to keep the pages turning.

While this is the kind of book that some may quickly categorise, I think a wider variety of people may enjoy this book than I'd initially expected. There are plenty of references to celebrities, partying, fashion, and shenanigans - as perhaps many would expect - but there is also much more going on in Smith's memoir. She grows up as a person alongside her adventures, coming to realisations about herself and the world as she explores it, getting out of her comfort zone. I'm very glad I went out of my reading comfort zone to give this a try. It was worth the read.

[Ems. (afternoonbookery) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, i watched a film that inspired me (well i go through phases) to be an air hostess, then i was suggested this book so obviously i one clicked and here we are.

This tells the story of Mandy as she embarks on her journey to become a "trolley dolly" from the initial interview stage to her final flight we are taken along the journey with her.

The bits i liked;

* seeing the job
* the shopping
* mandys voice

So, i liked the parts where she was actually working the best, even though in parts it was the most unglam job ever, im talking pizza thrown in the face, but thats why i wanted to read this, to see the ins and out. I enjoyed seeing how the days abroad were spent, and i loved mandys voice, it was honest, open and very funny in parts.
The bits i disliked;
*the partying
*the sexy time

It wasnt that i dont like these topics, heck i read erotica like no ones business but it all felt very much, i drank this much and i did this with him and his parts. It just felt like it was very kind i dont know, to me irrelvant. HOWEVER - i do understand she was telling everything that happened and these were parts of her life.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh! I am not a prude, but even I found myself skipping entire pages of sexual exploits described in this book. Okay, I get it, you are young, free and gorgeous and you are a airline hostess - but wow! this book is not so much a memoir as an opportunity to describe endless bouts of drinking, partying and sexual escapades.

There are some decent parts in this book, which is why I rated it a 3 - the ACTUAL flight, cabin, arilines related passages are interesting - but it is almost impossible for Smith to stay on point - so we get 3 sentences of what its like to be an airline hostess (or hostie as she refers to herself) and then pages after painful pages of sexual exploit.

If they actually do even 50% of what she described (alarmingly her descriptions of some of the stuff they do while they are actually on duty and in the plane), then I will never look at an airline attendant in the same manner ever again.

So many times, I wanted to scream at her - "what are you 5??????" and apparently she and her entire crews were so gorgeous they got hit on constantly and the kicker - they slept with all of them!!!!

I am sad that this book was not about life on the plane.

[April Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those easy to read books that is perfect for when you're not up for a 'heavy' read but do not want to read something completely dull. This book despite the focus on all the romps (as you can guess from the title, the book has its fair share of sizzling moments) has some truly touching moments. Usually these moments are what happens on the flights, and I wish we had a few more of these moments just because I felt the emotion from them definitely made these parts of the novel better and more honestly written.

It's hard to describe this as a bad book because its a honest one and while there are moments of deepness and some revelations on all the trials an air hostess has to go through, I felt altogether the novel was forced into being more of a 'sexy air hostess' story. Not that that story is bad for those who enjoy but for me it is just not the genre I prefer.

So overall, not a bad read, and does provide some interesting tidbits about how air hostesses and pilots interact, as well as the perks and downsides of the job. Ultimately though this is for those who love a good old fashioned romance novel.

[Rosalie Vecchi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun read. I loved every single unfiltered experience that Mandy shared. At times I had serious wanderlust. Especially reading about trekking the Inca trail. Some of the relationships she had seemed a bit embellished to me, though I still loved reading about all the unique men she went on dates with. She certainly had a long and painful journey to find her true love! I enjoyed reading about all the fun she had with the flight crew, her girlfriends, and her solo vacations. I envy Mandy's level of confidence and independence. She liked dating and being around people but she didn't need to be. She was fine when she was on her own, which I find to be a very admirable quality. I liked reflecting on the ring-less proposal from her long-time boyfriend Jonathan in the beginning, who did not allow her to tell anyone about the engagement or make wedding plans, to the absolutely adorable beach proposal from her now husband Greg at the very end of the book. It was a happy ending to a rollercoaster ride of her twenties and early thirties!

