How to Become a Flight Attendant (Cabin Crew)

Delivering excellent Customer Service in the skies isn't easy. You'll be thinking on your feet and responding to customers' needs for the duration of every flight. There's always something to do, from very important safety checks to serving refreshments to meeting in-flight sales targets. Then doing it all again on the return journey. Working as cabin crew for a major airline is an exciting and challenging experience. In addition to jetting off to exotic destinations, the job also requires a high degree of responsibility and specialization to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers in line with aviation regulations. The primary job however is passenger safety so as a flight attendant you have to learn emergency procedures and how to deal with passengers in distress. Most airlines select and train their own flight attendants, but there are preparation courses you can take to excel the selection process or to further your career as a flight attendant.

Flight attendants are responsible for passenger safety before, during and after a flight. Flight attendants earn $18,000 to $40,000 as a median annual wage.

Everyone has their own personal reasons why they want to become Cabin Crew. It might be because you love to travel. Perhaps you are passionate about aviation. Or maybe you’re excited about the challenge of giving an amazing service at 35,000 feet.

"So how do you go about getting the job? First things first, you have to make sure you fit the prior requirements before you even start training to work with cabin crew. Do you have any visible tattoos? Do you have stretched eat piercings? Do you like working with people? You have to be fluent in spoken and written English and be able to have an adaptable lifestyle. If you can't be away from home for long periods of time, it's probably not one for you.

Before going any further, you should also make sure you meet the requirements for a flight attendant position in the first place. While these requirements can differ slightly between airlines, attendants have at least a high school diploma; though higher education is looked favourably upon, it is not required. Know that there is no “flight attendant school”, but you will undergo a pretty rigorous training program should you be hired. Prior customer service experience is also seen as a plus.

Additionally, some physical flight attendant requirements must be met, too. Airlines do desire attendants who are tall enough to help passengers put carry-on luggage overhead bins, but not so tall that their heads hit the plane’s ceiling, for example. Height and weight requirements are determined by each airline individually and can usually be found on that company’s career page.

The minimum requirements may vary slightly between countries, and each airline will also have its own criteria, so the information below is only intended to give you an idea of what is required to become a successful candidate.

• Be at least 18 years of age (21 with some airlines)
• Have a High School Diploma though a certificate or degree might be preferred.
• Clean criminal background check
• Excellent standards of grooming and no visible tattoos when wearing uniform
• Possession of a full, valid passport with no restrictions
• Be safety conscious
• Good personal skills and able to work in a team
• Good customer service skills. Minimum of 6 months face-to-face customer service experience, ideally in the sales and service industry.
• Weight in proportion to height (to enable you to fit into a standard cabin crew safety harness)
• Good medical health. A good level of health is essential to cope with the demands of flying
• Fluent in English and the language of the country you will be based in (spoken & written)

In addition, many airlines have minimum and maximum height requirements ranging from 5’0”” (150cm) to 6’3” (190cm).

Firstly, it is important to note that being a flight attendant in most countries is not a licensed profession in the same way that being a pilot or a mechanic is. Each airline will have its own approved training program for its flight attendants that use the standards and procedures for that specific airline. All airlines will put you through their own training program if you are selected. Even successful candidates with flight attendant experience from a previous airline will normally go through training again. The duration of the course will vary depending on the airline and the size of aircraft you will operate on but typically the training lasts from 3-6 week.

There is an intensive training course arranged for you. You will need to learn all aspects of the work that is involved for Cabin Crew. For example, you would be taught about health and safety; aviation physiology; emergencies; first aid; food handling; and survival, (you are required to be able to swim for 25 metres) amongst other topics.

Basically path to become a Flight Attendant (Cabin Crew) is given below;

• Working hours can be pretty unusual and difficult; to be sure that you really would like to become a flight attendant, such a varying, inconsistent lifestyle certainly isn’t for everyone.
• Check that you have the minimum requirements mentioned above. These requirements may change from one Airline to another one.
• If you wish you may attend to a flight attendant school. Some of these schools may guarantee you to work in airlines once finished. This is not mandatory but it may help you to find a job once finish school.
• Once you have applied to an airline and get hired than you will be trained for 3-6 weeks and become a flight attendant.