Cabin crew procedures

Cabin crew procedures

Aim

• Practice English skills in an aviation context
• Revise some typical procedures and test yourself on knowledge you not only need to know but may be tested on during interviews
• Have fun!

The list of cabin crew procedures can be daunting but don’t worry, there’s always a Flight Attendant’s Manual on board! For this lesson, let’s focus on the pre-flight safety announcement, followed by some revision of ICAO abbreviations.

ICAO, the International Civil Aviation Organisation, sets international aviation safety standards. A typical pre-flight safety announcement will include:

• A  reminder to review the aircraft safety card
• The use of the seat belt
• The requirement that passengers must comply with lighted signs, posted placards, and crew members instructions
• The location and use of the emergency exits, evacuation slides and emergency floor lighting
• The use of the oxygen mask
• The location and use of the life vests, life rafts and flotation devices (not typically included if the flight does not overfly or fly near vast masses of water)
• The brace position
• A reminder not to smoke onboard, including the toilets
• The precautions to take before take-off and landing: to stow luggage under a seat or in an overhead compartment, to return folding trays and seat backs to the upright position, to turn off electronic devices

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Prepositions of Place/Location IN/ON/AT

TOPIC: Prepositions of Place/Location

GOAL: To learn about the proper use of prepositions of place/location

Level: Easy

Exercise #1: Read about Prepositions of Place and then proceed to Exercise #2

A preposition links nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. The word or phrase that the preposition introduces is called the object of the preposition.

Even for the most advanced students, propositions can always use more practice. Many verbs are (usually) followed by certain prepositions. Some even entirely change the meaning of a verb by turning it into a phrasal verb.  Learners just have to memorize most prepositions, especially those that follow certain verbs (and even more so for those that create phrasal verbs). Some prepositions can be used interchangeably depending on the situation. This just adds more confusion for people learning English.

The good news is that prepositions of place, perhaps, are among the most consistent (that is, they have fewer exceptions). Prepositions of place are almost logical, if you can understand the preposition on its own.

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Air Rage – Causes and Prevention

Air Rage – Causes and Prevention

Air rage is defined as ‘disruptive or unruly behavior exhibited by passengers and crew of an aircraft during a flight’. The reasons for this kind of behavior have often been assigned to excessive alcohol consumption, crowded or long flights that agitate passengers, problems with crew members or other psychological problems. Air rage can create an environment of tension in the air putting both the crew members and the passengers at risk.

According to aviation expert, Diana Fairechild recycled air on planes aids in spreading infections like flu and tuberculosis and minimal oxygen in the cabin can also lead to a higher level of temper tantrums and boisterous behavior among kids. There have been many reports of air rage resulting in unscheduled landings, jail time and penalties for passengers, career changes for flight attendants and even death of a passenger.

Stress Management for Flight Attendants

Stress management for flight attendants

Aim

• Practice English skills in an aviation context
• Improve vocabulary while learning stress management tips (difficult)
• Have fun!

By now everyone has heard or read about the flight attendant who made his own emergency exit upon landing, when a bad day at work became too much.

Link to article Raging flight attendant makes his own emergency exit

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Flight Attendant Interviews

Do you know anyone who breezes through interviews without a hint of nervousness?  Wouldn’t that be great?  Unfortunately, it’s rare!  Most of us get nervous just thinking about it, and need all the help we can get.  For anyone planning to attend cabin crew interviews, some tailored advice follows.

4 tips to a successful cabin crew interview

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Parts of an Aircraft

[audio:http://aviationenglishblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/04partsofanaircraft.mp3|titles=Parts of an Aircraft]

1. Read about the various major parts of an airplane, then proceed to Step 2

Although there are many aircraft designs flying today, most of them share a common assembly of major parts that all pilots should be thoroughly aware of. Ever since the early days of aviation, an aviator’s primary training included the fundamental knowledge of what each part is called, its function and where it is located.

Each major part of a fixed-wing aircraft serves an important purpose. For example, the propeller helps move the aircraft through the air via thrust. The wings are lifting bodies which help keep the aircraft airborne. The horizontal and vertical stabilizers contain vital control surfaces; and the fuselage is a major structural component containing crew and passenger areas.

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Countries and culture

Countries and culture

Aim

• Practice English skills in an aviation context
• Discuss cross-cultural communication
• Have fun!

A flight attendant will become familiar with a great number of countries and cultures over the course of her/his career, but the significance of this is more than just the interest value of visiting diverse geographical locations, witnessing different customs or meeting new people; for a flight attendant working with the public from all walks of life and from all over the world, having an understanding of cross-cultural communication is an essential part of the job.

Successful communication is important for reasons of both safety and service standards but there are more factors to consider than just getting the language right. Cultural differences may sometimes means the message is not received the way it is intended. Reasons for this include:

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Packing

Packing!

Aim

• Practice English skills in an aviation context
• Learn some packing tips and some new vocabulary
• Have fun!

When the cabin crew come striding through the airport, immaculately uniformed and groomed, you can be sure that none of them are carting luggage that’s bulging to the point of zips breaking, or a carry-on with a pair of shoes tied on to the outside!

And you just know that when they get to their destination they’re not going to be changing into crumpled clothing, or turning the contents of their bags out onto the hotel room floor in search of a pair of socks.

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Health problems on board

• Learn some healthy tips specific to cabin crew while learning the terminology of illnesses cabin crew may face
• Have fun!

After health professionals, cabin crew must rate as one of the professions most exposed to communicable illnesses while on the job and, unlike doctors and nurses, there’s not much in the way of protection on hand, and no escape route!  Add to that the long, intensive hours worked and jet lag, how can flight attendants possibly boost their immunity and minimise sick days?

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Religions and Cultural Sensitivity

Religions and Cultural Sensitivity

A separate and explicit training of different religions and cultures is an essential part of the overall training for all airport officials and crew members and the reason for this is quite apparent. Airline staff and crew come across people from various nationalities and cultures and each of these have their own unique practices and requirements.  While the Jews may need kosher meals, some Hindus may want completely vegetarian fare. And food is not the only sensitivity that we are talking about.

Educating the airline crews about different religions and cultures is imperative for them to have a better understanding of how specific religions and cultures function. The need for the same is evident from an incident with a US Airways flight in Minneapolis where six Muslim Imams were ejected by authorities because passengers and crew found their prayer rituals unnerving.

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