THE smoke hangs thickly in the air and it is pitch dark. In the aftermath of an emergency landing, you’re holding on to a line of survivors and air crew members, walking between seats, listening and hearing for the calls of other passengers and gathering them together while searching for the elusive exit.
It’s insanely claustrophobic and I try to fight my fear down, clutching the hand of the person ahead of me. We stumble through a cluttered walkway while searching for the door that would lead us out into the bright sunlight outside, and hopefully — fresh air. “Follow me, and stay below the smoke!” someone yells out and we crouch in obedience. It’s been less than five minutes and already sweat is trickling down my back, my heart is pounding away and the smoke is really getting to me, threatening to overwhelm my lungs while my eyes are starting to sting.
In what seems to be the longest few minutes of my life, the exit is finally found. Someone pushes the door and it opens to a blinding sunny day. We rush outside, taking in grateful breaths of fresh air. We’re saved. Another person briskly does a head count and declares that everyone in the smoke-filled ‘aircraft’ has been successfully evacuated.
“It’s a drill. only a drill,” I remind myself shakily as I watch another batch of flight attendant trainees enter the darkened room again. Malaysia Airlines puts its cabin crew through their paces in a maze-like space set up inside a totally dark building filled with “smoke”. Teams of flight attendants must go in and communicate with each other to try and work through the maze, find the trapped passenger, and get him to safety.
“We have one of the longest training programmes in the world,” says Chang Chin Kwang, head, School of Hospitality, MAB Academy. From flight safety procedures, intensive first aid, grooming, etiquette, communication skills and food service, the trainee attendants are in for an intensive period of learning at the Academy in Kelana Jaya, before graduating as a probationary flight attendant.
The MAB Academy, launched last December, was set up as a subsidiary company under the Malaysia Aviation Group to transform, educate and develop aviation professionals of the future. The trainings conducted to produce skilled cabin crew is held here at their campus in Kelana Jaya, and as Chang puts it succinctly: “We’re here to offer learning that’s relevant to today’s aviation industry’s demands and to produce top-notch professionals who work on the industry’s front lines.”
The intensive training period comes as a comfort to passengers in learning that airline crew are trained extensively on how to handle any emergency — ensuring that safety is after all, their primary role. Watching cabin crew train is an eye-opener. There’s so much more than meets the eye. Beyond their well-groomed exteriors, the glamorous kebaya-clad girl along with their male counterparts are in actual fact, highly skilled multi-tasking trained personnel ready to take on any challenges once the aircraft takes flight into the skies.
FLYING HIGH
If you want to become a flight attendant for Malaysia Airlines, you’ll face stiff competition. An average of 500 to 600 people apply for each recruitment exercise and only around 9 to 10 per cent get the job. To put that degree of difficulty into perspective, it’s harder to fly with MAS than it is to get into the prestigious Oxford University in the UK, which, in 2015, accepted 17.5 per cent of students.
Those lucky enough to survive the interview stage would then go through a gruelling programme lasting 82 working days which covers everything from how to handle a medical emergency, evacuating an aircraft to how to adhere to MAS’s strict dress code. The training itself comprises three important segments which includes regulatory training as required by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia, services training which is peculiar to the culture of Malaysia Airlines (“Every airline has their own service strategy,” discloses Chang) and communication/grooming. Trainees need to pass multiple tests throughout training to earn their wings.
For the final stage of training, flight attendants start working full-time but remain “on probation”, which means that they can’t lead any flights. Once they pass the three-month probation period, they’ll be evaluated in a performance check conducted by auditors in flight. After passing the evaluation, successful candidates sign up for a three-year-contract as a full-fledged flight attendant.
As I learnt when I spent half a day observing MAS flight attendants train, there’s a lot more to the job than serving food and drinks to passengers. “The biggest misconception ever is the fact that people think we’re glorified waitresses,” says Andrea Wong Sue May, associate trainer and cabin crew. “We have to be prepared for anything: a fire, an irate passenger or a medical event. And medical events happen more than you’d think.”
HISTORY OF MALAYSIA’S FLYING AMBASSADORS
The cabin crew industry has undergone a raft of changes in its history, from a dizzying array of uniforms to an evolution of the exact specifications applicants must meet. While traditionally considered a role for women, the first flight attendants were all male before the first “stewardess” was hired by America’s United Airlines in 1930. Not long after, female flight attendants, or “air hostesses”, became the norm.
In Malaysia, in-flight services were first introduced in 1947. Commercial flights in this nation had first originated from a joint initiative and venture between Imperial Airways and the Ocean Steamship Company of Liverpool as well as the Straits Steamship of Singapore. This collaboration led to the operation of air services between Penang and Singapore. On Oct 12, 1937, the collaboration resulted in the incorporation of the Malayan Airways Limited (MAL) which has the distinction of being the pioneer company for the airlines industry in this nation. Its first commercial flight took off in April 1947.
