Introduction:
It might come as a chock to many people, including the Stewardesses, but the fact remains that in today's Airline Industry, the Stewardess is the last line of defense!
In the 11th of September terrorist attacks, on the WTC and Pentagon, the first victims were the Stewardesses. Savagely attacked by the terrorist on their way to the cockpit's and tortured to pressure pilots, to comply with the terrorists demands.
More mundane, but daily occurrences in the International Airline Industry, is unruly passengers. Who endangers the safety of co-passengers and the aircraft due to mental disturbances, alcohol consumption, stress or disregard for airline regulations, such as remaining seated during takeoff and landing etc. or smoking in prohibited areas on smokeless flights. Stewardesses are expected to deal with these travails, as first responders and can if necessary call on the Pilots for help, if the situation is beyond their control. However, first the Stewardesses have to intervene and are often the victim, of verbal and physical abuse from the unruly passengers.
After the 9-11 attacks pilots; should show precaution before leaving the cockpit, to assist in calming or restraining unruly passengers. The incident could well be a diversion to get the pilots to open, the now locked cockpits, whereupon conspirators of the unruly passenger/s will attack to get access to the cockpit.
Onboard Security:
On the majority of flights, there are no Air Marshals, so problems have to be faced by the Stewardesses. Who either have deal with the matter on their own, or wait for the pilot or co-pilot to assist, or occasionally call upon the assistance from other passengers. As these problems, have been around for decades and will be in the future, it is simply necessary for the Stewardesses to receive training in Self-Defense and Arrest techniques. These skills should simply be part of the standard Stewardess training program, with regular retraining.
Stewardesses have not always just been service minded, multi language, pretty women; when the Icelandic Airline was originally established, all Stewardesses where former Nurses, as that was thought to be necessary, in order to deal with any medical emergencies. My opinion is that today, a similar concern is valid and that is that the Stewardesses, should be able to deal with current security threats as well. It would also be wise, to continue the current trend of adding more Stewards to the crews and preferable to the level of half of the crew.
To give the Stewardesses an extra advantage, a non-lethal weapon such as a mini stun-gun or expandable baton, could be issued and used together with handcuffs etc. CCTV should be installed, with cameras placed in strategic positions, could be supplemented with RF frequency pen-type cameras carried on the Stewardesses uniforms. Monitors should be place in all crew areas; this would give added security, not only to the Stewardesses but also to the pilots, who would be able to respond earlier, to a potential security threat from unruly passengers or terrorists.
Now, some will argue that training Stewardesses, to deal with terrorist incidents are wrong and the focus should be on passenger and baggage security screening. To those I will say yes, I fully agree, to the necessity of pre-screening of passengers and baggage and an increase in Airport security procedures is necessary. However, the current efforts are focused primarily, on simply throwing in more security personnel and making them federal employees, which in reality has done little to actually increase security. This is a fact that is evident by the many cases of persons carrying weapons onboard aircrafts anyway.
This fact has repeatedly been proven by security inspections, where security agents, have boarded aircrafts with weapons and explosives etc. There is also the fact, that the Airlines often have little control over the actual Airport security and close to no-control at foreign Airports. In many foreign airports the airlines simply have to rely on the local security and the occasional inspections, by official institutions such as the FAA etc.
There is also the real threat, of terrorist co-operators working within the Airline service industry, which has access to the Aircrafts and could place weapons or bombs onboard the Aircraft, to be used by the terrorists. And finally, the violent unruly passenger, will always be part of the environment the Stewardesses faces. Perhaps these incidents can be reduced, by enforcing higher penalties and prison terms on those who violate Airline regulations in any manner. But these procedures are going to take time and meanwhile the problem remains, in the hands of the Stewardesses; Our last line of defense!
Dan Sommer is the author of the SD Agent, a Surveillance Detection Manual, he has been part of the process of designing, implementing and training a SD team for a European Embassy. His 17 years security career started in 1986 and he has active experience from military, security, close protection, counter assault team and surveillance detection operations. Since 1994 the author has been writing training material's for security companies and police departments. He has been instructing courses world-wide for security officers, bodyguards, police officers, counter assault teams and surveillance detection units. Dan currently acts as the International Director of the World Federation of Bodyguards and has a private business as a Security & Protection Consultant. His work can be viewed
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Business Aviation Networking Notes
The process of finding out about a job, getting interviewed, and eventually receiving an offer for employment starts with networking. By networking I don't mean sending hundreds of copies of your resume unsolicited to H.R. managers throughout the country, but by establishing contacts with people who may be in a position to hire you or refer you to someone who does the hiring. Let's take a look at some ways to help you break in to business aviation by following certain tips.
In corporate aviation, there are several key players in the field that you probably have heard of. Jet Aviation, TAG, and Netjets are some of the larger players and they all have a staff of qualified flight attendants or cabin service representatives on hand. In addition, smaller players including Jet Alliance, Clay Lacy Aviation, and Trans Exec are part of the charter market. Finally, you have a whole host of independent flight departments with one, two or more aircraft. Some of these operators utilize larger cabin aircraft and are in need of flight attendants.
You could send out a copy of your resume to every single company that flies a Falcon, Gulfstream, Challenger, or any of the other larger cabin jets. You may get an interview, but you'll also spend an excessive amount of time researching names, addresses, paying for postage, paper and more. Instead, the best way to land a job according to Richard Bolles, author of the acclaimed job hunters and career builders guide, "What Color is Your Parachute?" is through networking.
