Introduction
The airline industry is a complex system that prompts companies and human resources to compete with each other to attract customers. Flight attendants are often referred to as the face of the airlines because they are always in contact with clients and provide services by which the quality and the reputation of airlines are measured. To ensure the success of an airline’s bottom line, flight attendants are required to go through a series of rigorous and complicated training sessions as well as renew their certification. Due to the complexity of flight attendants’ jobs, it is imperative to explore which management efforts should be put in place for keeping workers motivated and maintaining their productivity. In this paper, a focus will be placed on exploring flight attendant management, including important themes that will help to understand the topic better.
Business Description
The airline business is expanding exponentially to include thousands of destinations around the world. On the global arena, airline companies provide their services at over 3700 locations (Central Intelligence Agency, 2017). Due to the rapid development of the airline industry as a whole, companies must keep up with the latest trends, which is often challenging. Airline executives experience the rise in fortunes of their businesses while having to deal with several problematic trends (Kletzel & Terry, 2017). For example, in order to provide customers with high-quality services, airline businesses must spend money on oil, which continuously increases in price. The high price of oil is a problem because it limits companies’ opportunities to gain high-profit levels per passenger, as reported by Kletzel and Terry (2017) for PwC.
Also, the airline business is heavily dependent on the use of the latest technologies for capturing the competitive market. Companies try to build sophisticated digital marketing capabilities to stand out against rivals and ensure that clients are attracted to new features and accommodations. Apart from technological solutions, airlines try to offer customers additional supplementary services such as car renting, entertainment, lodging, personalized itineraries, and so on. Fully embracing the advanced models of marketing makes it easier for airline companies to maintain profitability compared to half-hearted approaches. However, this means that businesses need to stay on top of their marketing to impress travelers.
Operation Description
Airlines are divided into such types as major, national, and regional (large, medium, small) companies depending on the scope of their operations. Offering a selection of numerous airlines is explained by the traditional approach to business – customers need to have a choice because they have different needs and requirements. Flight attendants are a crucial part of airlines because they provide services to customers based on their demands and desires. This means that the description of flight attendants’ operation can range from one company to another and can also depend on the price that customers pay for their seats on a flight. However, basic responsibilities include:
- Greeting passenger and directing them to their seats;
- Helping clients store their luggage in an appropriate manner;
- Presenting vital information on safety procedures;
- Serving food and drinks during the flight;
- Being prepared to act according to established protocols in cases of emergency (Harris, 2018).
Due to the variability of airline companies and the levels of services that they provide, the annual salaries of flight attendants can range significantly. At the start of their career and training, the salary can be as low as $18,000. However, later, flight attendants can more than $80,000 with such airlines as Emirates or Qatar (“Airline flight attendant jobs,” n.d.). A perk of being a flight attendant is that airlines cover all costs on meals, transportation, and accommodation for their employees. Also, airlines offer a Flexible Spending Account, a program for stock purchases, a college fund, discounted flights, and so on. Other benefits are similar to the ones that regular businesses provide to workers: insurance, medical coverage, and short- and long-term disability coverage.
Equipment
Since the paper is concerned with exploring flight attendant management, it is important to explore the equipment that these professionals use in their usual operations. According to Sehl (2017), flight attendants are trained to master a variety of skills ranging from being travel experts to advising passengers on types of drinks that can go with their dinner. To assist flight attendants, smart devices have been gaining popularity because they can make information management easier. Such equipment includes tablets that show passenger lits, built-in aircraft communication lines to allow flight attendants to communicate with passengers and each other, emergency medical kits, passenger safety briefing kits, service recovery kits, and others depending on the capabilities of airlines. For example, Emirates has invested in developing a digital menu ordering application that makes it much easier for flight attendants to collect passengers’ orders and fulfill them quicker (Sehl, 2017). Thus, flight attendants do not have to deal with complicated equipment; however, the tools that they use must be effective in providing customers with high-quality services.
Managers’ Roles and Responsibilities
Flight attendant managers’ roles and responsibilities are targeted at ensuring that active flight attendants comply with all regulations and standards of high-quality services. Managers make sure that their subordinates do their job in terms of attendance, in-flight performance (for example, measuring customer satisfaction rates), and discipline regarding both relationships between crewmembers and effective communication with customers. Flight attendant managers can be significant assets to airline companies because they use their experience in the field to help respond to any arising issues as well as ensure that their subordinates comply with international airline policies.
