Are you interested to have a prestigious job as a flight attendant in a well-known aviation company? This article will give you insight and details about flight attendants, requirements to become one of them, their jobs, responsibilities, salary, career prospect and many other aspects that you would find thoroughly interesting.
Flight attendants or cabin crews are hired by commercial airlines and they are primarily responsible for ensuring safety and comfort of the passengers. People who perform this job in a business jet aircraft or in a military aircraft are also known as flight attendants. Sometimes all the flight attendants in a flight are collectively called cabin crew. You would probably be called as a flight attendant in your job and a air host/ hostess by others if you are lucky enough to be recruited by a major aviation company.
[Image source: flickr.com]
To look after the passenger safety, to make the journey comfortable for them and to assist other aircrews are the main responsibility a cabin crew performs. However they are well prepared to act in any kind of emergency situation. Other professionals like pilots and engineers remain in the cockpit of the airplane and primarily focus on safely and timely flying the airplane while flight attendants make sure that the journey is safe and comfortable for the passengers.
Prior to a flight:
During the flight:
During emergency:
[Image source: flickr.com]
Education: To become a flight attendant you need to complete at least your high school diploma (12 grade)/ at least 4 GCSE’s grade C or above/ or any equivalent educational qualification. Some employers prefer completion of certificate/associate degree program in flight attendant training courses. If you have excellent customer service experience or prior airline job experience, the employers might consider your application even if you do not meet their minimum grade requirement. Keep in mind that some airlines prefer candidates with post-secondary education.
Typically, the acceptable height for a cabin crew is 4 ft 11 inch - 6 ft 3 inch (150 to 190 cm). However it is advisable to check with the recruiter before applying for the post. Due to demographic reason this requirement may vary from country to country.
Weight: Most airlines seek for a healthy and balanced weight among the successful candidates. Since the perfect weight depends on someone's height, this requirement varies from candidate to candidate. Applicants outside the normal weight range may not be qualified to join as a flight attendant. If your weight is proportionate to your height, you would get a green signal.
Health: Good health condition is a must to be selected as a cabin crew. You will be required to undergo a rigid medical test before you are allowed to join.
Language: While domestic airlines might be satisfied with a candidate's skill in native language, majority of international airlines generally seek candidates who speak one or more languages of the countries they frequent. Having fluent in English language is almost a mandatory requirement.
Age: To apply for a flight attendant you have to be at least 21 years old. However, some airlines may accept cabin crews as young as 18 years old. If you are still under 18, wait for your turn! On the contrary if you are over 54, you better try some other jobs. Wait, this might be a bit contradictory but there is no maximum age requirement in place in some airlines like the US airlines.
Eyesight: After you pass through the tests of becoming a cabin crew, you will need to take an eyesight test. It's less likely that you will be rejected only because you have a poor eyesight. Most of the airlines require their cabin crews to wear lenses or glasses if their eyesight is not perfect.
Other requirements:
1. Swimming Ability: Swimming is interestingly a requirement to be accepted as a cabin crew. Before joining any airlines, you will need to demonstrate your ability to swim at least 25- 30 meters.
2. First aid certification: Although this is not a mandatory requirement for all airlines, some of them might give you a preference if you have some sort of first aid certification.
3. No visible scars or tattoos while in uniform. In most of the cases cosmetic and bandage coverage are not permitted.
4. Though it is not officially declared, most of the airlines do background checks of prospective hires.
It is worth mentioning that the salary a flight attendant gets during the initial probation period is slightly lower than the figures given above.
It is not unusual for many air host/hostess to earn as low as $14,000-$18,000 depending on the airlines they work in. However the good news is that you can expect a standard raise if your performance is good. If you are fortunate enough to be hired by a prestigious aviation corporation your salary can exceed $75,000 per annum.
If you are not in the United States, you should probably be earning a different amount than the above chart as a cabin crew. Be advised, this figures can vary to a great extent. If you know which airline you are planning to join as a cabin crew, do some online research to find out their salary structure for their cabin crews.
