Two days of rest are finally had. The fatigue of my marathon of flying now a memory with some valuable lessons, mostly in regards of meal planning and new crew habits.

As my one of Osaka/Incheon flights is swapped in what I call ‘The Vienna Deal’, part of the new roster involves my first ever ‘double sector’, which I prepare for in the early hot Doha morning.

-‘Welcome to this Qatar Airways flight to Bahrain, our flying time is fifteen minutes.’ The engines roar and one minute after lifting off, my calves tense in an physical test of trolley pushing, the aircraft still on high pitch soars over the Pearl and my breathing pattern almost match the rhythm of my arms extending plastic trays with a pre-packed sandwich and a drink. We have landed in Bahrain, and passengers board the aircraft as fast as passengers leave it.

Round two, the trays are again successfully distributed in fifteen minutes. In Doha, the heavy aircraft door opens and a hot draft fills the galley throwing drops of sweat over my forehead. Passengers board again.

-‘Welcome to this Qatar Airways flight to Dubai, our flying time is fifty minutes’. The fully loaded aircraft rotates at midday and another ‘tray basketball’ game begins. The trays are delivered shortly before some crosswind hits us, forcing us to hold onto the handrails whilst walking through the cabin. The aircraft lands at Dubai International and dizzy passengers disembark in relief.

Round four. I can feel the drops of sweat sliding in between my shoulder blades but I smile. No, I smirk. I hand another set of trays to yet another set of hungry passengers before we line up with the Qatari peninsula and finally land for the day.

Hungry and smelly, I think about the fact that I have been airborne only for over two hours, but I have been working for nearly six. At Al Mansoura, scattered crowds gather around the neon lights of a Turkish restaurant selling pungent-smelling kebabs; at sunset I join and quench it with a can of Strawberry Fanta.

Sweet as.Vienna tomorrow morning.