THE CORPORATE/BUSINESS AVIATION FLIGHT ATTENDANT
&
CORPORATE FLIGHT ATTENDANT TRAINING PROGRAM
BY SUSAN C. FRIEDENBERG
COPYWRITED 2008
The history of business/corporate aviation and how it pertains
to the role of the Corporate Flight Attendant/Third Crew Member
is an interesting story. It enables one to see the importance of
corporate specific training for the third crew member in an
industry where our aircraft continuously become larger, travel
at higher altitudes, and have longer range.
The world of corporate aviation came into being and prominence
shortly after World War II. The end of the war made available
to the civilian market a large supply of military transport
aircraft and veteran pilots. As corporate air travel increased,
so did the demand for a more business-oriented environment.
This environment required that aircraft interiors support the
business person by providing anonymity, total comfort and office
like amenities.
In the early days of business aviation, the trend seemed to be
that aviation managers and chief pilots usually used a male
flight mechanic/technician in the back of the aircraft. This
provided the dual role of a person that could fix the aircraft
on the road if there was an aircraft malfunction as well as
handling the needs of the passengers during the mission.
At this point in time, there was no real emphasis on elaborate
"specialized" food services/trends and culinary expertise.
Because the interiors became increasingly detail oriented in
order to continually support the customer/client’s needs, so did
the need to have a trained third crew member that could
accommodate these specialized requests. The galleys and the
cabins became more elaborate and extensive in design,
technology, in-flight entertainment systems, and
electronic/satellite communication systems.
By the 1980’s, it was apparent that the corporate flight
attendant/third crew member needed to be "corporate specific"
trained for emergency and first aid incidents as well as having
culinary and impeccable food service experience. Now the
corporate business traveler had privacy, anonymity, a safe,
secure and pristine environment to work within, and the ultimate
available in-flight amenities.
Corporate aviation provides the passenger with the ability to
operate within a non structured time frame that can be changed
at any given moment. It is a world of total flexibility,
function, and organizational methods implemented to accommodate
any business traveler and the mission.
I have been involved in aviation for the last 38 years. I began
my aviation career flying for American Airlines in 1970, and
left to fly for a supplemental charter company called Capitol
Air. While sitting on my jump seat for take off and landing I
would notice small jets that resembled a Jaguar or a Lamborghini
and they intrigued me. In 1984 Capitol Air filed bankruptcy in
the courts and went out of business. I was heartbroken and not
at all ready to stop flying, and could not get those gorgeous
jets out of my mind! I soon learned that this was an area of
aviation called corporate business aviation.
I began my corporate aviation career in 1984 as a contract
flight attendant in southern
California.
There were no training programs for the corporate flight
attendant at that time. It seemed like a very elite environment
with very little room for error, and I soon learned that this
was true. It was 100% different from commercial aviation with
the common denominator being "safety first."
There was one "corporate specific" emergency and first aid
training program at the time. I knew that this training program
would assist in making me more marketable as well as
professional for this industry. I believed that I already
possessed the people and culinary skills that added to the many
attributes needed to be successful in this venue of aviation. I
wanted to be trained for the specific equipment type that I
wished to work on now which appeared to be very different from
the commercial heavy equipment that I had previously worked on.
It also appeared that it was up to the individual to innately
know all of the skills and job responsibilities needed to work
on a corporate jet. It seemed crucial to know the standard
operational procedures that were generic to most of the
corporate aviation flight departments to do this work perfectly
and expeditiously. You only get one chance to make a good and
lasting impression, and that takes place in the first five
seconds of meeting someone. I attended training, started
marketing myself and began my new career as a Corporate Flight
Attendant.