Other benefits for a flight attendant include:
Basically there are three different ways you can progress your cabin crew career once you are hired as a cabin crew.
The first way is to progress naturally as a cabin crew through job promotions. The second option could be taking a job in the aviation industry but in a different department. Final step could be moving forward outside the airline industry.
Looking at the first option, we can suggest you that work hard, take challenges and get promotions to become the Inflight Vice President someday. The following list should give you an idea about the ladders of your career path as a flight attendant.
1. Flight Attendant.
2. Senior Flight Attendant.
3. Check Flight Attendant.
4. Flight Attendant Supervisor.
5. Base Manager.
6. Inflight Manager or Inflight Vice President.
Some of you might consider to step sideways within the airline at a time in your career and this will give you options to work in a different department in the airline industry. This is mostly chosen by people who do not want to remain a cabin crew for their entire life and plan to settle down rather than flying like a bird. So what else could you do in the airline with your years of experience as a flight attendant? Consider the following job offering as your options:
1. Flight Attendant Instructor.
2. Flight Attendant Recruiter.
3. Risk Management Official.
4. Airline customer service/ marketing jobs.
5. Airline HR jobs.
6. Administrative jobs.
With your experience you would have a far greater chance to be recruited in a different department in an aviation industry than the outsiders.
The final option, well, this will be a desperate move, may be, if you want to say goodbye to your cabin crew career and find something else more alluring, interesting or rewarding. Do not want to deal with the jet lag anymore, say goodbye to the airline and find your passion in some other industry outside the airline industry.You can even become a great blog writer someday!!!
Travel Free: One of the greatest benefits of being a cabin crew is that you will travel lot more places than most of the other professionals. You will see new places, travel more cities, visit more areas and see the world from the sky! How many other jobs are there that will pay for your visit to different places? Not many. Being a cabin crew will enable you to travel extensively and for FREE! Moreover, you will get discount in many places only because you are a cabin crew.
Meet People, even Celebrities!: Yes, as a cabin crew you will meet a lot of people, talk to them and may be take selfie with them! You will meet more celebrities in the air than in the ground! You, as a cabin crew will meet many of your idol and heroes. You will also meet people from diverse cultures, learn different words from other languages and experience customs that you would be missing in most other professions.
Experience the glamour: When you are recruited by a large aviation company as a flight attendant, your start experiencing the glamours world around you. You even become a part of it.
Competitive Salary: As a cabin crew you won't make a killing, still the amount is good. With your experience your earning will increase and that's better than many other jobs on the ground with the same educational background. Many airlines offer tax-free basic salary and this is another good thing about the salary of a flight attendant.
Annual Leaves and Paid holidays: You as a cabin crew would get more than 30 days annual leaves and with your seniority this number would increase.
Profit Share Scheme: Some airlines, for instance, Emirates, operates a profit-share scheme.
Insurance: Insurance, medical and dental health cards are often offered to cabin crews and this saves a large amount of those employees.
Provident Fund: Though common in many jobs, this is another great advantage of working in air line company. The provident fund will ensure a good amount at the end of your career. Air line companies often contribute more percentages for their employees' provident funds than many other industries.
The list actually does not end here! There are more benefits of being a flight attendant than we have listed here. Please be advised that, the benefits offered to a flight attendant often depend on the aviation company.
Now come to the main discussion- Training for the Cabin Crew. After someone is accepted as a cabin crew in an aviation company, s/he has to go through a training programmes arranged by the air line. Usually all newly recruited cabin crew will be provided with six to eight weeks' basic training in the air line's private training facility which is often called the Aviation college.
This training includes a combination of theoretical and practical aspects of safety, regulation, protocols of air travel and customer service. The practical part of the training is conducted in a full motion simulation of different aircraft types.
The initial Cabin Crew training usually covers:
• Safety and Emergency Procedures.
