flight attendant training

Want to be a flight attendant?

United flight attendant trainee practicing serving a premium class meal

Although flying itself may not be as glamorous and carefree and unusual an experience as the vintage advertisements tell us, being a flight attendant still offers some cool travel perks and a paycheck.

So, during a visit to Houston to observe a day of flight attendant training for United Airlines, I was not totally surprised to learn that it is still not uncommon for someone to apply for the job and get accepted into the training program having never flown in a plane.

Vonn Crosby, now an experienced United flight attendant and a Service Training Team Leader for Inflight Training, was one of those people – and it turned out just fine for her.

Vonn Crosby_a Service Training Team Leader- for United Airlines

And whether they’ve flown before or not, it will probably turn out just fine for the students I joined for a day of international service training that included learning how to prep and serve a premium class meal.

P1010711

See my full story about some of the skills you’ll need to become a flight attendant in my piece over at the Runway Girl network.

Asiana Airlines crash details will help train future flight attendants

Trainees practice sliding down evacuation ramp

Photo by Harriet Baskas

 

Singapore Airlines may be known for its iconic “Singapore Girl” flight attendants, who have a reputation for grace, beauty and award-winning service, but don’t be fooled — the crew members roaming the cabin are also well-versed on safety and emergency-response procedures.

“We want them to make sure passengers have not just an enjoyable flight, but a safe one,” said safety training executive Joseph Kwok.

Singapore Air’s rigorous training program for cabin attendants includes the study of previous crashes. The details of the Asiana Airlines crash landing at San Francisco International on July 6 are already an informal part of the course syllabus.

“One lesson we can learn from the Asiana evacuation is that it was successful because the crew responded the way they were trained,” Kwok said.

Singapore Airlines’ grueling 15-week training program is one of the longest of its kind — the programs of major U.S. carriers typically last between five and nine weeks.

In addition to classes in grooming, social skills and cabin service, Singapore Air’s course includes a 14-day safety section with classes in emergency procedures, first aid and security and drills specific to different types of planes. At every stage of the program students are tested before they are allowed to move on.

Fast evacuations equal more survivors

Evacuation through door of Silk Air A320

Photo by Harriet Baskas

 

During a visit to the airline’s main training center in Singapore this week, loud yelling could be heard from a training capsule that looked like the cabin of an A320. Students were conducting an evacuation exercise, yelling memorized commands in a precise order.

“The faster you can get people out of the plane, the higher the survival probability,” said Kwok. “That was proven by the Asiana crew.”

Safety Training mockup plane

photo by Harriet Baskas

 

The hangar-sized facility also has a very tall platform with a funny-looking fuselage on top of it — the cabin door section of a Boeing 777 is at one end and a slice of an Airbus A380 is at the other. The height of the platform mimics the average height the cabin doors would be from the ground so that, among other things, students get to experience what it would be like exiting the plane via the emergency chute.

Water Evacuation Training Pool _with waves

Photo by Harriet Baskas

 

 

There’s a slight chlorine smell in the hallway leading to the water survival training class, which takes place in a large pool with a wave generator that simulates conditions at sea — “minus the sharks,” said Kwok. Here trainees learn ditching procedures as well as slide-raft boarding and launching. Female flight attendants learn to do this all while wearing the Singapore Airlines iconic sarong-style uniform.

Passengers on alert

Cabin attendants on carriers in the United States and elsewhere can skip the sarong-swimming lessons, but they must all pass an annual refresher course in safety measures.

In addition to reviewing medical and evacuation procedures, this annual recurrent training often includes discussion of accidents and incidents that occurred the year before. “We discuss what went wrong, how the crew reacted and how they could have done things differently,” said Heather Poole, a flight attendant on a major U.S. carrier and author of “Cruising Attitude.”

In the aftermath of plane crashes, passengers are “extremely attentive,” said Sara Keagle, a veteran flight attendant and author of “The Flight Attendant Survival Guide.” “The difference with the Asiana incident is that the flight attendants seem to be finally getting recognition for the job they did as first responders.”

And while the Asiana crash shines a light on the job performance of flight attendants, Poole predicts fearful passengers will start asking about the experience of the pilots on board.

“But just know,” she said, “flight attendants wouldn’t work a flight if they felt uncomfortable with the cockpit crew.”

(My story about flight attendant training courses first appeared on NBC News Travel)