{"id":29092,"date":"2025-07-29T04:14:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T04:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/29092\/"},"modified":"2025-07-29T04:14:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T04:14:09","slug":"why-i-quit-my-30-year-career-as-a-flight-attendant-and-became-a-chauffeur-for-pets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/29092\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I quit my 30-year career as a flight attendant and became a chauffeur for pets"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sandy Robson was a flight attendant for three decades before COVID presented her with the chance to switch careers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After taking a redundancy from the job that “defined her”, Sandy came across a Facebook ad looking for drivers \u2014 for pets.<\/p>\n

The 58-year-old now works for a pet-sitting service, transporting animals between their homes and their sitters around Sydney\/Gadigal Country.<\/p>\n

“I just potter around in my boss’s car, talking nonsense to dogs and cats all day \u2026 Everyone is much more envious of that than when I was a flight attendant.”<\/p>\n

We spoke to Sandy about her career switch, which also included a stint in retail and bartending on a vintage train.<\/p>\n

These are her words.<\/p>\n

‘I loved the camaraderie’\"Sandy<\/p>\n

Sandy was employed by Qantas for three decades. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

I started [as a flight attendant] in 1992 when Qantas was recruiting for Japanese speakers.<\/p>\n

That’s something I did at high school and in university. It was the peak of Japanese tourism in Australia.<\/p>\n

I started off as a flight attendant and made my way through the ranks to supervisor and eventually cabin manager.<\/p>\n

The best thing was we had lots of long trips and long time in various ports.<\/p>\n

But once Qantas was sold and they started to cut costs, they started making trips shorter.<\/p>\n

We called them slam-clickers \u2014 where you get off the flight, go to your hotel room, and only leave to come out for work.<\/p>\n

Leaving full-time work for comedy<\/a><\/p>\n

Leaving my day job was the only way to circuit break my life back into balance. Six months later, life is very different.<\/p>\n

What kept me there was the fun and the great people I worked with. We had a laugh every single day.<\/p>\n

And the cheap travel.<\/p>\n

Taking a redundancy<\/p>\n

I was working in short-haul domestic flights for three years of COVID.<\/p>\n

It was all about the handwashing and the masks and people getting edgy on flights.<\/p>\n

They offered a redundancy, and I thought “the writing’s on the wall now \u2014 get out while they’re offering money to do so”.<\/p>\n

I wasn’t one of those people who were very upset to leave, or felt forced out. It was time.<\/p>\n

One of the first things I did was get a pet, then the second was book subscriptions, because I knew I was going to be home for shows, the theatre, birthdays.<\/p>\n

That was the first Christmas I knew I would be home in 30 years, and I got to spend it with my sister and her husband, and my beautiful 19-year-old niece.<\/p>\n

I needed to get out of the house\"sandy<\/p>\n

Sandy says working with animals is rewarding. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

I had a good payout from Qantas, so had the financial stability to experiment with work a bit. I own my home. I don’t have dependants, just the cats.<\/p>\n

I decided I needed to do something to get out of my house because it was [during] COVID, and a lot of retail was considered essential work.<\/p>\n

I worked in a homewares store, which was considered a vital industry. I don’t know why, I guess people need sheets and towels!<\/p>\n

I found that very different to the airline. People really didn’t treat you well in retail, even though it was a lovely shop.<\/p>\n

People were quite respectful to flight attendants. You had the odd drongo, but [most passengers] knew you were there doing a hard job, looking after their safety.<\/p>\n

Do you have a unique job you often get questions about? We’d love to hear about it \u00a0lifestyle@abc.net.au<\/a><\/p>\n

After a couple of years in retail, I was offered work on a vintage train. It was the old Southern Aurora, a stainless-steel diesel from 1962.<\/p>\n

The owners knew someone from Qantas and he recruited his friends to work on it \u2014 it was taken over by Qantas people.<\/p>\n

The owners of the train were delighted because they had this pre-trained \u2026 workforce.<\/p>\n

We all knew the way each other worked, and how to move around each other in confined spaces.<\/p>\n

I was the bartender.<\/p>\n

I absolutely loved it and would be doing it now if it didn’t change hands.<\/p>\n

A new breed of customers\"Sandy<\/p>\n

Sandy says people are envious of her pet-transport gig. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

For the pet-sitting company, I pick up the pets from the owners and take them to the pet sitter’s home with their belongings. And reverse when the owners get back from holiday.<\/p>\n

After 30 years of working with people, it’s really nice to have customers that can’t talk.<\/p>\n

I’ve lived in Sydney all my life, so I’m not daunted by traffic or parking.<\/p>\n

You have some hysterical moments. I have this golden retriever who gets car sick … Throws up, tries to eat it, and then sits in it.<\/p>\n

Then I have a Maine coon [cat] who lives in the poshest house imaginable and gets sent to quite a small apartment. He yells at me the whole way.<\/p>\n

People comment about how wonderful it must be. I say, ‘It’s not well paid, but it’s hugely emotionally rewarding’.<\/p>\n

I just love animals.<\/p>\n

I get so much out of it when I see the dogs reunited with their owners.<\/p>\n

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