TWO young women from Northern Ireland have graduated from Flybe’s most recent cabin crew training.
Laura Thompson from Portavogie and Kerry Craig from Ballymoney completed the intensive three week Initials training programme in January and have been presented with their ‘Wings’ by the airline’s new Chief Executive Officer, Christine Ourmieres-Widener, at a special ceremony in Exeter. Both will now be based out of Belfast City Airport and are now fully qualified to care for the safety and wellbeing of Flybe passengers across its network of routes.
In her welcoming speech to the friends and families of the newly qualified crew, Ms Ourmieres-Widener said: “My first official duty gives me great pleasure. Our cabin crew are the faces of Flybe and when they successfully complete their initial training, they receive their Wings badge. It is always a proud moment – and a special one. Each wears Flybe’s distinctive purple uniform with pride – they are the ones to welcome and reassure our customers on board, and who look after their safety and wellbeing.”
Laura and Kerry were selected for the training programme after a rigorous recruitment process which checked many attributes such as the ability to cope under pressure and work effectively within a team. This was followed by a three-week course at Flybe’s state-of-the-art Training Academy in Exeter which covered learning a comprehensive range of skills from safety, first aid and customer service. The final part was an examination which both candidates passed with flying colours.
Ms Ourmieres-Widener added: “We’re really keen to cultivate homegrown talent and are continually looking for dynamic personalities with bags of enthusiasm and drive to continue to provide the top level service, customer care and experience our passengers expect. Laura and Kerry are to be congratulated for achieving their ‘Wings’ and we look forward to them being role models for other young people looking for an exciting career in aviation.”