The story of the flight attendant

The story of a flight attendant

Aim

• Practice English skills in an aviation context
• Test your reading skills (level: easy)
• Have fun!

There’s a certain mystique about flight attendants, isn’t there? Watch heads turn as cabin crew walk by.  They’re elegantly uniformed, immaculately turned out, on their way to somewhere far away and seemingly having the time of their lives.  You can almost hear everyone wondering, ‘What’s it like for them?’

The average person is usually quite curious about what life is really like for flight attendants, what it feels like to wear that uniform, what really goes on among cabin crew, how many languages the flight attendant can converse in and how glamorous the lifestyle really is.

Click here to receive the REAL definition of a flight attendant!

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Parts inside the Aircraft

Parts inside the Aircraft

Flying can be an exciting as well as a jumpy and stressful experience for those flying for the first time. While you may be excited about travelling by air, there is also this lurking fear that you may not know what to do. Knowing what to expect as you enter the cabin can be reassuring.

When passengers enter the aircraft they are seated in what is called the cabin area. This area is divided into different sections for business and economy class passengers. The first row and the emergency exit rows are generally preferred by tall people who need more leg room. Front rows are also preferred by those who do not want a bumpy ride since the movement of the aircraft is exaggerated in the rear rows.

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Jet lag – Cause and Management

[audio:http://aviationenglishblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/05jetlag.mp3|titles=Jet lag – Causes and Management]Jet lag – Cause and Management

Also called desynchronosis, jet lag is a medical condition that occurs as a result of air travel across countries in different time zones in a short period of time. This is different from air sickness which is nausea experienced by some people every time they travel by air.

Some of the common symptoms of jet lag include headache, fatigue, insomnia, disrupted sleep pattern, irritability and digestive trouble.

The body can tell the time of the day with the help of specific signals that are received by the senses. For example, the optic nerve in the eyes receives information about the amount of light or darkness outside and transmits this to the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that controls various bodily functions like temperature, hunger, thirst and sleep as well.

Grammar point: present continuous tense

Grammar point: present continuous tense

Aim

• Practice English skills in an aviation context
• Practice present continuous in dialogue form

In-flight medical problems and emergencies

Best Hotels

Best hotels

Aim

·         Practice English skills in an aviation context

·         Practice vocabulary/discussion on hotel amenities

·         Have fun!

Link to website http://airporthotelguru.com/

Today, let’s visit Airport Hotel Guru! Airport Hotel Guru is a cleverly designed website dedicated to – you guessed it – airport hotels. The best of them, that is. But as is explained on the website, not every hotel with ‘airport’ in its name qualifies as an airport hotel. To be considered, an establishment must meet at least of these criteria:

• Offer a free airport shuttle that takes no more than 20 minutes to travel between the airport and the hotel
• Be no more than an 8 minute taxi or train ride away from the hotel
• Be within a 15 minute walk from the baggage claim 

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Passengers with Special Needs

Flight Attendants 1

Passengers with special needs

Aim

• Practice English skills in an aviation context
• Revise or learn vocabulary surrounding passengers with special needs (level: difficult)
• Have fun!

While some passengers may think that flight attendants are standing by to top up drinks and bring more peanuts, you will no doubt be aware that the role of a flight attendant is that of a trained professional, onboard to ensure security and safety of passengers.  Passengers who identify as having special needs (that fall under the categories of special needs as defined by each airline) will require specific attention.

Why is it important?

Being able to attend to specially identified needs means

• An enhanced level of service
• Increased customer comfort and satisfaction
• Increased customer safety and wellbeing
• An accessible, non-discriminatory service

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On-board Service

On-board service

Aim

·         Practice English skills in an aviation context

·         Revise or learn adjectives surrounding quality of service

·         Have fun!

Hi Dana,

I just got back to Singapore after a week in Bangkok. I remembered that you asked me to tell you what the flight attendants were like so I did make some notes for you!  I flew Blue Sky Air to Bangkok but it was such a bad experience that I flew back with Singapore airlines. Wow, what a difference!

On Blue Sky Air I experienced a broken seat, no vegetarian meal available, and flight attendants who were simply not interested in my comfort or wellbeing. One member of the crew was quite rude when I repeated my request for assistance. Later, when I needed some water, I was too scared to ask! I heard a few people grumbling about the service on that flight. 

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Security

Security

Aim

·         Practice English skills in an aviation context

·         Revise security issues

·         Have fun!

Security is a major issue in aviation today and it has had a major impact on the way cabin crew work. Security procedures put in place over the last decade have seen flight attendants trading white gloves for latex, handing out plastic cutlery in place of metal, and training for some extreme worst case scenarios.

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Teamwork

Teamwork                                                                                                                                  

Aim

·         Practice English skills in an aviation context

·         Discussion of teamwork skills (difficult)

·         Have fun!

 You’ll know doubt be aware that teamwork is important in the role of a flight attendant but have you ever considered what that means or how to improve your teamwork skills?  How will you demonstrate your ability to work in a team during your flight attendant interview?

What does teamwork mean?

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