Airline personnel

Airline personnel

The various types of airline personnel include:

• Flight crews, responsible for the operation of the aircraft. Flight crew members include:
  • Pilots (Captain and First Officer: some older aircraft also require a Flight Engineer/Second Officer and/or Navigators)
  • Flight Attendants (led by a purser on larger aircraft)
  • In-flight Security Personnel on some airlines (most notably El Al)
• Groundcrews, responsible for operations at airports. Ground crew members include:
  • Airframe and Powerplant technicians. Often the ratings are termed as 'A' and 'P' technicians.
  • Avionics technicians/engineers
  • Flight Dispatchers
  • Baggage Handlers
  • Rampers
  • Gate Agents
  • Ticket Agents
  • Passenger Service Agents (such as airline lounge employees)
• Reservations Agents, usually (but not always) at facilities outside the airport.

Most airlines follow a corporate structure where each broad area of operations (such as maintenance, flight operations, and passenger service) is supervised by a vice president. Larger airlines often appoint vice presidents to oversee each of the airline's hubs as well. Airlines also tend to employ considerable numbers of lawyers to deal with regulatory procedures and other administrative tasks.