大象传媒

Meet Will, 24, cabin crew for British Airways based at London Heathrow Airport. Find out more about how he uses Spanish in his role. Part of our Bitesize world of work series.

Will flies long and short haul routes to various Spanish-speaking countries. His knowledge of the language ensures he's able to communicate with customers effectively in everyday and emergency situations.

It's very competitive, but worth it to get the job of my dreams.

  • The main skills Will uses in his role, include communication, the ability to work well under pressure and knowledge of public safety
  • As a member of cabin crew, his key role on the aircraft involves managing safety, security and medical issues
  • Being in a customer-facing role, his language skills are really important in allowing him to adapt his form of communication to suit different customers and cabin crew. From a safety perspective, this is really important too, as not everyone who boards the flights can speak English
  • No two days are the same, one day he could be flying to somewhere really hot and the next, he could be landing in a country that's freezing cold
  • His Spanish language skills gives him the opportunity to offer better customer service and create a more personalised experience, which he finds rewarding
  • Before securing his job as cabin crew, he worked a lot in hospitality and so providing customer service is something he has always enjoyed
  • He studied French, Spanish and Italian at both GCSE and A-level, as well as part of his degree in Modern and Medieval Languages
  • During his degree, he did one internship in Madrid for three months and another in Paris for six months, which increased his confidence in speaking different languages.
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Top tips

  • To keep your language skills at a high level, it does take some effort, but it's just a case of consistency and practice, which is easy to do in a job like cabin crew
  • Learning different languages can give you a head start when it comes to building strong communication skills, so start as soon as you can!
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What to expect if you want to be cabin crew

  • Cabin crew average salary: 拢15,000 to 拢30,000 per year
  • Cabin crew typical working hours: 30 to 40 hours per week

What qualifications do you need to be cabin crew?

You could get into this role via a college course, an apprenticeship or applying directly.

Sources: LMI for All, National Careers Service

This information is a guide and is constantly changing. The information relates to cabin crew roles generally rather than Will's role with British Airways. Please check the for the latest information and all the qualifications needed.

For careers advice in all parts of the UK visit: , , and .

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