Cabin Crew Management Report: Airline Passenger Needs and Conflicts

This report, focusing on cabin crew management, delves into various aspects of airline operations to ensure passenger satisfaction and safety. It begins by categorizing different types of airline passengers and their specific needs, including those with special requirements like the blind, deaf, pregnant women, and unaccompanied minors. The report outlines the importance of effective communication, including briefing methods for passengers with disabilities. It also explores the chain of command within an airline, detailing how passenger problems and complaints are handled, emphasizing the importance of verbal and written communication. Furthermore, the report examines the skills needed for effective teamwork, strategies for maintaining positive working relationships, and the significance of coordination and cooperation among crew members. It identifies common onboard incidents and conflicting situations, such as arguments, abusive behavior, and delays, and discusses appropriate behaviors in conflict situations, including assertive communication. The report concludes by highlighting methods of communication and behavior in meeting individual customer requirements, ensuring a comprehensive overview of cabin crew management practices.

Running head: CABIN CREW MANAGEMENT
CABIN CREW MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CABIN CREW MANAGEMENT
Table of Contents
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Kind of airline passengers.....................................................................................................3
1.2 Range of airline passenger needs...........................................................................................3
1.3 Briefing to blind passengers..................................................................................................3
1.4 Onboard requirements of guide dog......................................................................................3
1.5 Briefing deaf passenger.........................................................................................................4
1.6 Identification of requirements for carriage of pregnant passengers......................................4
1.7 Onboard considerations for unaccompanied minors.............................................................5
1.8 Requirements for passengers with reduced mobility.............................................................5
1.9 Relevant passenger codes......................................................................................................6
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................7
Task 3...............................................................................................................................................7
3.1 Chain of Command................................................................................................................7
3.2 Ways of dealing with passenger problems and complaints...................................................9
3.3 Different methods of communication when dealing with passenger problems.....................9
3.4 Personal presentation, approach and attitude influence the behavior of the passenger.......10
Task 4.............................................................................................................................................10
4.1 Skills required for effective team working..........................................................................10
4.2 Maintaining effective working relationships within a team...............................................11

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Task 5.............................................................................................................................................13
5.1 Flow chart............................................................................................................................13
5.2 Importance of coordination and cooperation between the crew members..........................14
5.3 Types of incidents and conflicting situations occurring on board.......................................14
5.4 Behaviour in conflict situations...........................................................................................15
Task 6.............................................................................................................................................16
6.1 Dealing with conflict situations...........................................................................................16
6.2 Methods of communication and behavior in meeting individual requirements of customers
...................................................................................................................................................17
References......................................................................................................................................19

3CABIN CREW MANAGEMENT
Task 1
1.1 Kind of airline passengers
Scheduled passengers includes economy, business class and first class passengers
Charter includes the celebrities and politicians on the other hand low cost includes
different students, middle class income groups
Passengers with special requirements includes blind, physically impaired and mentally
impaired individuals
1.2 Range of airline passenger needs
Medical requirements
Separate diaper changing rooms for toddlers
Proper and clean washrooms
1.3 Briefing to blind passengers
Safety cards must be available on flights for briefing about the measures taken during
accidents
Flight attendants need to explain about where the food is placed
Additional attention must be provided to the blind passengers while they will be moving
to washroom or getting down from the aircraft
Lastly, there should be availability of wheel chairs for the impaired passengers travelling
1.4 Onboard requirements of guide dog

4CABIN CREW MANAGEMENT
Proper acceptance of identification cards with proper written documentation and presence
of harness as there cannot be automatic certified documentation
The guide dogs do not require to perform functions for different passengers during the
entire flight to fly in cabin
Proper qualified individuals are required to be accompanied with the guide dogs as this
will comply with the FAA regulations1
1.5 Briefing deaf passenger
The flight attendants requires to be trained with sign language as to communicate with
the deaf passengers 2
There should be visual announcements for the deaf passengers in the airports
Proper availability of the gate agents are required with special notification for boarding
1.6 Identification of requirements for carriage of pregnant passengers
Proper movement and easy access to the lavatory is mandatory for the expecting mothers
Good circulation of air and staying comfortable is mandatory for the expecting mothers
on board
The belt has to be fastened below the belly as this will make them comfortable
1 Chen, Ching-Fu, and Shu-Chuan Chen. "Investigating the effects of job demands and job resources on cabin crew
safety behaviors." Tourism Management 41 (2014): 45-52.
2 Macrae, Carl. "The problem with incident reporting." BMJ Qual Saf (2015): bmjqs-2015.

