Purser

The crew member in charge of the cabin on a flight: briefs the crew, reports to the captain and owns the service and the paperwork.

Roles & ranksAlso known as:cabin managerin-flight managercabin service directorCSDlead flight attendant

Definition

The purser is the most senior cabin crew member on board and the one legally in charge of the cabin, answering to the captain. They run the pre-flight briefing, allocate working positions, coordinate with the flight deck during any abnormal situation and sign off the flight's reports. Airlines badge the role differently — Cabin Manager, In-flight Manager, Cabin Service Director, "lead" or "A position" at US carriers — but the responsibility is the same.

What it means for you

For most crew this is the first real promotion and the first meaningful pay step, usually two to five years in depending on airline growth. It changes the day: you board first, you write the reports when something goes wrong, and on a wide-body you spend more of the sector managing people than pushing a trolley. At selection, airlines look for calm authority in the group exercise precisely because they are picking future pursers.

In practice

At Emirates the ladder runs Economy, Business and First Class grades before Purser (SFS) and then Cabin Manager, and a Purser on an A380 leads a crew of around 20 across three cabins.

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