Cabin crew
Air cabin crew make sure that airline passengers have a safe, comfortable and pleasant flight.
Also known as: Flight attendant, air steward, air stewardess
- Starter salary£19,000 a year
- Experienced£28,000 a year
- Typical hours30 to 40 a week
What you'll do
Before a flight you could:
- attend a staff meeting about the route and schedule
- check onboard supplies and make sure safety equipment is working properly
- greet passengers and check documents
- demonstrate safety and emergency procedures
During a flight, you would:
- make sure passengers are comfortable and respond to any requests
- check dietary needs, serve food and drinks, and sell duty-free items
- make announcements
- give first aid and reassure passengers in the event of an emergency
At the end of a flight you'll:
- make sure passengers leave the plane safely with all luggage items
- complete a flight report and details of any incidents
- add up payments for food and drinks orders, and duty-free sales
Working environment
You could work on an aircraft.
Your working environment may be physically demanding and cramped.
You may need to wear a uniform.
Skills and knowledge you'll need
You'll need:
- customer service skills for working with passengers
- excellent verbal communication skills
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- to enjoy working with other people
- knowledge of public safety and security
- sensitivity and understanding for dealing with customers' needs
- the ability to work well with others
- the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
How to become a cabin crew
You can get into this job through:
- a college course
- an apprenticeship
- applying directly
College
You could do a college course like an introduction to cabin crew, or study a cabin crew module as part of a broader travel and tourism course.
Entry requirements
Entry requirements for these courses vary.
Apprenticeship
You could apply to do a Cabin Crew Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship.
This will take around 12 months to complete. You'll do on-the-job training and spend time with a college or training provider.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
Direct application
You could apply directly to airlines for a cabin crew job. Airlines set their own entry requirements, which can vary.
You'll be expected to have a good standard of spoken and written English. You'll also need to show that you have great customer service skills, so experience of working directly with the public is useful.
Some airlines and private training providers run short cabin crew preparation courses, which may help your chances of getting a job, though these are not essential.
Restrictions and requirements
You'll need to:
- be over 18 years of age
- have a good level of fitness
- pass a medical check
- pass enhanced background checks
You'll also be expected to:
- have a valid passport with no restrictions for the countries the airline travels to
- live within 90 minutes of your base
- have good written and spoken English
Many airlines ask that you're able to swim up to 25 metres.
There are also rules about height and weight, which vary between airlines. As a general guide, most look for people between 5ft 2in (157cm) and 6ft 2in (188cm), with weight in proportion to height.
Career path and progression
With experience, you could progress to cabin crew supervisor or a senior air cabin crew role.
You could also work in a ground-based job, like cabin crew training, recruitment, passenger services, marketing and sales.
Career tips
Certain airlines have online career quizzes you can do to test whether working as air cabin crew is for you, before you apply.
Being able to speak a second language may give you an advantage for some jobs.
Guides for this industry
Related roles
- Job roleAirline customer service agent
- Job roleCustomer service assistant
- Job roleTravel agent
- Job roleAirline pilot
- Job roleResort representative
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0