How do I start as cabin crew?

[DarrenMoore]

My ultimate goal in life is to be an airline pilot, but I would like to spend some time at the other side of the flight deck doors.
I was wondering if there is a general standard of education required and what age limits apply.
I would appreciate if anyone could shed some light on these requirements.
Thanks in advance.
Darren

[NightIBZ]

Try Monarch airlines homepage at http://www.monarch-airlines.com/

[Nav1]

hi darren. nav 1's girlfriend here!do you mind me asking how old you are?i'm still in school & hoping to get into cabin crew next year.did you ever hear of frances roche.shes all into cabin crew training.she's based in co. waterford,ireland or heathrow,london,.nav 1 is cabin crew & he was only 18 when he started.the only education qualifications needed are reading & writing!!!!!!your best bet is to look at all the national papers,especially between september and march.send in your c.v. t some of the airlines & they'll keep it on file,& and if your lucky you could get called for an interview sooner than you think.good luck!!!!!!!!!

[DarrenMoore]

I don't mind, I'm 15, leaving school in June 2000 this year, hopefully with 9 GCSE passes.
I haven't heard of Frances Roche.
Thanks for the advice and good luck yourself.

Also thanks for that Monarch link.
Darren

[cabinboy]

Nav 1's girlfriend i think you better watch your mouth...YOU DO NOT JUST NEED TO BE ABLE TO READ AND WRITE to become a flight attendant. :mad: I am sitting here practically choking on your smart a** comment which makes flight attendants out to be bimbo's.

I don't know where you come from but you have given the poor 15 year old kid wrong information. To become a flight attendant you need these pre-requistes ->

Age: minimum 18 years.
Height: minimum 163cm and maximum 183cm.
* Permanent residency and a passport ensuring unrestricted access to all ports of call with at least 12 months validity.
* Current Senior First Aid Certificate.
* Strong commitment to customer service and recent experience in a face to face role.
Experience in food and Beverage service is highly desirable.
Enjoy meeting people from a variety of cultures and countries.
An excellent level of health and fitness.
* A Language Proficiency Certificate at the Advanced level in one of our priority languages is highly desirable.

Don't you ever come into this boardroom again and speak Sh*t again missy on a topic you obviously know nothing about...wake up to yourself.. :mad:

Cabinboy

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Doors armed and cross checked

[MrSeatback]

Hear hear cabinboy!

True, you can get in at 18, and a majority of airlines do hire people at this age, but the trend at the moment is to hire people older than this (those with experience in the customer service or hospitality fields).

Some airlines have learnt, as have new hire f/a's, that it takes more than reading and writing to do the job - especially in the face of inflight emergencies and air-rage passengers.

Whilst I'm sure Nav 1 is a great cabin crew member, with all the relevant experience, let's remember that the more experience the better.

Darren - if you are still serious about becoming cabin crew, a good organisation in the UK is Heathrow Personnell (www.heathrowpersonnel.co.uk). They're very helpful in obtaining recruitment information for whatever airline you'd like to join.

Different airlines have different minimums (some have different minimum ages 20/21). There's a whole range of airlines you can join, with most having their hiring info. on the web.

Good luck with all your future endeavours!

[Azzurra]

Good for you, Cabinboy!!! :)

Darren, I think if you are serious about Cabin Crew, then you should try and get some experience in Customer Service/Hospitality, as has already been said. Even a job as a waiter will give you some idea of what dealing with different people involves and how to cope with their demands.

Each airline has different specific requirements, but the list Cabinboy gave you covers most of the essential attributes they look for. From a personal point of view, I would put a lot of emphasis on learning as many languages as you can. Having knowledge of a few languages will always make you more attractive to an employer.

I would also stay at school as long as possible. Unfortunately, I don't know exactly how it works in the UK, but leaving school at 15 or 16 seems a little young.

Good luck!

