Soaring towards success

Suman Gupta

Choosing the profession of an air hostess comes with many responsibilities and perks. An air hostess or a flying steward plays an important role in ensuring the comfort and safety of the passengers and in turn get paid well. 

Also, air hostesses get to travel a lot. They meet people from different backgrounds and earn global exposure. Air hostesses are also known as flight attendants, cabin crew stewards or cabin attendants.

Profession of an air hostess is desired by many young graduates. Exponential growth in the aviation sector has created great career opportunities for youngsters. Also, boys stand a good chance of becoming a flight attendant or fight steward, just like women get to become air hostesses.  

Job profile

The course comes under the aviation and hospitality management. This is a demanding career and requires certain decorum. Some of the responsibilities are: To serve the passengers and crew well, answer their queries, brief passengers about flight and safety measures to be taken during an emergency, submit flight report, handle emergency situations when required, including a medical emergency.

Work on & off board

Air-hostesses and flight stewards not only work on board, but also when they are on ground before and after the flight. When on ground, they perform different sets of duties to make sure that the passengers fly with ease. An experienced air hostess gets the opportunity to work with international airlines. Growth of domestic airlines has also created job opportunities for those interested in the profession. There is a regulation that no air hostess will fly for more than 72 hours in a month. It means, there is not much work pressure and one can enjoy leisure time too.

Eligibility

To qualify for pursuing the air hostess career, one must have passed Class XII or equivalent examination and pursue a degree/ certificate/ diploma programme in a relevant discipline. Also, one must have a pleasing personality and good communication skills. One  should also be well-groomed and fit . This is not the right career option for those looking for a 9 to 6 job, as it demands availability at odd hours since flights operate at night too.

Fluency in English, Hindi and knowledge of an international language is an added advantage in the field.

Bright future 

After completing the course, a candidate can apply to work for domestic airlines. After gaining experience, one can seek employment in international airlines. Salary is handsome. 

Remuneration

Starting package of an air hostess is Rs 35,000-40,000, which can increase upto one lakh and even more. In International airlines, the salaries are even better. An air hostess is promoted as a senior flight attendant and then as head attendant.

Age bracket

• A female aspirant should be below 25 and a male counterpart should be below 26 and should hold an Indian passport.
• Physical standard: A female aspirant should be 157.5 cm tall and a male aspirant should have at least 163 cm of height. The weight should be in proportion to height.
• One must be unmarried, with normal eyesight 6/6 uncorrected vision in each eye. There will be an initial screening followed by a written test, group discussion and personal interviews. Accepted candidates are put through necessary training in relevant procedures.

On the worklist

The job profile of an air hostess or a flight steward may seem simple, but it brings with it many responsibilities on-board as well as when one is serving duty on the ground. The key responsibilities are:

• Greeting passengers and making them comfortable during the flight.
• Demonstrating the safety instructions to the passengers.
• Answering calls of passengers during the flight.
• Serving meals and refreshments during the flight.
• Providing emergency medical assistance if required.
• Conveying the message from the pilot in case of turbulence or emergency.

The writer is director, Flying Queen Air-Hostess Institute.