Air New Zealand's singing flight attendant Cecilia Tufuga is a hit

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This was published 4 years ago

Air New Zealand's singing flight attendant Cecilia Tufuga is a hit

By Lorna Thornber
Cecelia takes it to the bridge.

Cecelia takes it to the bridge.Credit: Facebook/Air New Zealand

An Air New Zealand flight attendant who's taken to serenading passengers has becoming something of a celebrity on domestic flights, with fans describing her as "delightful" and "a legend" and complimenting her "gorgeous voice".

The national carrier shared a video on Friday of Cecilia Tufuga breaking into her signature rendition of Simon & Garfunkel's 1970 hit Cecilia after introducing herself and the first officer on flight NZ8084 from Nelson to Auckland.

Cecilia sang the first two verses of the song, which repeat the words "Cecilia, you're breaking my heart. You're breaking my confidence daily. Oh Cecilia, I'm down on my knees. I'm begging you please to come home."

The performance prompted first amused laughter and then applause from passengers, who seem to have enjoyed the musical interlude before the usual safety briefing.

The video, which has clocked up more than 2400 likes and 117,500 views, attracted comments from multiple passengers who had heard Cecilia sing on previous flights.

"I knew you'd be famous one day Cecilia," one passenger wrote, adding that everyone on board "just loved your fresh and happy attitude".

"We had Cecilia on our flight from Whangarei to Auckland," another said. "She was awesome and she sung us her song. Every time I hear that song it makes me smile."

"We flew with Cecilia last weekend from Nelson," another passenger said. "Great vocals!! Loved the vibe in our small plane, you made our trip home a happy one."

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"Cecilia still going with that waiata! Awesome don't change Cecilia," another wrote.

A man who described her as "a legend" said some business class flight attendants could take a leaf out of Cecilia's book.

"Flew with her from Nelson to Auckland and all I can say is AirNZ hire her as head crew trainer because after your crews effort to Seoul the other week in Business she is light years ahead," he wrote.

He wasn't the only one to suggest the airline's new boss could look to Cecilia when considering what it could do better, with another saying "life shouldn't be serious all the time".

Earlier this month, incoming chief executive Greg Foran asked airline staff for advice on how the airline could improve.

Foran, who takes up his new role on February 3, will use the feedback to help develop a new strategic plan for the airline.

The comments on the video weren't all positive though.

"Good to see there has still been no investment in ground air conditioning carts," one passenger said.

Stuff.co.nz

See also: Aussie YouTube star slammed after faking injury to get airline upgrade

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