[Tarantella]

A lot of the airlines require a minimum of a university education before they will even look at your application too..just FYI :)

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"Work is the Curse of the Drinking Classes"
Oscar Wilde

[alcoflyer]

1) APPLY DIRECT TO THE AIRLINES WHEN YOU ARE APPROACHING 19

2) DO 6 MONTHS WITH A GROUND HANDLING AGENT FIRST - YOU WILL THEN HAVE SOME IDEA WHAT PUNTERS ARE LIKE BEFORE THEY GET ON BOARD

3) DON'T BOTHER WITH ANY OF THE AGENCIES WHO CHARGE ANYTHING UP TO £100 TO PUT YOU ON A 1 DAY 'PRE INTERVIEW' COURSE', ON THE PRETEXT OF THE FACT THAT 'HUNDREDS OF AIRLINES ARE RECRUITING AND WE ARE HANDLING THE VACANCIES' - CAN'T NAME THEM ON A PUBLIC FORUM BUT ASK AROUND....MOST REPUTABLE COMPANIES DO THEIR OWN RECRUITMENT DIRECT AND IN ANY CASE DON'T CHARGE THE PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYEE FOR THE PRIVILEGE

4) TRY AND ADO A VQ AT ONE OF THE COLLEGES - SOUTH TRAFFORD IN MANCHESTER, WEST HERTS IN WATFORD AND REDHILL COLLEGE ALL DO THEM

PAN AVIATION TRAINING,
MYNTHURST PLACE
LEIGH,
SURREY

BONNE CHANCE!!


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"a dog is for life, not just a night stop"

[Nav1]

Hang On Lads & Lassies!

Neither myself nor my Girlfriend meant any harm!

I`m Cabin Crew for the past year and truly love my work......just as much as I would love to spend the rest of my life at the other side of the Cockpit Door.

I got in when I was 18! Very Lucky you might say. But age doesn`t and shouldn`t matter. Nor should a college degree. In my case it`s obvious it didn`t. Darren, if you show enough enthusiasm you will get what you want. Your probably sick to the teeth of hearing this but the most successful people in todays world got there without any college degree. And Why?? Because they wanted to get there....

By the way, CabinBoy and the rest of you.....I take my job very seriously and I am very open-minded about safety and it`s relationship with my work. We`re not all "Trolley Dollies" you know.

Anyway Darren, I know your only 15 and have a long way to go yet but I think Cabin Crew is an excellent way to "weave" your way to the right hand seat. It doesn`t mean you`re using your job in any way to get there, just simply gaining valuable information and experience.

Anyhow good luck with your GCSE`s and your A Levels and of course the future!!!

Regards..........Nav1

[MrSeatback]

Good morning all!

I feel I need to add my two dollars worth here...

1) TRUE - age shouldn't matter unless it encroaches on the minimums. However, I for one know of many people who are turned down for f/a positions due to their not meeting a 'recruitment agenda'. Fortunately this doesn't happen in the UK as often as it happens in other countries! Emirates for example will not hire anyone under 21 and a half.

As for tertiary education, again, the dreaded 'recruitment agenda' exists. Think about it, if you have to select between two people, and one of them has a Diploma in Hospitality, or Diploma in Japanese...who would you pick? Who, out of these two, would you think bring more to the position? True - a language for example isn't a necessity...but it's a 'bonus' for the airline.

2) It sometimes takes more than Dreams to make them a reality. Persistence, experience and qualifications all go towards you achieving your goals. Try to get as much experience in the industry (ground handling, etc)...this will give you an idea and perhaps the encouragement to continue with your goal.

3) alcoflyer - one must ask the question why you wont name particular colleges/courses as not being 'reputable'? This is a public forum with the purpose of being able to discuss and pass on information that will be of assistance to others. I mentioned Heathrow Personnel as a possible starting point - I wont take offence if you think different to me on this company.

4) Nav1 - as you would have read in this forum, we were not trying to offend you personally. It would seem however that your girlfriend isn't as 'au fait' as you when it comes to information about your job. We as cabin crew do take it personally when someone denegrates our position. We have enough to put up with (as you may know yourself) - from people abusing us to tech crew (older ones mind you)_ who cannot accept we are an effective part of THEIR crew, not 'cart tarts'.

No offence meant Nav1 but whatever we have said in this forum is true. Those of us who haven't experienced this personally know of plenty of other working crew and applicants who have.

This info isn't meant to depress anyone - but let's not sugarcoat things here. It is a difficult job with one of the worlds weirdest set of interviews and recruitment processes (psychological tests, up to four interviews for some airlines, etc).

I hope we all get to have a fantastic Y2K, and may everyone's flight thru life be peaceful, happy and above all else, profitable!

[cabinboy]

It all depends on what country you live in as to how you go about the process. No offence to the UK citizens but from what I have seen on tv all you need is the right attitude and you are in. No offence to you Nav 1 but I would hardly say that at 18 you had the customer service experience to be able to handle a drunken footballer at 35,000 feet which is probably where your girlfriend who is still at school got her pathetic teenybopper views on airline employment.

