Day one was really quite odd. Arrived early (about 8:00am) and already the majority of my colleagues were there. We sat until about 9:00am before our trainers came down to meet us, introduce themselves and show us to the training room.
This first day is largely a paperwork day. Dealing with applications for (if you need them) American visas (longhaul Gatwick crew only need these), temporary non-flying IDs etc. We had a quick chat about Diners Cards which are provided to you as crew to fund your night-stops and about Scheduling.
We were also told that we would be flying Worldwide Gatwick. I have seen other post here regarding people who got Eurofleet and then quit but I do have to say that, certainly at MY interview, no mention was EVER made about Gatwick Worldwide. Other than hear-say, people should have had no reason to believe that they were going to Worldwide.
The rest of the first week of Customer Service training was very much just listening to the trainers and taking part in a few group activities. Nothing much in these first days that will REALLY help you deliver outstanding service onboard but still, interesting and good-to-know information.
The "First Steps" test is a multiple choice one and is not really anything to worry about. I had only had my books for about four days before the test but passed without any problems. As long as you read over the information once or twice, you'll be fine. The right answers jump off the page at you.
Following Customer Service training it was on to AvMed (Aviation Medical). This is really very interesting. You're taught all about a range of problems that may arise onboard your flights, and how to deal with them. From simple things like Panic Attacks, to full Cardiac Arrest and Choking.
Great information for both onboard the aircraft and on the ground in every-day life.
The practical part of the AvMed course deals with how to ressucitate a passenger, use a defibrillator on them, put them in the recovery position etc. On Exam Day, you're likely to be taken in to a room with three colleagues and given a scenario to play out. This could involve a passenger collapsing in the galley, becoming unconcious in their seat or in the lavs.
In any of these situations, you're most important piece of information to remember is the "PRIMARY SURVEY" :
D (anger) - Ensure the area around the patient is safe
R (esponse) - Shake the pax and try to get a response
S (end) - Get a colleague to get your medical eqpt
A (irways) - Check the airway is clear by tilting head back
B (reathing) - Check is patient is breathing
C (irculation) - Check for signs of blood circulation
D (efib) - Use defibrillator on patient
You're then given a test - multiple choice again - which is also fairly straight forward. The AvMed trainers are ABSOLUTELY fantastic so nobody should have any problems with any aspect of this part of the course.
After AvMed, it was time for the part of the course that most people dread - S.E.P. This part of the course deals with how YOU handle an emergency onboard the aircraft; things like fire, unplanned emergency landings, unplanned ditching in water etc. There is a LOT to remember and quite a few different scenarios that you might be faced with on your final practical test.
Few tips though - practice your bracing position (you'll be taught this on your first or second day) and ALWAYS remember to hold the handle at the side of the door whenever you push the door open/inflate the slide.
Again, you have a multiple choice exam for S.E.P.
Following the main part of S.E.P. (which is hard work), you'll move on to "Conversion Courses" which teach you about the location of safety and emergency eqpt onboard the aircraft. You'll be tought where Survival Packs are kept, where Axes are and where you might find water containers. You'll also find out the location of Rescue Beacons etc. You will have one of these conversions for each aircraft you fly (the 747 was a TWO day course and 777 was ONE day - don't know about the narrow-bodies).
As part of the conversions, you'll enjoy Aircraft Visits which are great fun and really let you see first-hand where everything is onboard the plane.
At the end of each of these conversions, you have another multiple choice test.
By the time you're finished with the Conversions, it's back to Customer Service for your last week!!!!
I've done two days of my final six in Customer Service. These days have been spent doing "Manual Handling" - how to correctly lift items onboard and how to look after yourself while on duty -, "BarPlus" - British Airways' onboard computer to help you manage duty free sales -, and Aircraft Technical which is similar to the Conversion courses above but this time you're looking at the location of service eqpt like Beverage Makers, Ovens, Fridges etc. You have an exam for each of these aircraft Techs again - both written AND multiple choice.
Tomorrow I am going to Waterside - the BA head office - where I will be doing "Mock-up Service" which is where you have to perform a full meal service on a "fake" aircraft. This is where you really start learning about the customer-contact part of the job.