More urban women are choosing to work as cabin crew

For an increasing number of women joining the aviation industry to work as cabin crew, the sky seems to be the limit. These are women on the move, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with men and aiming to fly high. The increase in tourist destinations and the surfeit of new airlines in India have helped create opportunities that have found favour with urban Indian women.
For Shefali Suvarna, 26, the growth of the aviation industry couldn’t have happened at a better time. Mumbai-based Shefali has been employed as cabin crew with a premium Indian airline for the past four years and loves her job.
Shefali, who is usually on all-night flights or direct flights on the Mumbai-Paris-New York sector, says that keeping one’s cool is the biggest challenge.
However, the attitudes of male passengers sometimes put her off. “It’s mostly in the Middle-Eastern sectors that I have faced unruly male passengers but even that is not frequent. Most of the times, passengers are very grateful and appreciative,” she says.
A career as an airhostess has traditionally been considered too radical for the Indian woman, primarily because it involves continuous interaction with male passengers and travelling for extended periods of time. While it seems that mindsets have changed, at least in urban India, there are still many families that frown upon an individualistic career that is known to focus on a woman’s appearance.
Mumbai-based Media Daniel — a former airhostess who quit her job about three years ago to start High-Fly Aviation Academy, a training institute for men and women — says. “I used to find myself convincing parents of female candidates to let them become cabin crew. Now, young women come unaccompanied and are confident about their career choice. Nearly 70 per cent of my students are female. It’s a career where you need basic education and yet make a lot of money,” she says.
A Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) or equivalent degree is sufficient to enrol in a training academy or directly interview with an airline. These days there are several reputed training academies, such as Kingfisher Training Academy, Frankfinn Institute of Airhostess Training, Air Hostess Academy (AHA) — that facilitate those serious about a career in the aviation industry. Most also have tie-ups with airlines for direct placements. Some airlines only hire women as cabin crew.
“In no other industry does a woman get this kind of security. The airline takes full responsibility and ensures that you are picked up from home and dropped back,” she says. Safety is topmost on Nalini Tanna’s (name changed) list of benefits, too. Nalini, 27, a Mumbai resident who flies for a national carrier, believes that a career as a cabin crew is perfect for a woman.
Nalini’s first official flight was to Riyadh and she recalls being thrilled but “quite scared.” Four years on, she couldn’t have imagined a better career for herself. “I stay in the best hotels and visit some of the most beautiful places. It’s like a paid holiday,” she says. But on a more serious note, Nalini says that the cabin crew has a very important and crucial duty — that of ensuring flight safety.
“Most people tend to think our job is about serving passengers. That is part of the job but it is secondary. The main focus is on passenger safety, on which we have to pass written and oral exams every year.” It seems that women and the aviation industry are mutual beneficiaries.
01/02/08 Kalindi Sheth/Business Line