• First Aid training.
• Service oriented training.
• Uniform, customer service.
• Fitness and Nutrition
• Security Procedures
• Air line regulation.
Apart from that you may also be required to attend additional Cabin Crew training from time to time to further enhance your skills on board. If you are a good learner, you will learn those aspects fast. Concentrate on your training once you are hired as this will be a determining fact of your performance & career enhancement.
2. Flight Attendant Career Advancement: What’s Next? Click here »
3. Career Development - Cathay Pacific. Click here »
Who are they?
How many of those names sound familiar to you? Air host, air hostess, cabin crew, steward, stewardess, and flight attendant? Probably all of them! Interestingly all of them refer to the same job and people employed in this position. Cabin crew, air host/hostess and flight attendant are the most frequently used terms that refer to the members of an aircrew who are employed by different airlines. We would be using these terms interchangeably.Flight attendants or cabin crews are hired by commercial airlines and they are primarily responsible for ensuring safety and comfort of the passengers. People who perform this job in a business jet aircraft or in a military aircraft are also known as flight attendants. Sometimes all the flight attendants in a flight are collectively called cabin crew. You would probably be called as a flight attendant in your job and a air host/ hostess by others if you are lucky enough to be recruited by a major aviation company.
[Image source: flickr.com]
To look after the passenger safety, to make the journey comfortable for them and to assist other aircrews are the main responsibility a cabin crew performs. However they are well prepared to act in any kind of emergency situation. Other professionals like pilots and engineers remain in the cockpit of the airplane and primarily focus on safely and timely flying the airplane while flight attendants make sure that the journey is safe and comfortable for the passengers.
What they do?
In a simple term flight attendants make journey safe and comfortable for the passengers. However their responsibilities range from going over safety and emergency checklists to assisting passengers with the loading of their baggage. Much of a flight attendant's role is fairly visible to the air travelers and they are the constant contact for the passenger needs and emergencies. You, as a air host/hostess, would be doing the same things as most others do. Following is a comprehensive list of responsibilities a flight attendant or an air host/hostess has to perform:Prior to a flight:
- Prior to each flight, air hosts/hostesses attend a safety briefing. The pilots and lead flight attendant also join the briefing and they interchange necessary information. Apart from that they go over safety and emergency checklists during the briefing and make sure everything is in place in the right condition and in right quantity. In this discussion weather condition is briefed and necessary steps are taken to tackle it.
- Prior to each flight, cabin crews monitor the cabin for any unusual smells, objects or situations. Since this is related to passenger-conform, they make sure no such unexpected thing is present that can annoy a passenger.
- Cabin crews assist with the loading of carry-on baggage, checking for weight, size and dangerous goods carried by passengers. Additionally they greet fliers, assist passenger with their luggage, accept tickets, and direct passengers to their corresponding seats.
- Cabin crews do a safety demonstration, assist people if they have any questions and also explain other safety related facts and information.
- Finally they secure the cabin. They do so by making sure that the tables are stowed, passenger seats are in the right position and the seat belts are fastened. These steps are required to complete the checklist of takeoff.
During the flight:
- Flight attendants serve food and drinks to the passenger and look after the passenger need. They take away the trays and packets once the passengers are done with their food and drinks.
-
They conduct cabin checks and listen for any unusual noises. They also respond to call lights dealing with special requests and take actions based on the light signals.
-
They check the lavatory and make sure the necessary supplies are in place. They also check whether the smoke detector is functioning perfectly.
-
They visit the cockpit periodically to look after the safety and necessity of pilots.
- Flight attendant also look after the in-flight entertainment for the passengers.
- They cordially resolve emergent problems.
-
Prior to landing a cabin crew checks the security and safety issues.
-
They dispose all the hot liquids, collect trays and garbage. They secure those items so that they do not cause any trouble during landing.
-
They brief the passengers about landing.
- Flight attendants remain stationed at exits and monitor the airplane and cabin as passengers disembark the plane.
