7.1: Layout of the Commercial Aircraft
Each aircraft will have different locations for each space, and this will be covered in your induction training with whichever airline you're working with. This should also cover the types of aircraft's you're likely to be flying on. These aspects of your working life will be covered in your Safety and Emergency Procedures (SEP) training. Regardless of which airline you're employed with, the layout of each type of aircraft will be covered in the SEP training, as no cabin crew member can do their job sufficiently without first having the knowledge of the layout of the aircraft.
Obviously the cockpit is at the heart of the flight, but post September 11th this area is off limits for security purposes. Communication within the cockpit between pilots (flight crew) and cabin crew staff during a flight will be carried out using the communication systems located throughout the flight, which are usually located at each door of the aircraft.
For serving meals on long distance flights, each airline will have its own security protocols, such as using the chief purser only, or perhaps two cabin members to ensure passengers cannot enter. Following the tragic event of flight MH370 of Malaysia Airlines, MA did announce additional security measures to ensure that when a co-pilot or pilot is absent there is another member of either the flight crew, or cabin crew present within the flight deck. Each airline will operate their own security protocols on the staff permitted to enter the flight deck, but most will be senior levels of the cabin crew team.
7.2: The Galley
This is the area of each aircraft is where cabin crew personnel spend the majority of flying time as this is where all the foods and beverages are located as well as duty free products. More information on the Galley is covered in unit 9 of this course.
7.3: The toilets
On each aircraft the toilets are unisex used by cabin crew, flight crew and passengers. Depending on the size of the aircraft, there will be a varying number of toilets on board. It's the job of the cabin crew staff to continually check each toilet for safety and security purposes, as well as to replenish stocks, such as toilet rolls, soaps etc.The toilets on-board a plane. Again not spacious but anecessity.
7.4: The bulk head
On an aircraft the bulk head is the partition between the galley area and the seating area. On larger aircraft, bulk heads are used to divide the aircraft into different sections, such as economy, first class, business class etc. Depending on the airline, some bulk heads may be used for additional storage space for items such as the trolley or additional safety equipment.
7.5: The door area
The door area is where you'll be primarily responsible for maintaining. It's the first station you'll be assigned to during your preflight
briefing. The doors will be where you'll be greeting passengers boarding the flight, but in the case of emergency procedures, the doors are also the emergency exits for which you'll be trained on the protocols with your SEP training for any airline you work with.
The Emergency Doors
View of Emergency door from within an aircraft The cabin areas, sometimes divided by the bulk heads will be assigned a certain number of cabin crew staff. This is the area you'll be working with throughout each flight.
Module Summary
With each plane being relatively small in the grand scheme of the world, each inch of it counts. Today, planes are grander than ever. However, they are still broken down into five basic categories, which all cabin crew members must be familiar with. It may surprise you to learn that not everyone can enter each aspect of the plane, whether they are a member of staff or not. However, knowing they are there helps you to recognise security and fire risks. Familiarising yourself with each aspect of a flight is the easiest way to minimise risks to yourself and others.
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