FreshGraduates.com - Career options

Air hostesses and flight pursers travel and meet people from all over the place. Working with an airline as flight attendants, Flight Stewards /Pursers and Air Hostesses get the opportunity to travel, stay in the best hotels and hobnob with the elite. The opportunity for travel attracts many to this career, but this occupation requires working nights, weekends, and holidays, and frequently being away from home.

Their work starts much before the arrival of the passengers. Before passengers arrive, flight attendants make necessary arrangements for the comfort of passengers by checking that blankets, pillows, magazines, newspapers, refreshments, etc. are in good order in their proper places. Once passengers start boarding, flight attendants check their tickets, direct passengers to their seats and assist them by hanging up coats and stowing small pieces of luggage under the seats or in overhead compartments. On a routine basis they instruct passengers in the use of safety and emergency equipment. Once in the air, they serve meals and snacks, answer questions about the flight, distribute magazines, blankets and pillows and help care for infants, small children and elderly and handicapped persons.

Part of the job is to look after the needs and comforts of all passengers on an aircraft. Since all cabin crew represent the image of an airline they are expected to be well-groomed, presentable, approachable and charming as they greet and welcome passengers on board. The most important responsibility of flight attendants is assisting passengers in the event of an emergency, reassure them when there is bad weather during the flight, help new mothers with infants and the infirm.

Cabin crew must ensure that passengers have their seat belts on, that their chairs are in the upright position before take-off and landing. Serving meals and drinks and attending to adhoc requests for refreshments are all part of the job. Their duties also include in-flight sale of goods, etc.

Senior stewards usually prepare the flight reports, supervise junior staff and attend to first/executive class passengers.

The skill set

Flight attendants for international airlines must speak a foreign language (mainly English for those hired from India) fluently. Some of them prefer candidates who can speak two major foreign languages or English and one of the regional languages popularly spoken by the majority of travellers from the country or Non- Resident Indians.

Employers look for a pleasant voice and good vocabulary, good grooming, and tasteful dress sense. Applicants are also evaluated on their poise, tact, maturity, adaptability and enthusiasm for the job. They should be confident, intelligent, patient, possess common sense, be able to keep calm in crises and take the initiative. Aspiring flight attendants should be resourceful, efficient, congenial and tactful with the public, and enjoy excellent health. Good vision and clear diction are important attributes.

Applications are usually invited from male and female candidates who are 18 to 25 years old. Some airlines may have higher minimum age requirements. Height requirements for the purposes of reaching overhead bins vary slightly among airlines. However, basic requirement is at least 154 cms for female applicants and at least 170 cms for males. Airlines want candidates with weight proportionate to height. Applicants should preferably have normal eyesight without glasses or minimum uncorrected vision (distant) should be 6/24 in each eye.

Applicants must have completed plus two or equivalent. Hotel management degree/ diploma after plus two is a preferred qualification for those applying to become flight attendants. Graduates within the age limits are also invited to apply. Experience in dealing with the public would be preferred. One should apply directly to the airline. Candidates who meet the minimum requirements may be invited to local walk-in interviews. Those who pass this screening are scheduled for further rounds of group discussions and interviews. Attending flight attendant training may have an advantage over other applicants but is no guarantee for recruitment.

Training Programmes

Once hired, all candidates must undergo a period of formal training. The length of training depends on the type of airline. Most prominent airlines train hired flight attendants at the airline's flight training centre. Usually, new trainees are not considered employees of the airline until they successfully complete the training programme. Some airlines charge individuals for training and then pay them a stipend while they undergo in-flight training.

The training comprises learning emergency procedures such as evacuating an aircraft, operating emergency systems and equipment, administering first aid, and water-survival tactics. They are taught how to deal with disruptive passengers and with hijacking and terrorist situations. New recruits learn flight regulations and duties, company operations and policies, and also receive instruction on personal grooming and weight control. Training for the international routes/ airlines includes instruction in passport and customs regulations. Toward the end of their training, students go on practice flights. Flight attendants may also be required to go through periodic retraining and clear fitness tests.

Prospects

As airlines enlarge their capacity to meet rising demand by increasing the number and size of planes and flights in operation, more flight attendants will be needed. However, the demand for flight attendants will fluctuate with the demand for air travel, which is highly sensitive to swings in the economy. During downturns, as air traffic declines, the hiring of flight attendants declines. Despite the improving outlook, competition is expected to be keen because this job usually attracts more applicants than there are jobs, with only the most qualified eventually being hired. Job opportunities may be better with the faster growing regional and low-fare airlines.

Being away from family and friends, irregular hours of work and dealing with rude passengers are the flipside of being a flight attendant. On the brighter side, flight attendants enjoy generous flight allowances, free/ concessional travel for self and family and various other benefits. Meeting people from diverse walks of life in the course of their work endows flight attendants with a lot of self assurance. Graduates with experience as flight attendants may explore opportunities popularly in tourism and hospitality, customer relationship management, media and public relations.