5CABIN CREW MANAGEMENT
1.7 Onboard considerations for unaccompanied minors
The KLM staff will be present to accompany the minor children to the aircraft
The flight attendants require to keep a close look on the minors who are not accompanied
There will be information provided to the parents of the children regarding any issues or
flight schedule changes 3
1.8 Requirements for passengers with reduced mobility
Proper assistance is required to be provided to the reduced mobility passengers wherein
there should be availability of wheel chairs or club cars along with person who will be
assisting the passenger as well 4
While entering into the flight, there should be airport mobility counter as there can be
requirement of sign language at the aircraft
3 Harrison, Virginia, and S. Mackenzie Ross. "An emerging concern: toxic fumes in airplane cabins." cortex 74
(2016): 297-302.
4 Halford, Carl D. Implementing Safety Management Systems in Aviation. Routledge, 2016.

6CABIN CREW MANAGEMENT
Figure 1: Different categories of passengers
(Source: Cokorilo et al. 2014)
1.9 Relevant passenger codes
ACC- Accompanied passenger
ADA- Agent discount
ADT- Adult
BAG-Baggage
BLD- Blind passenger
ECH- Electronic ticket discount Child
EDT- Electronic ticket discount Adult

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SCC- Senior discounted Companion
UNN- Unaccompanied Child
Task 2
The task is presented in the form of a PowerPoint presentation, which has been attached.
Task 3
3.1 Chain of Command
PilotCheckpilotFirstOfficer

8CABIN CREW MANAGEMENT
Figure 2: The chain of command.
Chain of Command in an airline refers to the hierarchy followed in the particular airline.
Every member of the chain of command has a certain protocol to follow
Seating, meals- These are the minor problems that occur and tend to be generally solved
by the junior crewmember. In case the matter escalates, the flight purser takes charge.
Storage of bags- Taken care of by the junior staff members and the senior cabin staff.
Other passengers- When matters get out of hand, the flight purser takes care of the issue.
Delays- The problems arising due to delays are addressed by the flight purser and in case
of an emergency by the pilot5.
Technical- All technical problems are taken care of by the pilot..
5 Landier, Augustin, et al. "Bottom-up corporate governance." Review of Finance (2013): 161-201.

9CABIN CREW MANAGEMENT
3.2 Ways of dealing with passenger problems and complaints
In the case of an airline business, the whole business model centers on a passenger and
therefore it is extremely important that the airlines deal effectively with passenger problems and
complaints6. Given below is a guide, which describes the manner in which the customer
problems must be dealt with :
Taking the complaint with a step back- whenever a customer makes a complaint it is
extremely important to see to it that the person in charge takes a step back and faces the
criticism gracefully.
Providing the customer with full attention so that the customer feels valued.
Understanding the problem efficiently by imagining oneself in the customer`s shoes.
The passenger must be dealt with a single person only7. When the customer is passed
about from person to person t creates a bad impression on the company.
Once the customer has stated the complaint, an immediate apology should be provided to
the consumer s and the airline must take responsibility for their actions.
In case of an airline business, very often the customer needs to be provided with
compensation and it should be seen to it that it is provided immediately.
3.3 Different methods of communication when dealing with passenger problems
6 Sull, Donald, Rebecca Homkes, and Charles Sull. "Why strategy execution unravels—and what to do about
it." Harvard Business Review 93.3 (2015): 57-66.
7 Ochieng, Isaac, Marcella Riwo-Abudho, and Lily Njanja. "Impact Of Organization Characteristics On Sustainable
Competitive Advantage During Strategic Change In Airlines." (2013).

10CABIN CREW MANAGEMENT
Verbal Communication- When the passenger complaints to the crew, the customer should
not be left hanging and should be provided immediate help via verbal communication
techniques like consolation and understanding8. The customer should be sympathizing
with and an oral apology must be given to the consumer. This can take the form of
conferences or meetings with the consumer.
Very often the passenger complaints via online portals much after the passenger has
taken the flight then the written communication technique must be used by the
crewmembers and online management in order address the complaints of the consumers.
This can take the form of emails or letters sent to the consumer.
3.4 Personal presentation, approach and attitude influence the behavior of the passenger.
Travelling by air is generally considered to be extremely expensive. Hence, when the
customer uses this mean he expects that he will be given respect. Therefore, when the passenger
experiences that the staff is presented properly and they are approaching the customer with
utmost respect they will that the services offered by the airline will be of the ulterior quality.
Therefore, proper presentation is extremely important to influence the behaviour of the
consumer.
Task 4
4.1 Skills required for effective team working
8 Knapp, Mark L., Judith A. Hall, and Terrence G. Horgan. Nonverbal communication in human interaction.
Cengage Learning, 2013.

