A Study on the Professionalism of Cabin Crew Applying the PROFESSIONALISM Perspective

Abstract

Purpose: Various external variables, such as changes in the external environment and the outbreak of infec-tious diseases, are expected to bring many changes to the aviation industry, and deeper attention to crew work is needed. Since cabin crew s work requires expertise and detailed knowledge such as safety, security, service, and emergency medical knowledge, research should be started by considering cabin crew s work as a profes-sional vocational group. Therefore, this study seeks to apply the variable Occupational Professionalism, which studies cabin crew s work from a professional perspective. Therefore, this study would like to find out the im-pact of cabin crew s professionalism on the service orientation, safety orientation and self-efficacy of cabin crew, and the impact of cabin crew s self-efficacy on service orientation and safety orientation. Method: This study defines Korean cabin crew members working for domestic and foreign airlines as a pop-ulation. Questionnaires were distributed through an online survey, and 252 out of 384 were used for empirical analysis. A structural model was constructed and analyzed to evaluate the research model and to verify the hypothesis. Results: The higher the professionalism of cabin crew to perform their duties such as in-flight safety, security, first aid, and services, the higher the service orientation and safety orientation for passengers. Cabin crew can increase their belief and confidence in themselves that they can perform the tasks assigned to them better, and this is the way to increase safety and service orientation toward passengers. Conclusion: This study defines cabin crew as experts in the pursuit of knowledge, self-management, sense of calling, and job regulation. When providing business training to cabin crew, airlines should further strengthen their eligibility to perform their duties through professional theoretical and practical training on safety, security, first aid, and service tasks.