Pre-flight briefing
The meeting at sign-on where the senior crew member assigns positions, reviews the flight and tests SEP knowledge.
Definition
The pre-flight briefing is the structured meeting held after crew sign on and before boarding, led by the senior cabin crew member and usually joined by the pilots for a joint section. It covers the flight and weather, crew positions and doors, special passengers, security, and a round of SEP and first-aid questions to confirm everyone's knowledge for the aircraft type. Its length and content are set in the operations manual.
What it means for you
The briefing is where the day's team is formed and where you can be caught out: expect a safety question you must answer correctly, and know that a wrong answer can mean being stood down from the duty at stricter carriers. It is also your chance to raise anything — fatigue, a medical concern, a passenger list issue — before the doors close. Sign-on time on your roster is briefing time.
In practice
At Dubai an Emirates crew of 24 sign on 90 minutes before a 777 departure to Sydney; the purser runs through positions, the special meals, and asks each crew member one SEP question before the captain joins.
Related terms
4 terms- CRMSafety & trainingCrew Resource Management — the training in communication, decision-making and assertiveness that lets a crew work as one team.
- SEPSafety & trainingSafety and Emergency Procedures — the core safety syllabus every cabin crew member is trained and re-examined on.
- Duty periodRoster & schedulingAny continuous period of work for the airline — flying, standby, training, positioning or ground tasks — from report to release.
- PurserRoles & ranksThe crew member in charge of the cabin on a flight: briefs the crew, reports to the captain and owns the service and the paperwork.