Stewardess at KLM

First I want to say that I use the international word Cabin Attendant, only in Holland we say ‘A Stewardess’. My mother is a Cabin Attendant at KLM, she already works there for twenty-five years in a part-time function. I will tell something about:
• How you become a Cabin Attendant
• The first flight of a Cabin Attendant
• Flight safety and the red exam book.

How do you become a Cabin Attendent?

First you have to apply for the job by KLM. You must be twenty-one years old or older. And you have to speak at least 2 different languages, English and an other language. If they accept you, you need to follow a six week course. Here you will be trained in service on board, different cultures, first aid, the most important thing: Flight safety. This is a very hard issue of the training, because you are on board for the safety of the passenger and the safety for yourself. This means that you know exactly what to do in case of: accidents, fire on board, high jacking (11th of September). The rules are written down in a flight safety manual, what you have to know by heart.

The red exam book.

Every year you have to do a recurrent flight safety exam. I have have completed this course with a good result, you get your wing (speldje), you have to wear this pin always on your uniform. After this, you can start your life as a cabin attendant. You’ll be working on flights within Europe and Intercontinental (all over the world) On board, you have different ranks. You’ll begin as ca with one stripe on your sleeve. After a few years of experience you get another stripe.But you can also become a jr. or sr. purser
This means that you are the manager of the cabin crew of that flight.On flights within Europe you are working with 3 or 4 ca’s. On intercontinental flights the airplanes become bigger and you work with 10 or 12 ca’s. Most of the time you don’t know them but you have to act and work together right away as a team. KLM has about 9000 ca

My mother works on intercontinental flights and she makes 1 or 2 flights per month.
1 travelschedule takes at least 3 days, but can take more days, this depends of the destination, flying time and so on. It means that you are really away from home for 3 days or longer

A day of the life of a cabin attendant.

First of all you get a paper roster send to your home address. [Most of the time you know 2 or 3 weeks before the flight starts where you are going to and for how long] On this roster you can read at what date you have to fly, with which type of aircraft you have to fly and what the destination is. On the day of working you report at the KLM crew centre at Schiphol. On the crewcentre you report yourself via the computer [Then KLM knows that the c.a. is there] After that you get a print with personal information, who you colleagues are, what the flying time is to the destination and how much money you get to, spent at the town where you are going to [this is money you get from the KLM to pay for lunches or dinner] KLM pays for the hotels and they are already booked by KLM. Everybody sleeps in the same hotel.
After reporting yourself you bring your suitcase away and you went to the briefingroom. At this briefing you meet the rest of your crew with you’re flying and also the pilots. During this briefing you get all the information about the flight, how many people you get on board, your position in the airplane, what your working area is, and again the most important thing; flight savety questions.
After this you go to the airplane and the flight starts.
When you get on board you have to check the cabin and you have to check all the flight safety items such as oxygen bottles, first aid-kits, you’re own seat and life-vest. After that you check the meals, and when all the preparation is done the passengers can come on board. Everybody has to sit on the seat with the number that is on the boardingcard. When all the passengers are in, the purser get the names of all the passengers and after that they close the door of the airplane. The pilot asks permission to start the engines and we are ready for take off. The flights starts. Every flight is different because you have so many cultures, so many different people, not everybody is going for a holiday. Most of the time you work about 8 till 10 sometimes 12 hours. You work according to a special service schedule when that is finished you have time to eat and to rest. On flights longer then 8 hours you are allowed to sleep. Before you are arriving at your destination the passengers get a light meal and when that is finished you are at your destination. That could be Bangkok, Tokyo, New York or whatever. When all the passengers has left the airplane, the crew and the pilots went to the bus, who brings them to the hotel. In the bus you get information about the hotel, if it is a safe town, the do’s and dont’s.But the most important thing is ;at what time you have to report in the hotellobby for the flight back.During the time in the hotel you are free. Sometimes you go with your colleagues shopping or go to museums or some other. This is an easy way to explore the world and you get paid for it. You learn a lot about different cultures, habits and it is never boring because every flight is different.