Working as a flight attendant. Responsibilities of a flight attendant. How much does a flight attendant earn?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

In principle, there is no such profession as a flight attendant. Her correct name is flight attendant. What other secrets does this type of activity hide, who can apply for a vacancy, and what requirements do airlines put forward, now we will try to figure it out.

Requirements for future flight attendants

There are certain subtleties in the profession of a flight attendant - requirements for applicants. The main qualities of a flight attendant should include:

• knowledge of foreign languages;
• social skills, the ability to communicate with people;
• diplomacy;
• tolerance;
• adequacy;
• wit and resourcefulness (the ability to find a quick and reasonable way out of various situations).

All the skills of applicants and the presence of certain qualities are checked by a specially created commission.

The appearance of the future stewardess also matters - she should always look well-groomed and tidy. The weight of the flight attendant must be normal (in the truest sense of the word), and the height of the stewardess must be sufficient to, if necessary, get luggage for short passengers (children, peopleadvanced age).

How to become a flight attendant

There are two ways to replenish the ranks of flight attendants.

The first step on the path to heaven includes the following steps:

1. Interview. Getting a positive result and approval of your candidacy by the management of a particular airline.
2. Training. A company in need of a flight attendant sends an approved candidate for training - special flight attendant courses. Training takes place in a group of 15-20 people. The duration of the process takes no more than 2-3 months. The school day starts in the morning and ends in the afternoon. Training courses include theoretical and practical parts.
3. Practice. Flying as an intern. At the end of the internship, a special exam is taken (flight with an instructor) and a pre-clearance for solo flights is issued.
4. Achieve full clearance - pass one more test with the instructor.
5. Passing the medical-flight expert commission.
6. Employment in an airline.

The second method contains the following steps:

1. Stewardess courses. The duration of the training is about 2 months. Those who want to become a flight attendant pay for the courses, and not the airline, as in the previous version. Training includes only theory, no practical training is provided in principle. Lessons are held in the evening every day.
2. Passing the medical board.
3. Finding a job.

Study to be a flight attendant caneveryone who wants it, but not everyone will get a job. This is the main disadvantage of the second method. And practical skills, even the most elementary ones, are not provided for by self-study.

Interview: what to prepare for

At the interview, the most unexpected and unpredictable questions can be asked. They may ask about the size of clothes, registration, hobbies. There are also discouraging questions: do you consider yourself beautiful enough to work here? How will you react if a passenger confesses his love to you or calls you a fool? What do you do if you accidentally spill juice on a male passenger and end up in the most intimate place?

You will be informed that work as a flight attendant implies irregular working hours and can provoke a number of occupational diseases (varicose veins, chronic fatigue), warn of possible emergency situations on board (fights, threats, etc.).

Working in the sky: advantages and disadvantages

The benefits of being a flight attendant include:

• opportunity to combine work and leisure as efficiently as possible thanks to a flexible work schedule;
• free travel, visits to various countries of the world;
• acquaintance with interesting people, representatives of different nationalities and statuses;
• work as a flight attendant significantly expands and changes the worldview;
• availability of a service ticket - makes it possible to pay for the cost of the flightas a passenger only 10% of the total ticket price, and once a year the airline pays for the flight at all;
• possibility of additional income from the sale of Duty Free goods (at the same time, the cost of goods is the same as at airports, and the flight attendant gets a certain percentage of sales);
• getting a "tip" for the provision of additional services (passenger transfer from economy class to business class, sale of alcoholic beverages, permission to smoke in the kitchen, etc.).

As for the costs of the profession, they are much less, but they are more tangible. So, the main disadvantage of working as a flight attendant is excessive stress on human he alth. Air pressure fluctuates greatly during takeoffs and landings. Also, the he alth of the fair sex is reflected in walking in high-heeled shoes - this leads to such a disease as varicose veins.

Duties of flight attendants

The main duty of a flight attendant is high-quality service for passengers who are on board the aircraft. At the same time, flight attendants must monitor the compliance of the same passengers with safety regulations, they are responsible for the safety of people throughout the flight, and in the event of an emergency they are obliged to provide first aid.

A flight attendant is the first person to open and close aircraft doors, greet passengers, check boarding tickets and take care of luggage.

Before the flight, the flight attendant must check the availability and completeness of the first aid kit, the serviceability of fire extinguishers, oxygen cylinder and other emergency equipment, and also make sure that food, drinks, blankets, etc. are present on board in required quantity.

