The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : When excitement soared high

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 26, 2006

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

When excitement soared high

Rasheed Kappan

Air Hostess Academy students were on the first flight of their lives

BANGALORE: Immaculately attired in red and black, they sat glued to their seats as the chartered Jet Airways Boeing 737 soared high above the cityscape.

Among the more than 100 students of the city-based Air Hostess Academy (AHA) were many from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes too. They were on the first flight of their lives. This was part of a unique partnership between the Social Welfare Department and the AHA, an institute providing trained manpower to the service industry. Under the agreement, the Government sponsors 150 students (100 by the Social Welfare Department and 50 by the Travel Department) and AHA will provide its expertise to train them for the service sector.

On Thursday, those sponsored by the Government and also self-financing students visited the HAL airport.

They listened in rapt attention as the ground staff briefed them on the operational aspects of the airline industry.

Some knew about the procedures. But for the majority, it was their first brush with the glitzy world of aviation. They were exposed to the check-in procedure, X-ray scrutiny, and so on They were briefed on the objectionable items that could not be cleared at the security.

Security procedures

They headed straight towards the Boeing 737. The Jet Airways flight stewards and airhostess were at their professional best. For them, it was like any other day.

But for the students, it was time for a reality check. Excitement soared as the staff got busy, explaining the security procedures with customary ease, listed their duties and responsibilities and talked about the emergency exits. There was a overwhelming sense of joy as they took off on the hour-long flight. For AHA, Thursday's in-flight exposure was part of its endeavour to provide students with the best hands-on training.

In-flight exposure

"The in-flight exposure is given to all one-year and two-year diploma students, where they get practical exposure of what they learn in their aviation classes. This helps students to gain confidence and to have a better understanding of the subject," said Sapna Gupta, founder and chief consultant, AHA.

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