'Your day (or night) starts in the airline offices with a briefing on the flight, any special passengers flying: VIPs, disabled, children, etc. You look around the crew room to see if you recognize any faces, then listen to find out where you will be stationed at the back looking after economy passengers, in the middle in business class, or up front if the airline has a first class.
Once on board you have a quick look around 'your' area, before you start up the ovens if, serving hot food. These ovens are extremely temperamental. Herman Wolke, when Head of Lufthansa SkyChefs, one of largest catering companies in the world, said his biggest problem was to discover an oven that could heat up bread rolls properly on an aircraft.
Looking around, you check that everything for which you are responsible is (you hope) on board: a 747 will have some 36,000 items to be loaded. You then stock up the trolleys another temperamental piece of equipment try steering these down a narrow aisle without stubbing your toes.
As passengers arrive, you help them find their seats and ensure seat belts are fastened. Then you go into the safety routine. Passengers tend to ignore these, but will be the first to complain if there is a crash and they don't know what to do.
In economy you are working constantly, serving drinks, food and then the important 'duty free'. If it's a short flight you only have an hour in which to do all this on longer flights you sometimes have a moment to draw breath! And change your shoes, and perhaps put on a fresh pair of support socks or tights. You can fool your feet some of the time!
Up front crew sometimes has time to talk to passengers, especially those whom they recognize from previous flights. But most of the time you feel you are a cross between a waitress and a nanny. And guess who cleans up if someone is sick? And your working space is absolutely minimal, so you have to keep everything tidy and in its place. My mother peeked into our galley once, and then made comments about my own bedroom. But it is different when it is your work space. If you put something down in the wrong place, your colleagues can't find it.
Finally, the aircraft is coming in to land and you check everyone has fastened their seat belt and all packages, bags, etc. are stowed away. Once landed, you help passengers with bags, and smile and smile, hoping they had a good flight. Then there comes the paperwork: bar sales, duty free, etc. It is the chief stewardess or purser's job, but we have to make sure we have handed in the correct details, money, etc. People don't realize how much paperwork is involved in this job.
Then the ground crew comes on board to empty the waste tanks, replenish water, carry out an engineering check, which also means repairing faults in the cabin, and clean and tidy the cabin before the next passengers arrive, unless you work for one of the 'low cost' airlines, when you will have to clean around the cabin yourself. Then passengers start to board and the routine starts again unless you are on a long haul flight, when you leave the aircraft and go off for your debriefing.
It is tiring and extremely hard work but most cabin crew will tell you it still beats the 9 5 job.'
Medical matters
The first flight attendants had to have nursing qualifications and these are still useful. Recently, Emirates Airlines was awarded full accreditation to the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh for its medical training for cabin crew.
In 1998, Emirates became one of the first airlines to equip its aircraft with defibrillators. These have proved their worth in saving lives. Each aircraft is also linked to MedLink, an Emergency Telemedicine Centre based at a hospital in Phoenix, USA. When medical emergencies occur in flight, crew can phone in to the MedLink emergency centre from anywhere in the world via satellite communications lines on every aircraft. Dr Beatton, Emirates' Head of Medical Services, says 'The proficiency of our cabin crew in dealing with in flight emergencies means that we make very few calls to MedLink. As a result, when a call comes in from an Emirates aircraft they take it very seriously indeed.'
Emirates are also concerned about DVT, and became the first airline to offer the Airogym, a simple cushion device that exercises the leg muscles whilst sitting on an aircraft.
Swissair was the first European airline to equip all its fleet with automatic external defibrillators for use in a medical emergency, followed by its sister airline, Crossair. Now most major airlines carry this equipment, or are seriously considering installing it.
Getting started
Most European airlines pay a small salary whilst you are training. Some American airlines warn applicants that they will need around $2,000 for expenses during training, as they don't receive a salary until qualified.
European airlines usually provide uniforms, but American airlines may also expect you to pay for your own uniform via payroll deductions every month.
Career progression
As cabin crew, you work your way up from the back to the front. Generally junior staff will be put on to serve the economy or tourist class passengers eventually you can work up to number 2 or 3, moving up to purser, supervisor or chief flight attendant. With a large airline, you become a senior purser of a fleet, working your way up to the newest aircraft.
Then you might go on to be a line trainer (training crew on the differences between different aircraft), then a base trainer (general training) and eventually to a senior position at base, recruiting, training and organizing cabin crew.
Salary
Some no frills airlines pay equivalent of £8,500 pa for a six month contract around £165 a week. GO's salary is around £13,000 pa. Emirates offers a three year renewable contact, tax free salary of around £178 per week plus flying allowance of £50 per week, shared accommodation with own bedroom at base, comprehensive medical cover and end of service benefits.
Case Study
Pro Sky is a broker for air charters.
Clients go to Pro Sky to hire a plane for a private journey. Last autumn, 200 mobile phone sales staff won a trip to Dubai as a reward for exceeding sales targets. Pro Sky booked the plane, and added touches to ensure guests felt pampered.
As the winners checked in, their company logo was flashing on the screen of the especially reserved desk. Extra staff meant no one had long to wait on the smart red carpet. Once in the departure lounge, there were snacks and drinks whilst they waited to board their own specially chartered Boeing 757.
Pro Sky had briefed the crew, and written a special welcome speech that the captain broadcast as soon as they were airborne. Cabin crew served a gourmet meal, afterwards handing chocolates around, wrapped in foil printed with the company logo. During the flight the captain made special announcements tailored to the clients, giving them information on the route.
Eleven minutes after arriving in Dubai, passengers were on their coaches and being given a short guided tour, whilst the luggage went straight to the hotel. By the time the guests arrived at their hotel their luggage was waiting in their hotel bedroom.
Case Study
Air Partner
When Concorde was grounded, brokers Air Partner were approached by up market tour operators Abercrombie and Kent. Abercrombie had organized a 3 week round the world tour, using Concorde. No Concorde how were they to fly?
The answer was to fit out a special 747. In just six weeks, the aircraft underwent a transformation. Four hundred plus seats were torn out, and 106 luxury leather chairs fitted in their place. Each chair had a 60 in pitch (distance between the back of the seat and the front edge). The nose section became a cocktail bar, and 14 attendants, one for every eight passengers, were hired to serve five course gourmet meals.
Currently this is the largest passenger aircraft in the world available for charter, and it wasn't long before the orders rolled in. After the tour it flew to French Guyana, carrying VIPs to watch a satellite launch, and then special racks were fitted to cradle cases of wine for a wine lovers' tour.
