NOT PLANE SAILING

Natalie Wilson went behind the scenes with British Airways to see what it actually takes to earn your cabin crew wings

- By Natalie Wilson

I was not prepared for a prolonged, ear-piercing scream when I pulled the red toggle on my life jacket. It's not even midday, and my expertly crafted doughnut bun has already been enclosed in alien-esque PPE and tested in a fire chamber. Now standing in a cabin classroom with an inflated yellow ring around my neck, I don't know if I should still be smiling, reciting safety instructions, fighting a fire or evacuating my imaginary passengers.

This is obviously not a normal day in the office. I don't usually spend my mornings writing about cabin crew wrestling passengers as in-air bouncers, navigating emergency landings and being targeted for airlines' terrible in-flight meals. But for one day on the other side of operations, I went airside at Heathrow airport to experience flight attendant training at the British Airways Global Learning Academy (GLA).

I am here because I want to go down the slide. Your flight attendants show up as a continuous commitment to keeping passengers safe at 35,000ft. Training to fly for the UK's flag carrier usually involves a six-week intensive course of safety procedures, service and everything aircraft.

It doesn't stop there. To keep their wings, BA flight attendants must annually pass 12 exams, with the crew of first class undertaking their own four-day specialist programme to serve the cabin elite. Sure, the faces of your flight still pour tea and point at exits, but with as many as 469 passengers commanding attention at the push of a button, what does the role really involve?

"Safety underpins everything," says David Mason, a British Airways training product manager.