Stood down Qantas flight attendant wins $50,000 on Cash Cow
Like thousands of Australians, Qantas flight attendant Melody Hemensley has fallen on hard times since the coronavirus kicked in. But the Queensland grandmother got an unexpected windfall this week that will make you smile. SEE THE HEARTWARMING FOOTAGE HERE.
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A grandmother and stood down Qantas flight attendant has won $50,000 in Channel 7’s long-running Cash Cow competition.
Queensland woman Melody Hemensley was called by Sunrise fill-in hosts Monique Wright and Matt Doran just after 9am yesterday morning and luckily picked up her phone before the third ring.
Mouths agape, the shocked hosts quickly confirmed the phone had been answered and asked who was on the other end of the line.
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Hemensley was clearly in shock and struggled to answer Wright’s prompts to tell viewers a little about herself, only able to utter sounds of shock.
Soon it was evident why. Hemensley, like thousands of Australians, had fallen on hard times having worked in the travel industry since 2007, an industry that has of course been hit devastatingly hard by the coronavirus crisis.
“I’m a Qantas flight attendant and I’m stood down so not working at the moment,” she told the hosts.
“(I’m here with) my 72-year-old sister, she sold her house up in North Queensland and made it down here just before we got locked in.
“And my partner’s a farmer so he’s out on the farm bailing hay at the moment.”
This morning Ms Hemensley spoke to Kochie and Nat Barr about missing her job as a flight attendant and still had hope things would go back to normal.
“I love flying, love my job,” she said.
“The interaction with the passengers, and the other crew, I miss that as well. I certainly do miss it.
“I can’t wait until this is over so I can’t wait until this is over so I can get back to the job I love.”
Not only has Ms Hemensley faced tough times, she also said her husband, a farmer who has obviously not only been hit by the coronavirus but also the drought, was also struggling.
“He was getting bit worried about cash,” she said.
“He said ‘I can borrow some money from you’.”
Aside from general living, Ms Hemensley said she would use the $50,000 to pay off mounting credit cards.
The majority of airline staff have been stood down with no certainty of what the future will hold due to the COVID-19 crisis. Last month Qantas stood down 20,000 employees in one hit.
A large Cash Cow booty was last won in January by Arnna Kidman from Bowen who pocketed a whopping $90,000.