- Flight attendants assist small children or any special needs passengers off the airplane and help them disembark the plane.
- They also complete the proper paperwork and escort passengers to the people waiting to received them.
During emergency:
- During turbulence, cabin crews must ensure that the cabin is secure and they also assure passengers not to panic.
- They brief the emergency situation and complete the checklist for the emergency.
- They communicate with the pilots and assist them.
- They are trained to be prepared to deal with variety of emergency situation and they follow the safety protocol in an emergency.
- They provide first aid in case a passenger need medical attention.
- They deal with the intoxicated and aggressive passengers.
- They also assure the anxiety stricken passengers and talk with anyone who shows any unusual behaviour.
Requirements to become a Flight Attendant/ Cabin Crew:
Depending on the country and airline the requirement may vary. However there are some basic requirements that you must fulfill to be hired as a flight attendant / cabin crew. The following section gives you some common requirements that should be helpful for you to decide whether this is the right industry for you or not.
[Image source: flickr.com]
Education: To become a flight attendant you need to complete at least your high school diploma (12 grade)/ at least 4 GCSE’s grade C or above/ or any equivalent educational qualification. Some employers prefer completion of certificate/associate degree program in flight attendant training courses. If you have excellent customer service experience or prior airline job experience, the employers might consider your application even if you do not meet their minimum grade requirement. Keep in mind that some airlines prefer candidates with post-secondary education.
Height: Typically the minimum height requirement to become a cabin crew is 4 ft 11 inch (150 cm). The main reason there is a minimum height requirement is to make sure that a cabin crew can easily reach the overhead safety equipment when needed. However few airlines have minimum height requirements for purely aesthetic purposes. The height restriction applied to both male and female candidates. Interestingly some airlines require a candidate's 212 cm (about 6.956 feet) arm reach while standing on tiptoes.
Typically, the acceptable height for a cabin crew is 4 ft 11 inch - 6 ft 3 inch (150 to 190 cm). However it is advisable to check with the recruiter before applying for the post. Due to demographic reason this requirement may vary from country to country.
Weight: Most airlines seek for a healthy and balanced weight among the successful candidates. Since the perfect weight depends on someone's height, this requirement varies from candidate to candidate. Applicants outside the normal weight range may not be qualified to join as a flight attendant. If your weight is proportionate to your height, you would get a green signal.
Health: Good health condition is a must to be selected as a cabin crew. You will be required to undergo a rigid medical test before you are allowed to join.
Language: While domestic airlines might be satisfied with a candidate's skill in native language, majority of international airlines generally seek candidates who speak one or more languages of the countries they frequent. Having fluent in English language is almost a mandatory requirement.
Age: To apply for a flight attendant you have to be at least 21 years old. However, some airlines may accept cabin crews as young as 18 years old. If you are still under 18, wait for your turn! On the contrary if you are over 54, you better try some other jobs. Wait, this might be a bit contradictory but there is no maximum age requirement in place in some airlines like the US airlines.
Eyesight: After you pass through the tests of becoming a cabin crew, you will need to take an eyesight test. It's less likely that you will be rejected only because you have a poor eyesight. Most of the airlines require their cabin crews to wear lenses or glasses if their eyesight is not perfect.
Other requirements:
1. Swimming Ability: Swimming is interestingly a requirement to be accepted as a cabin crew. Before joining any airlines, you will need to demonstrate your ability to swim at least 25- 30 meters.
2. First aid certification: Although this is not a mandatory requirement for all airlines, some of them might give you a preference if you have some sort of first aid certification.
