AirFrance English NOT Language of aviation
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Taking the above statement into consideration please do advise on flights between southern Europe what is the language of communication between ATC and crew, even when they belong to the same nationality?
It is by no means always English, e.g. I've heard French, Italian and Spanish used, even with English speakers on frequency.
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CC employed by AF must all speak French currently. It is a DGAC (French Aviation Authority) rule that all members of a crew (pilots and CC) working for a french airline all speak and understand French. Which makes sense, safety wise.
There are many CC and Pilots who are not French nationals (including yours truly
) but they all speak French currently and, last but not least, are all trained in French. All the training is indeed done in French, which is the language we use between us when we work. Training includes cabin simulator, during which CC are trained to give pax a briefing and prepare different emergency briefings. All CC are very familiar with the language to be used in case of emergency (there are courses on Crowd Control as well), both in French and English. I hope this answers to your language concerns re CC.
In case of pax to be used as ABP, I think it is clear enough why it is better to chose someone who speaks a language common to crew and the majority of the pax.
FYI, this rule is adopted not only by AF, but by many other airlines, in other coutries (firsthand information).
Quote from ICAO Annex 10:
Which means that in Spain a Spanish ATC and a Spanish pilot are allowed to speak Spanish, and same in Italy between an Italian ATC and an Italian pilot .
There are many CC and Pilots who are not French nationals (including yours truly
) but they all speak French currently and, last but not least, are all trained in French. All the training is indeed done in French, which is the language we use between us when we work. Training includes cabin simulator, during which CC are trained to give pax a briefing and prepare different emergency briefings. All CC are very familiar with the language to be used in case of emergency (there are courses on Crowd Control as well), both in French and English. I hope this answers to your language concerns re CC.In case of pax to be used as ABP, I think it is clear enough why it is better to chose someone who speaks a language common to crew and the majority of the pax.
FYI, this rule is adopted not only by AF, but by many other airlines, in other coutries (firsthand information).
Taking the above statement into consideration please do advise on flights between southern Europe what is the language of communication between ATC and crew, even when they belong to the same nationality?
"Language to be used:
The air-ground radiotelephony communications shall be conducted in the language normally used by the station on the ground or in the English language.
Note 1.— The language normally used by the station on the ground may not necessarily be the language of the State in which it is located. A common language may be agreed upon regionally as a requirement for stations on the ground in that region.
The English language shall be available, on request from any aircraft station, at all stations on the ground serving designated airports and routes used by international air services.
The languages available at a given station on the ground shall form part of the Aeronautical Information Publications and other published aeronautical information concerning such facilities."
The air-ground radiotelephony communications shall be conducted in the language normally used by the station on the ground or in the English language.
Note 1.— The language normally used by the station on the ground may not necessarily be the language of the State in which it is located. A common language may be agreed upon regionally as a requirement for stations on the ground in that region.
The English language shall be available, on request from any aircraft station, at all stations on the ground serving designated airports and routes used by international air services.
The languages available at a given station on the ground shall form part of the Aeronautical Information Publications and other published aeronautical information concerning such facilities."
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EC-ILS
On the A321 you would have a FA at the particular exit! Lufthansa crews officially do use English as their languague of communication, so your argument is flawed.
However, try to get an emergency exit in Latin America while not speaking Spanish...
On the A321 you would have a FA at the particular exit! Lufthansa crews officially do use English as their languague of communication, so your argument is flawed.
However, try to get an emergency exit in Latin America while not speaking Spanish...
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Only last month I sat in the exit row on a Lufthansa A321 and I dont speak German
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Is this not distrimination under EU rules !! English is one of the official EU languages AF is an EU airline - therefore should not the rules apply to all EU official languages 
Or is it a case like dealing with Spanish red tape that they ignore EU law
Or is it a case like dealing with Spanish red tape that they ignore EU law
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Is this not distrimination under EU rules
If your reasonment were right, every european airline would have the right to speak its language even with ATC from another country.
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Is this not distrimination under EU rules !! English is one of the official EU languages AF is an EU airline - therefore should not the rules apply to all EU official languages
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If you mean discrimination, then it is irrelevant. Discrimination is a fundamental necessity for survival. There are various specific types of discrimination which are unlawful, however the lack of ability to converse in, or understand a foreign language is not one of them. An airline can determine who is suitable to occupy any particular seat as it wishes.
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Only last month I sat in the exit row on a Lufthansa A321 and I dont speak German.
All our emergency commands will be given in German and English. If you're sitting at an overwing exit on A346, I will visit you, make sure you speak either language, and give you instructions as to what to do in case of emergency.
If you do not speak German or English, or I have the impression that you will not be able to open the exit, you will be seated somewhere else.
As to the A321, I can't say what the procedures are, as I don't currently work on it.
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A pal of mine once flew on an AF flight Strasbourg-Paris and was surprised to discover that the aircraft and crew were from Monarch, and all cabin announcements were in English only.
I'll bet that Chauvin's compatriots who were on board absolutely loved that.
T'was a while ago ...
When did this practice become widespread? Who was the first to adopt it and why? Was it in response to a particular circumstance? It seems not to be an international regulation - did one country legislate for it and others followed. Or did one airline introduce it and others followed, for reasons not entirely associated with safety - to impress the customers, maybe or increase the perceived importance of the CC task?
I'll bet that Chauvin's compatriots who were on board absolutely loved that.
T'was a while ago ...
When did this practice become widespread? Who was the first to adopt it and why? Was it in response to a particular circumstance? It seems not to be an international regulation - did one country legislate for it and others followed. Or did one airline introduce it and others followed, for reasons not entirely associated with safety - to impress the customers, maybe or increase the perceived importance of the CC task?
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ant be that widespread when i flew air france from london city - dublin, as far as i recal, didnt hear one french voice!
SSK,
Some safety rules come sometimes from observations and recommendations after incidents/accidents, some from Human Factor studies, and often their reason is not immediately evident to the layman.
In the case of this Safety rule it has been observed (as said in the post above) that in case of emergency, stress can cause situations where people's brains work in economy and go back to basic. It is not something an airline alone has discovered, it is in every Human Factors beginners' manual. Speaking/understanding your language or a language you are very familiar with becomes more difficult, if not impossible.
I wouldn't find it unreasonable to pick people who speak the same language as the crew instead of someone whose language skills we know nothing about.
It seems not to be an international regulation - did one country legislate for it and others followed.
Every country and airline is free to apply their own rules as long as it stricter than the EU-OPS.
A pal of mine once flew on an AF flight Strasbourg-Paris and was surprised to discover that the aircraft and crew were from Monarch, and all cabin announcements were in English only.
cheers mate, glad u corrected me on that one!
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Yes it does make a difference. The company is Irish and not French (even if the owner is AF-KLM Group). The fact is that since it flies to France a lot, French language is required. English is required in, say, Lufthansa, but it still is not a British company with CAA rules, as Cityjet is not under the French DGAC rules, which is what matters.
