Air Hostess - As a career option

When you’re up in the air, you don’t have many options: that’s where the story begins and ends. Specializations don’t matter when you are forty thousand feet up. Anything that turns up has to be dealt with immediately, efficiently, and as effectively as possible until the flight lands.

The captain’s requirements from their crew are of utmost importance for the flight’s safety. Amid all of that, the passengers have to feel at home in the flight and have their every need catered to. It’s not really surprising, then, that being a flight attendant requires a very uncommon and fascinating skill-set.

What does it take to be a Air Hostess?

You can become a flight attendant right after class 12. Seriously, there’s really no need to go to college. What good is it if you can cube-root a rectangle and then a baby on your flight starts gasping for air but you don’t know how to deliver oxygen to infants, or if the aircraft suddenly starts jerking and shuddering as it passes through a stormy cloud, but you fail to keep the passengers calm, composed, and reassured?

Flight attendants don’t need to be experts at anything, but they have to be able to do everything just right. The only way to learn to do that is to start doing it.

When you apply for the job, however, you will usually be put through a long and strenuous selection process that takes into account your outlook, your disposition, your flexibility and adaptability, and your ability to acquire and implement new skills at short notice.

Airlines will also take your appearance and grooming sense seriously; flight attendants are their only point of interaction with customers, and they want to form the best impression possible.

After you get selected, you’ll be put through an intensive training period that lasts up to six weeks. At the end of your training, you’re ready to fly. Let’s see what it’s like once you’re there!

Eligibility Criteria to Become a Air Hostess

• +2: No restrictions. Students from all three streams are eligible.
• Bachelor’s Degree: No restrictions. Students from all disciplines are eligible.
• Master’s Degree: usually not required

A Day in the Life of a Air Hostess

Hi, I’m X. I’ve been working as a flight attendant for one of the largest airline carriers of India for the good part of a year now. I’m still fairly new, but I’m getting a hang of things and making it work. Do you want to see what my days are like? Come along!

2:30 AM (Indian Standard Time): It’s time to wake up! I don’t always have to get up at this ungodly hour, but the flight I’ve been assigned today leaves at 5:40 AM and I have to reach the airport by at least 4:45! I have to hurry, but I can’t forego my morning (sic) run – it’s rather important to maintain a steady fitness level in my job.

3:45 AM (IST): I arrive at the airport. Most of my assignments these days are international flights, and even though my aircrew work visa allows me unlimited entry to most countries, going past security and immigration is always a hassle. Oh well, when you’re doing this four times a day you’re kind of used to it.

4:30 AM (IST): Most of the crew has arrived. It’s common for me to work with crew members I have never met before. Crews are assigned on the basis of availability and you’ll be lucky to have a buddy. My flight today goes from New Delhi to London and spans nine hours and ten minutes. We get to work: check the emergency and safety equipment, ensure that everything is clean and in place, and confirm that the food is arriving on time.

5:30 AM (IST): Pre-departure. The crew has ensured that every passenger has been boarded and assigned their seat. It’s mandatory to explain the safety and emergency protocol to each passenger in the crew, and I make the announcements sitting at the jump-seat as a colleague acts it out for the passengers. We spray the entire cabin with germicide, ensure that everyone has their seat belt on, and report to the captain that the crew is ready for departure. I hastily put the coffee to brew. I barely have time to rush to my seat as the flight begins to pick up speed.

6:30 AM (IST): Once the ascent is complete and the flight is safely flying at over 40,000 feet, we get up and cater to the passengers. For the next nine hours, the crew and I are more or less relaxed; the only duties are to provide the passengers with food and beverages, maintain a clean and warm ambience, and come to the assistance of passengers asking for help.

9:00 AM (Greenwich Meridian Time): Fortunately, everything in the flight went smoothly. Things don’t usually go wrong, to be honest – everything about international flights is vetted to ensure utmost safety – but flight attendants like me are always wary of potential risk and only let down our guards when the flight has landed. Speaking of landing, we land in 40 minutes! We walk down the aisle waking up sleeping passengers, politely advising everyone to sit upright, fasten seat belts, and prepare to land.

10:00 AM (GMT): The flight landed a half-hour ago at London Heathrow, Terminal 4; the crew has left, but I still have to stay for a while. The aircraft has to be cleaned, trash has to be consolidated and sent for recycling, health and safety standards of the airline have to be met, and a status report has to be submitted. It’s more than an hour’s work, and tiredness is no excuse.

11:00 AM (GMT): Out, at a long last. The rest of the crew and I got debriefed at the airport, given our next assignment, and are now free for the next ten hours. It’s almost evening in India now, but still morning here in London; it took a while to get used to mornings never ending, but now, my body clock ticks on regardless of time zones. I’ll catch the shuttle towards the aircrew accommodation to get some dinner and catch some sleep. I guess that sums up my day, you guys. It’s hectic, and it’s strenuous, but I love every bit of it!

Did you find Flight Attendant's profession interesting? Are you planning to pursue it? Still confused? We hope that this article proved to be a fruitful one for you. Have your say in the comment box below. Enjoy Reading!