Heinrich Kubis was the world’s first flight attendant, in 1912. Origins of the word “steward” in transportation are reflected in the term “chief steward” as used in maritime transport terminology. The term purser and chief steward are often used interchangeably describing personnel with similar duties among seafaring occupations.
The distinction of being Malaya’s first air hostess fell on the slim shoulders of a Singaporean named Eileen Rodrigues whose appointment marked a new scheme by Malayan Airways to give local girls the opportunity of being air hostesses (as they were known back then) aboard their planes.
According to The Sunday Times in 1947, it was written that ‘Air hostesses will fill the role of stewardess and purser. They will be responsible for seeing that passengers are fully aware of all safety measures — such as the fastening of safety belts on landing and controlling smoking of passengers. They will serve as “encyclopaedias” to passengers concerning the trip and offering information regarding air travel. But the role of an air hostess doesn’t end here. They will be responsible for all passengers’ baggage and freight on board and the successful discharge of passengers at the plane’s destination.’
“Much has changed since then,” remarks Chang, smiling. “The travelling public has changed, and has become more discerning. As the years ago by, we discover that the roles have evolved because there’s now competition with other airlines, increased expectations from passengers as well as increased security risks to look into with more responsibilities to shoulder.”
Adding, he says: “Those who work on the frontlines are the first responders of the airport and the skies, and willingly embrace the expectation that they’re as responsible for passenger safety as those who pilot the aircraft.”
MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE
As we walk through the Academy, the clack of polished high heels on the floor precedes with a gaggle of well-groomed smiling girls clad in the ubiquitous kebaya uniform greeting Chang and I with bright smiles. The fatherly man is clearly proud of his recruits, remarking: “There’s a certain amount of pressure to absorb everything that’s being taught. They certainly work hard.”
The classroom styles may differ but the three replica models of aircraft from the MAS fleet where in-flight classes take place is impressive. “It gives students a feel of what it’s like aboard a craft,” explains Wong. We join a class of cabin crew on some aspects of First Aid Training and it’s interesting to see how they’re trained to respond to medical emergencies like a heart attack or even giving birth.
“Out of the 82 days of training, safety training alone would take 21 days. They go through first aid and safety drills and they’re given training on how to handle a myriad of medical emergencies from childbirth, heart attacks to choking — everything. It’s very comprehensive. There was a time when our cabin crew delivered a baby safely mid-flight without even a doctor on board,” explains Latifah Rosli, manager, Crew Safety Training. While no one wishes for an incident to happen, she adds, the reality is that it can and the crew are the first line of action when something does happen.
One of the highlights for me is the evacuation from the aircraft. “Why don’t you take part?” suggests safety instructor Subashini Baliedaa, offering me a safety jumpsuit. We’re instructed on emergency brace positions, how to slide safely down so you don’t end up with friction burns, and the countdown to evacuating the plane begins.
“Go! Go! Go!” someone yells and within seconds I’m at the door staring in panic at the long slide that seems to go on forever. “I’m not ready!” I try to yell back, but I’m nudged further out and suddenly I’m flying down the chute, trying hard not to scream.
In an emergency, if passengers are refusing to get out, the cabin crew needs to be prepared to do anything to get them onto the slide. It’s their responsibility to get people out, and there isn’t any time to accommodate those with vertigo. At full pelt, 150 people can be off in 60 seconds. The crew must check the flight deck before leaping for the slide themselves. The evacuation may have lasted merely minutes, but the experience, although simulated, was insanely frightening.
Seconds later, I’m flat on my back trying to catch my breath while watching the rest land gracefully on their feet. I make a mental note that any future flights would involve me wearing long pants. Friction burns from the slide, I’m told, can be extremely painful. “You certainly don’t want to leave pieces of your skin behind,” says Baliedaa dryly.
As I leave, a group of flight attendants are going through a simulated ocean landing. They jump from a full-scale model aircraft into an indoor pool, fully clothed and made up, and practice how to draw the attention of search aircraft by forming a large circle and kicking up the water. They also learn how to set up the inflatable raft and help adrift passengers aboard.
It certainly is more than just learning how to push a drinks trolley and donning the kebaya. “I can save your life. I can save your family’s life. If there’s a fire, I know how to put it out. There’s more to being a flight attendant than serving tea or coffee,” says Anderson Mark Sta Maria, cabin crew and associate trainer.
Fellow trainer and cabin crew Mohamad Fadillah Mohamad Putit chips in: “During the flight, it’s you and your team that’s in charge of all those lives up there. People think of us as these glamorous personalities traversing the world, but in truth, we’re highly-trained individuals and safety is our number one priority. We care about people, and want to help take care of them.”