Commercial pre-flight brief
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Commercial pre-flight brief
Hello all.
I work for a relatively new African airline, and we are still in the process of standardizing the way we operate. I would like some information about cabin crew pre flight briefings in established airlines. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Some of our pursers conduct a military style interrogation of junior cabin crew members. Many of the juniors now try to swap flights for fear of being crewed with the complicated pursers. Morale is low, and team spirit and cooperation is lacking.
In fairness, some pursers have the special ability to question and teach without making anyone uncomfortable. The problem is not widespread, but enough to warrant this query. Shouldn't short comings in standards be addressed in training? Is a pre-flight brief the place to test people?
We do the pre-flight brief with the entire crew, and sometimes the walk to the aircraft is very quiet.
Thanks for any info...
Renaissance
I work for a relatively new African airline, and we are still in the process of standardizing the way we operate. I would like some information about cabin crew pre flight briefings in established airlines. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Some of our pursers conduct a military style interrogation of junior cabin crew members. Many of the juniors now try to swap flights for fear of being crewed with the complicated pursers. Morale is low, and team spirit and cooperation is lacking.
In fairness, some pursers have the special ability to question and teach without making anyone uncomfortable. The problem is not widespread, but enough to warrant this query. Shouldn't short comings in standards be addressed in training? Is a pre-flight brief the place to test people?
We do the pre-flight brief with the entire crew, and sometimes the walk to the aircraft is very quiet.
Thanks for any info...
Renaissance
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At my current airline (BA) briefing ism nine out of ten times, very relaxed, easy-going and straightforward. It gives the opportunity for crew to get to know eachother, have a little chat, and see what the team will be like. I have worked for a couple of airlines and BA has far the easiest briefing, whilst other airlines, have had pretty harsh and "dictatorial" briefings.
Briefing is for most airlines the place where to test crew and see whether their knowledge in SEP and Avmed is sufficient enough to operate the certain flight. I know of a couple of airlines, not many though, where this is computerised and tested when checking in and NOT done in briefing. However, seeing as each and every working position has different responsibilites, this could cause, as I see it, a problem in larger airlines where you rotate and don't actually have the same position on each and every flight.
Briefing is for most airlines the place where to test crew and see whether their knowledge in SEP and Avmed is sufficient enough to operate the certain flight. I know of a couple of airlines, not many though, where this is computerised and tested when checking in and NOT done in briefing. However, seeing as each and every working position has different responsibilites, this could cause, as I see it, a problem in larger airlines where you rotate and don't actually have the same position on each and every flight.
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Jacquelinee, Flygirl28
Thank you for your replies.
To add to what I have already written, some crew have confided that if things really went pear shaped they would save themselves and forget all else. Others have said, if they had to assist the difficult leaders, they would wait until the leader is really in trouble before helping. I think they are just angry.
Part of the problem comes from the fact that the pursers are questioning juniors on procedures used in their (pursers) previous airlines. The answers to some questions are not in our procedures, our operations manual, or in the training the juniors received. For many of the younger crew, this is their first airline/job, and they don't have the benefit of previous training to fall back on.
In my opinion if we are on the same team, and some people have these attitudes, something has to be done. Leadership starts from the top down, so the captains need to foster team spirit.
I suspect I come across as somewhat biased, but I am concerned...
Flygirl28... check your pms..
Renaissance...
Thank you for your replies.
To add to what I have already written, some crew have confided that if things really went pear shaped they would save themselves and forget all else. Others have said, if they had to assist the difficult leaders, they would wait until the leader is really in trouble before helping. I think they are just angry.
Part of the problem comes from the fact that the pursers are questioning juniors on procedures used in their (pursers) previous airlines. The answers to some questions are not in our procedures, our operations manual, or in the training the juniors received. For many of the younger crew, this is their first airline/job, and they don't have the benefit of previous training to fall back on.
In my opinion if we are on the same team, and some people have these attitudes, something has to be done. Leadership starts from the top down, so the captains need to foster team spirit.
I suspect I come across as somewhat biased, but I am concerned...
Flygirl28... check your pms..
Renaissance...
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Ultimately, the in-charge cabin crew member sets the tone for the duty ahead with their briefing, and if it is perceived as too harsh then it will have an impact on how the flight or flights will unfold, in terms of crew morale, and therefore customer service etc etc. So I think as you already said yourself, the "problem" starts at the top and works its way down; the issue therefore needs to be addressed with all your senior crew members.
