Become A Corporate Flight Attendant

A corporate flight attendant works onboard a private aircraft. Flight attendants ensure the safety and comfort of passengers. A corporate flight attendant has more duties than a regular flight attendant. Corporate flight attendants need training in corporate security and catering for five star restaurants. They value discretion, attention to detail, and security. Some corporate flight attendants work for a single company and onboard one plane. Others work as freelancers onboard many different jets. Corporate flight attendants are often expected to work weekends and holidays. You may consider this career path if you have a flexible schedule and would like to work on a private plane.

Steps

Training to Be a Corporate Flight Attendant

1. Obtain formal education. Corporate flight attendants are required to have a high school diploma. Companies often prefer applicants with a university or college degree. Prior to embarking on this career path, make sure you have the basic level of required formal education.
   • There are no requirements with regards to the length of your undergraduate degree. However, four year degrees are generally more respectable.
   • Your undergraduate degree can be in any area of specialization. However, an undergraduate degree in hospitality, tourism, liberal arts, or culinary arts may be advantageous.
2. Gain aviation experience. Many corporate flight attendants transition from careers as flight attendants for major commercial airlines. If you do not have any flight attendant experience at all, you may want to start out as a public transport flight attendant on a commercial airline. However, you could also skip this step and train directly for corporate flight attendant positions.
   • You can find commercial flight attendant jobs by attending airline conferences and searching online job boards. You may want to look for jobs with smaller or regional airlines, which often have more openings for entry level candidates.
3. Figure out the duties of a corporate flight attendant. Corporate flight attendants have many responsibilities beyond those of commercial flight attendants. For instance, corporate flight attendants are often required to have specialized first aid training, alongside corporate security, hotel security, and high end food services training.
   • Ask friends or colleagues in the aviation industry about the responsibilities for this position.
   • Attend a flight attendant conference and try to meet people in the industry. Ask them for details on what is involved in being a corporate flight attendant. For instance, you might attend the National Business Aviation Association conference or similar events.
4. Find and attend a corporate flight attendant training course. Specialized corporate flight attendant training courses are suitable for both novices and people with previous aviation experience. Courses are typically four or five days in length and often assume some previous aviation experience.
   • Ask your friends and colleagues for recommendations on good training courses. Courses cover topics like trip preparation, wine, and food safety, amongst other topics. There is no standardized curriculum so you need to do your research.
   • Go to professional aviation websites to search for available courses. Courses cover everything from wine presentation to water ditching. Check to see if the aviation website and course is legitimate and recognized by the Federal Aviation Administration. Look for the acronym FAA.
   • Courses typically cost between three and four and a half thousand dollars. You will also need to factor in the travel costs if there are no courses offered in your region. Find a course that works for your location, budget, and schedule.
   • Make sure your course covers emergency flight situations. Some of the things you should know include ditching (i.e., evacuating in water), volatile fuel threats and fires, evacuations, blocked exit procedures, decompressions, life raft operations, and malfunctions. These topics should be covered by a corporate flight attendant training course.
5. Obtain supplementary training to set yourself apart. Although a corporate flight attendant training course will cover food safety and even wine preparation, you might want to obtain some extra training in food services or safety.
   • Obtain additional training and experience in high end dining. As a corporate flight attendant, you will have to put more effort into food services and, in particular, plating or dressing food. This includes food handling, safety techniques and dressing food. Consider taking a course at a cooking school that covers food plating, style, and wine. You can search for courses at your local community college.
   • In addition, you might consider working as a waiter in a high end restaurant for a few months to gain valuable plating experience.
6. Regularly update your knowledge of emergency flight situations and procedures. These topics are covered in the corporate flight attendant training courses but you will need to continuously update this knowledge.
   • Read the flight manuals for the aircrafts that you fly on regularly.
   • Read the email bulletins from airline companies that include safety in the subject line.
7. Dig into the corporate culture of your potential employers. Knowledge of corporate culture and security is highly valued for this position. So you should become knowledgable of the corporate culture and the personality of the CEO you hope to work for.
   • Read the corporate websites of the companies you hope to work for. Identify keywords and major themes on the corporate website. This should help you during the interview process.
   • Ask colleagues who work for the company you hope to fly with. Ask them about the corporate culture and what you might need to know as a corporate flight attendant.

