Private flight attendant Olivia Falls reveals perks of luxury travel

A private flight attendant has pulled back the curtain on the luxury travel industry, sharing the “cheeky” perks and inside secrets of her family’s business.

Melbourne, Australia flight attendant Olivia Falls has begun sharing behind-the-scenes videos of her day-to-day work at her family’s private travel company, Shortstop Jet Charter, on TikTok.

One of her latest videos also reveals the kinds of “cheeky” perks that come from working with the world’s high flyers on a quick morning trip from Essendon Fields Airport to Sydney and back again.

Ms. Falls shows the preparation for the 7:15 am chartered flight, which starts when she arrives at the hangar more than an hour before with her father, Shortstop pilot Mick Falls Jr.

In the video, the 25-year-old attendant then takes a tour through the company’s lounge, hangar, and inside the luxurious wood and cream leather cabin of the private jet as they prepared for take-off — including replacing water bottles and arranging “fresh catering” for the passengers.

The plane chartered four people to Sydney, Australia before it would be cleaned and reset for six people flying back to Melbourne.

Ms. Falls said chartering the plane cost between “$10,000 and $12,000 per hour” [$6,662 and $8,000 USD], with additional costs for overnight stays and special catering requests.

Yet, despite showing some of the not-so-glamorous work that went into making the private travel look so glamorous, there are certainly some perks.

Among the perks of catering for those who can afford a private jet was a “cheeky” $100 [$66 USD] tip for her work. And her day was done, “all before 12 pm”.

In a number of other TikToks, Ms. Falls shows a day working “on the ground” and another documents the hectic demands of a three-day chartered trip to Brisbane (with a 4 am wake-up to head home).

Ms. Falls moved into the family business after completing her air host training with Qantas in 2019.

But she has teased plans to get into the cockpit and fly one of the jets one day – maybe become the third generation Fall to run the company.

Mick Falls Sr., Ms. Falls’ grandfather, founded Shortstop Jet Charter in 1984 after a career flying light aircraft. 

According to the company website, it is the longest-continuously operating jet charter company in Australia.

The Falls’ have flown all sorts of people around Australia and the world, from mining executives, to medical teams and vital organs from New Zealand to Perth, to couples tying the knot mid-air.

They even say they’ve transported a rock star or two – though, in an interview with The Age, the men refused to name names.

In 2020, Mike Jr. reportedly transported three dogs and their owners from Melbourne, home to Guangzhou in China. It cost about $250,000.

More regularly, though, Shortstop flies passengers around Australia and home to New Zealand up to 20 times a year, The Age reports. In the last year, the company has flown 150,000km, according to its website.

It also takes chartered trips to King Island, off the coast of Melbourne, on its DC-3 – a plane better known as ‘Melbourne’s Gooney Bird’.