All about Flight Attendant training

All about Flight Attendant Training

The Flight Attendant training is part of the mandatory steps you must go through in order to get your flying wings.
In some countries, Flight Attendant training is provided by private flying schools and it’s even compulsory to obtain a certificate from the private school before applying for a job, i.e. Spain.
However, most Airlines worldwide don’t require the applicant to have any previous training or flying experience before applying for the job. All necessary training is then provided by the company after being selected.

Duration
Flight Attendant training can last 5 to 8 weeks depending on the airline and its training program. While all airlines will include safety and medical training in their program, some others will also include customer service, image and etiquette, nutrition and all other aspects that they find relevant for their future Flight Attendants.

What’s is it about?
Flight Attendant training covers a wide variety of subjects. The airline will provide trainees knowledge on how to operate emergency and medical equipment available on the aircraft. Trainees will also learn all about emergency evacuation procedures for abnormal situations, how to operate doors and evacuate a full aircraft in less than 90 seconds.
Depending on the airline, cabin service training will cover basics or will deepen into the specifics of different service styles for economy and premium cabins.
Uniform and etiquette is also cover as well as nutrition aspects that will help the trainee throughout their new career and lifestyle.

Location
Training usually takes place at the airline’s headquarters city. You need to keep this in mind as you will be expected to temporarily relocate for the duration of the training.
Some airlines choose to delegate their training to a training agency and trainees will be asked to temporarily relocate to the city where the agency is located.

Is it paid?
Training payment differs from airline to airline. Few airlines do not provide any payment at all during training and you are expected to cover all expenses.
Most airlines will cover training either with a housing allowance, a daily meal allowance or a set amount for the duration of the training. This payment is provided to help with expenses but not intended to cover all of them.
Airlines in the Middle East will provide basic salary to trainees from day one as trainees have relocated to a new country.

What to expect?
Training is intensive and demanding. Expect long training days both in classroom and in simulators. Subjects covered during the week will be evaluated on the last day of the week. Pass mark is usually 85 or 90 over 100.
Material taught can be challenging to digest as terminology used is specific to aviation. The more aircraft type the airline flight, the more difficult it can get to learn specifics relevant to each aircraft.

Success rate?
Success rate tends to differ depending on the airline and country. Usually 90-95% of the batch approves the training course.
In the United States, some airlines tend to see a success rate down to 55% due to trainees dropping the course for many different reasons.

And now that you have all the information you are ready to start your Flight Attendant training. All the best!