Part of the problem, I would suggest, is that different senior crew have different perceptions of what purpose the SEP part of the briefing actually serves. Some do think of it as a "test" and will actively try to catch the crew out by asking obscure questions. The more sensitive senior crew see the SEP brief as a way to empower all the crew with the knowledge that they would know what to do and how to act in an emergency situation. Crew should leave a briefing feeling confident about their duties in both normal AND abnormal situations.
One method I would suggest is rather than directing questions at each crew member individually, a drill (eg oven fire, rapid decompression) should be thrown open for discussion and then each crew member asked to contribute a few lines of your airline's procedures for such an emergency. That way you're moving away from putting each crew member on the spot, and there's the scope/flexibility for the crew to help each other out if they're a bit rusty (we all forget things sometimes!). And also each member of crew contributes something to the discussion, which, let's be honest, is what's going to happen in a real emergency: everyone works together as a team and plays their part.
There is no getting away from the fact, however, that the SEP briefing is geared towards making sure that all crew are current in their knowledge of procedure, but I find the way I suggested to you works well. If it becomes obvious that a crew member's knowledge is deficient, that of course has to addressed with the person in question individually, but in encouraging a group discussion, rather than each person having three questions fired at them individually, you'll probably find that that takes the pressure off somewhat.
One thing that I would suggest you need to deal with urgently is the issue of crew bringing their previous airlines' drills/procedures to bear. This is very unprofessional in my opinion as it undoubtedly makes the inexperienced crew feel stupid for not knowing something which they probably think they *should* know. If a procedure is not in your airline's manual, the senior crew shouldn't be asking about it. Full stop. And your senior crew have obviously been taught your airline's SOPs - they should be working to these and NOT their former airlines' ...!
This is just my two-pence worth though - hope it helps!
Part of the problem, I would suggest, is that different senior crew have different perceptions of what purpose the SEP part of the briefing actually serves. Some do think of it as a "test" and will actively try to catch the crew out by asking obscure questions. The more sensitive senior crew see the SEP brief as a way to empower all the crew with the knowledge that they would know what to do and how to act in an emergency situation. Crew should leave a briefing feeling confident about their duties in both normal AND abnormal situations.
One method I would suggest is rather than directing questions at each crew member individually, a drill (eg oven fire, rapid decompression) should be thrown open for discussion and then each crew member asked to contribute a few lines of your airline's procedures for such an emergency. That way you're moving away from putting each crew member on the spot, and there's the scope/flexibility for the crew to help each other out if they're a bit rusty (we all forget things sometimes!). And also each member of crew contributes something to the discussion, which, let's be honest, is what's going to happen in a real emergency: everyone works together as a team and plays their part.
There is no getting away from the fact, however, that the SEP briefing is geared towards making sure that all crew are current in their knowledge of procedure, but I find the way I suggested to you works well. If it becomes obvious that a crew member's knowledge is deficient, that of course has to addressed with the person in question individually, but in encouraging a group discussion, rather than each person having three questions fired at them individually, you'll probably find that that takes the pressure off somewhat.
One thing that I would suggest you need to deal with urgently is the issue of crew bringing their previous airlines' drills/procedures to bear. This is very unprofessional in my opinion as it undoubtedly makes the inexperienced crew feel stupid for not knowing something which they probably think they *should* know. If a procedure is not in your airline's manual, the senior crew shouldn't be asking about it. Full stop. And your senior crew have obviously been taught your airline's SOPs - they should be working to these and NOT their former airlines' ...!
This is just my two-pence worth though - hope it helps!
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Hi Extralegroom,
Thanks for your post. Very helpful indeed... Personally I like the idea of discussion, but some don't. As I mentioned before some of the team leaders are very talented in their ability to connect with everyone. One such person suggested to management that the juniors should be the ones asking the questions. That person made some very valid points on the matter, but his suggestion didn't go down well. I suppose culture plays a big part in attitude. Unfortunately our cultural norms (respect & don't question your elders) contradict aviation safety requirements. As I am sure you will appreciate, the attitudes will not change overnight, but we shall try to make our airline a safe and a fun place to work.
Renaissance..
Thanks for your post. Very helpful indeed... Personally I like the idea of discussion, but some don't. As I mentioned before some of the team leaders are very talented in their ability to connect with everyone. One such person suggested to management that the juniors should be the ones asking the questions. That person made some very valid points on the matter, but his suggestion didn't go down well. I suppose culture plays a big part in attitude. Unfortunately our cultural norms (respect & don't question your elders) contradict aviation safety requirements. As I am sure you will appreciate, the attitudes will not change overnight, but we shall try to make our airline a safe and a fun place to work.
Renaissance..
