Flight Attendant Job Description
Flight attendant is a representative of an airline responsible for creating a comfortable, safe and delightful customer experience. Cabin crew works to make the journey welcoming and memorable for the passengers. Air hostesses and stewards ensure the passengers’ needs are taken care of. They can be called when needed and apart from serving lunch, dinner, breakfast and snacks, they demonstrate safety SOPs for emergency landing and other situations. Becoming a flight attendant requires effective communication skills as you have to respond to questions and resolve issues quickly. They provide quick assistance to the passengers especially if someone needs a nurse or medicine.
Flight Attendant Job Responsibilities
Cabin crew of an aircraft makes sure that the passengers enjoy a safe and happy flight. The air stewardesses and stewards help the passengers with seating, securely placing the luggage and serving them with meals and drinks. The flight attendants represent an airline, they are trained to be hospitable and empathetic. They ensure that a positive and likable image of a brand is portrayed through their genial attitude. Air hostesses also check the safety measures and equipment, they demonstrate how to use life jackets and emergency exits in case of an extraordinary situation. They also sell duty free items during the flight and help passengers with queries and complaints.
Skills Required for Building a Flight Attendant Career
Flight attendants need to have effective listening skills. They should know how to communicate clearly with the passengers and give instructions. Air hostesses and stewards have to solve problems so they must be good decision makers. Providing memorable customer service requires a personalized approach, so the cabin crew should be friendly and professional at the same time. Handling pressure, staying calm and ability to handle different kinds of situations and passengers is needed for the role. Team spirit and coordination are also the qualities required for this position. Want to make your career as a flight attendant? Explore the opportunities at Aviation Job Search!
Work Environment At a Flight Attendant Job
The cabin of passenger planes is where a person working a flight attendant job are most likely to work. It can be tiring and stressful to deal with passengers for extended periods of time. There might be times where air turbulence can be a cause of anxiety and make it more difficult to provide quality of service. Dealing with unruly and rude customers and unexpected emergencies can also be a cause of stress. Mostly flight attendants will be required to spend nights away from their homes and sleep in apartments or hotels. Unfortunately, flight attendants have one of the highest rate of injury and illness among occupations. People working in planes must adhere to safety protocols in order to avoid injury.
Working Hours and Schedule of Flight Attendants
As mentioned before the working hours might vary depending on the commercial airlines or company employed, but on average, variable schedules are common for flight attendants. From time to time airlines have overnight flights and they often work nights and weekends; that means the flight attendants will be required to do the same. On-duty hours for flight attendant jobs are typically between 12 and 14 hours per day. International flights may require a longer duty period. For example, the FAA requires that flight attendants have at least nine consecutive hours of sleep after each duty period. On average flight attendants work between 75 and 100 hours per month. They might also spend 50 hours a month on average on the ground, preparing flights and writing reports; part-time flight attendant jobs are also an option with some airlines.
