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All You Need to Know About Being a Flight Attendant
It is a bit of a shame that the first definition Cambridge Dictionary gives you for flight attendant is “someone...
It is a bit of a shame that the first definition Cambridge Dictionary gives you for flight attendant is “someone who
All You Need to Know About Being a Flight Attendant
It is a bit of a shame that the first definition Cambridge Dictionary gives you for flight attendant is “someone who serves passengers on an aircraft.” It is more or less like saying a doctor is someone who prescribes painkillers to sick people. Flight attendants do a hell of a lot more than just serving passengers on planes -as you will see in the following lines- and planes are a lot safer than painkillers.
But let’s leave semantics aside, and take a detailed look at one of our favorite professions in detail…
So, What Does a Flight Attendant Really Do?
Flight attendants are in charge of the cabin in an aircraft, and they have a range of responsibilities, most of which can be grouped under flight safety and passenger comfort, but should be mentioned in detail. Some of these responsibilities may change depending on the airlines they are working for, but the main ones are;
- Conducting the necessary safety checks preflight,
- Greeting the passengers, verifying their tickets, and directing them to their seats,
- Briefing the passengers on the safety protocols of the aircraft as well as emergency equipment (what to do in a possible impact situation, how to use the oxygen masks and emergency exit doors),
- Serving the passengers and making sure they are comfortable through the flight,
- Informing passengers about the flight,
- Responding to onboard medical situations,
- Attending passengers who are in need of special assistance (elderly passengers, people with disabilities, little children, etc.)…
Who Can Work as a Flight Attendant?
While there is not a universal requirements list set in stone, most airlines have similar lists of essential criteria, which expects candidates to;
- Be over 18 years of age (21 in some job listings),
- Have a valid passport with no restrictions on worldwide travel,
- Be fluent in written and spoken English,
- Pass criminal background checks,
- Have a good level of fitness & meet physical criteria…
To elaborate on the last item, there is a lot of physical criteria -major and minor- and they may slightly change based on the airline. To give an example, the following criteria are taken from British Airways’ recent cabin crew job listing for Heathrow (this is not the entire list, by the way):
- To be between 1.57m (5’2”) and 1.87m (6’2”) with weight in proportion to your height and a ,vertical function reach of at least 2.01m,
- To be able to lift a weight of 9kg (20lb) from a height of 195cm (78”),
- To be able to swim 50m (55 yards) followed by treading water for 3 minutes,
- To be able to lift a weight up to 28kg (4st),
- To be able to pull a trolley weighing up to 86kg (13.5st) and on an incline of up to 3 degrees…
As you may have guessed, most of the physical criteria are set with emergency situations in mind, but, as always, aesthetics matter too, so most airlines expect candidates to have no visible tattoos or piercings. Still, some airlines have more relaxed policies on personal style. For example, United Airlines recently gave OK to tattoos for flight attendants. So if you have a tattoo and want to be a flight attendant, you might wanna check the airlines that are OK with them, before Googling tattoo removal.
In addition to the requirements, there is also a list of “skills” that will make candidates desirable for the role:
- Customer service skills (previous experience is always a plus),
- Patience, ability to remain calm in stressful situations,
- Good co-operation skills,
- Confident decision making,
- Effective time management,
- Capacity to work in a confined space,
- Flexibility- to be able to work at any hour of the day, any day of the year
You don’t need a college degree to become a flight attendant, although having one may provide an advantage in certain applications- especially if it is in related fields such as hospitality, tourism, etc. Most of the time, candidates with a high school degree or equivalent can apply.
How Does One Become a Flight Attendant?
Most, if not all airlines have career pages on their websites, and whenever there is an open cabin crew position, they post it online, so candidates can apply. This means you should make it a habit to regularly check the careers page of your dream airline. Also, it might be helpful to check for job vacancies on websites such as Aviation Job Search.
You will usually need to complete an online assessment when applying so that the airline companies can learn more about you. After applying, provided everything went well up to this point, you will be invited for an interview, or, a series of online and/or offline interviews. If you pass the interviews successfully, then you will be invited to attend the cabin crew training, which usually lasts around 6 weeks and includes topics such as service, safety & emergency procedures, medical procedures, security, image & uniform, and more. Once you have completed the training, you will be ready to start your career as a flight attendant!
Pros and Cons of Being a Flight Attendant
As is the case with most other professions, being a flight attendant comes with its pros and cons- although highs are usually higher while lows might tend to sink lower, when compared to a 9 – 5 job. Most of the time, these lists start with the pros, but we’d like to get the cons out of the way first, so here they are:
- Working on holidays and weekends,
- Being away from home & family a lot,
- Adjusting to multiple time zones,
- Working long & often unsociable hours,
- Physically demanding & stressful,
- Low pay at the beginning…
Now, the fun stuff- here are the pros of being a flight attendant:
- You get paid to travel and see the world,
- Flight benefits (discount on airline tickets, for you, and -depending on the airline- your direct family),
- Meeting new and interesting people from around the world all the time,
- Variety- it’s a job that’s never boring!
- Flexibility in schedule,
- Career benefits- such as paid life insurance
In conclusion, flying for a living is awesome, but it can surely be tough. Do the math yourself, but basically, if you can endure the hardships, you have will an amazing career, comparable to almost nothing!
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All You Need to Know About Being a Flight Attendant
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