3. No visible scars or tattoos while in uniform. In most of the cases cosmetic and bandage coverage are not permitted.
4. Though it is not officially declared, most of the airlines do background checks of prospective hires.
Salary range of Flight Attendants:
No doubt you already know that the salary of flight attendants varies based on the country, city, flight destination, type of flights and aviation company. Among other important factors experience, education and someone's skill in a second language could be determining facts. Finally it is natural that the number of serving years and weekly working hours also influence the salary a flight attendant draws per annum. Currently a flight attendants in the United States earns around $20.50 per hour. However this hourly rate is expected to increase to $40 in the 10th year of your job as a flight attendant. Surely this should help you predict your expectation versus reality of salary as a cabin crew. On an average, the salary of a flight attendant ranges from $23K to $79K per annum depending on individual performance and the benefits and profit sharing policy of the airline company s/he works in. Apart from that, majority of the airlines offer medical coverage and dental insurance for their cabin crews. Following is a chart from PayScale that shows the annual salary range of a flight attendant in the United States.
It is worth mentioning that the salary a flight attendant gets during the initial probation period is slightly lower than the figures given above.
It is not unusual for many air host/hostess to earn as low as $14,000-$18,000 depending on the airlines they work in. However the good news is that you can expect a standard raise if your performance is good. If you are fortunate enough to be hired by a prestigious aviation corporation your salary can exceed $75,000 per annum.
If you are not in the United States, you should probably be earning a different amount than the above chart as a cabin crew. Be advised, this figures can vary to a great extent. If you know which airline you are planning to join as a cabin crew, do some online research to find out their salary structure for their cabin crews.
Other benefits for a flight attendant include:
- Daily meal allowance (also known as Per Diem).
- Pay per block hour.
- In-flight sales commission.
- Tax free salary.
- You travel the world while being paid for it.
- Discount on Duty Free products.
- Paid annual vacation.
- Discount on airline tickets for you, your family and friends.
Your contact as a Flight Attendant:
- Some airlines may check references you mention in your resume while applying. Do not give any false references and make sure you have some credible professionals who would be ready to vouch for you.
- A background check is often a routine work for hiring authority. You can expect that your background checking would also be done by the airline authority before hiring you as a cabin crew.
- You should get a green signal in your medical tests with a doctor or a clinic designated by the airlines.
- You need to pass your 4-7 week long initial training.
- The airline authority will impose a 3-6 month long probation period for you. Only after your successful completion of this probation period, you can expect that your employment contract will be set in stone! Be aware that any violation of policy, negligence in duty, unlawful conduct, and unexpected behavior can cause you to be terminated rather than being permanent in your job.
- As a newbie you can expect to have a contact between 6 months to 2 years.
Career path of a Flight attendant/ Cabin crew:
You should always consider whether there are rooms for you to move and advance before taking a job. Since you have reached this section, we assume that you are planning to have your career in the airline, more specifically as a cabin crew/ flight attendant. Well, then you must also be interested to know your career path as a cabin crew.Basically there are three different ways you can progress your cabin crew career once you are hired as a cabin crew.
The first way is to progress naturally as a cabin crew through job promotions. The second option could be taking a job in the aviation industry but in a different department. Final step could be moving forward outside the airline industry.
Looking at the first option, we can suggest you that work hard, take challenges and get promotions to become the Inflight Vice President someday. The following list should give you an idea about the ladders of your career path as a flight attendant.
1. Flight Attendant.
2. Senior Flight Attendant.
3. Check Flight Attendant.
4. Flight Attendant Supervisor.
5. Base Manager.
6. Inflight Manager or Inflight Vice President.
Some of you might consider to step sideways within the airline at a time in your career and this will give you options to work in a different department in the airline industry. This is mostly chosen by people who do not want to remain a cabin crew for their entire life and plan to settle down rather than flying like a bird. So what else could you do in the airline with your years of experience as a flight attendant? Consider the following job offering as your options:
1. Flight Attendant Instructor.
2. Flight Attendant Recruiter.
3. Risk Management Official.
4. Airline customer service/ marketing jobs.
5. Airline HR jobs.
6. Administrative jobs.
With your experience you would have a far greater chance to be recruited in a different department in an aviation industry than the outsiders.
