KLM Flying Dutchman - China Southern Airlines' First Group of Dutch Flight Attendants




MRC
May 31, 12, 11:38 pm
China Southern Airlines' First Group of Dutch Flight Attendants Sails through their Training Evaluations Serving Flights from Guangzhou to Amsterdam in June

On May 10th, China Southern Airlines’ first group of Dutch flight attendants completed their training evaluations in Guangzhou, and they are about to return home. These 21 Dutch flight attendants are slated to serve the round-trip flights linking Guangzhou and Amsterdam, focusing on the first class and business class passengers.

The first batch of Dutch flight attendants, 21 members in total, joined China Southern Airlines on March 26th this year, and of these 21 members, there are 18 air hostesses and three male flight attendants. They have prior experience working for airlines, and 60% of them have previously undergone formal flight attendant training; what’s more, as a group they have a command of multiple languages, such as Dutch, English, German, French and Spanish. During the 46-day training in Guangzhou, they have studied 19 courses totaling 227 class hours, covering a variety of subjects including service for the first class and business class, Chinese conversation, Sky Tea House, Sky Cellar, F&B knowledge, sales of Duty Free goods, flight medical rescue, flight emergency response treatment and the training course covering operations of the Airbus A330 and A380.

During their training, these Dutch flight attendants attended Hunting courses (to learn about Guangzhou, to sample the lifestyle of those in South China, to visit the SOC, the Crew Collaboration Room, and the Waiting Hall of the new airport and to experience the culinary culture of the Nanlian Food Company), the tea culture and some specialized training sessions including learning about the difference between Western and Chinese cultures and studying Chinese so that they can learn more about China Southern Airlines and Chinese culture. Through systematic, professional training, the first group of Dutch flight attendants has mastered the basic knowledge and operations related to their roles as flight attendants and all of them have sailed through the evaluation.

In addition to providing cabin service, they will act as “Cultural Ambassadors” to spread Chinese culture and introduce the exclusive services offered by China Southern Airlines to foreign passengers to promote understanding of both China and China Southern Airlines.

Source: CZ website


hugolover
Jun 1, 12, 2:57 am
Wow, I take it they were issued with a red book too.

johan rebel
Jun 1, 12, 8:39 am
Dutch flight attendants attended Hunting courses:confused:

Will they carry sidearms and double as sky marshalls?

Johan


MSPeconomist
Jun 9, 12, 7:45 am
I assume that they knew Chinese before being selected, but why Dutch FAs in particular? Most Dutch travelers, especially those flying in IFC or biz, are fluent in English, so I fail to see the new specifically for Dutch FAs on the CZ CAM-AMS route. It's hard to see how CZ would benefit enough from their cultural ambassador role to justify the cost of recruiting, training, and employing this special group. I can't imagine AMS becoming a CZ FA base and I would assume that CZ would have few if any crew bases outside of Asia, although if there's a business reason for a FA base in Europe, picking a partner's hub would make sense and labor laws, unions, etc. might make AMS a better choice than CDG, where there would be more passengers and more need for French speakers OTOH.

KLflyerRalph
Jun 10, 12, 3:33 am
Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvmQaYJXOUs&feature=plcp)

YVR Cockroach
Jun 11, 12, 9:58 am
It's not too unusual to have a foreign FA base but maybe it's unusual for a relatively poorer country to have one in a relatively richer one.

Here's a few examples of airlines with foreign bases (with foreign staff):

CX in YVR
UA formerly in SIN (very highly rated FAs but was closed down many years ago during some downsizing)
AA definitely has/had EZE-based FAs and perhaps LIM
NW did have some non-quite FAs based in BKK for NRT-BKK service.

MSPeconomist
Jun 11, 12, 10:05 pm
It's not too unusual to have a foreign FA base but maybe it's unusual for a relatively poorer country to have one in a relatively richer one.

Here's a few examples of airlines with foreign bases (with foreign staff):

CX in YVR
UA formerly in SIN (very highly rated FAs but was closed down many years ago during some downsizing)
AA definitely has/had EZE-based FAs and perhaps LIM
NW did have some non-quite FAs based in BKK for NRT-BKK service.

NW also had a NRT base for Asian FAs. DL has eliminated the translator positions and IME has fewer Asian FAs on TPAC but perhaps the same number on intraAsia, so I would assume that there's still a base but it's shrinking.

COFF-Platinum
Jun 13, 12, 10:40 am
But the Dutch FA's also speak German, some French...

MSPeconomist
Jun 20, 12, 8:30 pm
But the Dutch FA's also speak German, some French...
Of course......and some Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, Russian,....



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