In Australia, for lack of a better word " impossible " is the term. I have every one of the credentials I posted earlier and still can't get hired purely because of my age. Qantas cabin crew tell me they would love to work with me compared to some of the new " mature aged " recruits who at interview stage didn't even know what a 767 was ! , and can't handle the lifestyle compared to someone like myself who can ,but, in the eyes of the recruiter think that I would not be "mature enough".

Eventually my persistance will pay off and I will be deemed the right age to offer my services to an Australian airline.

Cabinboy

p.s - Sorry Tarantella, don't mean to insult your employer but it just ain't fair !
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Doors armed and ALWAYS cross checked


[This message has been edited by cabinboy (edited 03 January 2000).]

[This message has been edited by cabinboy (edited 03 January 2000).]

[Tarantella]

None taken CB. :)
I'm interested in your theory that it is purely age based though. I recently flew with a 19 year old F/A, and I know others who are around the same age.
I personally find it rather strange that we can fly with and then abandon to their own devices during slip time, people who are still minors in many of the countries we fly to. A few years ago,you had to be at least 21 to even get a look in.
Might want to take a chill pill regarding Nav 1's girlfriend = Her intent was kind and perhaps accurate for England? I don't know.
Mr Seatback said you were in QLD? Drop me a line...

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"Work is the Curse of the Drinking Classes"
Oscar Wilde

[CD]

Darren...

Here is a link to the Flight Attendant & Wannabe Flight Attendant Bulletin Board. It is based in Canada, but many of the members are international as well.
http://www.insidetheweb.com/mbs.cgi/mb689443

Regards,
CD

[Nav1]

WELL HI THERE ALL YE PPRUNERS :)

NAV 1'S GIRLFRIEND HERE.I WOULD SAY BY READING MOST OF YOUR POSTS THAT "SOME OF YE" TOOK ME UP WRONG.WHAT I MEANT WAS THAT YOU DONT NEED A COLLEGE DEGREE IN ORDER TO BECOME AN F/A.SURE, SOME EXPERIENCE IN THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY IS BENEFICIAL.

HEY ALCOFLYER!THE PRE AIRLINE COURSES ARE VERY USEFUL TO PEOPLE WHO MIGHT FIND INTERVIEWS DAUNTING, THEY SURE BRING UP YOUR CONFIDENCE.THEY ALSO GIVE YOU AN INSIGHT INTO THE VARIOUS SELECTION PROCESSES FOR THE DIFFERENT AIRLINES.LET ME ASK YOU A QUESTION.HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO ONE OF THE PRE AIRLINE COURSES? :)

THANKS A MILLION TARANTELLA FOR BACKING ME UP.I DIDNT MEAN ANY HARM, ONLY TO REPLY TO DARREN & GIVE HIM SOME USEFUL ADVICE.

AND AS FOR YOU CABIN BOY!!!!!!!! :ROLLEYES:
I'D RATHER NOT BE CALLED A "PATHETIC TEENYBOPPER" AGAIN.

[woftam]

The "Caps Lock" key is there somewhere.
:)

[Nav Light]

Just some interesting facts about applying for the position of F/A in aussie, those who have just gone through Qantas interviews, only 0.8 % will get through, they are incredible odds, Ansett has just hired about 50 new staff, most of them being late 20's to early 30's, teachers, Nurses, all have had very extensive careers before the airline, it seems very unusual to see a new F/A less than about 28 these days! With a hell of a lot of experience as well, not just working on thee front desk at a hotel for 6 months. In Aussie, it's very tough to get in, lack of airlines....lots of people!

[luvly jubbly]

Nav1.

Sorry to have to have a go at your lass!
I'm sure you are well aware of what's actually involved on board. Maybe you'd explain it to her!

Naive and defensive. Definately not the best atributes for an F/A.
Once the self loading freight is on board, you are responsible for their safety. You're not just there to serve tea and coffee.
It's a position of responsibility. You are a paramedic, security officer, fireman etc. All rolled into one.

Even in the UK, it's extremely difficult to get a job on most airlines. Like Qantas, BA and VAA are amongst the toughest in the world. Don't know too much about the charter and minor carriers.

[cabinboy]

Sorry If I upset you Mrs Nav 1...just did go a bit over the top there, but, I go a bit psycho when I think somebody is putting down the career I have aspired for all my life.

