Pilot’s Perspective: Saluting Cabin Crew
Becoming a member of the cabin crew requires much more than a pretty face. Comprehensive training, a cool head and a big heart all figure into the makeup of the glamorous jet setting crew.
Words: Captain Lim Khoy Hing
In January 15, 2009, Captain Sully successfully touched down on the Hudson River after an unfortunate bird strike event. He was praised in the media for the way he handled the landing, but the other quiet hero of the day was Flight Attendant Doreen Welsh who efficiently evacuated the cabin, instructing passengers to jump over the seats in order to move forward. She was so focused on guiding her 150 passengers to safety that she failed to notice a large cut on her leg.
Flight attendants have sometimes been called ‘trolley dollies’ – a term coined at an earlier era, in reference to how the cabin crew served drinks and other refreshments from a trolley. In the early days of aviation, the job of a flight stewardess (the preferred terminology now is ‘flight attendant’ or ‘cabin crew’) was an enviable one, as it allowed these sophisticated and fashionable women to fly around the globe and stay at topnotch hotels in exotic places while visiting wonderful attractions beyond the reach of regular folks. People perceived this career to be a dream vocation.
Becoming a member of the cabin crew requires much more than a pretty face. Comprehensive training, a cool head and a big heart all figure into the makeup of the glamorous jet setting crew.
Words: Captain Lim Khoy Hing
In January 15, 2009, Captain Sully successfully touched down on the Hudson River after an unfortunate bird strike event. He was praised in the media for the way he handled the landing, but the other quiet hero of the day was Flight Attendant Doreen Welsh who efficiently evacuated the cabin, instructing passengers to jump over the seats in order to move forward. She was so focused on guiding her 150 passengers to safety that she failed to notice a large cut on her leg.
Flight attendants have sometimes been called ‘trolley dollies’ – a term coined at an earlier era, in reference to how the cabin crew served drinks and other refreshments from a trolley. In the early days of aviation, the job of a flight stewardess (the preferred terminology now is ‘flight attendant’ or ‘cabin crew’) was an enviable one, as it allowed these sophisticated and fashionable women to fly around the globe and stay at topnotch hotels in exotic places while visiting wonderful attractions beyond the reach of regular folks. People perceived this career to be a dream vocation.