Cabin crew learn so much more than serving a meal and a drink to passengers.
A cabin crew training course is very intensive and usually runs between 5 and 7 weeks for the legacy commercial carriers. However, some airlines in Asia extend this to up to 3 months to really prepare their crew. Basically, you hand over your life to the airline during training to learn about the airline’s procedures and what cabin crew are really there for.
The standards are set very high and the exams have a pass rate of 95% or above, depending on the airline. The training means working long days, lots of homework and stress. Some people leave during training either because they do not meet the grade or because they realize that it’s not the right job for them.
Pre-coursework
Prior to training school, the airline may send out some online coursework so that crew members have basic knowledge at the point of joining. This can be things like airport codes, 24-hour clock and time differences, phonetic alphabet, airline terminology, aircraft terms, and the responsibilities of being cabin crew.
Aircraft type and safety equipment, emergencies
During training school, crew first learn about their aircraft type and the safety equipment on board, as well as day-to-day normal operation. Then they learn about the airline’s safety and emergency procedures, both in theory and lots of practice! Planned and unplanned emergency situations are taught and practiced over and over, this could include a decompression (decrease in pressure in the cabin) and emergency landing on water or land – critical events that the cabin crew must know how to deal with fast without even thinking.
Firefighting and first aid
Cabin crew also learn about firefighting and must know how to put out a fire onboard the aircraft using the relevant equipment. Aviation health and advanced first aid are learned including CPR and using a defibrillator. Cabin crew have to be able to deal with any medical emergency onboard as it is unlikely that there will be a medical professional onboard at any given time.
Other items
Crew resource management is an important topic, where crew learn about accidents that have happened and how we can improve safety. Mostly, communication and teamwork between the cabin crew and the flight deck is emphasized. Security and dangerous goods are also an essential part of training, as well as survival (at sea, in the jungle, in the desert, in polar conditions), restraint of disruptive passengers, and conflict management.
Self defense, manual handling, grooming, inflight retail, and premium service are some extra subjects to be covered depending on the airline. Service training in general only takes 2 or 3 days, so is a very small part of the course – ironically it is what most passengers believe is the main part of the cabin crew job. After training school, cabin crew have to complete two familiarization flights (under supervision) to finally receive their wings, then they will receive their first roster as cabin crew.
Every year, cabin crew have to take safety and emergency and first aid refresher courses with exams at the end, to prove to the aviation authorities that they are still maintaining high standards for their airline and are competent and safe cabin crew.
Source: Simple Flying
