Senior Cabin Crew Member
Senior cabin crew members work on board aircraft within a cabin crew team, providing services to passengers to ensure that they have a safe and comfortable flight. They can also be known as cabin supervisors, cabin services directors or inflight service supervisors.All cabin crew members are trained to deal with safety and security of passengers during a flight, which can include directing passengers in emergency situations. They also prepare the aircraft for flight, provide assistance with boarding and disembarking and deal with any passenger requirements during the flight.
Senior cabin crew members are additionally responsible for the performance of other cabin crew – they have to make sure that everyone delivers a high level of customer service, as well as maintaining safety standards.
Senior cabin crew members can also be involved in training new recruits and supervising them when they start work on aircraft. They must also complete any flight forms and reports as required after every flight.
The starting salary for a senior cabin crew member is around £20000.
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Working environment
Cabin crew work shifts, including nights, early mornings, weekends and bank holidays. They may work on short haul (such as European or internal) flights or on long haul flights; this can mean that both time in the air and time away from home will vary. Those who work on short haul flights may follow more regular working hours, whereas those on long haul flights will find themselves spending nights away from home. It’s important for all cabin crew to be flexible, because flights can get delayed and so plans can be disrupted.The working environment for cabin crew members is demanding. Cabin space is restricted, and the galley, where meals and refreshments are prepared, is small too. A lot of time is spent moving between the galley and the rest of the cabin and cabin crew will spend a lot of their time on their feet, attending to passengers.
Cabin crew can also experience jetlag and fatigue due to the travelling they do, especially if they are on long haul flights and crossing different time zones.
Cabin crew have to wear a uniform and must be well groomed at all times. They normally must have no visible tattoos or piercings.
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Skills and interests
Senior cabin crew members must enjoy interacting with lots of people as well as taking the lead.Skills that senior cabin crew members need to have include:
- communication; particularly a friendly and approachable manner, but also the ability to deliver instructions and information calmly and clearly
- customer service
- leadership and organisation
- decision-making; especially the ability to react quickly and effectively
- ability to remain calm under pressure and to be able to reassure others
- ability to work quickly and efficiently
- able to work well as part of a team but also to work independently with confidence.Go Back
Entry into the role
Senior cabin crew members work for airlines, having worked their way up from entry level cabin crew. Before they become senior cabin crew members, cabin crew may also take on the role of purser or ‘number two’, where they get additional experience and become responsible for particular parts of the aircraft, such as first class.Senior cabin crew members normally need to have several years’ experience of cabin crew work before they can apply for the role. Some airlines also prefer candidates to be at least 21.
All cabin crew members must also adhere to the following requirements:
- height normally between 155cm and 190cm and weight in proportion to height
- physical fitness, including the ability to swim at least 25 metres
- normal colour vision and good eyesight (aided or unaided)
- a valid passport allowing unrestricted world travel.
Entry requirements do vary between airlines, but in general applicants need to be able to demonstrate a high standard of literacy and numeracy. Some airlines require applicants to have English and maths at GCSE grade C or above (or national equivalent). Qualifications in foreign languages, travel, leisure and tourism can also be useful as can knowledge of first aid. Senior cabin crew members are normally expected to have achieved job-related certificates, which they can train for while they are working as cabin crew members.
Cabin crew jobs are normally advertised by airlines themselves, using their own websites. They may also advertise in local and national press, or on aviation recruitment websites.
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Opportunities
The Senior cabin crew position is the most senior on an aircraft, though progression in the role is possible in terms of moving from short haul to long haul flights. From the role of senior cabin crew member, it is also possible to progress to selection and training roles or to cabin crew support roles, such as performance manager or operations management, responsible for organising work schedules and managing staff rotas.All cabin crew receive basic training on recruitment, which provides them with essential skills such as health and safety, passenger security, customer service, first aid, equipment usage, cultural awareness and aviation regulations. Senior cabin crew members receive further training on their responsibilities and also some training on team leadership.
Industry-related qualifications are also available for cabin crew members:-
- City & Guilds level 2 award, certificate and diploma in air cabin crew
- EAL level 2 certificate in air cabin crewing
- NCFE level 2 certificate in airline cabin crewing
- OCNW level 2 certificate in air cabin crew skills
NVQs are also available:
- level 2 in aviation operations in the air – cabin crew (offered by City & Guilds and EAL)
- level 3 in aviation operations in the air – cabin crew (offered by City & Guilds and EAL).
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Useful links
Go BackCase Studies
AVIATION - senior cabin crew member
See an interview with Flybe senior cabin crew member Steph Bradley (links to Jobs4U careers database)
View case study (external website)