Originally Posted by
KenJohn
You really need a BBC English equivalent in Arabic. Is there one? Otherwise, its like getting a Scouser, Geordie or Bromie making an announcement on a plane in the US.
Not something BA management may appreciate or that the CSM/Purser/CSD would know about. Not necessarily the crew members fault either since that is the way they would speak ...... unless they were blagging their way to get the job using languages.
My understanding is that there is an equivalent to Received Pronunciation in Arabic, and that is called "Modern Standard Arabic", which is mostly written but also used in formal speech. I'd imagine that for the International Cabin Crew to speak like this would be like me as a Midlander doing all of my announcements where I round out my "a"'s to become "ar"'s, it's quite unnatural. Like you say, it's not their fault but I wonder whether in the ICC interview, they have to have a go at making an announcement, as this is the case in the Mixed Fleet interview process.
I think the only language requirement for our ICC's is that they speak English and the language of their base. For cabin crew based at Heathrow, there are no language requirements, just a preference to speak a foreign language. I know bmi did specific recruitment in 2008 for Italian, German, Russian, Hebrew and Arabic speakers, but I don't think they get any kind of premium or preferential bidding for certain routes.