Usually,
you cannot apply directly for a senior flight attendant post. If you have work
experience, you might be supervisor of your crew but as a rule, you must join
the junior level and work your way
up.
Flight
Attendant: General Responsibilities (In
Brief)
• Compliance with
the company and Government rules and
regulations.
• Assuring
safety of passengers and crew.
• Assuring quality
service to the
customer.
Senior
Flight Attendant: Specific
Responsibilities
• Act as
liaison between cabin crew and
captain
• Ensure that the
cabin crew fulfill their duties and responsibilities to customers/the
Airline.
• Ensure that all
service regulations and all Civil Aviation regulations are
completed.
• Ensure that
all paperwork/forms are completed and
distributed.
•
Irregularities are handled in a professional
manner.
•
Liquor/duty-free/movie controls are maintained and
followed.
• Conduct
pre-flight briefing with the cabin crew to establish
standards.
• Assign
specific responsibilities. These include position assignments, use of emergency
equipment, service procedures and after-service
duties.
• Check cabin crew
for well-groomed appearance and adherence to uniform
regulations.
• Responsible
to the captain for coordinating service and safety related
items.
We
Deal With:
•
Parents
who ask their two-year-old what he or she wants to drink — while we wait
and wait and wait.
•
People
who ask us for a pillow, watch us open every bin to find one and then, when we
bring it, ask us for a blanket.
•
People
who paint their nails on the plane — the smell of varnish is overpowering
in a cabin!
•
People
who cough or sneeze without covering their noses or mouths.
•
People
who leave their seats during flight turbulence.
•
People
whose elbows, legs, feet, and purse straps in the aisle trip and bruise us.
•
People
who will not promptly turn off their electronic gadgets and computers for
landing.
•
People
who expect us to lift their luggage overhead for them.
•
People
who let their children ring the call bell, draw or place stickers right on the
tray tables.
•
People
who shake their ice at us when they want a drink refill.
•
‘Touchers’
who poke, tap, grab, or tug on our aprons to get our attention while we are busy
serving someone else.
•
Soft-talkers.
People who speak too softly or just mouth the words.
•
People
who hang out in our galley. It is the only refuge we have in which to restore
ourselves for our next daring venture into the aisles.
•
People
who nod their head when you ask them whether they want a vegetarian or
non-vegetarian meal, leaving us very confused. Do they want both?
Salary
And Benefits
Flight attendants
earn a monthly salary. In India, this could range between Rs 20,000 and Rs
30,000 in a domestic airline. The range is so because apart from a fixed monthly
salary you can earn overtime from the extra flying hours. You also get an
outstation allowance per day that varies from Rs 500 to Rs 600 a day.
If you are working for an
international airline, the salary could be higher because your daily allowance
is in the currency of the country you have a layover in. Hence your monthly
salary can go up to Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000. Flight attendants get other benefits
like paid vacation, free and/or discounted tickets for immediate family, paid
sick leave, medical insurance and retirement benefits.
Inputs
from Vijaya Lukose’s book, ’10 Steps To Become An Air
Hostess’
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