11CABIN CREW MANAGEMENT
Supportive- The staff should be supportive and handle the customer needs with utmost
care.
Comfortable with disagreement and to be able to overcome differences in opinion- The
passenger and the airline may not agree to the same point. Therefore, the staff should be
comfortable with the disagreement and provide adequate help to the passenger.
Ability to discuss and listen- The flight crew must be good at communication but
foremost he must be a good listener9. The passenger will appreciate the effort of the staff
if he listens properly to the problems of the people.
Able to learn from experience- A mistake can be made only once and not twice,
therefore, the staff must have the ability to learn from the mistakes it tends to make.
Improving performance- The cabin crew staff should have adequate ability to learn from
the mistakes, which it tends to make and improve the performance.
4.2 Maintaining effective working relationships within a team
An airline cannot function alone. Therefore, it is extremely important that the various staff
members work together.
Sharing workloads- The workload should be shared equally among the various staff
members in order to make sure that the work is completed efficiently.
Sharing information- Once a crewmember receives particular information, it is his duty to
disseminate the information throughout the organization in order to avoid redundancy.
9 Chen, Ching-Fu, and Shu-Chuan Chen. "Upward Safety Communication and Safety Behavior of Cabin
Crew." Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies. Vol. 9. 2013.

12CABIN CREW MANAGEMENT
Work cooperatively with others- The staff members need to work along with all the other
employees and cooperate effectively with them10.
Show sensitivity to the needs and feelings of other employees- the manager of the staff
cannot be the boss if he does not understand the junior employees. Even their needs are
extremely important.
Working as a team to receive complaints – If a certain complaint is receives against
employee, he should not be cornered or treated indifferently. He must be considered a
part of the team and given due care.
Applying teamwork to provide good service- The main aim of the airline service is to
provide good service to the consumer. Hence, they should divide the work among the
members based on skills and efficiency so that the end result is good and the customer is
satisfied.
Completing the allotted task- The allotted task should never be left incomplete. The
organization must make sure that it completes the tasks and finishes it.
Responding positively to requests- The passengers traveling in an airline often make a
wide variety of requests. These requests must be adhered to so that the customer remains
satisfied.
Understanding where and when to ask for help and support- There are a variety of
requests that come in the way of staff members. The staff members must understand
whom to ask for help and when is the appropriate time to do so.
10 David Mc A, Baker. "Service quality and customer satisfaction in the airline industry: A comparison between
legacy airlines and low-cost airlines." American Journal of Tourism Research2.1 (2013): 67-77.

13CABIN CREW MANAGEMENT
Task 5
5.1 Flow chart
Figure 3 : The flow chart of Chain of Command.
PilotCheckpilotFirstOfficerFlightpurserSeniorCabinstaffJuniorcabinstaff

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5.2 Importance of coordination and cooperation between the crew members
The crewmembers are a team, which has been formed to provide utmost satisfaction to
the employees. Hence, it is their duty to provide these customers with all requests and satisfy
them. This will not be possible if there is an absence of coordination and cooperation between
the various members of the crew11. Coordination and cooperation between the various team
members helps to improve the efficiency and deliver better services.
5.3 Types of incidents and conflicting situations occurring on board
Arguments among passengers- Many times there arises conflicts among the various
passengers present in a flight. The reason for the argument may be wide variety of
reasons like leg space, armrest and other issues.
Abusive passengers- Certain passengers tend to have no control over themselves.
Whenever a discussion or an argument gets heated up they tend to lose control and start
abusing one another. This must be handled with due care.
Passengers failing to follow cabin crew instructions- There might be certain language or
understanding passengers, which tend to lead to the consumer not understanding the
instructions as given by the cabin crew12.
11 Hussain, Rahim, Amjad Al Nasser, and Yomna K. Hussain. "Service quality and customer satisfaction of a UAE-
based airline: An empirical investigation." Journal of Air Transport Management 42 (2015): 167-175.
12 Arif, Mohammed, Aman Gupta, and Aled Williams. "Customer service in the aviation industry–An exploratory
analysis of UAE airports." Journal of Air Transport Management 32 (2013): 1-7.