Applying for Corporate Flight Attendant Jobs

1. Do your homework on the skills that are most valued in this industry. Ask colleagues in the industry what skills, specialties and competencies are most valued. You might find that employers place a high value on communication skills, physical stamina and timely decision-making. You may also hear the qualities of discretion or charm mentioned.
   • Make a skills inventory. On one piece of paper, write down all of the skills that you have. On another piece of paper, write down all of the skills that you would like to improve.
   • Determine which of your skills to underline in applying for this position. Corporate flight attendant positions commonly require communication skills, customer service, decision making, and physical stamina. They also require food preparation skills and first aid abilities. Also, they require soft skills like the ability to be discreet. Reviewing your skills inventory, circle the skills and abilities you think are applicable to this position.
2. Revise your resume for the position of corporate flight attendant. Make sure your resume highlights the skills you possess that align with the industry and job advertisement.
   • Choose an appropriate resume format. Typically, corporate flight attendant resumes have a career objective at the top, followed by a summary of skills such as food and wine knowledge, communication and customer service skills. They will also include a section on work experience and a section on education at the bottom of the resume.
3. Figure out the type of corporate flight attendant job you want. There are a variety of places to work as a corporate flight attendant. Do your research on where you would like to work.
   • Work for a specific corporation. In this type of job, you will work as an employee for a specific company on its private jet or fleet of jets.
   • Work for a private airline company. In this type of job, you will work for a company that flies private jets for corporations. Your clients will change on every flight, but you will always work on the same plane or fleet of planes.
   • Work for a corporate airline jobs contractor placement service. In some situations, companies hire contractors to work for a single flight or series of flights. You might be filling in for a corporate flight attendant who is on vacation or out sick, or perhaps the employer needs a flight attendant who needs specific skills. In this sort of job, you will frequently have different clients and fly on many different kinds of aircraft.
4. Apply for corporate flight attendant positions. With your revised resume and an idea of where you would like to work, you are ready to apply for jobs. Remember that marital status does not matter in the hiring process. Many companies have affirmative action plans to ensure hiring of minorities, women, disabled people, and veterans.
   • You can find corporate flight attendant jobs on Linkedin. Remember to update your Linkedin profile regularly and connect to other aviation professionals. You can search directly for jobs on the Linkedin site.
   • Use Indeed to search for corporate flight attendant jobs. The Indeed website will gather postings from across the internet. Simply type “corporate flight attendant” in the search field and your home city under “where.”
   • Attend aviation conferences and events. You may also hear about corporate flight attendant jobs by attending aviation events and conferences.
   • Declutter your social media. Potential employers will search for your history online, so you may want to delete compromising text and images from your accounts.
5. Prepare for an interview. When you apply for corporate airline jobs, you need to highlight your skills that are unique to flying on a private jet. Think about your unique skills and abilities. For instance, perhaps you speak a second language or have experience as a chef. You might also want to highlight your soft skills, such as discretion and knowledge of the corporate culture and CEO. Above all, a corporate flight attendant knows how to be sensitive to the personal space and environment of the passengers while attending to their needs. The ability to speak a second language may also be very important.
   • Dress like a corporate flight attendant. If you are a female attendant, wear a nice blue or black suit, with a conservative skirt length (i.e., an inch above the knee at most). Keep your jewelry to a minimum. If you are a male attendant, wear a nice looking blue or black suit and make sure you have a recent haircut.
   • Stay positive. Offer positive answers to interview questions and avoid saying anything bad about a previous employer.
   • Communicate your knowledge of the business. You have worked hard at training and in the aviation industry. Now is the time to communicate that knowledge and experience to your prospective employer.

Preparing for Your Corporate Flight Attendant Job

1. Obtain a valid passport. Corporate airline jobs often require international travel, so it is a good idea to have a valid, unexpired passport. Passports can take a while to obtain or renew, so you should give yourself plenty of time.
   • You can Renew a Passport by mail, in person, or at an embassy.
   • You can Renew a Canadian Passport using a general application form, the simplified renewal form or a child application form.
   • You can Renew Your Indian Passport Through Tatkal
   • Contact your national government to find out about the process for renewing your passport.
2. Learn about the corporate fleet. It is important to update your knowledge about the plane and fleet you will be serving. If there are multiple planes you will be serving, take the time to learn major and slight differences.
   • For example, you might want to review any differences in cabin layout between the major planes in your fleet.
   • For example, you could ask your pilot: “What are the major differences between the safety features on this jet and the one we were flying last week?”
3. Get to know the personal preferences of the company and CEO. If the CEO has office supply or bathroom needs, you will need to learn them. This will help you to personalize the flight experience for your employer.
   • Ask your CEO a few questions on office and bathroom supplies: Do you prefer matte or glossy paper? Do you like to print off documents during the flight, or do you get this done before flying? Do you have any soap or fragrance preferences for the bathroom?

Tips

• Because many corporate airline flights are last minute or unscheduled, you need to have the ability to travel on short notice to be a successful flight attendant with a private jet job.

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References

See also

• Become an Aircraft Dispatcher
• Become an FAA Safety Inspector
• Become an Aircraft Mechanic
• Become a Licensed Parachute Rigger
• Become a Helicopter Mechanic
• Become a Certificated Flight Instructor
• Study for and Take Your Private Pilot Exams
• Become Ground Crew at an Airport
• Become a Pilot in Australia
• Fly a Cessna 310

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