An airhost/Air Hostess is a man / woman host and steward on an airplane who hospitably looks after the passengers in flight.

(A) The Job

The job of an Air Hostess includes, welcoming passengers on board, guiding them to their respective seats, helping passengers with their luggage, taking care of the food/beverages stock, and other necessities that are distributed to the passengers, serving food/beverages, making announcements with respect to safety rules and any message that needs to be conveyed to passengers. In case of emergency landing or turbulence an Air Hostess has to be prepared to take care of the safety of passengers. The Air Hostess has to also make sure that the pilots are well served. On the whole they have to tend to all those who are on flight and make sure of their comfort and requirements.

(B) Personality Traits

1.) Pleasant personality

2.) Patience

3.) Well-Groomed

4.) Well maintained physic

5.) Good communication skill

6.) Soft spoken

7.) Quick to find solutions

8.) Friendly

9.) Team worker

(C) Salary

1.) Depending on which airline you join, your starting pay could range between Rs.16, 000 –Rs.35, 000 a month.

2.) Senior Air Hostess, both in Indian Airline and Air-India, draw as much as Rs.75, 000 per month. Domestic private airlines pay even better.

3.) A Senior Air Hostess with a foreign carrier draws up to an equivalent of Rs.3 Lakhs a month.

(D) Job Prospects

The airlines usually advertise in the appointment columns of the leading English language dailies. In the year, there can be two or three such advertisements, if not more. You may also try your luck, sending in forced applications to the airlines. The Air Hostess work on flights till they are around 38,after which they are transferred to other departments, such as ticketing. Corporate giants such as the Tatas, Reliance, and the Mahindras have their own jets. They too recruit Air Hostess. But such appointments are rare.

Following are some of the airlines where one should send in their application for Air Hostess:

INDIAN AIRLINES: Air India Building, 218 Nariman Point, Mumbai- 400 021

AIR INDIA: Air India Building, 218 Nariman Point, Mumbai-400 021

JET AIRWAYS: 41-42 Maker's Chambers III, Nariman Point, Mumbai-400 021

SAHARA INDIA AIRLINES: Ambadeep, 14 K.G Marg, New Delhi-110 001

JAGSON AIRLINES LTD: Vandana Building, 11, Tolstoy Marg, New Delhi-110 001

BRITISH AIRWAYS: D L F Centre, Sansad Marg, New Delhi- 100 001

CATHAY PACIFIC: Tolstoy House, Tolstoy Marg. New Delh-110 001

LUFTHANSA AIRLINES: Express Towers, Nariman Point, Mumbai-400 021

EMIRATES AIRLINES: Mittal Chambers, Nariman Point, Mumbai-400 021

DELTA AIRLINES: C-37, East Of Kailash, NewDelhi-110065

One may also go to a grooming school to train as an Air Hostess:

BIRLA INSTITUTE OF FUTURISTIC STUDIES: M.B Girls High School, 17, Darga Road, Calcutta-700017

To know more about other relevant information about Career as an Air Hostess, read the Second Part (2) of this article.