Urgh! Long time away from this website...
I must admit your post gives a lot of details abt training which is a good thing 'coz nobody so far really went into so much. (usually most of us disappear after getting the job!
)
Thanks for all that! I'm sure many people were wondering what cabin crew training is all about...
and no, we do not learn how to apply make-up!!!
Regarding your closing sentence (long-haul / short-haul : doesn't matter if you like flying...) I must disagree with that. I work for First Choice Airways
(ex air2000) and I had to go through 10 months of short-haul before receiving my 767 training. Honestly? It was a f
g nightmare!!!... Thankfully I am now receiving nice trips (1 week Orlando, 1 week Cancun, 2 nights Goa in the last 2 months) and it seems to me like a completely new job. So now I do a mix of long and short-haul which gives me a bit of variety.
I hated summer! I hated being regularly called out of standby at 4am! I hated minimum rest! Nevertheless I don't feel I am doing the wrong job. The point is that short-haul is totally hectic and you never get to see anything unless you're lucky enough to have an 11 hour night stop at some dodgy Crowne Plaza near Manchester runway!!!!!
I was just thinking about all the BA cabin crew who have been waiting for a transfer to the long-haul fleet and are still stuck after 4 years...
Obviously if you received long-haul you're fluent in a foreign language or you are simply very lucky!
I personally got rejected by BA because despite my 2 foreign languages I only have 1 year exp as cabin crew, therefore "I wasn't qualified enough"... ahem... fine, fair enough!
We also lost a couple of our colleagues who decided to join BA but what leaves me a little unsure about the whole deal is:
1) why can't BA tell you BEFORE you resign if they intend to give you long-haul or short-haul? If you have a family it is a very important decision and after all the prostrating you had to do to get the job, I wish BA were respectful enough to put that on your job offer!
2) why do they pay you less than Air2000 when they charge more money to pax for a ticket?
3) why do they want 2 years experience when they give you a junior position anyway (especially if you end up on a 737 when you've been working on a 767 before???)
4) How is it Air2000 re-employ you even if you get made redundant by BA (after leaving Air2000), whilst BA is unable to offer you the same?
I'm no genious but I'm not sure BA is such a big deal after all... unless you plan to remain for a looooooong time... then maybe... with years and years of seniority... might as well be worth it...
Afterall I love serving beef stew and chili beans dressed in pink!!
Tarty Floaty
p.s. something they forget to tell the ladies during training: on your SNY you will probabily be seated in the cockpit for take-off and landing. On most aircraft the jumpseat is HIGHER than the pilots' seats. When the drivers turn and ask you all sorts of questions about your personal life ... remember to cross your legs!!
Just thought I could have added this to complete my previous question regarding salaries:
Air2000 cabin crew junior salary
----------------------------------------
basic year 1 : 9500 Pound p.a.
commissions : up to 11 pct of all bar/duty free sales
f.d.a. : usual (but you stay min 1 max 7 nights o/s)
To give a number, this summer I was bringing home about 1100-1250 pound net just by doing short-haul (17 flights).
During winter I got almost no short-haul flights but a week long-haul is worth about 500 pound on top of basic because of F.D.A.
In January I flew 4 sectors (2 long-haul trips for a total of 8 nights overseas) and my pay check was 1200 Pound net.
So... short-haul or long-haul? Personally I like a bit of both... You still have a private life and you enjoy the beach as well... done deal!
Who cares what's written outside the can... you can't read it from inside anyway!