Flight Attendants

Have you ever heard of these people? Have you ever seen them? Obviously! These people are called flight attendants or stewards, generally, air hosts or air hostesses. Today my article will be on these people, people who work in the sky.

As you have heard they are the people who take the responsibility of passenger safety whenever the passengers are on-board. Both males and females work as flight attendants. Their main duty is to secure the passenger safety. Serving passengers in a pleasant way is also a main duty. Promoting the airline they are working to can also be taken as an extra duty of a flight attendant.

The way the flight attendants are selected differs with the airline company. Almost all the airline companies prefer people with pleasant appearances to appoint as flight attendants. Generally it is considered that the applicant should be more than 5’’ in height as they have to handle baggage and safety instruments which are kept in upper places. Some airline companies only appoint people in the same nationality, that of the airline. As an example, our national airline, Srilankan Airlines only take srilankans as flight attendants. But the airlines such as Qatar airlines and Emirates appoint any nationality. That’s why we can find srilankans as flight attendants in those airlines.

Selected applicants, for the post of flight attendant are provided with an excellent training. But the training differs with the aircraft type as the safety instrument handling changes with it. Therefore each and every selected applicant is not provided the same training. They are given a training based on safety instruments, first aid, dangerous goods and passenger controlling which is subjected to be changed with the aircraft type. After the training period their progress report is sent to the civil aviation authority of the country. There they are awarded with a certificate which is valid only for 5 years. At the end of the 5 years they have to renew their certificate. During that period, if they have followed some other training based on some other aircraft, it too will be stated at the certificate renewal.

Most of the airline companies consider an age limit when selecting applicants for the post of flight attendant.

In Sri Lanka the minimum number of flight attendants employed at an aircraft should be equal to the number of doors in the aircraft. That means, if it’s an A340, it has 8 doors, therefore there must be a minimum number of 8 flight attendants. But in European countries it’s one flight attendant for 50 passengers.

Orange Colour "Black Box"

There is equipment in an aircraft which we call black box generally. It takes a big place in air crashes. The real technical name of this equipment is Flight Recorder. Two flight recorders can be seen in an aircraft. They are called FDR and CVR Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder respectively. FDR stores information regarding the procedure of the aircraft. CVR stores the recordings from the cockpit. These cockpit recordings contain the conversations between pilots, conversations between pilots and air craft controllers and sounds of the atmosphere. But in some aircrafts theses two recorders are combined and are used as one recorder.

The main role of this equipment is to find the data of the caused reason at an air crash. Moreover it collects data about the engines and other equipments. Basically it’s all about the safety of an aircraft. Once I have heard that some pilots are using a higher speed than the recommended speed to reach their destinations with the intension of having a better resting time. But it is something that is prohibited strictly. These things can be found through these recorders. These recorders are made of materials which can endure any dangerous situation. That means, higher temperature, pressure, cold, fire ect. Even though this equipment is called as black box, it’s not black in colour. It’s orange in colour, and it too endures the above threatens. And also due to this colour this box can be easily found from any place. The black box is placed at the tail of an aircraft as it faces the minimum destruction at an air crash. 

Balk box was invented in France in early 1940s. It is an invention based on the theory of photography.

Black box is made of stainless steel or titanium. It can be easily found after an air crash with the help of the signals it emits. That signal emits for more than 30 days and can be come out from a depth of 6000ft. Its recording capacity is 24 hours and the previous recording gets deleted automatically at the end of 24 hours time. Early times recordings were stored in magnetic tapes and now it is recorded in micro chips. In Sri Lanka we don’t have the facility to read these recordings, after an air crash. So we have to take it to India or to the manufacturer.

First Flyers

Aug 19, 2008 (LBO) – Dubai-based Emirates said two of its pilots from Sri Lanka were among the first to fly the new Airbus A380 super jumbo aircraft.

Suren Ratwatte has flown the prototype aircraft registered as F-WWDD out of Airbus Industries home airfield in Toulouse France on June 18, while Suhail Hashim flew the same aircraft the following day.

The pilots had joined Emirates in 1989.

"The A380 is the world's largest commercial aircraft, and Suren's and Suhail's achievement is a tribute to the abilities of our pilots," Chandana de Silva, Emirates area manager for Sri Lanka and Maldives said in a statement.

The two pilots were part of the first batch of Emirates crew to qualify to fly the aircraft, now being operated by Emirates between Dubai and New York.

Emirates says the aircraft's floor area is 49 percent bigger and has 35 percent more seats that the largest existing airliner. The A380 is 79 feet, 7 inches high with a wing span of 261 feet, 8 inches.

Emirates A380s have a range of up to 9,320 miles and offer better fuel economy per passenger mile than most hybrid passenger cars, The airline says.

Emirates is due to receive five super jumbos by March 2009. Another 53 more is to be acquired by 2013.

