A cabin crew’s typical job responsibilities are creating a comfortable, safe, and pleasant flying experience for the passengers. Though the individual duties of different roles/positions of cabin crew vary, their common goal is to uphold or improve the customer service standards of an airline by providing the passengers with gratifying and delightful inflight service.
A well-trained, experienced, and skilled cabin crew can play a significant role in building a positive image of an airline and making it among the top or customer-favorite air carriers. Below are the details of what a cabin crew does and the essential qualifications and skill set required for building careers as flight attendants and other cabin crew!
Duties of the Cabin Crew
The basic responsibilities of the cabin crew are more or less the same, these can slightly differ depending on whether the team is working on short-haul or long-haul flights.
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Attending the pre-flight briefings and getting all the relevant information regarding a flight like the number of passengers, boarding, takeoff, and landing times.
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Running the security and other checks before boarding the passengers to ensure all the technical equipment is working and reporting immediately to the concerned personnel for resolving the issues pre-boarding.
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Greeting and welcoming the passengers onboard, checking their boarding passes, and guiding them on seating.
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Helping the elderly, pregnant women, and children travelling on their own to find their seats and ensuring they are comfortably seated.
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Assisting the passengers with safely placing their luggage in the right compartments and guiding them about it.
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Demonstrating how to use the emergency safety tool kit in challenging situations.
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Preparing the aircraft for takeoff and landing by making certain the passengers’ seat belts are fastened.
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Making the announcements as asked by the captain.
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Serving the passengers beverages, meals and snacks.
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Taking special care of the disabled, elderly, children, pregnant women and people with medical conditions by providing them with what they need.
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Removing the meal trays after the passengers have eaten and making sure that the aircraft is clean.
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Answering the passengers’ questions regarding the flight, weather and routes.
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Addressing the passengers’ complaints in an empathetic manner.
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Making sure the passengers stay calm during turbulence and other stressful situations.
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Selling duty-free goods like perfumes, chocolates and other items.
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Providing first aid if required and calling the inflight doctor for patients when the need arises.
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Following the safety and other protocols of an airline during pandemic times.
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Making sure that the passengers leave the aircraft safely upon landing.
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Preparing, completing and handing over the flight reports.
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Taking the suggestions and opinions of passengers positively to improve performance.
What Qualifications are needed for Cabin Crew Jobs?
To work as a cabin crew member in the UK, the aspiring candidates need secondary education with GCSEs in English and Mathematics. A foundation degree in relevant subjects such as Leisure, Tourism, and Hospitality improves your chances of getting hired as a flight attendant.
Vocational certification like NVQ or BTEC and training is yet another route to becoming a flight attendant. The cabin crew advanced apprenticeship is 12 months long and offers on-the-job training.
Being multilingual is a great advantage for flight attendants, candidates with proficiency in reading and writing 2 or three widely spoken languages other than English like French and Spanish is likely to make their CV stand out.
Applicants with experience in customer service are given preference as the cabin crew roles are all about offering great service to passengers one that compels them into choosing an airline time and again.
The other must-haves for cabin crew jobs are:
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Physical fitness and a certain height and weight
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A valid passport to travel around the world
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Background check for criminal and accident records
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Having the right age for the job as defined by an airline
Skills Required for pursuing a Cabin Crew career
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Exceptional customer service skills are needed for flight attendants and other cabin crew members to serve passengers in a courteous and efficient manner.
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Stellar communication skills are important for cabin crew as they have to interact with the passengers and provide them with clear and comprehensible information.
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The ability to stay calm in stressful and challenging situations is required for flight attendants as they can encounter such scenarios.
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Team players with the spirit and capability to support and assist team members will better fit in the cabin crew roles.
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Emotional intelligence will help understand the unique needs and emotions of different people and serve them in a personalised and genial manner.
Prospects of Cabin Crew positions
The starting salaries of cabin crew can be less but after gaining experience in a role, there are bright chances of getting promoted to positions like purser or chief purser. The next role is a senior cabin crew member who is entrusted with managing all the staff onboard and preparing the paperwork to be handed over at the end of the flight.
The VVIP flight attendant is yet another promising position that can be acquired after displaying amazing commitment and skills as a cabin crew member. These flight attendants work for private flights for celebrities, royal families and government officials.
Professionals with a keen interest in flying, customer service and the ability to adapt and improve their skills and productivity have better chances of career growth and progression in different cabin crew roles.
FAQs
What makes a competent Cabin Crew member?
An empathetic, calm and positive attitude is the basic quality that a cabin crew member should have to excel in the role. Good communication and problem-solving skills are also important for the job. Flight attendants with a pleasant demeanour and the capability to make passengers feel welcomed and comfortable are likely to make successful careers.
What does an excellent Cabin Crew job description entail?
To make your cabin crew job description attention-grabbing for the right candidates include clear and specific qualifications, experience, skills and other requisites for a role and mention the benefits your organisation offers to the cabin crew. The work hours and other essential details sought by the applicants must be provided in the job description.
How are the working conditions for the Cabin Crew?
The working timelines for short-haul flights’ cabin crew are more regular than those for long-haul flights. The cabin crew work in shifts but can have long work schedules. They work on public holidays. The part-time and full-time positions have varying working hours.
Is there a difference between Cabin Crew and Flight Attendants?
The cabin crew is all the staff that work collectively during the flight for customer comfort, safety and entertainment. Flight attendants are part of the cabin crew and are responsible for greeting, serving and attending to the passengers’ needs.
