Emirates, which currently serves 122 cities, is growing by leaps and bounds. So far this year, it has added Dallas and Seattle as gateway cities and, come September 2012, Washington, D.C. will join the list.

In March, Emirates announced it would hire up to 4,000 new cabin crew members during 2012.

That means a lot more activity at the Flight Crew Training Center in Dubai. Here’s a quick look at what goes on during the seven week training class new recruits undergo.

Lisa Williams, part-time service trainer and a senior flight stewardess (yes, stewardess is part of her title), says that for passengers who are ” a little too merry,” flight attendants deploy “the 4Ds,”: delay, distract, dilute and deny.

In the Image and Uniform classes, trainees learn how to properly wear the Emirates uniform, including the signature red hats.

Of course, security is extremely important and so trainees are run through the paces in simulators that require them to confront all manner of emergency situations. Instructors say two or three people out of each group of 16 trainees wash out here.

Next to the flight crew training center is this iconic airplane-shaped building, part of the Emirates Aviation College.

Tomorrow: a visit to the flight kitchens and what it takes to prepare more than 107,000 meals a day, 365 days a year.

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