[Amy W · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another light book chosen for reading on the plane (this time back to England).

This was alright. It did go some way into making me appreciate that hostesses aren't just there to serve food and drinks – they do have to pass exams and undergo a heck of a lot of emergency training beforehand.

I was hoping for a few more actual airline secrets like the goings on in running the plane and preparing for the flights etc and not so many sordid tales of Mandy's sex life, but there we are. It does say "sizzling" in the title after all. Most of these encounters were very cringeworthy to read. Words like bonking and rampant appeared often. I'm not sure how describing the upward curvature and closely cropped hair of a boyfriend's lower anatomy was really necessary. It was all a bit Daily Mail.

That said, it served its purpose as a time filler and some parts were quite funny.

[Amanda Borbe · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received this book as an ARC from Penguin. At first I was super excited to read this. I love memoirs and love a good insider look at things. However this book falls short in so many ways. Full disclosure I only made it half way through this book. Every page (that I read) was full of drunken party antics and who is hooking up with who. I know that's what the title implies, but there is nothing in this book beyond that. After 100 pages it stops being fun, and just becomes sad and depressing. The writing is also terrible, which didn't help the situation. One reviewer said it best that "this book reads more as a Penthouse forum letter than an actual book." I couldn't agree more. I recommend passing on this one.

[Ann Karras · Rating 1 out of 5]

I expected this book to be more about being a flight attendant than a vapid sex-posé so I was more than a little disappointed. There were some interesting industry tidbits. But not enough to make the book worthwhile. As a flight attendant myself I know about how challenging this job can be and the wild things that can happen as part of the job, so I was curious about how it was to be an FA back in the more glamourous days. Honestly it was just annoying to read. The industry has changed a lot and while I love being a flight attendant, this book couldn’t be further from my personal experience with it. And literally every chapter is focused on Mandy’s sex-ploits. Who cares?!

[Dave P · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked the beginning account of the training and tough first flight, where you actually find out some interesting things about what goes on 'behind the scenes' of the job.
Pretty soon, however, it just becomes a constant, wearying parade of descriptions of her (many) sexual escapades, sounding more and more like the girl who loves to use parties or drinking games as an excuse to overshare, so proud of the many different ways she's shagged many different people.
I skimmed from about 40% onwards.
More about the job would have helped. I'm sure there's quite a bit more to it than just having hot-tub orgies with co-workers in far away cities.

[Melanie Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read on what it is like to be an 'air hostess' with Virgin Atlantic. Not as many stories about things that happened in the air, more stories about what happens once they hit the hotel. It wore me out reading about their all-night parties, drinking and sexcapades. Sometimes I wondered if I was reading a trashy romance novel instead of a biography. Much of what they do every day seems quite glamourous, but it is also a lot of work dealing with high maintenance passengers. Good read if you aren't a prude.

[Doug Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cabin Fever: The Sizzling Secrets of a Virgin Airlines Flight Attendant is exactly what you think it is. It is racy, naughty, sometimes a bit graphic, but as they say, an entertaining summer read. Mandy Smith recounts her experiences as a flight attendant for 12 years on Virgin Atlantic Airlines from the in flight adventures of dealing with all kinds of passengers to the post flight party lifestyle. It is definitely for the adult reader. I spoke with Mandy Smith and that conversation can be heard here: http://dougmilesmedia.com/?p=1591

[Barry Bridges · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now THAT is a memoir. Mandy Smith delivers a well written, snappy, funny, and fascinating page turner. I don't know what I enjoyed more, her British terminology or her street-wise measured response to every situation. Her sexcapades and spin on the drunken parties make me wish I had not wasted my twenties being cautious and conservative. The tone is definitely a throw-back to the sixties view of the flight attendant life. Before you criticize and wax judgmental from postmodern perspectives, take a romp with Mandy and have some fun.