Crew Resource Management (CRM) training originated from a NASA workshop in 1979 that focused on improving air safety. The NASA research presented at this meeting found that the primary cause of the majority of aviation accidents was human error, and that the main problems were failures of interpersonal communication, leadership, and decision making in the cockpit. Originally, this concept was called Cockpit Resource Management because issues and communication among pilots was the core focus. However, over time, the name was changed to Crew Resource Management after the aviation industry realized that safety lies with everyone that is involved with flight.

From baggage handlers and reservations agents to flight attendants and 747 Captains, everyone needs to work together to ensure a safe flight. CRM training encompasses a wide range of knowledge, skills and attitudes including communications, situational awareness, problem solving, decision making, and teamwork; together with the entire attendant sub-disciplines which each of these areas entails. CRM can be defined as a management system which makes optimum use of all available resources – equipment, procedures and people – to promote safety and enhance the efficiency of flight operations.

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Also called desynchronosis, jet lag is a medical condition that occurs as a result of air travel across countries in different time zones in a short period of time. This is different from air sickness which is nausea experienced by some people every time they travel by air.
Some of the common symptoms of jet lag include headache, fatigue, insomnia, disrupted sleep pattern, irritability and digestive trouble.

The body can tell the time of the day with the help of specific signals that are received by the senses. For example, the optic nerve in the eyes receives information about the amount of light or darkness outside and transmits this to the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that controls various bodily functions like temperature, hunger, thirst and sleep as well.

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A separate and explicit training of different religions and cultures is an essential part of the overall training for all airport officials and crew members and the reason for this is quite apparent. Airline staff and crew come across people from various nationalities and cultures and each of these have their own unique practices and requirements.  While the Jews may need kosher meals, some Hindus may want completely vegetarian fare. And food is not the only sensitivity that we are talking about.

Educating the airline crews about different religions and cultures is imperative for them to have a better understanding of how specific religions and cultures function. The need for the same is evident from an incident with a US Airways flight in Minneapolis where six Muslim Imams were ejected by authorities because passengers and crew found their prayer rituals unnerving.

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While many aviation professionals and enthusiasts recognize the beginnings of manned flight with the Wright Brothers or Santos Dumont, its origins really stretch well before those dates in aeronautical history. In fact, famous inventors such as Leonardo da Vinci, John Stringfellow and Lawrence Hargrave had conjured up ideas of how to get some of the strangest machines to fly long before the Wright brothers' famous first flight at Kitty Hawk.

The kite was the first form of an aircraft believed to have been first designed in the 5th century BC. Roger Bacon, an English monk, performed studies later on in the 13th century which gave him the idea that air could support a craft just like water supports boats. In the 16th century, Leonardo da Vinci studied birds’ flight and later produced the airscrew and the parachute. The airscrew, leading to the propeller later on and the parachute were tremendously important contributions to aviation. He envisioned three different types of heavier-than-air craft; the helicopter, glider and ornithopter (a machine with mechanical wings which flaps to mimic a bird).

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Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and short term forecasting (in contrast with climatology). Aviation meteorology (MET) deals with the impact of weather on Air Traffic Management (ATM). It is important for air crews to understand the implications of weather on their flight plan as well as their aircraft.

Weather conditions concern all aspects of ATM operations, for example, by variations in head and tail-wind components, through changes in pressure and temperature values at airports, and in imposing low visibility operating conditions. Adverse meteorological conditions have the greatest impact on the ATM system creating disruption and the consequent problems of disturbed flow rates, lost capacity and induced additional costs

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Do you know anyone who breezes through interviews without a hint of nervousness?  Wouldn’t that be great?  Unfortunately, it’s rare!  Most of us get nervous just thinking about it, and need all the help we can get.  For anyone planning to attend cabin crew interviews, some tailored advice follows.

4 tips to a successful cabin crew interview

Be prepared – make sure you understand the interview process, do your research on the airline and prepare your answers with all that you know about the airline in mind.

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