On behalf of our team, I participated at the 4th Edition of the European Cabin Service Conference for corporate flight attendants, which took place in Brussels last week. The conference was hosted at the Hilton Grand Place, and it was now a traditional 2-day educational and networking Event.

Flight Attendants, Hostesses,  Commercial Assistants or Cabin Crew Members, Caterers, Chefs, Suppliers Trainers,  Pilots or  Flight Technicians, civilian or military, we all joined this event  to learn about best practices in business aviation industry, to share  thoughts and to “Prepare for Success”.

After four years, this conference grew significantly. Not only because of the attendance numbers but also because of the increasing number of top quality speakers.

This year’s agenda was pretty full and we enjoyed the various presentations that were brought to us by the speakers and we found the experts’ advice useful.

First day began with a warm welcome remarks and introduction of the workshop by Mr. Athar Husain Khan on behalf of EBAA and Mr. Pierrre Rambroul from Uppersky Gourmet.

It was followed by a catering workshop, where we learned how to build a fast dessert, how to compose an elegant fruit basket, how to manage the dry store in an aircraft, how to make the perfect smoothie for the passengers. The speakers were Mr. Pierre Rambroul from Uppersky Gourmet, Mr. Martin Henschel from Carlos Aviation Catering Network, Ms. Emma Mair from Absolute Taste London, Ms.Paula Kraft from DaVInci In-Flight Institute Training, and Mr. Andre Seijbel from Galley Cuisine VIP InFlight Catering.

We had a very interesting presentation afterwards about aviation in China, about traditions, chinese passengers and special dishes by Ms. Hong Wang from Air Culinaire Worlwide.

Mr. Matthew Delamere from Eyelevel introduce us in service skills, and Mr. Manuel Ramos from Caron made a live presentation about make-up techniques. We ended the day with a  networking dinner reception, time to socialize with old friends, or to make some new ones.

Second day of the conference started with welcome remarks by the ECFAC representatives, and then Ms. Christine Mairesse, from EBAA, introduce us about WE-CARE program, the program created for the business aviation operators and corporate flight attendants.

Mr. Brent Palmer from MedAire was the next speaker, with inflight and on the ground medical lessons.

Communication from a safety and interpersonal sense by Ms. Yasmin Milner from Corporate Flight Training was next on the agenda, followed by a session of Crew Resource Management by Mr. Thomas Vrancken from FlyingGroup.

We learned new things about In-Flight Fire Lithium Management- Competence vs Compliance EASA / Air Ops, by Ms. Isabelle Durand from Aircare Facts, followed by Safety, security and systems by Mr. Terry Yeomans.

We ended the day with a key note speaker from Mr. Scott A. Moore, a former pilot and now a writer, leadership coach and trainer at DaVinci In-Flight Training Institute, who thought us about how can we lead without authority.

This edition saw three new Scholarship Winners. The winners were selected by the Scholarship Donors, in accordance with their respective application procedures.

Fatosj Kalan was awarded a Training Scholarship for Flight Attendants at FlightSafety International in Paris Le Bourget (FR). She received this award from Christiane Gustave and Peggy Marchand on behalf of FlightSafety International as well as from Sharon Rose Arroyo and Tim Kirkwood on behalf of WCA (Women in Corporate Aviation).

Matt Morawski was awarded a Five-Day Culinary Elite Class in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (US), including airfare and hotel. He received this award from Paula Kraft who is the Founder of DaVinci InFlight Training School.

Andi Scott was awarded a Train the Trainer Scholarship in Luton (UK). He received this award from Yasmin Milner on behalf of Corporate Flight Training.

The comitee take the opportunity to encourage each and everyone  to APPLY for these Scholarship that are offered each year. Everyone who consider a career in Business Aviation should apply, it is a chance as well for various companies, associations and institutions to mentor and support you.

It was a successful event, very useful for each and everyone, and i am looking forward for the next edition.

Till then, blue sky and happy landings everyone!