Thus, a flight attendant manager is responsible for enforcing professional standards on his or her subordinates. The following is the list of responsibilities that they should fulfill:
- Ensure that current and approved training of flight attendants is in place;
- Train subordinates in accordance with an established and approved program;
- Maintain flight attendants’ records of training to make decisions on additional recommendations for improvement;
- Supervise flight attendants in terms of developing their work schedules, assisting with assigned responsibilities, and so on;
- Issue notices and directives to flight attendants as necessary;
- Develop and distribute reports on incidents, accidents, and other events that have influenced the quality of flight attendants’ performance;
- Analyze reports prepared by cabin crews;
- Assume relevant responsibilities that were delegated by an airline’s Operations Manager;
- Collaborate with other departments in a company to make decisions on quality improvement;
- Develop new procedures and measures to enhance in-flight safety; and
- Represent the flight attendant team professionally at any time (Germain, 2017).
Therefore, managers are responsible for making sure that flight attendants show high-performance rates and represent their companies with dignity. It should be noted that depending on airlines, the tasks and requirements of flight attendant managers might vary. However, all of their efforts will directly influence how well their company’s services will be received by passengers. In addition, flight attendant managers are also concerned with passenger satisfaction and retention rates.
Certification and Qualification of Staff
Since the responsibilities of both flight attendants and their managers have been discussed previously, it is important to pay attention to what certification and qualifications are necessary. When applying to get a flight attendant position, an individual must be older than eighteen, have a valid document that identifies them (a passport of their country), and pass a check on their background performed by security personnel (Peterson, 2013). It is at least required that flight attendants have a high school diploma; however, due to the competitiveness in the airline industry, employers prefer applicants with college degrees in such qualifications as tourism, public relations, hospitality, or communications (Peterson, 2013). Experience in customer service professionals is also highly valued. In addition, because flight attendants’ job is physically complicated, applicants are required to be in good shape and pass a medical evaluation.
In terms of certification, the majority of airline companies provide preliminary training to their new hires. During the training, they are taught how to perform appropriate evacuation, provide first aid, comply with emergency procedures, and so on. In the US, at the end of flight attendants’ training, they receive the FAA Certificate of Demonstrated Proficiency (Peterson, 2013). Throughout the professional career, the certification must be continuously tested and renewed to ensure the high performance of all flight attendants.
When it comes to the qualifications of a flight attendant manager, he or she must have between to three years of flight attendant experience, have good knowledge of the Aeronautics Act, the aviation regulations and standards of a relevant country, and be prepared to demonstrate relevant abilities in terms of fulfilling various responsibilities of the manager’s position. In addition to this, flight attendant managers are required to be skilled enough in customer service and conflict resolution. It is also recommended that flight attendant managers are committed to sustaining relevant standards of safety and complying with established procedures and policies of the organization for which they work (Germain, 2017). There are no specific requirements for the certification of flight attendant managers; however, given that they are usually cabin crew members in their initial qualification, it is given that they will have the FAA Certificate of Demonstrated Proficiency.
Human Factors
In aviation, human factors have a direct influence on the success and failure of airlines’ operations. “Less than perfect human performance is cited as a causal factor in the majority of aircraft accidents and serious incidents” (“Human factors,” 2018, para. 4). While such factors are essential to maintaining appropriate safety during the flight, they are even more than imperative for serving passengers on board. Aviation has become the leading industry to focus on building the efficiency and security of human factors into all aspects of operations because it has invested in the improvement in the quality of services that human resources provide.
Due to the heavy reliance on human resources, airline companies invest in training to teach flight attendants how to act in all situations that may occur. Training to become a professional flight attendant includes communication, the management of evaluations and safety checks, the handling of passengers and their cabin baggage, the use of electronic equipment and other devices, pre-landing and pre-takeoff procedures, the incapacitation of the crew, and so on (“Safety and emergency procedures training (SEPT),” n.d.). Additional but important training procedures include the psychology of flight, drills on emergencies and passengers’ incapacitation, first aid, and so on.
Quality Requirements
The goal of flight attendants and their managers is to ensure that customers choose their airline over others. To achieve this goal, it is imperative that they implement effective quality improvement and maintenance processes. In terms of quality requirements, flight attendants and managers need to be calm in stressful situations and under pressure because their panic can transfer to passengers. Professionals are required to be confident, have conflict resolution skills, be positive in their thinking, have effective communication skills, be able to manage several tasks simultaneously, be problem-solvers, and be observant of their surroundings. All of the mentioned characteristics are targeted at improving the quality of services that. In addition, it is important to note that the quality of in-flight accommodations will also depend on the level of physical preparedness of flight attendants (Painter, n.d.).
