While the main function of the cabin crew is to ensure passenger safety on board, providing a unique and seamless service regarding all aspects of the flight is also an important part of their training. Inflight Editor Satu Dahl speaks with different training providers from both commercial and business aviation sectors to find out the latest developments for the services they offer

This article, “Making the grade” was originally published by Editor Satu Dahl, in Inflight’s January/February 2025 issue. To read more articles like this, apply for your complimentary subscription today. 

The CAE 2023 Aviation Talent Forecast, released at the 2023 Paris Air Show, forecast the need to recruit 1.3 million new aviation professionals by 2032. This figure includes 599,000 cabin crew members, which is a very sizeable number.

A CAE spokesperson tells Inflight that the demand for cabin crew has gained considerable interest in the past few years.

They say: Broken down by region, not surprisingly, the biggest cabin crew need is in Asia-Pacific, requiring some 224,000 new cabin crew members within eight years now.

Europe is next, needing 122,000 cabin crew recruits by 2032, and North America comes in third with the need for 116,000 cabin crew.

The needs in the other regions are predicted as 78,000 in the Middle East, 46,000 in South America and 13,000 in Africa.”

CAEs forecast estimated that there were 535,000 in-service cabin crew in 2023 and assumed that some 180,000 of those would still be active by 2032. CAE predicted 355,000 new cabin crew members would be needed to replace those retiring and a further 244,000 would be needed to absorb industry growth.

Key requirements Cabin crew requirements and qualifications 

Naturally, there are certain requirements to become a member of the cabin crew.

CAE Cabin Crew Training, which offers world-class cabin crew training programmes, says these include being at least 18 years old and recommends that applicants have completed secondary education or equivalent. Good English skills are necessary, and any other languages will add value.

Aspiring cabin crew members are required to have basic swimming skills and are tested on their ability to swim during the course. 

emergency slide for cabin crew training from airlines with blue carpet mimicking water landing

All CAE cabin crew training students must go down the emergency slide. Image: CAE

They are also required to pass a medical examination (Class CC), including hearing, eyesight, co-ordination and overall health. CAE trains thousands of cabin crew members annually around the world in locations such as Spain, Denmark, Chile and Malaysia and trains cabin crew on several different aircraft including the A320, A330/340, A350, B747, B787, Dash8 (only CC), CRJ200/900/1000 and ATR72.

The company offers three cabin crew training programmes.

Its initial training programme to become a cabin crew member and work on board commercial aircraft includes the Initial Cabin Crew Training attestation and is a two-week course taking place at CAE training centres in Barcelona and Madrid.

According to CAE, the students are trained in an international school under the aircrew regulation for the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), meaning that the certificate they obtain will enable them to work in any airline in the European territory.

The Vueling Cabin Crew Programme is an expanded version of this, with the four-week programme qualifying students with the Initial Cabin Crew Training attestation as well as training on specific aircraft types.

CAE says the selected candidates join one of CAEs courses that take place throughout the year, based on Vuelings needs and requirements. Upon successful completion of their training, graduates will be employed by Vueling.

CAEs Wamos Air Cabin Crew Programme is a four to five-week programme that qualifies students with the Initial Cabin Crew Training attestation and training on specific aircraft types, enabling them to acquire the initial skills required to develop their main duties as a cabin crew member, with a focus on prioritising safety on board.

At the end of their training, they gain their Type Rating as a cabin crew member on Wamoss air fleet.

All CAE cabin crew courses prioritise safety and train students how to respond to several emergency procedures, including firefighting and smoke training, water and land evacuation drills, decompressions, aircraft procedures and theory of flight and regulation. Security topics such as hijacking, as well as first aid, emergency equipment, survival in different environments and water drills are also included, as is learning about dangerous goods. CAE 

also provides Senior Cabin Crew Member training.

With Covid-19 still fresh in peoples minds, Inflight also wanted to find out whether there are new features as part of the training courses following the pandemic.

The CAE spokesperson notes: There were changes to cabin crew tasks and training during the pandemic, but everything has since returned to normal. Airlines already had protocols for infectious diseases, and they simply continued with them.

The only detail that has been maintained since the pandemic is the inclusion of the following information in the emergency demonstration announcement: In the event of depressurisation, if the passenger is wearing a health mask, they must remove it before putting on the airplane oxygen mask.”

Keeping it simple Finnair’s approach to cabin crew training

Airlines of course have their own individual training programmes, and Inflight spoke with Finlands flag carrier Finnairs Chief Instructors of Safety Training, Katja Klemola and Mia Parpola, who shared details about the airlines programme. From 2022 onwards, we have trained over 200 new entrants annually,” they say. The figure varies slightly from year to year, depending on recruitment.

Altogether, Finnair has 1,880 cabin crew members based in Finland. We also have 220 regional cabin crew members based abroad, namely in Japan, Korea, China and Thailand.

Additionally, our partner AAP Aviation has approximately another 550 cabin crew members. Thus, the new entrants represent almost 10 per cent of all Finnair cabin crew.”

AAP Aviation provides qualified crew to the aviation industry, with an extensive background and experience in providing crew services across several countries, and specialises in the full scope of end-to-end aviation management services – including Total Crew Management, recruitment, training, advanced technologies and flight operations support.

Training for all Finnair cabin crew members takes place in Finnair Flight Academy, a Finnair subsidiary based right next to Helsinki airport.