15CABIN CREW MANAGEMENT
Illegal smoking on board- Smoking is prohibited on board. However, certain passengers
are addicts and may not be able to understand the instructions and continue with the
business13.
Delay situations- Due to weather conditions or other problems, the passenger’s flight may
be delayed. This often leads to a conflict, as the consumers may not be able to understand
why the delay is taking place.
Drunken passengers- Some passengers often tend to get drunk on flight and start
misbehaving with one another. Therefore, the situation becomes difficult14.
5.4 Behaviour in conflict situations.
Assertive- An assertive behaviour person generally tends to be able to stand up for
themselves, express their feelings with full honesty and act in their best interest without
any anxiety. When in conflicts, these people tend to behave the best and come out of the
situation easily by resolving the problem. Aggressive- Aggressive people tend to lose
control and get too involved in a conflict. The people in a conflict generally tend to abuse
others and misbehave, thereby making the situation worst.
13 Misopoulos, Fotis, et al. "Uncovering customer service experiences with Twitter: the case of airline
industry." Management Decision 52.4 (2014): 705-723.
14 Chow, Clement Kong Wing. "Customer satisfaction and service quality in the Chinese airline industry." Journal
of air transport management 35 (2014): 102-107.

16CABIN CREW MANAGEMENT
Nervous- When nervous people tend to get involved in a conflict they are unable to stand
up for themselves. They often tend to end the conflict on a bad note.
Task 6
6.1 Dealing with conflict situations
There can be different unruly situations on board that have to be controlled by the cabin
crewmembers as this is necessary and proper trainings are provided to them as well15. There can
be different situations such as there can be different problems relating to the meal that is
provided by the airlines16. These kinds of situations have to be handled tactfully by the
crewmembers, as this will require polite kind of behavior. Proper language training is provided
and the crewmembers have to greet with a smile and understand the problem in an effective
manner. There can be different passengers on board who are having reduced mobility that
includes blind, deaf, illness or breathing problems. Such passengers on board has to be handled
in an effective and polite manner as they need special assistance and the cabin crew members are
trained in such a manner that will help the airlines to handle such circumstances.
This is the duty of the crewmembers to understand the problem of the passengers and
solve the issue within a stipulated period. Proper assertive communication is essential in nature
15 Ford, Jane, Robert Henderson, and David O'Hare. "The effects of Crew Resource Management (CRM) training on
flight attendants' safety attitudes." Journal of safety research48 (2014): 49-56.
16 Engelhard, Iris M., et al. "The effects of safety behavior directed towards a safety cue on perceptions of
threat." Behavior therapy 46.5 (2015): 604-610.

17CABIN CREW MANAGEMENT
for the cabin crewmembers as active listening is essential in nature. Proper usage of “I” in
different statements as this will help in cooling the passengers in the flight and maintaining
neutral behavior as well. However, there are different other interpersonal skills that are required
as this will help in handling the disruptive passengers on board. If there is any kind of sexual
abuse or harassment that has occurred with any passenger, this will be handled by the
crewmembers in an effective as well as polite manner. Furthermore, the disabled passengers
onboard have to be handled effectively as they require special assistance and proper
interpersonal communication skills are essential in nature as well17.
6.2 Methods of communication and behavior in meeting individual requirements of
customers
The cabin crewmembers in the flights require greeting the different requirements of
passengers in an effective manner. They require greeting with proper smile as this will satisfy the
passengers that their problem will be resolved and their problem is given proper importance as
well. When an individual passenger calls for any kind of help or support, the flight attendant
requires attending as soon as possible and making them understand the reason for such
inconvenience18.
17 Eason, Richard Parker, Andrew James Dick, and Satish Nagarajaiah. "Numerical investigation of coexisting high
and low amplitude responses and safe basin erosion for a coupled linear oscillator and nonlinear absorber
system." Journal of Sound and Vibration 333.15 (2014): 3490-3504.
18 Dixon-Woods, Mary, and Peter J. Pronovost. "Patient safety and the problem of many hands." BMJ Qual
Saf (2016): bmjqs-2016.

