A plane stupid requirement?

Why the need for cabin crew to be lifeguards?

In the extremely unlikely event of your plane ditching into water, the cabin crew are expected to transform into Baywatch babes and help swim you out to safety; and the Civil Aviation Authority therefore mandates life-saving skills (including the ability to swim) as requirements necessary for cabin crew to be granted accreditation.

Are the CAA smoking?

The CAA making lifeguards of cabin crew - are they smoking some of the Eastern Cape's most famous export, or will this ever come in handy?

In December 2002, The Economist magazine quoted an aviation expert as saying that "No large airliner has ever made an emergency landing on water". In September 2006 The Economist again claimed that "in the history of aviation the number of wide-bodied aircraft that have made successful landings on water is zero."

This proved to be a case of commentator's curse - as 2 years later, in 2009, a US Airways A320 plane made an emergency landing in the Hudson River. Nobody drowned, and no swimming rescues were required.

While the Economist's claims are not quite accurate and depend on what you mean by a "successful landing", what is true is that you have a better chance of being eaten alive by a wild animal than of being involved in a plane ditching into water and a cabin crew member swimming you to safety.

Cases of planes ditching in water

There is a difference between crashing into water and attempting to land in water (ditching).

• In 1956, a Boeing 767-200 ER (Pan Am 943) lost 2 of its 4 engines and ditched into the Pacific, with all 31 lives on board surviving.

• 1970. Another Boeing 767-200 ER (this time Ethiopian 961) was hijacked and ditched a short distance from land. Fifty two of the 175 on board survived (some were trapped in the plane when inflating their life vests before exiting).

• 2002. A Boeing 737 (Garuda Indonesia 425) ditched in a river (only one person, a flight attendant, died).

While they cannot quite be classified as attempts to ditch, occasionally planes find themselves in water after running off the end of runways or coming in short of runways.

• 1989. A Boeing 737-401 rolled into the East River off La Guardia airport, losing 2 of its 63 passengers.

• 1993. A Boeing 747-409 ran out of runway on landing at Kai Tak Airport and ended up in water (no fatalities).

More info

In light of Kulula's stunt to wear "sexy costumes" in the Boksburg swimming pool, we decided to write an open letter to Glenn Orsmond.

Having cabin crew who can rescue you if you happen to ditch in the Vaal Dam is only half the battle won - you also want to ensure you book cheap flights, so check out our Kulula specials to help you get great deals.

Black People can't swim?

In 2007 this odd airline safety requirement reared its head in a truly South African fashion. The Department of Labour claimed Kulula's excuse for not hiring enough black cabin crew is because "black people cannot swim". The joint CEO of Comair (Erik Venter) remarked that "The allegations are not only blatantly false but also defamatory." Venter also pointed out that:

• over eight hundred and fifty black employees form more than 50% of the Comair team

• The first airline to hire black cabin crew was Comair - over 30 years ago (I think they mean the first in South Africa)

• The only airline to run a swimming training programme for their cabin crew wannabes is Comair

Kulula incorporates the swimming theme into their in-flight safety announcement in their signature humorous fashion: "We’re going to ask all those passenger’s who can swim to assemble to the left hand side of the aircraft, for those of you who cannot swim, thank you for flying Kulula.com."

Ask our travel consultant your questions here. She would love to assist.

Category : Kulula Airlines