CDG – if you have read my previous blog you will know the answer right away
YYZ
FLL
MSY
MXP
GRU
FCO
KIX
ICN

Answers will be released soon….

I also saw something that stunned me – beef tartare. Beef tartare is a raw ground beef dish with lots of spices and a raw egg. I eat raw fish and beef tataki and enjoy them very much. I also eat steak rare to medium rare. So why beef tartare stunned me? Let’s talk about how this dish is prepared at a restaurant – from what I saw.

Beef tartare is a popular dish among the locals. French people like to enjoy this dish with French fries. The server would bring a plate of finely ground, pink and fresh ground beef from the kitchen, along with some small dishes of spices and condiments, and a big clear glass bowl. The server then mixes the ground beef in front of the eyes of the customer and let the dish sit and marinate on the counter. When I first saw this, I was puzzled and thought, “Why don’t they marinate the meat in the kitchen? Wouldn’t the server need to make another trip back to the kitchen to cook the meat?”

Then the marinated meat is put back onto the original plate and served to the customer. Yes, rare marinated ground beef. I am sure this must taste very good as a lot of locals order this dish at dinner. However, I just don’t have the courage to try yet. Maybe next time..

Airplane traveling is relatively safe nowadays. Whenever there is an accident, however, it hits the headline in the paper. This is because airplane accidents often involve a lot of deaths and casualties. I have met a passenger, who works as a nurse in the cardiology unit, was so fearful that she had had a doctor inject medication to calm her down before she flew. When she boarded, she also requested to see the caption before takeoff to give her a peace of mind.

When people come on board, they bring with them a wide range of emotions. To many people, flying is associated with a mixture of feelings including excitement, fear, curiosity, boredom, freedom, annoyance, depression, enjoyment, you name it. As flight attendants, we have to deal with a cabin full of people with a mixture of emotions and moods.

Some airlines have the rosters pre-made and the flight attendants just simply bid by the roster. Advantage to this system is that the “rules” such as minimum rest periods will not be violated and flight attendants have an idea of what the available schedules are like. However, you might not be able to find a roster the meets all your preferences. Let’s say you want the 1st and 2nd off and you want to go to Rome that month. There might not be a pre-made roster that meets all your requirements.

My company has a system which flight attendants could bid by criteria. On the electronic bid sheet, we put down, in order, what we are looking for in terms of days off, length of duty period, position, type of aircraft, layover stations, just to name a few. Then the company scheduling system looks into each of our bid sheets, in order of seniority, and tries to award sequences that match our preferences, one sequence as a time. I prefer our system better than the pre-made roster system as it gives us flexibility.

As mentioned in my previous blog, a resume is a selling tool that outlines what you have to offer to your future employer. The content of your resume is very important. A successful resume for a flight attendant position should include the followings:

1. Personal information such as your name, address, phone number and email. Make sure you double check your personal information!!! It is not uncommon for applicants to mistype their email address and didn’t get contacted for an interview!

2. Your career objective statement. You should state that you are interested in the flight attendant / cabin crew position (depending on how the airline calls it) with the specific airline. This statement should be very specific. An example would be: Applying for a flight attendant position with ABC airline using customer service experience and a proven ability to apply excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Something like “to pursue a career in the aviation industry” is too generic. Also, please state the airline’s name; this shows that you are not sending the same resume to all the airlines of interest!

3. Education information, including any significant academic achievements. Any job-related secondary education experience, such as completion of in-flight service courses should be listed here. Make sure you include the name of the institution, city, state and country as well as the date of completion. Education information should be listed in reverse chronological order.

4. Related work experience. Include work experiences that will have a positive impact on your application for the flight attendant position. Review the job positing and understand what skills and qualities the airline is looking for. Most airlines prefer applicants that possess customer service experience. Make sure you include any work experience that involves dealing with customers. List the position title, employer, city, state, country and dates held, again, in reverse chronological order. Related volunteering experience should also be included. I like my resume to be descriptive and personal. I like to paint a picture in the employer’s mind when they are reading my resume. For instance, to describe my experience working as a customer service representative, instead of saying “answered questions from customers”, which is plain and not descriptive, I put “resolved customer problems in a professional and courteous manner.” This simple statement tells about what I did and how I did it.