A flight attendant explains to passengers how to behave in case of an emergency, what emergency equipment to use, and exactly how to do it. During the flight, the flight attendant offers passengers various drinks and food, sells printed publications (newspapers, magazines).

Professionalism

After the obstacle called "stewardess courses" is overcome, and the work is already "in your pocket", you can relax a bit. Subsequently, professionalism must be systematically confirmed. To do this, companies arrange exams for the state about once every 6 months.

There is also such a thing as refresher courses. They must be visited by every flight attendant every 24 months.

What determines the salary of a flight attendant

The amount and calculation of the salary of a flight attendant is different and depends on a number of factors. The salary of a flight attendant is determined by the following criteria:

• country of employment;
• state and level of development of the industrial sector;
• scale and authority of the airline;
• social policy of the company regarding the staff;
• type of flights and route features;
• presence of a certain education;
• availability of skillsand flight attendant experience.

Salary of a flight attendant in Russia

Wages in the labor sector in question can vary widely, and the minimum and maximum limits cover a fairly wide range. The amount of wages is calculated depending on the number of hours spent in flight.

The monthly salary of a flight attendant who has just begun to learn the basics of the romantic profession, as a rule, ranges from 15 to 20 thousand rubles. Gradually, depending on the quality of work, acquired skills and experience, the amount of wages increases and can reach 50-60 thousand. The work of highly qualified employees of the airline is estimated at 80 to 100 thousand rubles a month. In addition, additional payments and bonuses to the basic salary are provided for conscientious and high-quality performance of work.

Depending on the total number of hours spent in flight and the knowledge, skills and experience gained on this basis, the employee is assigned a certain rank.

1 rank - flight attendant 3rd class.

2 rank - flight attendant 2nd class (assigned after 2000 hours of flight and passing a certain knowledge test).

3 rank - flight attendant 1st class (after 3000 hours of flight and passing the exam).

4 rank - instructor.

5 rank - head of service.

The average salary (according to the results of February 2014), which Russian flight attendants receive, is 54 thousand rubles. And there is a placevisible upward trend of this indicator. So, already in March of the same year, the average salary of a flight attendant increased by 5 thousand rubles and stopped at the level of 59 thousand rubles a month. If we consider the average salary by geography, then Moscow and the Moscow Region are in the lead. A flight attendant in Moscow earns 64,000 rubles.

The possibility of additional earnings is not ruled out. Accompanying charter commercial flights is a significant salary increase!

How much do flight attendants earn abroad

The salary of a flight attendant abroad, as in Russia, can vary significantly depending on the determining factors (discussed above). If we take newcomers to the profession, then their salary is about 1.5-2 thousand dollars, and professionals of the "heavenly business" receive 7-8 thousand dollars.

Wages are billed based on hours spent in flight. The average payment for one hour of flight can be from 20 to 60 dollars.

Based on the statistics provided by the US Labor Bureau, the average monthly salary of an airline flight attendant is 3.5 thousand US dollars. The salaries of flight attendants in Great Britain and Australia are practically at the same level. There, the work of a flight attendant is estimated at 4 thousand dollars a month.

How much do flight attendants earn at the largest commercial and reputable private airlines? Here, the wages of flight attendants are the highest - they reach 10 thousandAmerican dollars. These companies include US Airways, Southwest Airlines.

"Only girls in jazz", or Can a man be a flight attendant

A flight attendant is a profession that does not put forward any specific requirements regarding the gender issue. The flight attendant can be both the fair sex and men. As practice shows, there are noticeably more female flight attendants - it has always been, is and will be! However, there are situations when only male stewards are taken on a flight. So, if an airplane is ordered for a flight of a football company, then a man will be taken on board as a guide.

Heavenly angel or earthly person?

Work as a flight attendant is considered difficult, but despite this, the demand for it does not fall. Moreover, the profession of a flight attendant is a competitive activity. When a competition is announced for one vacant flight attendant position, the employer airline receives about 13 resumes in the first two hours.

How can one explain such a rush, why is the profession so attractive to applicants?

Firstly, it's a flexible work schedule and a long vacation. Secondly, working as a flight attendant is a great opportunity to see the world (and for free!) and go shopping in different countries.

Tell me, at least one other earthly profession gives such opportunities to a person?!