Flight attendants are part of the crew of an airplane.
Crew is a term that refers to the individuals who are in charge of driving a means of transportation and providing service to passengers . For example: “The cruise crew is bilingual and is in a position to solve any type of problem that occurs on the high seas,” “The captain became angry with the crew due to the lack of commitment and demanded greater responsibility,” “What is happening?” with the crew of this flight ? “I ordered a glass of wine an hour ago.”
Talking about the etymological origin of this word means having to go, symbolically speaking, to Latin. And it is derived from the word interpolatio , which can be translated as “people who go on a boat” and which is made up of three different parts: the prefix inter- , which is equivalent to “between” ; the verb polire , which is synonymous with “clean” ; and the suffix -ción , which is used to indicate “action and effect” .
Crew in air transport
In the case of air transport we find the concept of cabin crew , also known as TCP . We can say that this is the flight attendant , who is responsible for assisting the plane passenger at all times and ensuring their safety.
This means that said professional has to proceed to control the tickets, inform all passengers of the security measures that must be undertaken in case of emergency, and check that they put on their seat belts correctly. , seeing the status of everything such as emergency exits or oxygen masks, serving food and drinks...
Typically, the crew is organized hierarchically . This means that there are people who occupy management positions and others who must comply with their instructions. This structure contributes to the good performance of the human group.
The captain is the one who directs the crew of a ship.
The notion in boats
On ships , the person in charge of directing the vessel and giving orders to the crew is the captain . Bridge officers , chief engineer , engineer officers and sailors are some of the positions that can be distributed within a crew.
The characteristics of the crew vary according to the purpose of the means of transportation: a cargo ship and a tourist cruise do not have the same type of crew. On boats, airplanes and land vehicles that transport passengers or tourists, the crew usually includes service personnel who are in charge of serving food, distributing drinks, etc.
Crew on a pirate ship
Although it may sound strange, on a pirate ship the crew is also organized following a hierarchical system. Taking as a reference the situation of these vessels throughout the so-called "golden age of piracy" , which took place approximately between the years 1650 and 1730 , the crew was made up of:
- Captain : as in the rest of the cases, this is the highest authority of the ship, the person in charge of its operation, the direction and control of the activities carried out on it, and the security in general, both the crew and the cargo. In addition, he had the possibility of having more than one ship under his power.
- Lieutenant - The second person in command and the first person the captain turned to when he needed someone he trusted to help him make difficult decisions or even replace him.
- Boatswain : he was the one who transmitted the captain's orders to the rest of the crew and also who managed the food and punishments, among other issues, such as dividing the loot after each attack. This role was also known as First Officer .
- Second Officer : His objective was the handling of the sails and rigging, as well as the cleaning and general maintenance of the decks.
- Carpenter : his task was indispensable, since he was responsible for repairing any damage to the ship that endangered the safety of the crew. For example, he filled holes, repaired damaged sails and rigging, and replaced deteriorated wood.
- Gunner : he had to have sufficient skill to aim a battery of cannons with great precision, for which training of several years was normal. Many gunners achieved truly impressive aim.
- Surgeon : Not all pirate ships had a surgeon on their crew. This did not prevent some from capturing them and forcing them to serve them. Among the difficult tasks of this role were removing projectiles, treating wounds from machete or firearms, and amputating limbs.
- Polvorilla : was responsible for loading and keeping the cannons clean. At best, he could aspire to become an artilleryman, for which he had to go through the inevitable position of assistant.
Other uses of the notion
At a cultural and social level, we cannot ignore the fact that the term crew is also used to refer to the groups of punks who, in the 1980s, met with the aim of committing different types of vandalism. or violent.
"Dave Crew" , finally, is the Latin American title of the film "Meet Dave" , a comedy starring Eddie Murphy that was released in 2008 .