Thanks for the percentage rate Nav Light...I also hear that those 50 f/a's hired by Ansett were also on their waiting list from a couple of years back ! Which even makes it harder for the newbie like myself !

Tarantella were you referring to me to drop you a line ? I am in Qld.

Cheers all- Wishing you soft landings with no delays ! ( yeh right )
Cabinboy http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/cool.gif

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" Cabin Crew be seated for take-off "

[Tarantella]

Yes Cabin Boy I was talking to you, it's always good to meet a fellow QLDer :)

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"Work is the Curse of the Drinking Classes"
Oscar Wilde

[abclovesu]

There are so many things you can do. Having work experience in a job that provides day to day contact with people is a good start. Being able to sell yourself is good too. Are you adaptable? Do you work well with others? Do you enjoy staying up all night and can you smile at 4 am with no sleep? (I know I can't, but I fake it well :) Good luck!

[cabinboy]

Abclovesu,

Just out of curiosity who do you fly for ?

cheers

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" Cabin Crew be seated for take-off "

[lara_croft]

cabinboy....just out of curiosity, who do you fly for? I notice your profile lists your occupation as Flight Attendant, but in your post you said you cannot get a position in Australia. Do you commute overseas?

[cabinboy]

Well Lara your occupation list's you as an " action girl " ? Did I question you over that ? :)That could be taken as meaning MANY different things if you know what I mean my friend !

I am not a flight attendant " yet " Lara ! In my mind I am and soon enough I will officially be one ( fingers crossed) hence my reason for listing that as my occupation.

Who do you fly for Lara ? Are you a Flight West girl by chance ?

Cabinboy

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" Cabin Crew be seated for take-off "

[MrSeatback]

I can recommend a good Burns Unit if you need one Lara.

[lara_croft]

cabinboy....I only asked who you flew for out of curiosity. Thought you might fly for an overseas airline.

I wish you lots of luck.

lara

PS To answer your question I fly for one of the majors...

[boywonder]

Cabin Boy you are right when you say it is virtually impossible to get into an Australian airline. Even so the lucky few that do somehow make it are often disillusioned at the day to day reality of the job. http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/confused.gif

The fantastic lifestyle and conditions are a thing of the past, and it is only getting worse. http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/frown.gif

My advice to any young would be cabin crew is to aspire to greater things!! Sure fly for a few years if you get the chance but don't expect it to be a career that will take you through to 65.

boywonder

Doors armed and NEVER crosschecked - take note Cabin Boy

[Lady Macbeth]

After happily perusing this site for the last 18 months, and generally enjoying all topics I have finally been incensed enough to contribute.

Although minimum requirements for cabin crew does not require MENSA membership, it is a naive and ignorant person that assumes the intelligence and diligent qualities of others who choose this career.
Application requirements may not be that high, but I for one fly constantly with colleagues from all social, economical and educational backgrounds. Many have University degrees and proffessional qualifications ,but decide to fly for the great lifestyle or simply to escape the "9to5" rigmarole.

Darren as far as recruitment, VAA Ltd are constantly on the look out for good people. (Contrary to the comments posted on 'Conditions at Virgin' that all hosties there are good only for one thing, I can assure you the average IQ is probably higher than that of people with such ignorant and obnoxious attitudes!!!)

If you need more info. call 01293-616161 and ask for Recruitment. Unfortunately I think you're still a little young, minimum age is 19yrs.
Yet if the enthusiasm for aviation that you display in your postings is anthing to go by, I'm sure your interest will not wain.

[cabinboy]

Thanks boywonder ! I have taken note...I have changed my signature though ! LOL

Drop me an email Boywonder, I am interested in chatting to you.

Cheers

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" Cabin Crew be seated for take-off "

[DarrenMoore]

Thank you very much everyone for your help, particularly Lady Macbeth.
Darren

[Shanwick Shanwick]

Lady Mac...An interesting and accurate analysis. Only one "f" in professional though. Like you say, membership of Mensa is not a requirement!


Darren,

If your final goal is a position in the flight deck then perhaps you ought to remain in education a little longer. The "non-approved" route to a professional licence no longer exists and there is a minimum standard of education required ( usually 5 GCSE's and 2 A levels) before any ab-initio course can begin. Also any airline sponsorship schemes are normally only available to those candidates with the above qualifications.

Best of luck.

Shanny