Cabin Crew
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Air cabin crew make the flying experience pleasant and safe for passengers
As a cabin crew member, you'll provide excellent customer service to passengers while ensuring their comfort and safety throughout the flight. Serving refreshments and meals and selling gifts and duty-free items are all part of the job.
Crew are trained to deal with security and emergency situations and can administer first aid to passengers.
It's also your responsibility to ensure that all emergency equipment is in working order prior to take-off and that there are enough supplies on board. You'll help passengers board the plane and give a demonstration of safety procedures and equipment.
Skills
You'll need to show:
excellent communication skills
exceptional customer service
confidence in dealing with a range of people
good co-operation skills as you'll work with different teams day-to-day
compassion and the ability to support your colleagues
discretion when dealing with VIPs or royalty
competence in handling difficult situations and the ability to remain calm under pressure and in emergency situations
the gift of being tactful and diplomatic but also assertive where necessary
commercial awareness and sales skills
flexibility in working unsocial hours on any day of the year
the capability to work quickly and efficiently, often to tight time constraints
numeracy skills for handling cash, including foreign currency
the capacity to work in a confined space
the ability to diffuse situations calmly and quickly.
Qualifications
A degree or HND/foundation degree or postgraduate qualification is not required for entry into work as a cabin crew member. Instead, most airlines expect you to have a good secondary education, with some requiring grade C or above in English and maths.
Studying a degree, HND or foundation degree in one of the following subjects may be useful in showing the airline that you have an interest in the area:
hospitality management
languages
leisure and tourism management
travel.
Being able to speak other languages is particularly useful and this could put you at an advantage against other candidates.
Vocational qualifications (NVQs and BTECs) are available at different levels in various cabin crew topics. They are awarded by bodies such as:
One and two-day taster courses, which give an indication of what cabin crew work is like, and other introductory courses are also available. For details, see course providers such as Cabin Crew Wings.
Completion of these courses and qualifications demonstrates your enthusiasm and interest in the career, but won't guarantee you a job. They may give you an edge over other candidates, but most airlines do not require them before considering you for a vacancy.
The majority of airlines do have a list of requirements, however, which candidates must meet. This includes some or all of the following:
minimum age of 18, in some cases 21
good standard of health and fitness, with the ability to swim 25 metres unaided
minimum height requirement, which may differ between airlines and usually be in proportion to weight. In the UK, this is often measured as reach rather than height
good hearing and eyesight, although glasses and contact lenses are allowed
valid passport permitting unrestricted travel worldwide
a completed Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
a medical examination, although some airlines may not require this.
Work Experience and employers
National Work Experience
https://careers.ba.com/work-experience
https://jet2careers.com/careers-with-us/airline/cabin-crew/
Local ideas
https://www.blackpoolairport.com/working-with-us/
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