Are you prepared to take on the role of a flight attendant? I mean, are you prepared to work as a flight attendant? It’s not just about being a flight attendant; it’s about living the life of that flight attendant. Here are some effective methods for preparing for a career as a flight attendant.
Being a flight attendant does not entail simply wishing to be one one day and then becoming one the next. No, that is far from the case. Becoming a flight attendant requires extensive preparation, both mentally, emotionally, and physically. It does not begin when you are already flying, but rather when you begin applying. For the record, Delta Airlines once held a cabin crew mass recruitment for new flight attendants. Only about a thousand of the 100,000+ applicants were accepted, which is 1% of the total number of applicants, which is even lower than Harvard’s acceptance rate!
When you apply to be a flight attendant, airlines look for more than just basic qualifications. They are attempting to determine whether or not you will remain long. This includes being physically fit for the entire job and lifestyle. Your physical, emotional, and mental states are all closely examined. It doesn’t stop once you’re inside.
Training and actual flight require even more preparation. There are some things you learn once you start flying that you never learned in training because situations inside the aircraft are so different and anything can happen, whether they are in your textbooks or not.
Below are suggestions how you can prepare for flight attendant life.
Ways to prepare for the flight attendant life which you may practice and do as early as now
- Begin reading in detail from beginning to end. Your trainor, lead cabin crew, and purser will not spoon feed you everything; you must learn to read and understand every detail of your job. You must comprehend and memorize everything required in your CCOMs (Cabin Crew Operations Manual), you must understand and comprehend them.
- Learn to work well with others. Being a team player is essential for cabin crew because inside an aircraft, you do not work in your individual capacities but as a whole team with your fly mates to provide the best service and the most efficient time possible. Furthermore, everything must be well coordinated during an emergency in order to properly and orderly evacuate all passengers in less than 90 seconds. In a basketball game, even if you have all-star players, if you don’t work as a team, you will lose.
- Improve your emotional quotient. The ability of individuals to recognize their own emotions and those of others, distinguish between different feelings and label them appropriately, use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior, and manage and/or adjust emotions to adapt to environments or achieve one’s goal(s) is referred to as emotional quotient (Reference: Wikipedia). Because you will be dealing with a variety of passengers, some good and some bad, and you are aware that strict airline policies and procedures must be followed to ensure a passenger’s safety, you must be able to manage your passengers well by properly implementing the strict procedures without becoming carried away with your emotions. During an emergency, you must also be able to put your emotions aside in order to have the presence of mind to know what to do and to apply everything you have learned during emergency training. More on the importance of emotional intelligence in flight attendants can be found here.
- Improve your interpersonal skills. As a cabin crew member, you will interact with a variety of passengers and coworkers. Every day, you will interact with a different set of passengers as well as colleagues. You must learn to break out of your bubble when dealing with different types of people and personalities as soon as possible. Just a tip: you don’t need to “magpaka plastic,” all you need to do is learn how to deal with different personalities by being yourself. Attend more social gatherings and functions. Consider joining various civic organizations. They are extremely beneficial in the development of your interpersonal skills. This is an important part of preparing for a career as a flight attendant.
- Increase your self-esteem. If you appear confident and dignified, your passengers will obey and respect you. An airline looks for this during the cabin crew screening process; they want you to be confident without being cocky. More important than ensuring passenger comfort and a pleasant travel experience is your ability to persuade them to follow your safety instructions and procedures. Your self-assurance will also enable you to communicate, engage, and deal with more people with diverse personalities while remaining true to yourself.
- Discover how to multitask. There are times when you will come across undermanned full load lights. There will be times when you will be both a galley steward and a regular cabin crew member. You can never say to your colleague, “teka marami ako ginagawa,” so you must learn how to multitask efficiently and effectively.
- Learn how to take care of yourself physically. The nature of the job of flight attendants have its own health hazards. The working environment of breathing dry jet engine air, being exposed to the sun’s radiation at 40,000ft, different sleeping patterns, and lack of sleep are some of these contributing factors. Your job also requires you to stay fit all the time as safety professionals primarily and life savers of passengers during an emergency. Well of course, you have to also look good and dignified in your uniforms. Your health is an integral part if your are preparing for a flight attendant life.
- Learn to be selfless without sacrificing your ability to carry out your primary responsibilities. Remember, as cabin crew, that in an emergency, the lives of other passengers are more important than your own. As flight attendants, it is essentially your sworn duty. In other words, you must begin to learn to put the welfare of others ahead of your own, but not to the point of abuse. For example, if a passenger requests assistance in lifting her luggage into the overhead compartment due to an injury or disability, by all means you will need to lend assistance. But what if a passenger requests that you stow his bag because he feels entitled to it? Well, I am sure your airlines taught you how to handle passengers of such type because they are also watching over your physical welfare. Your airline will make sure you can evacuate all passengers at the quickest time incase of an emergency. That is your priority.
- Prepare yourself for the training program. Consider reading a 500-page manual in less than two months, with exams every day and a passing grade of 90%. Why is it so high? When it comes to safety, even the smallest mistake can cost lives. This is why airline training standards are also extremely high. Prepare to miss important family events because you will be studying the majority of the time. Don’t be concerned. You’ve got this. Just keep your sights set on becoming a flight attendant. A small sacrifice will go a long way.
- Understand the importance of time management. With your shifting schedules and travel across time zones, you will undoubtedly require proper time management skills in order to live a balanced life. A good night’s sleep and rest are still essential. Learning time management should be part of the process of preparing to be a flight attendant.
- Learn how to be frugal with your money. Some airlines pay a lot of money. You may be able to fly to countries where prices are significantly lower than in your home country. Of course, splurging can be enticing. This is why you must learn where to invest your money. Learn to invest your money wisely, such as in insurance, real estate, or a business. Set aside money for the future and for unexpected events. What matters is not how much you earn, but how much you save and how you handle money.
There are more ways to prepare for flight attendant life, but I hope these suffice. The time to begin is now, not tomorrow. With the rate at which airlines are hiring more cabin crew these days, there is no doubt that your chance is just around the corner.
First love never dies. I fell in love with airplanes and aviation when I was a kid. My dream was to become a pilot, but destiny led me to another path: to be an aviation digital media content creator and a small business owner. My passion for aviation inspires me to bring you quality content through my website and social accounts. Aviation is indeed in my blood and blog!
