Air Cabin Crew

Air cabin crew play an important role for airlines as they are the main point of contact for air passengers and are responsible for them having a comfortable, pleasant and safe journey.

After being briefed about their flight, cabin crew may be responsible for:

• checking that the plane is clean, tidy and stocked
• overseeing the boarding of passengers
• making sure that passengers' hand luggage is safely stored and that passengers are wearing seat belts
• informing passengers of aircraft safety procedures
• serving and selling meals, drinks, gifts and duty-free products during the flight
• dealing with any problems or issues that passengers have during the flight
• making sure passengers disembark safely on landing.

Air cabin crew work irregular hours on a rota including nights, public holidays and weekends. They may also be required to spend periods away from home. The working environment is demanding as cabin space is restricted and a lot of time is spent moving around the cabin and attending to passengers.

Salaries range from £11,500 to £15,500 when newly qualified, to more than £25,000 for senior air cabin crew.

Air cabin crew should:

• have a confident, friendly and calm manner
• have excellent communication skills and a clear speaking voice
• be tactful and assertive; able to deal with difficult situations politely but firmly
• have common sense and be ready for any situation
• work well as part of a team and enjoy providing a high level of customer service
• be interested in travel.

In recent years there has been a growth in the number of smaller airlines offering low-price flights and also an increase in the number of routes offered from different airports. Competition for jobs is intense however there are regular opportunities.

Entry requirements vary between airlines, but all applicants should be educated at least to GCSE standard including English and maths. Some airlines require at least 3 GCSEs at grade A*- C. Qualifications in foreign languages, travel, leisure and tourism can also be useful as can knowledge of first aid. Airlines tend to have height restrictions due to the working environment and applicants also normally need to be physically fit, with good eyesight.

Airlines run their own structured training programmes, which last from four to six weeks. Training includes safety, first aid and customer care. Newly qualified air cabin crew have a probationary period of three to six months.

Promotion prospects vary from one airline to another. The first level of promotion may be to purser, taking responsibility for a particular cabin such as first class or club class. There may be opportunities to move into flight management or ground-based employment, such as passenger check-in officer, or to work as a trainer of cabin crew.

Further details