One of the most common assumptions about becoming cabin crew is that it means putting other ambitions on hold. Aurélie Carina, the newly crowned winner of Germany’s Next Top Model, is proof that it doesn’t have to.
Aurélie, 22, works as a flight attendant for Eurowings, the low-cost subsidiary of Lufthansa, and had no intention of leaving the job after winning the show’s 21st season. If anything, her employer has doubled down on celebrating both sides of her life at once — Eurowings has put her on the cover of the airline’s in-flight magazine, Wings, in her uniform, in front of one of the airline’s aircraft.
The magazine has been in seatback pockets across Eurowings’ European network since 1 July and will stay there for two months, meaning around five million passengers are expected to see her face this summer.
“You can be both — on the cover and in the service of others. That’s exactly what makes me,” Aurélie told German tabloid Bild when asked whether she planned to leave her job.
Why This Is Worth Noting
It would have been easy for Eurowings to treat this as a nice PR moment and move on. Instead, the airline’s chief executive Max Kownatzki framed it as something bigger: “She represents over 5,500 Eurowings employees who shape Eurowings. Aurélie’s story shows the diverse talents, passions and life paths that hide behind the people on board and on the ground.”
That framing matters for anyone considering a cabin crew career and worrying that it means narrowing your life down to one thing. It doesn’t have to. Crew come from every kind of background and keep every kind of interest alongside the job — Aurélie’s is just unusually public.
Worth knowing: Eurowings has one of the most relaxed grooming and appearance policies of any major European carrier, permitting visible tattoos, piercings, and makeup regardless of gender. Stories like Aurélie’s are a natural fit for an airline that has deliberately positioned itself around individuality rather than a uniform, rigid brand image. Our full cabin crew tattoo policy guide covers how Eurowings compares to other European and Gulf carriers on this.
The Bigger Picture
Cabin crew recruitment is often framed, understandably, around discipline, presentation standards, and fitting a specific mould. That’s real, and CCF has never pretended otherwise. But stories like this are a useful reminder that the job also attracts, and keeps, people with genuinely varied lives outside it. Whatever you’re passionate about outside of flying doesn’t necessarily have to stop the moment you get the job.
If you’re thinking about a career as cabin crew and want to understand what airlines are actually looking for, our full recruitment resources are a good place to start.
