As a passenger, during a flight you might hear the cabin crew using words
that you don't understand or know. Well, in today’s video,
we’ll be deciphering this mysterious language used by many cabin crew around the world.
So, let’s get started:
#1: "Doors to automatic and cross-check"
This is when the aircraft is about to leave stand
the cabin crew have to set the door so that the slide automatically deploys
if needed in an emergency. Some airlines use "Cabin crew, arm doors" instead.
"Doors to manual and cross-check" is said by the senior crew member when the aircraft
stops at the stand after a flight and the doors are set by the cabin crew to disarm the slide.
The cross-check is when each crew member checks that the other's door is in the correct position.
Alternatively, "cabin crew - disarm doors" is used.
#2: The term “Positioning”
An example of this term might be: "Tomorrow, I am positioning to Rome."
Positioning is the same as quote-unquote "dead-heading”
and means the cabin crew is traveling on an aircraft as a passenger but in uniform.
The purpose of positioning is traveling to join a flight that they are working on.
#3 are the terms L1, L2, R1, and R2
These are the cabin crew positions on the aircraft and at each door and crew station.
The bigger the aircraft the more doors and more positions.
So, when the interphone rings, the cabin crew don't say their name but say their position.
L1 would be the senior crew member at the left front door of the aircraft.
#4 is the term Pax
Cabin crew tend to shorten words a lot. "Pax" is what they say instead of passenger. An example
sentence might be "We have 185 pax onboard today" or "Pax in 5C, would like a coffee."
#5 is the term Gash
Cabin crew go and collect "gash" and even have a "gash cart." If you didn’t
figure it out from context, this word is cabin crew slang for trash or rubbish.
#6 is Forward, aft and lav
This is how cabin crew refer to the front and back of aircraft - so "Aft
galley" is the galley at the very back of the aircraft.
Lav refers to the lavatory, so they might talk about the "forward lav."
#7 is the term Slam-click
If you are ever called a "slam-click" it means that you don't like to socialize
after a flight - hence the sound of the door and the key in the lock of the hotel room.
#8 consists of words like Alpha, bravo, and charlie
Anyone working in aviation knows the aviation or phonetic alphabet.
We use it on this channel to read out aircraft registration numbers.
Reading out letters with this alphabet is really helpful for clarity when spelling things out
whether it's a name, place or aircraft registration.
#9 is the term Dairy fairy
This may be unique to one airline or even a few. After the meal service on a short-haul flight, the
cabin crew used to go in to the cabin and serve tea and coffee by hand. The third person, was
the quote-unquote 'dairy fairy,' who would bring out a tray with extra milk, sugar, and stirrers.
So that’s it for today’s crash course on cabin crew lingo.
How many of these did you already know? Tell us by leaving a comment!