Introduction

An Air Hostess implies hostess in the air. An Air Hostess or a flight steward or a cabin crew member ensures that the passengers have a comfortable journey in the flight. The profession of Air Hostess requires glamour, lot of travel and provides a good pay package. The job also demands hard work with odd working hours. There are various Air Hostess training modules ranging from a short term of 3 months to a long term of a year or more. These training courses focus mainly on an overall personality development. The career of airhostess requires strong conviction, commitment and responsibility apart from learning technical aspects of aircraft operation and skills to handle crisis.

Eligibility

The minimum eligibility for an airhostess-training programme is plus two/ or a graduate degree with a diploma/degree in Hotel Management or Tourism Management. The applicant must be physically fit with a pleasing personality and clear complexion. Also, the candidate must be eligible to hold an Indian Passport and should be below twenty-five years of age with a minimum height of 157.5 centimeters. The weight should be in proportion to height. Moreover, one must be unmarried, with normal eyesight of 6/6 uncorrected vision in each eye. Fluency in English, Hindi, and knowledge of an international language are the added advantages. The flight purser, male counterpart of the airhostess has to be a graduate below 26 years, and have a minimum height of 163 cm with proportionate weight.

There will be an initial screening followed by a written examination which will be normally of objective type. Those who qualify in the written examination must appear for a group discussion followed by a personal interview. If selected, the candidate will be on training for 2 to 3 months where the training is given on many factors such as customer service, grooming, safety and first aid. Even technical aspects of the aircraft are taught, beginning with the history of aviation. The candidates are made to learn In-flight Service, Passenger Handling, Passenger psychology, Service of meals on the Aircraft, the art of conversation, Transactional Analysis, Emergency Evacuation System, Personal Grooming and Hygiene, First Aid, Confidence Building, Handling of visually impaired passengers, Making announcements, and Emergency demonstration.

The qualities required to be an Air hostess are common sense, sense of responsibility, initiative, friendly outgoing personality, politeness, physical stamina, ability to react quickly at times of emergency, presence of mind, systematic approach, unruffled appearance, a well-modulated pleasant voice, and graceful personality.

Job Scope and Career Options

The future is bright for an air hostess as there has been a great increase in privatization and foreign collaboration. There are many opportunities both in domestic and international airlines. An Air Hostess can be promoted to the post of Senior Flight Attendant and then Head Attendant. The career as an Air Hostess would last for about eight to ten years and later she can move on to the ground duties including the job of a Ground Hostess, Check Hostess, training of airhostess or work in the management level. It is also possible to diversify into any one of the other departments in the airline industry.

Major Institutions offering Air Hostess Training Courses