Klemola and Parpola say: In addition, we have recurrent training that each cabin crew member must complete every year. The recurrent training includes safety and first aid training, as well as service refresher training, which is based on the Finnair strategy, vision, values and service principles.”

The key element in the service training is delivering friendly and caring customer service, while ensuring that crew have the best possible capabilities to serve customers and understand the changing customer needs.

The training period lasts from six to nine weeks, depending on the attendees background in aviation, and includes the mandatory initial training (in the European Union), which gives the trainees the basic level of competence to work as a cabin crew member, the aircraft type training and companys conversion training.

Defined by the aviation authorities, the safety and first aid skills are the foundation of the cabin crew membersprofessional competence. Additionally, service communication and cultural awareness, as well as Finnairs vision and principles of good customer service, are essential topics of the training.

We revised the cabin crew initial training in 2023,” Klemola and Parpola tell Inflight. The new course was extended significantly from the previous six days into 15 days following the EASA guidance on cabin crew initial training (Part-CC).”

There are new features in the form of practical assessment of skills: fire and smoke, first aid and water drill. The amount of practical instruction was also increased.

Klemola and Parpola highlight that safety is always top priority.

Our training focuses on the practical aspects and skills in training to support the safety of our flights,” they say.

Finnair training lives up to company values, one of which is simplicity. Low hierarchy enables effective discussions and interactivity during training, supporting easiness to participate and communicate.”

The airline also values joint training with pilots, according to Klemola and Parpola.

We benefit a lot from the fact that all our instructors are active in line flying, including our first aid instructors. We also use a couple of pilots as first aid instructors.”

airline hostesses rolling down the airport with a luggage

Finland’s flag carrier Finnair has been training more than 200 new entrants each year. image: Finnair

Global reach Expanding cabin crew training across continents

Inflight also spoke with Michael Lawson, Training, Project and Outreach Manager at SkyPeople Training, a UK-based company approved by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to deliver the cabin crew attestation training course.

The company, which was established in 2013, works with several flag carriers, charter, cargo, and low-cost operators in regions including the UK, Europe and America.

All of our courses have been adapted to include competency-based training, stepping away from the traditional pass/fail exam technique,” says Lawson.

This allows learners to demonstrate their knowledge and skills practically. This is in line with guidelines from our regulators to move to this way of training.”

Lawson adds that with the demand for cabin crew training growing, the company has now gained approval from the Irish Aviation Authority to deliver EASA Cabin Crew Attestation, meaning it can now deliver to airlines across Europe.

We have since already delivered this product in India on behalf of a European operator who are leasing their aircraft to an Indian airline,” he says.

Tailored offering Managing in-flight networks and passenger support

On board flights, there are several special features and services that passengers expect to work seamlessly.

This is more important than ever when it comes to access to Wi-Fi, whether on board a commercial aircraft or business jet, and global business aviation connectivity company Satcom Direct has recognised this.

The company, which was recently acquired by Gogo, has created a special training programme that provides content for all stakeholders operating or using its system, including cabin crew, as well as aviation IT professionals, owners, operators, principals and flight technicians.

Jason Rigby, Director of Training at Satcom Direct, says: We understand that reliable, professional training is essential for the industry, which is why we invest in our expanding programme.

AeroCNCT is the industrys only Crewmember Network and Connectivity Training certification which supports industry professionals working with, or responsible for, connectivity during flight. 

The two-day course was designed and developed with input from crew members and is intended to demystify the network and give cabin crew the skills, vocabulary and confidence to support passengers and principals while flying.”

Rigby notes that crew are invariably the interface with the principals on board, and as the reliance on data grows this course supports their daily operations.

The training provides valuable user insight, which gives onboard crew the confidence to operate and manage all connectivity capabilities,” he says.

The certified course provides reliable training to enhance the opportunity for greater professional development.”

The course content includes real-world experiences aimed at giving crew members the confidence to tackle problems relating to applications and connectivity during flight.

It also covers internet and connectivity familiarisation, network basics, flight operation preparation, data management fundamentals, use of applications and troubleshooting tips.

The resulting accreditation gives flight professionals the confidence to troubleshoot in-flight connectivity issues.

The training sessions are tailored and focus on the customers individual connectivity configuration and how it links together using the full SD ecosystem,” Rigby says.

cabin crew members being trained for operations

Satcom Direct has created a training programme for all personnel operating or using its system.

Course content In-flight connectivity skills and training 

He notes that the course content may include sessions devoted to hardware, antennas and their compatible modules.

It also includes reviews of related satellite networks and the SD Geek Box, which is the tech equivalent of a connectivity first aid kit.

The box contains individual components, streaming modems, cables and other items that may be needed to temporarily resolve an in-flight issue.

We aim to deliver customers a fully all-inclusive understanding of how the components combine to support their customised SD connectivity offering,” says Rigby.

The aeroCNCT-certified course is available at Satcom Directs world headquarters in Melbourne, Florida, on site at the customers facility, and through FlightSafety International.

The course also includes information about cybersecurity awareness, as well as the SD Data Centre and its benefits.

Course content is adapted to incorporate information about the latest communications systems, the changing satellite constellation landscape and information technology advancements to ensure that cabin crew knowledge stays current with the most recent developments.

“Just like our approach to our technology, all our courses are customer-agnostic and made available to all those wishing to strengthen their aviation connectivity knowledge,” says Rigby.

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