Exploring the Flight Attendant Culture: Results from the Line

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Exploring the Flight Attendant Culture Results
from the Line

• James R. Klinect
• The University of Texas
• Aerospace Crew Research Project
• Presented at the ATA / CRM Industry Workshop
• Embry Riddle Aeronautical University
• Daytona Beach, Florida
• September 22, 1998

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Introduction

• Its mandated! - Flight attendants must have CRM
  training
• How can we effectively design CRM curriculum for
  flight attendants?
• Joint training is only part of the solution
• Customized - cant rehash pilot curriculum
• Stop guessing what flight attendants need - ASK
  THEM!

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Presentation Overview

• 1. Reasons to conduct a survey project
• 2. The Flight Attendant Safety Questionnaire
  (FASQ)
• 3. Present FASQ results from over 3100 flight
  attendants in two U.S. major airlines
• 4. Outline possible implications to flight
  attendant CRM training

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Reasons to Conduct a Survey Project

• 1. Pinpoint positive and negative areas of the
  organization that affect safety
• 2. Provides a feedback communication channel from
  the line to management
• 3. Provides a symbolic communication channel from
  management to the line
• 4. Allows you to compare sub-cultures
• 5. Gives you data to assess the impact of
  organizational programs Flight Attendant CRM

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The Survey

• Flight Attendant Safety Questionnaire (FASQ)
• Similar to the Flight Management Attitudes
  Questionnaire (FMAQ) for pilots
• Based upon the current literature and built from
  the ground up
• Final Product A four page survey
• 90 questions in Likert format
• 2 open-ended items - top three suggestions to
  improve safety and training

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What does the FASQ measure?

• Organizational climate
• Safety Attitudes and Perceptions
• Quality of pilot / flight attendant interactions
• Preferred and Typical Leadership Styles

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Organizational Climate

• What is organizational climate?
• Emotional feelings that flight attendants have
  about their job and the working environment.
• Positive Climate High standards of
  professionalism and morale
• Negative Climate Little desire to perform at
  maximum capacity

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Climate Results from Two Airlines
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Safety Attitudes and Perceptions

• Perceptions of management
• Pre-flight safety check attitudes
• Satisfaction with training
• Training transfer to the line

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Perceptions of Management

• Highlights positive and negative aspects of
  management
• Visibility
• Recognition
• Support
• Trust
• Partition out levels of management - Senior or
  Base

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Lack of Support?
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Pre-Flight Safety Checks
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More about pre-flight safety checks

• Time pressure affects compliance
• Gate agents often come on board and follow us
  around as we perform our safety checks
• Gets worse with delayed or connecting flights
• Joint training with gate agents?

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Perceptions of Training

• Satisfaction
• Initial, Recurrent, or CRM training
• Training Instructors
• Manuals
• Training Transfer to the Line
• Confidence in aviation terminology and assessing
  hazards
• Does training enhance pilot / flight attendant
  interactions?
• Preparedness of new-hires
• Confidence in executing emergency procedures

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Satisfaction with Training

• Large variability in satisfaction from airline to
  airline
• Top three suggestions to improve training
• 1. More hands-on with the emergency equipment
• 2. More First Aid and CPR training
• 3. More role-playing scenarios to practice
  infrequent emergency procedures

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Training Transfer to the Line
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Training Transfer for New-Hires
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Most Frequent Emergencies

• What type of emergencies have you experienced at
  least once on the line?
• 1. Passenger Medical Emergency (72)
• 2. Cabin Pressurization Problems (28)
• 3. Abnormal Odors or Fumes (19)
• 4. Smoke in the Cabin (18)
• 5. Hypoxia resulting in mask deployment (12)
• 6. Passenger evacuation (6)

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Confidence in Execution
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Pilot / Flight Attendant Interactions

• Importance of Pre-flight Briefings
• Cockpit / Cabin Communication

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Importance of Pre-Flight Briefings
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Cockpit / Cabin Communication
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Preferred and Typical Leadership Styles

• Which leadership style do you most prefer and
  which is the most typical?
• Base Management
• Captains
• Lead Flight Attendants

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Leadership Styles

• Autocratic - a leader makes a decision and
  expects it to be carried without questions
• Directive - a leader makes a decision and
  explains the rationale and the group is free to
  ask questions
• Consultative - a leader consults with the group
  before making decisions and listens to advice but
  nevertheless makes the decision
• Consensus - a leader actively seeks consensus
  before a decision is made and accepts the
  majority viewpoint
• Minimal -a leader is present but everyone is
  expected to make decisions without supervision

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Base Management Leadership
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Captain Leadership
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Lead Flight Attendant Leadership
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Leadership Summary

• Base Management
• get autocratic or minimal leadership
• want something in the middle - consultative
  leadership
• Captain
• get top-end leadership
• want directive leadership
• Lead Flight Attendant
• get everything
• want consultative leadership

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Suggestions for Training

• Take advantage of a strong professional culture
• Address time pressure and compliance with
  pre-flight safety checks
• Need to focus attention on gate agent / flight
  attendant teamwork
• More training with passenger medical emergencies
  and first aid

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Suggestions for Joint Training

• Must go heavy on the importance of pre-flight
  briefings
• Communication - more operational cross-talk
  (notification of unusual situations)
• Want directive leadership from the Captain and
  consultative leadership from the Lead Flight
  Attendant

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Closing Thoughts

• Flight attendants will tell you what they need in
  terms of safety so incorporate it
• Flight attendant CRM offers lots of opportunities
  to make a real difference

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