In 1995 I became a member of the National Business Aviation
Association Flight Attendant Subcommittee. I had now been
successfully flying as a contract and full time flight
attendant. Because of the business skills that I possessed, and
the way that I had approached contract flying, I realized that
there was great deal of information that I could impart to new
people that wanted to break into our industry. I taught contract
flight attendant skills at the NBAA Flight Attendant Conferences
in breakout sessions for three years in a row. It was at this
time that someone brought to my attention that no one in the
United States
was teaching this type of valuable information. I decided to
take the information and create a training syllabus. I applied
all of this into a teaching format and in 1999 the first
Corporate Flight Attendant Training Program was taught in Philadelphia, PA.
By the middle of 2000, I had added Los Angeles, CA
as a second training city.
This program is an extensive four day training class that covers
the skills and tools needed by today's corporate aviation flight
attendant. It details the basic standard operating procedures
that are utilized by most corporate aviation flight departments
in the US.
It is a strong comprehensive and informative training that has
proven to be very successful in educating people and aiding them
in finding work within business aviation. It addresses the
specific marketing strategies that will create success for you
within the business aviation industry. This training will teach
you how to manage yourself as a business while flying on a
contract basis. It provides the students with a thorough
understanding of what corporate aviation is, and is not. It is
an invaluable training for those who wish to break into
corporate aviation.
The Corporate Flight Attendant Training teaches the importance
of catering as it relates to business aviation. The Corporate
Flight Attendant Training also includes a vast amount of
catering information where it applies to International trip
planning. This training syllabus will empower the new corporate
flight attendant to accept trips to remote International
destinations. They will gain vast knowledge that will assist
them in knowing what is expected of them and add to their
comfort level in taking the assigned mission from start to
completion.
Today, nearly nine years after our first training was presented,
the Corporate Flight Attendant Training Program is taught in
Teterboro,
NJ. Long Beach, CA.
Atlanta, GA.
Denver,
CO.
and Tucson,
AZ.
While conducting a training class, I repeatedly state to my
students, "You don’t know what you don’t know." This statement
really is most applicable to the commercial flight attendant
that is transitioning over to business aviation. If this is the
case, one must "unlearn" everything they have been doing during
their commercial aviation careers. It can be a challenging and
daunting task for someone that has flown the general public.
Some of the many topics taught in this four day training class
are:
* DEFINING WHO THE CORPORATE FLIGHT ATTENDANT IS
* DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN CONTRACT/FREELANCE & FULL TIME FLYING
* DIFFERENCES IN THE FAR’S FOR PART 91 & 135
* MARKETING YOURSELF AS A BUSINESS PERSON WHILE FLYING CONTRACT
* CORPORATE SPECIFIC RESUME BUILDING
* MANAGING YOURSELF AS A BUSINESS IN A COMPETITIVE MARKETPLACE
* DEVELOPING A PROFESSIONAL IMAGE
* CORPORATE CULTURE
* EXTENSIVE CATERING, PRESENTATION & PACKAGING INFORMATION
* TRIP PREPARATION
* RON RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE AIRCRAFT
* AVIATION DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION SKILLS
* INTERNATIONAL, REMOTE, LONG RANGE TRIP PLANNING
* AUGMENTED CREW CHANGES AND APPLICATIONS
This program has produced excellent results. I am proud to say
that approximately 89% of the people that we train that have
also attended "corporate specific" emergency and first aid
training that have the ability, skills, attitude, and the
aptitude to do this type of flying are all flying either full
time or contract today.
My pledge to business aviation is to put into the workplace a
safety trained, detail oriented, and creative, savvy, and
professional flight attendant. I want people that wish to have
the information and training to be able to have it. None of
this information was available when I started flying as a
Corporate Flight Attendant 24 years ago. I learned by trial and
error and in today's marketplace, there is no time for errors.
People can have their dream of flying become a reality with the
proper training and education. As a new corporate flight
attendant you are the author of your success in business
aviation. Passion, commitment, education, organization, and
excellence creates opportunity and
success!
Susan C. Friedenberg - President
Corporate Flight Attendant Training & Services
241 South 6th Street
Suite 1806
Philadelphia, PA 19106 USA
Telephone # 215.625.4811
FAX # 215.413.9013
www.CorporateFlightAttendantTraining.com
