DUBAI: “I can show you the world,” Disney’s Aladdin told a spellbound Jasmine – but who needs Aladdin when you can follow Dubai-based flight attendant “SkyFlyGirl” on social media?
The rising social media star is giving followers the chance to live vicariously through her as she jet-sets across the world and posts photos and videos to her various social media accounts.
Maria Soldatova, 29, has 45,000 followers on her Instagram account and a growing base of fans on her YouTube channel “SkyFlyGirl.”
Her globe-trotting vlogs and stunning snaps from around the world are entertaining and full to the brim with travel inspiration.
“It feels amazing that there are people who are interested in my accomplishments and who are happy to go along with me in the digital age,” she told Arab News.
“I try to encourage my community so much with daily inspirational quotes… New followers then asked me to open a YouTube account and my first videos combined short clips of beautiful destinations with music in the background. Later, it transformed into almost daily vlogs,” she said.
Although the Serbian former model says she has traveled to more than 71 destinations in her five-year career with one of the Middle East’s leading airlines, does she have a favorite?
“I’m from Siberia where it can get down to -40 degrees Celsius in the winter so that’s probably why tropical destinations like Mauritius or the Seychelles attract me,” she said, adding “at the same time… I love my flights to Italy, Malta and Russia! My suitcase is always full of groceries from Europe and my home country.”
Whether it’s Russia, Italy or the Seychelles, Soldatova makes a point of meeting her online fans in person when she lands in a location and says that she does so because she feels “more connected to my community” that way.
From international foods to meeting new people and engaging in novel experiences, Soldatova revealed her motivation.
“You might think waking up at 3 or 4 am or doing overnight flights is really hard but as soon as you put on red lipstick and meet your hilarious colleagues, any night flight becomes easy,” she said.
“I think it all depends on your mood and the value of why you are doing the job. Motivation to travel the world moves me so much.”
The flight attendant is making waves on YouTube, which she started posting on just last year.
To date, her most-viewed video has upwards of 890,000 views and focuses on a 16-hour nonstop flight from Dubai to Auckland, New Zealand. In it, she shares industry-insider tips on how to stay fresh, beat jetlag and deal with long journeys.
“If you ask me how, I won’t be able to reply,” she told Arab News when asked about the success of the video. “I don’t know the answer but I hope it motivates someone and makes this world a better place to live in.”
