It’s not very often I come across a thread on PPRuNe I wish I
hadn’t read, but this is one of those times.
Quotes:
For one, they (FO's) are trained PROFESSIONALS (unlike cabin crew - it doesn't take a great deal of nouce to open a door and direct people down a slide) and for another they are 2IC in every ops manual I've ever worked to. (after the skipper).
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How could CC ever be a profession when the job doesn't require ANY intelligence. DOH
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"Indeed, a CSD/Purser should be earning slightly more than an FO due to their greater levels of responsibility"
Ahh, come on Guv!
Look at the training involved to get to there.
No quarrel with the fact that an FO makes more than I do; "supply and demand" takes care of that in a simple way.
With our mob the Captain is always good naturedly referred to as “The Boss”. It's a good & realistic gauge of the respect he or she is held in by cabin and cockpit crew alike.
But regarding some of the comments made on this thread, let me say this:
To become a Purser in our outfit, we have to be
fluent in 4 languages besides our mother tongue. It took me almost 2 years of study for
each of those exams. And that’s for a person blessed with a reasonable flair for languages.
I know of many colleagues who spent a lot more time and money than I did, to get where they are now.
All this in one’s own time, and with a financial recompense from the company which doesn’t even begin to cover the cost of the years of private tuition we have to take since no regular class will fit in with a “normal” flight schedule.
Once we have the languages, we can apply for the next step up the ladder.
To prepare for that interview generally takes anything between 2 and 6 months of studying management theory, aggression-psychology, motivational tools etc etc.
The process involves 2 days of rigorous psychological screening, and has a 50% prune-rate.
Then 6 months of training follows.
There are 2 more steps to become a Wide Body Purser, and at each stage, there is a fall-out rate of again about 50%.
All fair enough, no complaints from me, you want to get somewhere, you’ll have to invest in yourself.
Which brings me to the total
crap that some of you have been spouting on this thread about the job that I do. All it does is highlight your very limited understanding of what the job of CSD/Purser entails.
And it shows that even among the best & the brightest, some total f*ckwits exist.
I consider myself fortunate in many different ways; not least because the vast majority of the pilots I work with are men and women of intelligence, integrity, professionalism and a sincere no bull-sh!t desire to
jointly provide our pax with the best possible service!
I am not a pilot, and never do I aspire to “rise above my station”.
But by God I am due some respect for what I am, for the job I do, and for what it took me to get here!