18CABIN CREW MANAGEMENT
This is the duty of the cabin crewmembers to understand the different requirements of the
individual passengers. The special facilities has to be given to the business or executive class
passengers as this will help the airlines in generating a good rating in the later stage. The
individual requirements has to be handled in such a manner that this will help the passengers to
feel relaxed as they will be getting support from the different assistances of the crew members19.
Therefore, it can be analyzed that proper assistance is required along with interpersonal
skills as this will be required in assisting the different customers on board and this will help in
reducing the issues that are faced by the individuals or passengers on board.
19 Vartian, Carl V., et al. "Development and Field Testing of a Self‐Assessment Guide for Computer‐Based Provider
Order Entry." Journal of Healthcare Management 59.5 (2014): 338-353.

19CABIN CREW MANAGEMENT
References
Arif, Mohammed, Aman Gupta, and Aled Williams. "Customer service in the aviation industry–
An exploratory analysis of UAE airports." Journal of Air Transport Management 32 (2013): 1-7.
Chen, Ching-Fu, and Shu-Chuan Chen. "Investigating the effects of job demands and job
resources on cabin crew safety behaviors." Tourism Management 41 (2014): 45-52.
Chen, Ching-Fu, and Shu-Chuan Chen. "Upward Safety Communication and Safety Behavior of
Cabin Crew." Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies. Vol. 9. 2013.
Chow, Clement Kong Wing. "Customer satisfaction and service quality in the Chinese airline
industry." Journal of air transport management 35 (2014): 102-107.
Čokorilo, Olja, Mario De Luca, and Gianluca Dell’Acqua. "Aircraft safety analysis using
clustering algorithms." Journal of Risk Research 17.10 (2014): 1325-1340.
David Mc A, Baker. "Service quality and customer satisfaction in the airline industry: A
comparison between legacy airlines and low-cost airlines." American Journal of Tourism
Research2.1 (2013): 67-77.
Dixon-Woods, Mary, and Peter J. Pronovost. "Patient safety and the problem of many
hands." BMJ Qual Saf (2016): bmjqs-2016.
Eason, Richard Parker, Andrew James Dick, and Satish Nagarajaiah. "Numerical investigation of
coexisting high and low amplitude responses and safe basin erosion for a coupled linear
oscillator and nonlinear absorber system." Journal of Sound and Vibration 333.15 (2014): 3490-
3504.

20CABIN CREW MANAGEMENT
Engelhard, Iris M., et al. "The effects of safety behavior directed towards a safety cue on
perceptions of threat." Behavior therapy 46.5 (2015): 604-610.
Ford, Jane, Robert Henderson, and David O'Hare. "The effects of Crew Resource Management
(CRM) training on flight attendants' safety attitudes." Journal of safety research48 (2014): 49-
56.
Halford, Carl D. Implementing Safety Management Systems in Aviation. Routledge, 2016.
Harrison, Virginia, and S. Mackenzie Ross. "An emerging concern: toxic fumes in airplane
cabins." cortex 74 (2016): 297-302.
Hussain, Rahim, Amjad Al Nasser, and Yomna K. Hussain. "Service quality and customer
satisfaction of a UAE-based airline: An empirical investigation." Journal of Air Transport
Management 42 (2015): 167-175.
Knapp, Mark L., Judith A. Hall, and Terrence G. Horgan. Nonverbal communication in human
interaction. Cengage Learning, 2013.
Landier, Augustin, et al. "Bottom-up corporate governance." Review of Finance (2013): 161-201.
Macrae, Carl. "The problem with incident reporting." BMJ Qual Saf (2015): bmjqs-2015.
Misopoulos, Fotis, et al. "Uncovering customer service experiences with Twitter: the case of
airline industry." Management Decision 52.4 (2014): 705-723.
Ochieng, Isaac, Marcella Riwo-Abudho, and Lily Njanja. "Impact Of Organization
Characteristics On Sustainable Competitive Advantage During Strategic Change In Airlines."
(2013).

21CABIN CREW MANAGEMENT
Sull, Donald, Rebecca Homkes, and Charles Sull. "Why strategy execution unravels—and what
to do about it." Harvard Business Review 93.3 (2015): 57-66.
Vartian, Carl V., et al. "Development and Field Testing of a Self‐Assessment Guide for
Computer‐Based Provider Order Entry." Journal of Healthcare Management 59.5 (2014): 338-
353.