Cabin crew instructor
A ground-based trainer who delivers initial and recurrent safety, service and CRM courses at the airline's training centre.
Definition
Cabin crew instructors run the classroom and simulator side of training: initial courses for new joiners, the annual recurrent programme, aircraft-type conversions and CRM. They are usually former or part-time flying crew who hold an instructor qualification approved by the regulator, and they assess the practical drills — doors, slides, fire, wet drill — that decide whether a trainee is released to the line. At large airlines the role is split by speciality, with SEP, service and medical instructors.
What it means for you
Instructors are the people who will pass or fail you in initial training and again every year at recurrent, so learn how they mark: by procedure, word for word, not by enthusiasm. As a career move, instructing trades layovers for a ground-based salary, predictable hours and a foot in the training department, which is one of the main routes into airline management.
In practice
Emirates' 7.5-week initial course at the Emirates Aviation College is delivered entirely by instructors, and a trainee who fails a door drill re-sits with the same instructor team before anyone lets them near a rostered flight.
Go deeper
Related terms
4 terms- Line trainerRoles & ranksAn experienced crew member who trains and assesses new crew on live flights during their first supervised sectors.
- Initial trainingSafety & trainingThe four-to-eight-week course that turns a successful candidate into a licensed, type-qualified cabin crew member.
- Recurrent trainingSafety & trainingThe mandatory yearly refresher and check that keeps your SEP, first-aid and type qualifications valid.
- SEPSafety & trainingSafety and Emergency Procedures — the core safety syllabus every cabin crew member is trained and re-examined on.