Back to School; Again!

2 years and 11 months after packing up my life and moving to Dubai for my international life at Emirates, I am currently in the midst of 9 days of intensive training for the next phase in my flying career: Senior Flight Steward onboard the Ultra Long Range A380 fleet. An SFS is the first step in the leadership and management chain at Emirates, and the crew member in charge of the Economy and Business Class customers and crew. When you first join the airline, you begin working in Economy Class as a Grade 2 Flight Steward/ess (despite me cringing everytime anyone calls me a Steward. Its Flight Attendant, or Cabin Crew member, people!). After some time of proven proficiency and poise, you are promoted to work in Business Class as a Grade 1. Moving ahead, you can look forward to becoming an FG1, my current position, where you work as one of four crew caring for the needs of our First Class customers. You can then apply for selection into the leadership roles, beginning as an SFS, and then finally onwards to become a Purser - the overall chief of the aircraft (any higher up, and you'd be flying the plane...)

Dedicated as crew solely on the A380, means managing the largest aircraft in the Emirates fleet, where you could have 489 passengers and a Cabin Crew complement of 26. A large responsibility, which, fortunately, Emirates provides fantastic coaching and training on. After these 9 days of classroom sessions, I will then be placed in the SFS Development Pool, where I will fly in the role of an SFS, and be monitored by means of assignments, leadership modules, reflective journals and review meetings to complete over the next 3 months.



So these next 3 months have been written off in advance, my life and soul are commited to getting through this Development Pool, and once on the other side, I look forward to being an effective role model and leader for the crew I will have the pleasure of working alongside.

In other news, it has been announced that the EK A380 will begin flying to Seoul in Korea from November, which is, surprisingly, a destination I have yet to discover! My kim-chi is at the ready as I look forward to uncovering everything they have to offer this nosey little Kiwi boy!