See inside a flight attendant training center where aspiring crew members learn how to evacuate an airline and provide customer service

The airline industry is quickly getting back to pre-pandemic levels, with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicting an industry-wide recovery of 103% by 2024.

Here, flight attendants will practice going down the slide, as well as do swim tests and get on a real raft in case of water landings.

Trainees will also learn how to operate the doors on widebody planes, including the Boeing 777 and Boeing 787.

In addition to emergency procedures, the A320 mock cabin is used for normal operations, like pre-flight briefings, including passengers with disabilities and unaccompanied minors.

“Its better to be in this environment because trainees get an idea of how everything feels and moves, so it’s good situational awareness,” Gerritsen-Fridh told Insider.

ANZ pilots will also receive emergency procedures training in Athena, but there is a separate simulator center for their flight training, O’Leary told Insider.

Behind Athena is a fire trainer named Prometheus.

This is where cabin crew and pilots get practical experience putting out fires in things like ovens, overhead bins, and laptops.

Gerritsen-Fridh demonstrated putting out a laptop fire, which included sounding an alarm and using a fire extinguisher.

While ANZ will do as much in Athena as possible, customer service training has separate classrooms with different mockups.

Here, new and current flight attendants will receive specific training for things like passenger interaction, serving business class, and using galley carts.

Flight attendants can upgrade to business after six months of employment and must learn special procedures, like plating, O’Leary said.

During our visit, we saw veteran flight attendants in the business class mockup learning about new wine offerings onboard so they can explain to customers.

Also in the room were glass dishes and amenity kits, which are used in premium cabins.

O’Leary told Insider that customer service training is not required by law, but ANZ requires it annually to maintain a high standard of service.

In another room was an economy mockup, where new hires learn how to service the cabin, including the Skycouch.

I flew on the world’s 4th longest flight in a ‘Skycouch’ — an economy seat that converts into a bed — and it was a lifesaver on the 16-hour journey

 

After seeing the mockups, we learned about one of the most important parts of flight attendant training — medical and first aid.

Walking to the classroom, I noticed people wearing flight attendant uniforms, which O’Leary told Insider is required starting week three, except during medical and security training.

To be hired as an ANZ flight attendant, applicants must already have their CPR license and must complete a two-day external course with St. John before training begins.

“What we do here at the facility is the add-on portion of medical training that is specifically in an aviation environment,” O’Leary explained.

ANZ has three medical trainers that are EMT qualified, meaning they are the best of the best for this highly important course. O’Leary said trainees can ask in-depth questions to give the context of why they perform certain treatments.

Medical training is two days and future flight attendants learn things like using oxygen tanks, creating an airway, and using epidural pens.

Aircrew trainer Susan McCapra, who is one of the three people with special medical qualifications, explained that aviation medicine is all hands-on learning: “We take them through all the equipment we have and they go around in groups to practice.”

On the day we visited, we saw trainees practicing CPR in groups of three — one doing compressions, one on the resuscitator mask, and one on the defibrillator.

Part of the equipment is a huge medical kit kept onboard, which is color coded and has items that a doctor could use to perform an operation onboard.

I noticed the kit is much more comprehensive than ones I’ve seen in the US, with O’Leary telling Insider that not all items are required, but chosen to be included by ANZ’s doctors and medical unit.

Once they’ve gone through the course, McCapra told Insider that trainees must pass a test to officially complete the medical portion of the training.

“If they fail an exam, they get another chance, but if they fail another one then it’s a conversation with cabin managers, but there is a standard they have to meet,” she explained.

The exam requires a trainee to pick a random card and perform whatever it says, like when and how to use an oxygen tank, for example.

According to McCapra, ANZ had about 150 oxygen-related events a week pre-COVID, so it is imperative flight attendants know how to properly use them.

McCapra also explained that crew members will face sometimes emotionally draining situations onboard, like the death of a passenger, but ANZ has created an employee assistance program to help flight attendants and pilots after major events.

One of the other important courses flight attendants must go through is security training, which includes things like self-defense, disarming, and de-escalation.

During our tour, we saw a class using dummies and punching bags to practice, which is led by New Zealand police.

While it is impossible to learn every detail of a flight attendant’s four-week training in just two hours, I was thoroughly impressed by the facility.

As opposed to popular belief, flight attendants are not just glorified customer service agents, but rather they are necessary, and sometimes life-saving, safety professionals.

If you’re an aspiring flight attendant anywhere in the world, the training will not be easy, so be prepared to commit to vigorous tests and procedures before becoming an airline crew member.