5. Other skills. If you speak other languages, make sure you list them here. Other skills such as CPR could be listed here as well.

Lastly, read it over and over and over and over and over and over …………………………

To be continued…

Related articles:
Resume for a flight attendant position - part I
Applying for a flight attendant position – choosing the right airline
Applying for a flight attendant position - cover letter
Height requirement
Commonly asked open house interview questions – individual interview
Open house dos and don’ts - part I

What is a resume?
A resume, also known as a curriculum vitae (CV), is a document containing a summary or listing of relevant job experience and education. The resume is a selling tool that outlines your skills and experiences so an employer can see, at a glance, how you can contribute to the employer’s workplace. A resume is almost a must-show when applying for a job. In the past, resumes were delivered to an employer via fax, mail or in person. Nowadays, the majority of resumes are sent through the internet, as an email or posted directly on an online resume builder.

Why send a resume?
Other than it is a required item by the recruitment team, a resume serves as a first impression on behalf of the job seeker. A resume provides a synopsis of the candidate’s job experience and education, which are the key elements recruiters look for when selecting potential candidates for interviews. By skimming through the resumes (yes, skimming through), the employer quickly filters out who seem to be less qualified than the others. Employers make snap judgments when glancing at your resume. If they see unrelated job titles or skills the likelihood is very high that they will make an immediate assumption that you are not qualified for the job you want. Adding to this problem is the fact that employers don’t have the time to read through each of your job descriptions to determine if you have the skills they need. The importance of a good quality resume cannot be overlooked.

How to write a good resume for a flight attendant position?
The content as well as the presentation of the resume both play a key role in determining whether you will be granted a interview on a future date. Your resume should accentuate your strengths related to the flight attendant position. Take a good look at the job posting from the airlines and understand what qualities they are looking for. Some of the most common qualities are good communication skills, extensive customer service experience, safety conscious, friendly, and flexible. I suggest that you read the job posting a couple of times and get an in-depth idea of what the company really looks for. Spend some time on reading the airline’s website and get a sense of the working atmosphere. Then, reflect on your previous experience: Do my previous volunteer and work experiences demonstrate the qualities this particular airline is looking for? If so, how do I best reflect these qualities on my resume so that I could get this job?

To be continued…

Related articles:
Resume for a flight attendant position - part II
Applying for a flight attendant position – choosing the right airline
Applying for a flight attendant position - cover letter
Height requirement
Commonly asked open house interview questions – individual interview
Open house dos and don’ts - part I

Height requirement:
Most airlines set height requirements to correspond with the size of the aircraft they operate. Sometimes a height minimum is specified on the posting; sometimes a height range is specified rather, usually between 5′2″ and 5′9″ tall. Why a height requirement? Too tall, and you’re bumping your head on the ceiling. Too short, you may not be able to reach the overhead compartments where the safety and emergency equipment is located, which are typically between 6′ and 6′10″ inches high.

Some airlines allow their tall flight attendants to avoid aircrafts that have lower ceilings. However, smaller airlines with limited types of aircrafts cannot offer this option to their flight attendants.