The final option, well, this will be a desperate move, may be, if you want to say goodbye to your cabin crew career and find something else more alluring, interesting or rewarding. Do not want to deal with the jet lag anymore, say goodbye to the airline and find your passion in some other industry outside the airline industry.You can even become a great blog writer someday!!!
Benefits of being a Flight Attendant/ Cabin Crew:
Being a flight attendant would offer you numerous benefits including tax-free basic salary, insurance, Government Pension Scheme, free traveling, and so on and on. If you are in a position to decide whether to apply for this position, the following list might ignite your passion for this profession. However, only benefits of a profession should not allure you to start the job, you should consider other variables like job responsibility, your real passion, you goal in life, your competency for this job and finally the disadvantages. Let's start the list of benefits to eliminate any doubt you have to become on of the air-cabin-crews in a prestigious aviation company.Travel Free: One of the greatest benefits of being a cabin crew is that you will travel lot more places than most of the other professionals. You will see new places, travel more cities, visit more areas and see the world from the sky! How many other jobs are there that will pay for your visit to different places? Not many. Being a cabin crew will enable you to travel extensively and for FREE! Moreover, you will get discount in many places only because you are a cabin crew.
Meet People, even Celebrities!: Yes, as a cabin crew you will meet a lot of people, talk to them and may be take selfie with them! You will meet more celebrities in the air than in the ground! You, as a cabin crew will meet many of your idol and heroes. You will also meet people from diverse cultures, learn different words from other languages and experience customs that you would be missing in most other professions.
Experience the glamour: When you are recruited by a large aviation company as a flight attendant, your start experiencing the glamours world around you. You even become a part of it.
Competitive Salary: As a cabin crew you won't make a killing, still the amount is good. With your experience your earning will increase and that's better than many other jobs on the ground with the same educational background. Many airlines offer tax-free basic salary and this is another good thing about the salary of a flight attendant.
Annual Leaves and Paid holidays: You as a cabin crew would get more than 30 days annual leaves and with your seniority this number would increase.
Profit Share Scheme: Some airlines, for instance, Emirates, operates a profit-share scheme.
Insurance: Insurance, medical and dental health cards are often offered to cabin crews and this saves a large amount of those employees.
Provident Fund: Though common in many jobs, this is another great advantage of working in air line company. The provident fund will ensure a good amount at the end of your career. Air line companies often contribute more percentages for their employees' provident funds than many other industries.
The list actually does not end here! There are more benefits of being a flight attendant than we have listed here. Please be advised that, the benefits offered to a flight attendant often depend on the aviation company.
Training?
It is often asked by many prospective candidates whether they need to complete basic training to be eligible to apply for this post. The answer is- it is not mandatory, but obviously helpful. Imagine two candidates having similar qualities and the management needs to hire only one! They will definitely hire the one with some training.Now come to the main discussion- Training for the Cabin Crew. After someone is accepted as a cabin crew in an aviation company, s/he has to go through a training programmes arranged by the air line. Usually all newly recruited cabin crew will be provided with six to eight weeks' basic training in the air line's private training facility which is often called the Aviation college.
This training includes a combination of theoretical and practical aspects of safety, regulation, protocols of air travel and customer service. The practical part of the training is conducted in a full motion simulation of different aircraft types.
The initial Cabin Crew training usually covers:
• Safety and Emergency Procedures.
• First Aid training.
• Service oriented training.
• Uniform, customer service.
• Fitness and Nutrition
• Security Procedures
• Air line regulation.
Apart from that you may also be required to attend additional Cabin Crew training from time to time to further enhance your skills on board. If you are a good learner, you will learn those aspects fast. Concentrate on your training once you are hired as this will be a determining fact of your performance & career enhancement.
Interesting Read:
1. How do flight attendants survive on such a small salary? Click here »2. Flight Attendant Career Advancement: What’s Next? Click here »
3. Career Development - Cathay Pacific. Click here »
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