Networking involves plenty of people contact. Some of best ways of having contact with others is at a convention [in our case, the NBAA Flight Attendant Conference]; over the internet via message boards [such as this one]; while flying a trip as a contractor; working for a company in another role [e.g., as a dispatcher, flight manager, etc.]; or through a friend already in the business.
Successful people establish a list of contacts from the smallest lead [e.g., a receptionist or switchboard operator at a charter operator] to doing voluntary work on an association's newsletter or with a steering committee for the same type of organization. Each person you come into contact with is a potential person who may know of someone in the business or know of a job opening. Conversely, unsuccessful people rely too much on waiting for a phone call, for an answer to an unsolicited letter, or by not going out to meet people face to face. Quite simply it takes a lot of phone calling, pavement pounding, and other forms of action to land the job that you want. Plus, it takes someone with dedication, professionalism, zeal, enthusiasm, confidence, and a caring attitude to help make things work. If you are not confident of your abilities, you will have a much more difficult time landing a job.
Very important when looking for a position is to have a top notch resume. Make sure that there are no spelling errors, grammatical mistakes, that it is formatted professionally, printed on bond paper and that you include correct contact information including your name, address, phone numbers, and e-mail address. You can be the most talented person in the world, but your resume could look awful. Busy employers look at resumes and toss the unprofessional looking ones away [or they file it for a predetermined amount of time].
You also need: three top notch references [don't list them on your resume, but be able to furnish them upon request]. Alteon, FACTs, or FlightSafety training are very important ? agencies such as Jet Professionals insist on it; most of the larger operators require it as well. Additional training including galley services, a wine class, emergency training, can all help you out.
Finally, when you do receive a call -- even if unexpected ? be prepared to interview on the spot. Most interviewers will screen you on the first call and you will need to sound sharp as well as be focused. Be prepared to give a concise background on who you are and what you can offer the company. Do not focus on your needs, but focus on the company's needs and how you will benefit them. Do not expect them to be thrilled by your focusing on yourself. This business isn't about you -- it is about the customers and the company. Successful candidates know this and they are the ones who will be hired, trained, paid well, and otherwise be perceived as being an asset and not a detriment to the company.
In corporate aviation, there are several key players in the field that you probably have heard of. Jet Aviation, TAG, and Netjets are some of the larger players and they all have a staff of qualified flight attendants or cabin service representatives on hand. In addition, smaller players including Jet Alliance, Clay Lacy Aviation, and Trans Exec are part of the charter market. Finally, you have a whole host of independent flight departments with one, two or more aircraft. Some of these operators utilize larger cabin aircraft and are in need of flight attendants.
You could send out a copy of your resume to every single company that flies a Falcon, Gulfstream, Challenger, or any of the other larger cabin jets. You may get an interview, but you'll also spend an excessive amount of time researching names, addresses, paying for postage, paper and more. Instead, the best way to land a job according to Richard Bolles, author of the acclaimed job hunters and career builders guide, "What Color is Your Parachute?" is through networking.
Networking involves plenty of people contact. Some of best ways of having contact with others is at a convention [in our case, the NBAA Flight Attendant Conference]; over the internet via message boards [such as this one]; while flying a trip as a contractor; working for a company in another role [e.g., as a dispatcher, flight manager, etc.]; or through a friend already in the business.
Successful people establish a list of contacts from the smallest lead [e.g., a receptionist or switchboard operator at a charter operator] to doing voluntary work on an association's newsletter or with a steering committee for the same type of organization. Each person you come into contact with is a potential person who may know of someone in the business or know of a job opening. Conversely, unsuccessful people rely too much on waiting for a phone call, for an answer to an unsolicited letter, or by not going out to meet people face to face. Quite simply it takes a lot of phone calling, pavement pounding, and other forms of action to land the job that you want. Plus, it takes someone with dedication, professionalism, zeal, enthusiasm, confidence, and a caring attitude to help make things work. If you are not confident of your abilities, you will have a much more difficult time landing a job.
Very important when looking for a position is to have a top notch resume. Make sure that there are no spelling errors, grammatical mistakes, that it is formatted professionally, printed on bond paper and that you include correct contact information including your name, address, phone numbers, and e-mail address. You can be the most talented person in the world, but your resume could look awful. Busy employers look at resumes and toss the unprofessional looking ones away [or they file it for a predetermined amount of time].
You also need: three top notch references [don't list them on your resume, but be able to furnish them upon request]. Alteon, FACTs, or FlightSafety training are very important ? agencies such as Jet Professionals insist on it; most of the larger operators require it as well. Additional training including galley services, a wine class, emergency training, can all help you out.
Finally, when you do receive a call -- even if unexpected ? be prepared to interview on the spot. Most interviewers will screen you on the first call and you will need to sound sharp as well as be focused. Be prepared to give a concise background on who you are and what you can offer the company. Do not focus on your needs, but focus on the company's needs and how you will benefit them. Do not expect them to be thrilled by your focusing on yourself. This business isn't about you -- it is about the customers and the company. Successful candidates know this and they are the ones who will be hired, trained, paid well, and otherwise be perceived as being an asset and not a detriment to the company.
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