The first five aircraft will be deployed on routes including New York, London Heathrow, Sydney and Auckland.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain..... and my son will be flying this sector"

First father and son captains make history at SriLankan Airlines

SriLankan Airlines recorded a unique event when Captain Ranjit Pedris and Captain Shavantha Pedris became the first father and son to hold the coveted title of Captain in one airline at the same time in the history of Sri Lankan aviation.

SriLankan's Head of Flight Operations Capt. Druvi Perera said: "This is certainly a memorable event in the history of aviation in Sri Lanka, as there had not been a father and son duo of captains in up to now in either Air Ceylon or SriLankan. We congratulate both Captain Ranjit Pedris and Captain Shavantha Pedris on this unique achievement."

Capt. Ranjit Pedris, 60, is today the second most senior Captain at SriLankan Airlines.

He was one of the airline's pioneering flight crew, joining what was then AirLanka as a First Officer from Air Ceylon where he had started his career, and being confirmed as Captain in 1985.

A visibly delighted Capt.

Ranjit Pedris said: 'It is an extraordinary feeling to witness my son becoming a Captain of the airline which has been an integral part of my life for more than 30 years.

To be Captains together at the same time, and to be the first father and son to do so, is simply indescribable.

It is the pride of any father to have his son follow in his footsteps, but most are retired by the time their sons achieve a level of distinction. I have indeed been fortunate to witness my son being promoted to command while I too am flying.'

His son Capt. Shavantha Pedris joined the airline as a Cadet Pilot in 2002 and after six years as a First Officer carried out his first command flight on an Airbus A320 on the 18th of January 2010.Capt. Shavantha Pedris, who is now 30, added: "I didn't realise that my father and I would be making history until quite recently. There have been several Captains whose sons became First Officers, but in all those instances either the father left or retired, or the son left to another airline, so they were never Captains at SriLankan at the same time. I've flown five flights up to now as First Officer with my father as Captain, and each one was very special."

Looking forward to the future, Shavantha says that although there are many opportunities for pilots to join other airlines, he has his sights firmly set on the National Carrier.

"It is absolutely fantastic to fly for SriLankan.

We have a route network that enables us to experience so many cities from Europe in the west to Japan in the east.

Also, everyone at SriLankan knows us, and you're not just a number.

It's a great feeling to work with people whom my father has trained over the years.

It was more than good enough for my father for 30 years, so it's certainly good enough for me," he said.

All Female Flying Crew Makes History At Srilankan Airlines

SriLankan Airlines’ lady pilots have quietly revolutionized aviation in Sri Lanka, with several international flights being carried out by all-female crews.

Captain Anusha Siriratne and Junior First Officer Madini Chandradasa were the first all-female crew, operating a flight from Colombo to Trichy and back on 1st November 2009. Each leg on an Airbus A320 aircraft took one hour.

They repeated the feat on New Year’s Day 2010 by flying to Karachi and returning, also in a twin-engined A320, with each flight taking three hours and forty minutes.

The airline currently has four ladies among its 189 pilots, the others being Senior First Officers Chamika Rupasinghe and Roshani Jinasena.

SriLankan’s Head of Flight Operations, Captain Druvi Perera, said: “These flights by Capt. Siriratne and Junior First Officer Chandradasa are a milestone at SriLankan Airlines. SriLankan does not discriminate between men and women in its recruitment for any post, including pilots, and it was simply a matter of time before our lady pilots made history with an all-female flight.”

“Of course, the all-female crew flights are no different to those operated by male pilots. At SriLankan, where safety is of paramount importance, what matters is not a pilot’s gender, but his or her experience, training, and expertise,” added Capt. Perera.

SriLankan has a perfect flight safety record over more than three decades of operations, the result of some very tough standards for its pilots. All pilots must have a minimum of seven years of commercial airline experience before being considered for the respected post of Captain.

Capt. Anusha Siriratne, 34, is at present the first and only lady Captain at SriLankan, and has been flying since 1998. She has flown aircraft such as the Lockheed L1011 Tristar, Airbus A320, A330, and A340. But she is adamant that there is nothing special about an all-female flight crew.

Junior First Officer Madini Chandradasa said: “Flying for our National Carrier has certainly been a rewarding experience. The senior pilots at SriLankan possess a wealth of experience which youngsters can learn from.

Senior First Officers Chamika Rupasinghe and Roshani Jinasena are now flying the long-haul A330 and A340 aircraft to Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East.

Capt. Perera says the airline is very pleased with the progress of its lady pilots. “SriLankan Airlines encourages more young women to seriously consider careers as airline pilots. As our first four lady pilots have proven, the sky is the limit,” said Capt. Perera.

First Officer Madini Chandradasa

Senior First Officers Chamika Rupasinghe

Captain Anusha Siriratne

Senior First Officer Roshani Jinasena