What2do4crew interviews Tracy Burt who has recently left a middle east based airline to become one of the leading business women in Dubai..........

Firstly thankyou for giving us the time to conduct this interview. You are very welcome.

Can we start by asking what was your first job? Working at a horse riding school back in the UK, up at 6am mucking out horses and not paid a penny ‘how mad’s that !!’

What was your first flying job? Yes I spent 7 years with a middle east based airline from 1998

What are your best memories during your time with your airline? Its so true when people say the crew makes the flight, I had some fantastic times on the Manchester’s despite the pax demands even had a blast with the crew when we went tech in Yemen funny how the most stressfull situations can bring the crew together.

What are your worst memories during your time flying? Standbys how I hated being woke up at one minute past six by a jolly crew controller telling me I was off to Bombay

What influenced your decision to start up your own business? To be honest it was never a goal of mine and I was totally enjoying working as a trainer with the airline, however I saw the rate of growth in Dubai and the volumes of business execs relocating out here without a support net work. I then quickly came to realise that there was a gap in the market for Lifestyle Management. From that day I couldn’t get it out of my head and knew id kick myself if I didn’t give it a go.

Tell us more about your business? Club Concierge started out offering concierge services to individuals in Dubai who are seeking a work/life balance they would subscribe to a membership and receive a dedicated lifestyle manager on call to manage all requests from Travel planning, entertainment, personal shopping, domestic assistance etc. In addition we now offer a global 24/7 service to organistaions, who offer a concierge service to their high valued customers. Eg Visa Infinite is a high net credit card and every cardholder in the middle east receives our concierge service, we also deliver the service to Vertu (luxury mobile users) and we are launching a programme with Dnata later this year.

Were your experiences as a cabin crew member an asset to the success of your business? Without a doubt I would not have had - 1) The confidence 2) The leadership skills . Looking back I feel that the courses and career opportunities that Emirates provided me with, gave me a solid foundation to work with all peers and approach any challenging situation in a constructive way.

Looking back would you change anything in regards to the time you spent in the middle east? Over all I was happy with the choices I made at the airline and was fortunate enough to move from Abinitio – Purser within three and half years which also opened other opportunities such as training college. One thing I do regret was not studying in my time off and now I simply don’t have the time. I always admired people like Helen Roxbrough who were so disciplined to their studying, Im a big believer in increasing your qualifications it opens up so many doors for you.

Any traveling advice to beat jet lag? Don’t over do it down route especially when you first join the airline and are seeing so many countries for the first time, its very tempting to party, shop and do the old touristy things all in 24 hrs. Lay overs are getting shorter and flying hours are increasing you just end up burning yourself out. Other than that drink lots of water, avoid heavy meals and visit a spa for a massage.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Scary thought really in an ideal world id like to pull out of being hands on with the business by then and have more time to spend with my family. Id also like to get involved with a charity this is something that has been on my mind recently

When you travel as a passenger do you ever use the attendant call button? No never, isn’t that the funniest thing. Last week I was on a business trip to India and dying for a glass of water but just couldn’t bring myself to press it and really couldn’t be bothered to get up.

Tell us your funnest story about your flying experience? I can’t think of one particular story but we used to have so much fun in the old days playing the practical jokes on the new crew on the supy flights, you remember the old classics – 24 D has requested a comb and he’s bald …. Having fun with the P.A’s ah them were the days !

Any advice for anybody wishing to become a flight attendant? Id still highly recommend it but id have a chat with crew members who work for the airline your applying too to get a realistic view of the job. As we know it aint as easy as it used to be.

What was your favourite destination and why? I loved New York, that place just gives me a buzz, the shopping, the bars and the people watching .

What is your favourite restaurant in Dubai? Buddah bar’s one of my favourites for the ambience and great food however for location id say Pier Chic at Al Qasr

Many thanks from what2do4crew and the very best success for your future.....