How to earn your wings

Being a flight attendant is a dream job of many young girls. But taking the first step to apply is not always easy if you don’t know what to expect. It’s not a job for everyone. You have to be confident, social, good at languages, friendly and stress-resistant. You need to be flexible and be willing to wake up early or go to bed late. Here is a quick sum up of what you have to do to earn those shiny wings.

The best time to sign up is during wintertime before April as they are looking for a lot of people for the upcoming high-season in summer. The total duration of the training is three weeks of theory and practice with a lot of exams and 5 training flights.

First you have to pass the selections. In a rebuild fake airplane you have to do a role play where they see how you react in unforeseen situations and if you can cooperate in a team. The key is to always stay friendly and smile. You also need to look nice and clean so put on high heels (for the ladies) and fix your hair. Men need to be nicely groomed. Piercings and visible tattoos are of course not allowed. In Belgium it’s important that you speak French, Dutch and English. Some people are scared that their French will not be good enough but don’t worry. If you understand and speak it a little bit you’ll learn it very soon from the moment you start working on the plane.

If you pass the selections you go to the aviation doctor for a medical approval and you’re ready for the three weeks training. The course is given in English. It’s not easy and very intense but if you make an effort and study well, you will succeed.

Every day you have to wake up early (+- 5am) and pass an exam of what you have learned the day before in class. You need to have at least 80%. If you fail, you get the chance to try again. You learn about the safety equipment on board, what to do in an emergency situation, the standard service, how to survive,…  You also get challenged on real life situations in practice such as evacuating an airplane, extinguishing fire, pretending that you’ve crashed in open water, self defense and medical emergencies such as heart attacks, epilepsy,…  As you can read, flight attendants are not just waitresses in the air. You get trained to evacuate a full airplane in 90 seconds or less and to save lives!

After a full month of dedication you’re finally ready for your first training flight. This moment you’re so nervous and excited at the same time. You feel great in your brand new uniform doing the safety demonstration. You even get the chance to sit in the cockpit for take-off and landing. After 5 successful training flights you’ve finally earned your wings and you’re ready to fly!

XOXO