A Career as a Cabin Crew Member Involves more than Serving Tea and Coffee
From your very first flight, you'll probably have been struck by the cabin crew that looked after you - the team of people that are there to help keep you safe and comfortable as you make your journey through the sky. Maybe this stayed with you and you wondered just what is involved in each flight for a cabin crew member. This curiosity may have led you to look into a career as a cabin crew member and now you want to know how to make it happen.
If this sounds familiar then you'll probably have done your homework and already know that not only do cabin crew provide a customer service to all their passengers, they're also trained to deal with security and emergency situations which may arise and can administer first aid to passengers. Furthermore their job starts before the plane even takes off as they attend a pre-flight briefing, where they are assigned their roles for the flight and given flight details including the number of infants on board and if there are passengers with any special requirements such as diabetics or passengers in wheelchairs. Once on board, cabin crew members check emergency equipment before take off and ensure there are enough supplies for the flight. They help passengers board the plane and give a demonstration of safety procedures before take off - the part of the job you'll have witnessed as a passenger along with them serving refreshments and selling duty-free items during the flight. The job doesn't end when the plane lands either. After each flight, the cabin crew complete a flight report covering any occurrences that may have arisen. The paperwork, safety and customer service elements of the job are all equally important and all make up the role of a cabin crew member.
Armed with the knowledge of what the role involves, you'll no doubt now be wanting to learn how you can make that switch from passenger to a proud member of an airline's cabin crew. Well, firstly, most airlines require a good secondary education, with grade C or above in English and Maths. You could also be at an advantage if you can speak other languages and you may have considered doing or indeed already gained a degree or HND in hospitality management or leisure & tourism management which would also help you stand out in the application process. Once you have landed your first cabin crew role, it is all about gaining experience and working well with lots of different people within the airline's team.
As you're enjoying your job you may wish to progress ad this would generally involve applying for a role as Purser where you'll be managing the cabin crew in a particular cabin, feeding back on their performance and trying to boost sales of duty-free items. Further still takes you to the role of Senior Cabin Crew (also known as Cabin Supervisors, or Cabin Managers). Senior Cabin Crew are responsible for all cabin crew on board, training and supervising new recruits and ensuring all relevant paperwork is completed at the end of the flight. Alternatively you could choose to move to working with important private clients on their private aircraft or move into ground-based operations such as training or recruitment. As you can see there is a lot more to being a cabin crew member that what you initially see on board and the exciting news for you is that there are a lot of opportunities the role can open up for you and many different ways you can progress your career. So what are you waiting for?... Go out there and gain your place as a member of the cabin crew!