Alaska Airlines boot camp of the sky
Dec 2, 2004, 8:43 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Kirkland, WA
Programs: AS MVP, DL Silv
Posts: 463
Alaska Airlines boot camp of the sky
From King5.com (requires free membership):
07:48 PM PST on Tuesday, November 30, 2004
By JIM DEVER / Evening Magazine
Does the name Cindy Russell mean anything to you? How about Steve Patronsky?
They may not be household names, but they are heroes nevertheless.
Cindy courageously helped stop a mentally disturbed passenger from taking control of an airplane, and Steve worked to revive a woman whose heart had stopped beating.
Both of them are Alaska Airlines flight attendants and the type of elite training they received is something few people get to see.
Flight attendants come from many places. They come from many pasts. But together, they work toward a common future as colleagues of the air.
For more than a month, flight attendants in training work around the clock without pay for the right to wear the wings of Alaska Airlines.
They have no idea what's really in store for them," said Matthew Coder.
Most passengers don't realize how hard flight attendants train for their job.
In a class of 48 hopefuls, we followed five to see if they would make the cut: Adam, a single father craving a career that truly takes flight; Laura, a former model; Danielle, who at 23 was the baby of the bunch; Kelli, who worked as a parole officer in the Louisiana penal system; and Renee, who was determined to reach her goal.
They'll need their enthusiasm as they plow through a grueling course of study.
"It's like a year-long college program, and we jam it into five-and-a-half weeks," said Coder.
But it's not all about hitting the books. The candidates also learn hands-on how to save lives and, after a week of practice, demonstrate the ins and outs of aircraft evacuation.
As the flight attendant boot camp neared its halfway point, the endless study, lack of sleep, and time away from home took its toll.
Adam missed his son terribly. Renee scored lower than 80 percent on one written exam and was forced to retake it. There's only one chance for a retake.
"Fifty questions, 30 minutes to do it. You have to pass with a high score," said Coder.
As our trainees headed into the home stretch, they faced challenges that could seal the deal or dash their dreams.
But before they could fly, they had to learn to swim in street clothes while evacuating a planeload of panic-stricken passengers in the event of the oddly named "water landing."
As a group, the trainees formed supportive alliances and their friendships deepened.
The students learned empathy for the passengers and even had to spend an entire day in a wheelchair, just to see what disabled travelers have to go through.
But there was tension in the air as they entered the home stretch.
"We had seven tests in one week, so it was very stressful," said Danielle.
With just a couple days to go, Renee missed one test question too many. She therefore did not return.
The group was shocked and hurt.
The last major hurdle was the final evacuation drill.
All the remaining students passed with high marks and they graduated. Finally, they earned the right to call themselves "flight attendants."
"I don't think people realize what we go through to get those wings. But I'll tell you what, I will wear them with pride because I earned them. I really did earn them," said Adam.
Renee, the trainee who was sent home, will get another chance to enroll in the program six months from now. She showed enough promise in every other area that, if she can get past the butterflies at exam time, she'll likely pass with "flying" colors.
07:48 PM PST on Tuesday, November 30, 2004
By JIM DEVER / Evening Magazine
Does the name Cindy Russell mean anything to you? How about Steve Patronsky?
They may not be household names, but they are heroes nevertheless.
Cindy courageously helped stop a mentally disturbed passenger from taking control of an airplane, and Steve worked to revive a woman whose heart had stopped beating.
Both of them are Alaska Airlines flight attendants and the type of elite training they received is something few people get to see.
Flight attendants come from many places. They come from many pasts. But together, they work toward a common future as colleagues of the air.
For more than a month, flight attendants in training work around the clock without pay for the right to wear the wings of Alaska Airlines.
They have no idea what's really in store for them," said Matthew Coder.
Most passengers don't realize how hard flight attendants train for their job.
In a class of 48 hopefuls, we followed five to see if they would make the cut: Adam, a single father craving a career that truly takes flight; Laura, a former model; Danielle, who at 23 was the baby of the bunch; Kelli, who worked as a parole officer in the Louisiana penal system; and Renee, who was determined to reach her goal.
They'll need their enthusiasm as they plow through a grueling course of study.
"It's like a year-long college program, and we jam it into five-and-a-half weeks," said Coder.
But it's not all about hitting the books. The candidates also learn hands-on how to save lives and, after a week of practice, demonstrate the ins and outs of aircraft evacuation.
As the flight attendant boot camp neared its halfway point, the endless study, lack of sleep, and time away from home took its toll.
Adam missed his son terribly. Renee scored lower than 80 percent on one written exam and was forced to retake it. There's only one chance for a retake.
"Fifty questions, 30 minutes to do it. You have to pass with a high score," said Coder.
As our trainees headed into the home stretch, they faced challenges that could seal the deal or dash their dreams.
But before they could fly, they had to learn to swim in street clothes while evacuating a planeload of panic-stricken passengers in the event of the oddly named "water landing."
As a group, the trainees formed supportive alliances and their friendships deepened.
The students learned empathy for the passengers and even had to spend an entire day in a wheelchair, just to see what disabled travelers have to go through.
But there was tension in the air as they entered the home stretch.
"We had seven tests in one week, so it was very stressful," said Danielle.
With just a couple days to go, Renee missed one test question too many. She therefore did not return.
The group was shocked and hurt.
The last major hurdle was the final evacuation drill.
All the remaining students passed with high marks and they graduated. Finally, they earned the right to call themselves "flight attendants."
"I don't think people realize what we go through to get those wings. But I'll tell you what, I will wear them with pride because I earned them. I really did earn them," said Adam.
Renee, the trainee who was sent home, will get another chance to enroll in the program six months from now. She showed enough promise in every other area that, if she can get past the butterflies at exam time, she'll likely pass with "flying" colors.
Dec 3, 2004, 10:48 am
#2
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Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: East Ester, Alaska
Programs: Alaska Million Miler, United Million Miler, Wyndham Rewards Diamond, Choice Hotels Diamond
Posts: 12,145
Sounds like a good plot for the next "Survivor" series. It's nice to read that AS does such a thorough job in training their Flight Attendants. More often than not, it shows inflight. ^ ^