Flight Attendants

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Attend preflight briefings concerning weather, altitudes, routes, emergency procedures, crew coordination, lengths of flights, food and beverage services offered, and numbers of passengers.
• Prepare passengers and aircraft for landing, following procedures.
• Announce and demonstrate safety and emergency procedures, such as the use of oxygen masks, seat belts, and life jackets.
• Operate audio and video systems.
• Answer passengers' questions about flights, aircraft, weather, travel routes and services, arrival times, or schedules.
• Determine special assistance needs of passengers, such as small children, the elderly, or persons with disabilities.
• Conduct periodic trips through the cabin to ensure passenger comfort and to distribute reading material, headphones, pillows, playing cards, and blankets.
• Greet passengers boarding aircraft and direct them to assigned seats.
• Check to ensure that food, beverages, blankets, reading material, emergency equipment, and other supplies are aboard and are in adequate supply.
• Prepare reports showing places of departure and destination, passenger ticket numbers, meal and beverage inventories, the conditions of cabin equipment, and any problems encountered by passengers.
• Inspect and clean cabins, checking for any problems and making sure that cabins are in order.
• Collect money for meals and beverages.
• Assist passengers in placing carry-on luggage in overhead, garment, or under-seat storage.
• Verify that first aid kits and other emergency equipment, including fire extinguishers and oxygen bottles, are in working order.
• Administer first aid to passengers in distress.
• Sell alcoholic beverages to passengers.
• Monitor passenger behavior to identify threats to the safety of the crew and other passengers.
• Greet passengers boarding aircraft and direct them to assigned seats.
• Heat and serve prepared foods.
• Inspect passenger tickets to verify information and to obtain destination information.
• Monitor passenger behavior to identify threats to the safety of the crew and other passengers.
• Inspect and clean cabins, checking for any problems and making sure that cabins are in order.
• Announce flight delays and descent preparations.
• Direct and assist passengers in emergency procedures, such as evacuating a plane following an emergency landing.
• Monitor passenger behavior to identify threats to the safety of the crew and other passengers.
• Take inventory of headsets, alcoholic beverages, and money collected.
• Walk aisles of planes to verify that passengers have complied with federal regulations prior to takeoffs and landings.
• Reassure passengers when situations, such as turbulence, are encountered.
• Assist passengers entering or disembarking the aircraft.

Skills

• Quality Control Analysis
  • Testing how well a product or service works.
• Management of Material Resources
  • Managing equipment and materials.
• Management of Personnel Resources
  • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
• Systems Evaluation
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
• Speaking
  • Talking to others.
• Operations Analysis
  • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
• Time Management
  • Managing your time and the time of other people.
• Learning Strategies
  • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
• Management of Financial Resources
  • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
• Active Listening
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
• Reading Comprehension
  • Reading work-related information.
• Critical Thinking
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
• Science
  • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
• Operation and Control
  • Using equipment or systems.
• Negotiation
  • Bringing people together to solve differences.
• Equipment Selection
  • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
• Writing
  • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
• Mathematics
  • Using math to solve problems.
• Coordination
  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
• Repairing
  • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
• Programming
  • Writing computer programs.
• Systems Analysis
  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
• Equipment Maintenance
  • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
• Monitoring
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
• Installation
  • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
• Persuasion
  • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
• Service Orientation
  • Looking for ways to help people.
• Judgment and Decision Making
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
• Social Perceptiveness
  • Understanding people's reactions.
• Operations Monitoring
  • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
• Complex Problem Solving
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
• Technology Design
  • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
• Troubleshooting
  • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
• Active Learning
  • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
• Instructing
  • Teaching people how to do something.

Abilities

• Selective Attention
  • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
• Finger Dexterity
  • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
• Oral Expression
  • Communicating by speaking.
• Stamina
  • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
• Peripheral Vision
  • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
• Explosive Strength
  • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
• Speed of Closure
  • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
• Number Facility
  • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
• Time Sharing
  • Doing two or more things at the same time.
• Flexibility of Closure
  • Seeing hidden patterns.
• Oral Comprehension
  • Listening and understanding what people say.
• Fluency of Ideas
  • Coming up with lots of ideas.
• Reaction Time
  • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
• Manual Dexterity
  • Holding or moving items with your hands.
• Speed of Limb Movement
  • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
• Originality
  • Creating new and original ideas.
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
• Speech Recognition
  • Recognizing spoken words.
• Dynamic Strength
  • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
• Perceptual Speed
  • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
• Rate Control
  • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
• Written Comprehension
  • Reading and understanding what is written.
• Auditory Attention
  • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
• Night Vision
  • Seeing at night or under low light.
• Visualization
  • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
• Static Strength
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
• Information Ordering
  • Ordering or arranging things.
• Dynamic Flexibility
  • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Near Vision
  • Seeing details up close.
• Multilimb Coordination
  • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
• Inductive Reasoning
  • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
• Trunk Strength
  • Using your lower back and stomach.
• Depth Perception
  • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
• Control Precision
  • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
• Written Expression
  • Communicating by writing.
• Glare Sensitivity
  • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
• Far Vision
  • Seeing details that are far away.
• Spatial Orientation
  • Knowing where things are around you.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
• Problem Sensitivity
  • Noticing when problems happen.
• Mathematical Reasoning
  • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
• Hearing Sensitivity
  • Telling the difference between sounds.
• Speech Clarity
  • Speaking clearly.
• Sound Localization
  • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
• Extent Flexibility
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Response Orientation
  • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
• Memorization
  • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
• Deductive Reasoning
  • Using rules to solve problems.
• Category Flexibility
  • Grouping things in different ways.
• Gross Body Coordination
  • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
• Visual Color Discrimination
  • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

Knowledge

• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Communications and Media
  • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Foreign Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
• Administration and Management
  • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Physics
  • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
• Medicine and Dentistry
  • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Psychology
  • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Building and Construction
  • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• Therapy and Counseling
  • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Customer and Personal Service
  • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Public Safety and Security
  • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Philosophy and Theology
  • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• Sales and Marketing
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Education and Training
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Administrative
  • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
• Personnel and Human Resources
  • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Engineering and Technology
  • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Geography
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• Chemistry
  • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

Education

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

Less than 5 years work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

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Education and Training Opportunities

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Pay

Washington Annual Salary

103950/yr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

5,030

Yearly Projected Openings

790

Personality

Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines. They do well at jobs that need:

• Concern for Others
• Dependability
• Adaptability/Flexibility
• Cooperation
• Social Orientation
• Self Control

Tools

• Aircraft communication systems
• Aircraft environment controllers
• Aircraft escape or ejection systems
• Aircraft fire control or extinguishing systems
• Aircraft oxygen equipment
• Blood pressure cuff kits
• Blood pressure recording units
• Circuit breakers
• Commercial use ovens
• Control valves
• Cool containers
• Desktop computers
• Fire extinguishers
• Glyceryl trinitrate or glyceryltrinitrate or nitroglycerin
• Goggles
• Hypodermic injection apparatus
• Life vests or preservers
• Lifeboats or liferafts
• Medical acoustic stethoscopes
• Megaphones
• Mobile medical service intravenous IV kits
• Mobile medical services automated external defibrillators AED or hard paddles
• Mobile medical services first aid kits
• Mobile medical services tourniquet or clamp
• Mobile resuscitator or aspirator kits
• Notebook computers
• Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizers
• Radio frequency transmitters or receivers
• Rope float lines
• Smoke detectors

Technology

• Calendar and scheduling software
• Computer based training software
• Office suite software
• Operating system software
• Presentation software
• Spreadsheet software
• Word processing software