| Flight Attendant |
Article Index for Flight Attendant |
Shopping Attendant |
Website Links For Flight |
Information AboutFlight Attendant |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT FLIGHT ATTENDANT | |
| flight attendants | |
| personal care and service occupations | |
| air safety | |
|
ERJ 145 LR ( PBair , Thailand)]] In Aviation , flight attendants - also known as '''sky girls''', '''air hostesses,''' '''stewardesses''' or '''stewards''' - are members of a Flight Crew employed by Airline s to ensure the safety and comfort of the Passenger s aboard Commercial Flights . OVERVIEW The primary and overriding responsibility of flight attendants is passenger safety. However, they are often tasked with the secondary function of seeing to the care and comfort of the passengers, insofar as this does not interfere with their safety responsibilities. They are often perceived by the flying public as waitresses or servants because only this latter function is normally seen outside the extremely rare event of in-flight emergency; and historically this perception has been portrayed by airlines in ads and commercials. The role of a flight attendant ultimately derives from that of similar positions on passenger Ship s or Passenger Train s, but it has more direct involvement with passengers because of the confined quarters and often shorter travel times on Aircraft . Additionally, the job of a flight attendant revolves around safety to a much greater extent than those of similar staff on other forms of transportation. Flight attendants on board a flight collectively form a ''cabin crew'' as distinguished from pilots and engineers on the Flight Deck . Outside the exceptional case of an in-flight emergency, flight attendants usually provide courtesy services for passengers, such as preparation and distribution of In-flight Meals and drinks, management of in-flight entertainment systems, sale of duty-free and other merchandise, and the like. As the most visible representatives of their airlines, their importance to customer relations and the image of their airlines is considerable. Many jurisdictions mandate the presence of flight attendants on commercial aircraft, based on the passenger capacity of the aircraft and other factors. This mandate generally relates only to their function as safety technicians. QUALIFICATIONS Training Flight attendants are normally trained in the Hub or headquarters city of an airline over a period that may run from six weeks to six months, depending on the country. The main focus of training is safety. One flight attendant is required for every 50 passenger seats on board in the United States , but many airlines have chosen to increase that number. One of the most elaborate training facilities was Breech Academy opened by Trans World Airlines in 1969 in Overland Park , Kansas , US. Other airlines also sent their attendants to the school. The advent of Deregulation caused the school's viability to decline and it closed around 1990. Safety training includes, but is not limited to: emergency passenger evacuation management, use of Evacuation Slide s / Life Raft s, in-flight Fire Fighting , survival in the jungle / sea / desert / ice, First Aid (including specialised first aid procedures in flight emergencies), Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), Defibrillation , Ditching / Emergency Landing procedures, Decompression Emergencies , Crew Resource Management and security. Language Multilingual flight attendants are often in demand to accommodate international travellers. The languages most in demand, other than English , are Mandarin , Korean , Cantonese , Japanese , French , German , Spanish , and Portuguese . Height and weight Some airlines, such as EVA Air , have height requirements for purely Aesthetic purposes. Horizon Air and other regional carriers have height restrictions because their aircraft have low ceilings. A typical acceptable range is from 5'2" (1.57 m) to 6'0" (1.83 m). Flight attendants are also subject to weight requirements as well. Weight must usually be in proportion to height; persons outside the normal range may not be qualified to act as flight attendants. HISTORY The first flight attendant, a steward, was reportedly a man on the German named Ellen Church . Hired by United Airlines in 1930; she also first envisioned nurses on aircraft. Other airlines followed suit, hiring nurses to serve as stewardesses on most of their flights. The requirement to be a Registered Nurse was relaxed at the start of World War II , as so many nurses enlisted into the Armed Forces . UNIFORMS The first stewardess Uniform s were designed to be durable, practical, and inspire confidence in passengers. The first stewardesses for United Airlines wore green berets, green capes and nurse's shoes. Other airlines, such as Eastern Air Lines , actually dressed stewardesses in Nurses' Uniforms . Perhaps reflecting the for winter, for example, Khaki for summer. As the role of women in the air grew, and airline companies began to realise the Publicity value of their stewardesses, more feminine lines and colours began to appear in the late 1930s and early 1940s . Some airlines began to commission designs from high-end Department Store s and still others called in noted Designer s or even Milliners to create distinctive and attractive apparel. IN ADVERTISING In the 1960s and 1970s , many airlines began advertising the attractiveness and friendliness of their stewardesses. National Airlines began a "Fly Me"; campaign using attractive stewardesses with Tagline s such as "I'm Lorraine. Fly me to Orlando ." (A low budget 1973 film about three flight attendants, ''Fly Me'', starring Lenore Kasdorf , was based on the ad campaign.) Braniff International Airways , presented a campaign known as the "Air Strip" with similarly attractive young stewardesses changing uniforms mid-flight. Ask the pilot A policy of at least one airline required that only unmarried women could be flight attendants. Flight attendant history 2 UNIONS Flight attendant Unions were formed, beginning at United Airlines in the 1940s , to negotiate improvements in pay, benefits and working conditions.From Skygirl to Flight Attendant, Women and the Making of a Union by Georgia Panter Nielsen, ILR Press/Cornell, Ithaca, NY (1982)ISBN 978-0875460932 Those unions would later challenge what they perceived as Sexist stereotypes and unfair work practises such as age limits, size limits, limitations on marriage, and prohibition of pregnancy. Many of these limitations have been lifted by judicial mandates. The largest flight attendants union is the Association Of Flight Attendants , representing over 50,000 flight attendants at 22 airlines within the US. In the UK, cabin crew can be represented by either Cabin Crew '89 or the larger Transport And General Workers' Union . Discrimination Airline managers commonly subjected flight attendants to various forms of discrimination from the early days of the profession until the , the term ''stewardess'' had generally been replaced by the Gender-neutral , and more wordy, alternative ''flight attendant.'' Recently the term ''cabin crew'' has begun to replace 'flight attendants' because of the term's recognition of their role as members of the crew. SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 The role of flight attendants received heightened prominence after the September 11, 2001 Attacks when flight attendants (such as Sandra W. Bradshaw and CeeCee Lyles of United Airlines Flight 93 , Robert Fangman of United Airlines Flight 175 , Renee May of American Airlines Flight 77 and Betty Ong and Madeline Amy Sweeney of American Airlines Flight 11 ) actively attempted to protect passengers from assault, and also provided vital information to Air Traffic Controller s on the Hijackings . Flight attendant history 10 In the wake of the terror attacks of September 11 , 2001 , many flight attendants at major airlines were laid off because of decreased passenger loads. ROLES IN AN EMERGENCY Actions of flight attendants in emergencies have long been credited in saving lives; in the United States, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and other aviation authorities view flight attendants as essential for safety, and are thus required on Part 121 aircraft operations. Studies, some done in light of British Airtours Flight 28M , have concluded that assertive cabin crew are essential for the rapid evacuation of airplanes. "Evacuate, Evacuate, Evacuate" Evacuation Commands for Optimal Passenger Management Notable examples of cabin crew actions include:
NOTABLE FLIGHT ATTENDANTS
FLIGHT ATTENDANTS IN POP-CULTURE PORTRAYALS
SEE ALSO REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS |
|
|