What Does A Senior Cabin Crew Member Do Onboard?

The Senior Cabin Crew Member (SCCM) is the ‘in charge' crew member onboard a commercial or business aircraft with more than one crew member. SCCM is a standard term often used in Europe, but it does come in variations such as Inflight Service Manager, Chief Purser, or Cabin Services Director, depending on the airline. As regards the ‘Chain of Command', it is an important role that reports to the flight deck and supervises all of the crew onboard.The SCCM is responsible for cabin safety and security, the safety of passengers and the team's customer service standards in the cabin. It is a leadership role and requires prior experience as a cabin crew member. This can vary from airline to airline; some may only ask for two years at smaller airlines or five years plus at large international airlines. However, at airlines with thousands of cabin crew, seniority in the airline is key, so it may take many years to get promoted to an SCCM role.Larger aircraft such as the Airbus A380 or the Boeing 787 may have secondary positions that lead a cabin, these are sometimes called Pursers or In-Flight Managers. They take care of their team in an individual cabin and report to the SCCM. The SCCM is usually stationed at the front left emergency exit door, just behind the flight deck. This ensures that they can ensure fast communication with the flight crew either by the interphone or in person. The SCCM is usually identified by wearing a slightly different colored uniform, or instead, the color of the hat, scarf or tie may be different. Before the flight, the SCCM speaks with the flight crew and operations team to confirm details of the flight and any special conditions. This may include things like whether there are expectations of turbulence, any delays, flight time and the number of passengers onboard. Also, they will talk about special instructions regarding safety and emergency procedures and any keywords that may signify an issue. Passengers who need special assistance will be noted. There may also be information from operations about the layover hotel, crew transport and any safety advice for the crew, downroute. The SCCM leads the crew briefing before any flight. They will communicate information that they received earlier from operations and the flight crew. Working positions in the cabin are assigned based on seniority. Safety and emergency procedures (SEP) are reviewed and the SCCM asks each crew member questions on SEP and first aid, to make sure that they are proficient to fly and up to date. If any questions fail, a crew member can be taken off a flight. The SCCM will also check that the cabin crew are up to uniform standards, which can be as specific as wearing a hat two inches above the eyebrow, the skirt length, correct heel height on shoes and even specific shades of make-up for female crew. Male crew members are also checked for uniform standards. Passengers who require assistance are discussed, as well as the number of special meals, anything unusual to the flight and the plan for the flow of the service. Onboard the aircraft prior to passengers boarding, the SCCM ensures that security and safety equipment checks are carried out and reports that checks are complete to the flight crew. They also check the meal carts, bar carts and duty-free items and make sure that the numbers tally with the paperwork. Boarding can then commence. The SCCM communicates with the flight crew throughout each stage, including the arming and disarming of the doors and the ‘cabin secure' check prior to take-off. During the flight, the SCCM usually works in the first-class or business-class cabin as regards service, but also supervises across all cabins. They are also responsible for flight deck security as they work at the front of the aircraft. Communication between the cabin crew and flight crew is absolutely crucial for Crew Resource Management (CRM) and this is usually passed through the SCCM as the team leader. This may include things like the flight crew warning of turbulence ahead, who then communicates the information to the cabin crew, or the cabin crew may report an unruly passenger or a medical emergency to the SCCM, who reports it to the flight crew. There will also be another ‘cabin secure' check and call before landing and another call to ensure that doors are disarmed. After disembarkation, the SCCM completes any necessary paperwork and forms as required by the airline. Security checks in the cabin take place and are reported to the SCCM, who reports that security is complete to the flight deck. Carts are offloaded and refreshed if the crew are continueing on another flight (short-haul) or the doors are closed and the crew leaves the aircraft for the layover (short-haul or long-haul). Once back onboard, the SCCM briefs the crew again about the return flights and the procedures above continue. Once back at base, the crew is debriefed on any issues or events that occured and any paperwork is handed in. The SCCM has a very important role onboard making sure that the service runs smoothly and ensures communication and confirmation of all safety and emergency procedures in the cabin. The communication between the flight crew and cabin crew is crucial for a safe and efficient flight and the SCCM must be the communication point between them.