The job of a flight attendant begins even before a flight. It includes preparation the day before the flight, the day of the flight, during and after the flight.
First of all, the crew must attend a pre-flight briefing on the day before each scheduled flight, to gather relevant data on the upcoming flight, such as its departure time, flight number and route, model of the aircraft and every piece of equipment on it; go through the roles each crew play in emergency situations, draw up a plan of action for the entire crew in handling incidents such as a hijack, etc.
On the day of the flight, the crew must board the aircraft 80 minutes in advance to carry out pre-flight duties, namely to conduct safety checks, prepare the cabin for the passengers and ensure all meals and supplies are on board.
The crew check all equipment to make sure that they are in working condition, including equipment controlled by the passengers' remote controls, such as reading lights, attendant's call buttons, tray tables, seat reclining levers; and those on the cabin crew's service panels, e.g., switches for music and different modes of lighting, head sets, etc. Special attention must be given to the pre-flight safety checks: ensure that all emergency equipment are fully functional, volume of oxygen in the oxygen tank is sufficient, fire extinguishers are brand new, pressure of the aircraft evacuation slide is at the correct level.
Before the passengers board the plane, the cabin crew also need to prepare the galley; monitor the quantity and quality of meals, count the stock of cutlery and supplies; prepare the lavatories, ensure the supplies are fully stocked, e.g., face towels, toilet rolls, soap, perfume, toilet seat covers, etc.; prepare the beverages such as coffee, tea, sugar, creamer are made available, cold drinks are chilled... Finally, after a last check on the cabin's hygiene and a touch up on the attendants' own appearances, they are all set to await the arrival of the passengers.
When the passengers board the plane, the flight attendants must be ready to greet them at the respective working positions they are assigned. They must direct the passengers to their seats, help store their hand luggage in the overhead luggage storage cabins, escort passengers who need special assistance, such as the elderly, young, invalid, pregnant, persons with physical disabilities, to their seats.
After all the passengers are on board, the plane and all the carry-on luggage are stowed away, the cabin crew would begin to demonstrate the safety equipment features and procedures. This would be followed by the cabin safety check routine which includes: ensuring all the passengers' seat belts are fastened, their seat backs and tray tables are in full upright positions, window shades are put up, overhead cabins are shut tight, emergency exits and aisles are devoid of luggage, and of course, the passengers are reminded to turn off their mobile phones and all portable electronic devices. All these are duties of the cabin crew.
The galley crew would have to switch off the power supply in the kitchen galley, fasten every lock, push in all the beverage and meal carts, close the doors of the ovens and coat closets. By the time the check is completed, the plane is about to take off.
Five minutes after the plane has taken off, the galley crew would begin to make various announcements over the public address system and the cabin crew would begin to distribute newspaper, snacks and serviettes to the passengers. For flights exceeding one and a half hours, pre-meal beverages would be served.
That begins the meal service, followed by a round of drinks, and another round. Then, it would almost be time to clear the dining trays.
For some airlines, there are still other tasks to perform, like distributing souvenirs, issuing women's coats embarkation forms, list of items to declare at customs, health declaration forms, etc. Sometimes, the cabin crew would even need to assist some passengers in filling out these forms.
Finally, when all these are done, it is time again to go round the cabin with a serving tray to check on any needs the passenger may have, be it a drink to be served, dining trays to be collected; for passengers who are asleep, shut the reading lights and ventilation air ducts above them, put on a blanket for him or give her a pillow and for those who are awake, check if they would like to have their meals. All the while, looking out for trash to be picked up, needs to be attended to, and better still, spot the need even before the passenger asks for it and solve any problem passengers have.
By the time the plane descends, it is time to make a final compliance check, remind passengers to fasten their seat belts, return their seat backs and tray tables to the upright locked position, draw up the window shades. At the same time, the cabin crew would also have to ensure that the overhead hand-luggage storage compartments are locked and the emergency exits are cleared of luggage, so on and so forth. Only then, do the cabin crew get to take a breather on the cabin jump seats.
After the plane has completed landed and the cabin crew have sent off every disembarking passenger at their assigned positions, they would have to check through the cabin to make sure that no luggage are left behind. Only after that, is a flight considered as completed.
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