Laws and Regulations
In terms of legal requirements that flight attendants and their managers should follow, the majority of them are linked to safety assurance systems that should be enforced during the flight. For example, flight attendants are legally required to perform “duties related to the safety of the airplane and its occupants […] such as safety briefings, compliance checks of seat belt fastening, conducting passenger briefings […], attending distressed passengers, or responding to emergency situations” (Federal Aviation Administration, 2014, para. 11). It is important to mention that flight attendants and other personnel, which serve clients during flights, must receive appropriate education from relevant regulatory bodies. Additionally, it is essential that responsibilities and activities required by law be assigned in such a way that they are distinguishable among professionals so that everyone knows what duties they have to fulfill.
Several rules and regulations guide the operations of flight attendants on board. For instance, Section 4 “Safety assurance system: Flight attendant requirements” developed by the Federal Aviation Administration (2014) enforces rules that cabin workers should follow during boarding and deplaning and intermediate stops. When distributing their responsibilities, flight attendants must identify their purpose and required placement of their duties, any changes in location, and so on. During flights, the cabin crew must follow international laws on security and safety and act according to them when there are any felonies occurring on board.
Safety
For the cabin crew, creating a safe environment in which clients will be sheltered from all emergencies is the primary goal. As mentioned previously, the creation of flight attendants’ job was associated with concerns of passengers’ safety and satisfaction with in-flight amenities. When preparing to take-off, flight attendants are required to check the safety of equipment, make sure that all tools are stored appropriately and that they are functional. After passengers are boarded, flight attendants must ensure that passengers are seated in the correct way, especially in terms of maintaining the balance and mass of an aircraft. Safety regulations are put in place to assist cabin personnel and doing so. Also, flight attendants must give a safety demonstration to passengers and indicate emergency exits.
In cases of emergency situations such as fires, decompressions, crash landings, aborted takeoffs, and so on, flight attendants are required to ensure that passengers do not panic and follow procedures for an emergency that have been previously introduced before the take-off (“Cabin crew: Safety comes first,” 2015). Because of this, the quality requirements for flight attendants and their managers include such qualities as problem solving and calmness, without which it will be hard to ensure a harm-free environment during emergencies.
Other Management Factors
It should be mentioned that each flight attendant included in a cabin team is given a specific working position in accordance with the briefing of the crew. The crew briefing is led by a flight attendant manager who, either by consultation or direction, assigns the responsibilities of the crew. The assignment of tasks is dictated by a conventional work list that includes responsibility areas and specific standard operating procedures that should be followed when duties are performed during the flight. Additionally, the crew briefing also encourages managers to provide operational updates either about the general performance of airlines or about a specific flight that the crew is about to serve. Updates are necessary so that flight attendants have the most recent information about their operation and concentrate their efforts on fulfilling each aspect of their job, including emergency protocols and other in-flight tasks.
When it comes to other management procedures, the captain of an aircraft also gives his crew an operational brief. This kind of briefing starts with the introduction of the entire team and then proceeds to become more operational in nature. For example, the captain discusses the serviceability of the aircraft, mentions any points for quality improvement of in-flight amenities, as well as identifies whether any equipment needs replacing (“Flight attendant positions,” n.d.). Also, the captain may talk about refueling needs, flight times and time zone changes, the weather at different locations, special passengers and cargo that will be transported, forecasted turbulence occurrence, and so on (“Flight attendant positions,” n.d.).
Conclusion
The exploration of flight attendants and their managers’ job responsibilities revealed that everything done during flights is targeted at providing passengers with high-quality services and ensuring their safety and security in emergency and non-emergency situations. Flight attendant managers are responsible for guiding the work of the crew and making any quality improvement changes to ensure high satisfaction rates for their passengers. To become an effective flight attendant manager, it is required that an individual has experience of being in a cabin crew, has necessary problem-solving and decision-making skills, as well as is well-versed in communicating and guiding the work of others.
It can be concluded that the airline industry is very competitive and that people who want to become flight attendants must go through rigorous selection and training procedures. Ranging from a healthy physique to the ability to withstand stress, flight attendants are challenged by a variety of requirements in order to sustain themselves in business. The management of personnel that serves passengers during flights is not only associated with developing schedules and assigning responsibilities to flight attendants but also requires managers to be prepared to withstand stressful situations and emergencies. Overall, the work of flight attendants and their managers is stressful and complex, which means that continuous quality improvement procedures are necessary to make airline companies competitive.
References
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Kletzel, J., & Terry, B. (2017). 2017 commercial aviation trends. Web.
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