To give you an idea what airlines look for in terms of height, here are the height requirements of some United States airlines:
AirTran Airways - 82″ reach; maximum 6′3″
Alaska Airlines - 80″ reach; no height req.
American Airlines - 5′1 1/2″ - 6′
American Eagle - 5′ - 5′10″
America West Airlines - 5′ - 6′3″
ATA - 5′2″ - 6′1″
Comair - 77″ reach; 5′10″ maximum
Continental Airlines - 5′ - 6′2″
Delta Air Lines - 5′1″ - 6′3″
JetBlue - 5′1″ - 6′3″
PSA - 6′ maximum
SkyWest - 5′ - 5′8″
Northwest Airlines - 5′2″ (no maximum)
Southwest Airlines - 72″ reach (no maximum)
United Airlines - 82″ reach; maximum 6′
USAirways - no height requirement

Reach requirement:
Some airlines have no minimum height requirement, but do require you to pass a reach test. A reach test is becoming more popular than a height requirement. The reach test is a demonstration of your ability to reach a certain height in bare feet, toes tipped. Some airlines ask you to reach a mark on the wall. You can stretch yourself as much as you want and touch the mark with your middle finger. Other airlines ask you to retrieve a piece of equipment in a mock overhead bin.

You can perform a reach test on your own. Simply grab a tape measure, measure out a distance of 6′10″ from the floor, and mark it on the wall. If you can reach the mark in bare feet, chances are you will pass any airline’s reach test.

If you find you do not meet the minimum height requirement for any of the major airlines, do not let this discourage you. You can always apply to be a flight attendant for a commuter airline; commuter aircraft are much smaller, making height less critical.

Conversely, if you are a little on the tall side, most major airlines’ maximum height requirement is right around 6’2″. If you are taller than 6′2″, keep in mind that you will be working in small galleys and may find it difficult to work 8-hour days in such a cramped environment!

Related articles:
Applying for a flight attendant position - cover letter
Applying for a flight attendant position – choosing the right airline
Resume for a flight attendant position - part I

Each jump seat is carefully placed in the cabin so that the occupied flight attendant could perform their duties during an emergency situation, which include opening the cabin door, dispatching the slide, and directing passengers to the nearest operative emergency exit.

We also occupy the jump seat during turbulence or our unofficial crew breaks.

Jump seats usually fold up and out of the way when not in use to keep aisles, workspaces and emergency exit routes clear.

Most flight attendants, including myself, love jump seats in the galley so that we get some privacy when sitting in it. We try to stay away from jump seats in the cabin, especially the ones facing the passengers. Why? We don’t know where our eyes should land on…….

Jump seats could be occupied by non-operating crew as well. Some airlines let their traveling staff to occupy a jump seat when the cabin is full – this is known as jumpseating.

How to prevent aerotitis:

Other than performing a Valsalva’s maneuver, yawning, gentle blowing of the nose, thrusting the lower jaw forward, swallowing, or use of an inhaler will open the Eustachian tubes and thus, release the pressure in your ears. However, the best is to prevent aerotitis from happening. If you have a head cold, hay fever, or sinus infection, the back of your nose and throat could be swollen and thus blocking the Eustachian tubes. Also, excessive smoking or having an irritation in your nose, head or throat could block the Eustachian tubes. To check whether your ears are good for flying, do this pre-flight check: Take a sip of water and swallowing vigorously. If you hear clicking noises in both ears, your Eustachian tubes are clear and good for fly. Otherwise, avoid flying.

Related articles:
Blocked ears
Stay flu-free onboard

The content in your laptop matters when entering a country.

As reported by Malaysia Star, a Malaysia Airlines co-pilot who operated a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Adelaide, Australia was convicted and fined upon arrival for bringing in child pornography.

Ahmad Said, 25, was arrested by custom officers at Adelaide’s International Airport last week, after he claimed he had nothing to declare.

Custom officers found three child sex videos named “Reped Virgin”, “10-Year Old” and “High School Students” in his laptop, which were described as “repugnant and abhorrent”.

The father of two was fined AU$6,000, and has been relieved of flying duties to facilitate an internal enquiry by the national carrier.

His lawyer told the court that Ahmad had been e-mailed the video files and had not shown them to anyone else.

“He was simply reckless, this was not material brought in to be disseminated,” lawyer Stephen Barratt had told the Adelaide court.

I am not aware that custom officers actually look at the content of your laptop; they usually just scan your laptop for explosives and stuff. I suspect Said has been investigated prior to his arrival…?