Senior cabin crew
Under EASA, the qualified crew member in charge of the cabin (SCCM); more loosely, any experienced crew above the entry grade.
Definition
Senior Cabin Crew Member (SCCM) is the EASA legal term for the crew member responsible to the commander for the conduct and coordination of the cabin whenever more than one cabin crew member is required. To hold it you need at least a year of operating experience and a dedicated SCCM course covering leadership, briefings and abnormal-situation management. In everyday use "senior crew" also means anyone past the junior grade, which is where the salary tables on this site draw their junior/senior line.
What it means for you
SCCM is the qualification, not just the title, and it moves with you: an SCCM course completed at one European airline is recognised when you join another, which makes it one of the most valuable lines on a crew CV. Expect a pay uplift for holding the position and a lot more paperwork on the days you fly as number one. At non-EASA carriers the same duties sit with the purser or lead.
In practice
On a Ryanair 737 with four crew, the number one is the SCCM: they brief the other three, sit at the L1 door, liaise with the captain and complete the sector paperwork while the day rolls through six sectors.
Go deeper
Related terms
4 terms- 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.
- Junior cabin crewRoles & ranksEntry-grade crew in their first one to three years, on the lowest pay band and, at seniority airlines, on reserve.
- Cabin crewRoles & ranksThe trained crew responsible for passenger safety and service in the cabin — called flight attendants in North America.
- Pre-flight briefingSafety & trainingThe meeting at sign-on where the senior crew member assigns positions, reviews the flight and tests SEP knowledge.