Swords, Tricks and White Sharks: Flight Attendants Reveal Hobbies

A perfect smile, a neat hairstyle, and a light step along the aisles — that’s how we see flight attendants in the sky. But what do they do on the ground, away from work? It turns out the friendly woman with the trolley might fence, box, or dive with sharks as a hobby, while the young man greeting you at the cabin door might craft intricate scale models.

In this article, flight attendants from three airlines — S7 Airlines, Ural Airlines, and Utair — told MSK1.RU about their pastimes. Many of them choose quite unusual ways to spend their leisure time.

Anna Lavlinskaya has worked as a flight attendant at S7 Airlines for ten years, and two years ago she picked up a sword. Anna started fencing from scratch at the age of 36. Now she attends group training sessions with sparring, sometimes takes individual lessons, competes in tournaments, and has already earned podium finishes. Combining it with flights, she says, is not difficult.

“Fencing develops not only endurance and reaction but also quick thinking — it’s no wonder it’s called ‘fast chess.’ And on top of that, it’s very beautiful,” Anna shared.

Diana Zhiltsova loves to travel and has been passionate about everything related to aircraft since childhood. On her days off, though, she does something unrelated to the sky: she competes in obstacle course races, seriously — as part of the Moscow national team. In 2020, Diana and her S7 colleagues ran the “Race of Heroes” (a military-style obstacle course).

“Sport helps me stay in good physical shape, avoid occupational diseases, support my immune system, and, of course, boost my mood — that’s also important,” Diana emphasizes.

Alena Moroz has been a flight attendant at Ural Airlines for five years. She didn’t enter the profession by chance — her grandfather, uncle, and father are all aviators. Alena herself dreamed of becoming a stewardess since childhood, and that’s how it turned out. Alongside aviation, dance has always been part of her life; she has been dancing since the age of four. Alena started with classical choreography at the House of Culture for Aviation Workers — right across from the Ural Airlines office. She devoted thirteen years to the ensemble “Ovation,” graduated with honors from an arts school, and later taught body ballet — a simplified version of classical dance. According to her, the skills honed through this hobby also help in her profession.

“The immense experience of performing on stage and teaching freed me from shyness. I find it easy to talk to strangers, offer advice, help — I feel comfortable among people. Passengers often compliment me during the safety demonstration and ask if I’m a dancer. They say my movements are elegant,” Alena shares.

Kirill Frosh is a senior flight attendant at Ural Airlines with nine years in the profession. He devotes his free time to scale modeling. His love for this hobby began in childhood when his father brought little Kirill a plastic model of a MiG-29 fighter jet. Now he assembles complex kits, pays attention to the tiniest details, and even takes custom orders. According to him, a hobby that demands such meticulous handiwork is a perfect outlet.

“Modeling is a completely different aspect of life that lets you switch off. Assembling and painting a model makes time fly by unnoticed; it’s a meditative process where you can disconnect and be alone with yourself,” Kirill says.

Veronika Lavrova admits she quickly realized that office work wasn’t for her. She always craved movement. That’s why she decided to become a flight attendant at Utair.

“Over time, it turned out that traveling wasn’t enough for me,” the young woman says. “One day I picked up an old Canon camera, and that was the start of a new passion. At first, I photographed friends, then I found my style, started learning, and realized photography is more than just a hobby.”

Now Veronika holds photo shoots between flights, and her next goal is to master wedding photography.

Sergei Serafimchik has been in the profession only recently: he has worked as a flight attendant at Utair for just over a year and a half. But BMX entered his life back in 2013. In this sport, the most complex tricks are performed on specially designed small bicycles.

“For the last six years, I’ve also been working as a model,” Sergey adds. “At first glance, these hobbies are completely different, but for me they complement each other perfectly. BMX gives me adrenaline, photo shoots help me open up, and working in the sky teaches discipline and responsibility. Together, they create that balance without which I can no longer imagine myself.”

Anastasia Bunina first put on skates at the age of three, but not to jump double axels: she was sent to hockey. Everything seemed to be heading toward a career in big-time sports until, at eighteen, she had to quit due to an injury. Anastasia didn’t completely leave hockey; she continued coaching children and adults.

“Five years ago, my hockey family was replaced by an aviation one,” Anastasia shares. “But I feel I’m in the right place in both. Hockey isn’t going anywhere — it’s a lifestyle, it’s in my heart.”

There’s another twist to her story: Anastasia’s mother herself dreamed of becoming a stewardess, but that dream didn’t come true, so in a sense, Anastasia flies for both of them at S7 Airlines.

Irina Tatskaya has been accompanying S7 Airlines passengers for sixteen years and, during that time, has visited every continent except Antarctica. On vacation, she also prefers active leisure: Irina is a diver and even earned her PADI Advanced Open Water certification. She doesn’t dive in shallow resort waters; she chooses locations for experienced divers and encounters sharks underwater — thresher, tiger, and great white sharks.

“Travel is a way to discover yourself and unlock new possibilities. I never hesitated to travel alone or plan complex multi-country routes. And in 2022, I discovered the underwater world — and it turned out to be a whole other dimension,” she says.

Hilola Aminova has worked at Ural Airlines as a flight attendant-instructor since 2018. Besides flying, her love is martial arts. Although she grew up in a sports family, she had always been far from physical activities until she tried Muay Thai. At her very first lesson, Hilola realized martial arts are tough, but she discovered such energy in herself that she’s now ready to train constantly. According to her, her favorite sport helps both at work and in life.

“Martial arts don’t spoil femininity at all; on the contrary, they build self-confidence and confidence in your actions,” she is convinced. “Endurance develops, mental strength and immunity grow stronger. And it’s also a powerful psycho-emotional release — just what you need to combat stress.”

Galina Kachanovskaya has worked at Ural Airlines since May 2015 and is currently a senior flight attendant-instructor and methodologist for emergency and rescue training. She has been into jumping (trampoline fitness) for 3.5 years. Galina has loved movement since childhood, but frequent business trips made regular workouts impossible until colleagues recommended jumping to her.

Evgenia Istomina has been with the airline for over 17 years and is now a senior flight attendant of the unit. In school and college, she did track and field and volleyball, but later sports quietly faded from her life. One day, Evgenia tagged along to a jumping workout with Galina, thinking, “I’ll go a couple of times. What’s the big deal? Just jumping on a trampoline?” But those couple of times stretched into two and a half years, and she has no intention of quitting.

Tatiana Tushevskaya has been a flight attendant at Utair for six years, and a couple of years ago she decided to try Thai boxing for the first time. Like Hilola, she came to her first session out of curiosity — and unexpectedly stayed. Now the sport has become a permanent part of her life. Tatiana believes that boxing teaches discipline, helps maintain focus, and prevents giving up in the face of difficulties.

“Even with constant flights, I find time for training,” she shares. “After workouts, you feel stronger, calmer, and you return to the sky with renewed energy.”

According to Daria Alekseenko, a flight attendant at Utair, work taught her to love movement, so even on vacation she rarely chooses rest without adventure. Speed, adrenaline, and unforgettable impressions — that’s what a successful vacation looks like to her.

“A few years ago, I got on a snowboard, and since then I’ve been waiting every winter for the chance to hit the mountains again,” the young woman shares. “And recently I discovered wakesurfing, and now I can’t imagine summer without waves.”