CEBU Pacific FAs featured in Yahoo

[sharkey360]

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The lady in the video is Karen Tracy Vitug



Maybe she can inspire local dancers here in Cebu to apply as flight attendants with Cebu Pacific. A lot of my friends in Barangay Sambag 1 have been talking about her.

[blu bizcuitz]

siya tong naa jud sa pinakauna nga nisayaw?

[jomzkie23]

mosakay nya ko ug cebu pacific.. haha

[sharkey360]

It's the men's turn to dance.

Cebu Pacific Air invited the media on Friday to witness the in-flight Safety Demonstration Dance, where their flight attendants perform the air safety demo to the beat of dance tunes.

After receiving flak from women's groups and even competitor Philippine Airlines' union of flight attendants for their "sexist and gender-insensitive" gimmick that showed dancing female flight attendants, this time, Cebu Pacific featured male flight attendants. They performed the demonstration dance to the tune of "Safety Dance," a song by Australian band Men Without Hats.

The safety demo dance was done while Flight 5J 936, the 8:00 am flight from Manila to Davao, was at cruising altitude. Another safety demo dance was done during Flight 5J 964 that left 10:00 am from Davao to Manila. A GMA News crew was on board both flights.

The local carrier recently introduced the safety demo dance, featuring women flight attendants dancing to popular songs of Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. A video of the unique safety demo was uploaded on YouTube by one of the passengers and has gone viral since, getting more than 8 million views on YouTube as of this posting.

Not everyone was pleased, however. A statement by the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (FASAP) said the group was "deeply perturbed" by the video, adding that the stereotyping of flight attendants as entertainers "will surely have a negative and sexist impact in the minds of the public, at the expense of the unwitting female-dancer-flight attendants."

Gabriela Women's Party described the dance as "exploitative" and not part of the flight attendants' job description.

For its part, Cebu Pacific said that the demo dance is done in the interest of providing "fun" safety information and that the flight attendants partake in the demonstrations whole-heartedly.

In an earlier interview with GMANews.TV, Cebu Pacific vice president for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog said the airline had hired professional choreographers to put together the dance, which is meant to be entertaining and informative at the same time.

"Cebu Pacific has always been known as a fun airline. We were looking for something new and different to show that flight safety does not have to be boring," she said.

Cebu Pacific made it clear that the safety dance has not replaced their standard safety demonstration conducted before takeoff.

The airline is known to have pioneered now-famous promos and gimmicks, including one-peso plane fares and in-flight games.

It's the men's turn: Cebu Pacific FAs perform safety demo dance - Nation - GMANews.TV - Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs - Latest Philippine News

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Cebu Pacific hiring flight attendants, dancing skills not required

Cebu Pacific Airlines (CEB), the popular low-cost carrier that promises to give "low fare, great value" to every Juan who wants to fly, is looking for new flight attendants, dancing skills are not required.

CEB recently shot to YouTube fame after a passenger posted a video of their flight attendants dancing to a mashup of Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" and Katy Perry's "California Girls."

The dance, which was professionally choreographed, was actually a supplement to the usual safety demonstration conducted before takeoff.

"Cebu Pacific has always been known as a fun airline. We were looking for something new and different, to show that flight safety doesn't have to be boring," Cebu Pacific vice president for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog told GMANews.TV in an earlier report.

CEB is hiring flight attendants to augment their workforce, as they are expecting four brand new airbus deliveries monthly starting October.

“We are scheduled to add more flights to Kota Kinabalu, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Seoul in time with our Airbus A320 aircraft deliveries, and we need more cabin crew to handle our additional capacity," said Iyog.

However, non-dancers need not worry because the safety demo hit was just "something they thought of doing."

"We had no idea it would become this big," said Iyog, who clarified that the new hires would not necessarily be dancing.

"First of all, not everybody can dance. I don't think we can require those who have two left feet to perform," she said.

Meanwhile, the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (FASAP) has scored the dancing flight attendants as sexist.

“While it may look like a harmless publicity stunt to attract passengers at first glance, in the long run the stereotyping of flight attendants as entertainers will surely have a negative and sexist impact in the minds of the public, at the expense of the unwitting female-dancer-flight attendants," said FASAP.

While selected flights will still feature the safety demo dance, what CEB looks for in its applicants is the right attitude.

"They have to embody our culture of fun as an airline," Iyog told GMANews.TV.

Yesterday, CEB hired 300 flight attendants in a one-day walk-in recruitment at the Crowne Plaza.

More than a thousand applicants went through the initial interview but only 300 were given their pre-employment documents at the end of the application process.

Yesterday's walk-in recruitment was the fifth in the last two months.

Successful applicants will go through a 58-day training period, so those who were hired yesterday will be flying in December or January. "We hire for attitude and we train for skill," said Iyog.

The walk-in recruitment is a lot more convenient than the regular screening process, which requires applicants to go back and forth.

At the Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila Hotel in Quezon City yesterday, all the concerned departments were present, from the People Department (HR) to the In-Flight Services Team.

"It's easier because they know where it is, the location is better and the venue is much bigger than our office," Iyog told GMANews.TV, explaining that they still receive applicants through the normal weekly recruitment because their hiring for cabin crew is continuous.

The qualifications for being a CEB flight attendant include:

# a dynamic personality that embodies CEB’s culture of fun;
# height of at least 5’3" for females and at least 5’7" for males;
# weight that is proportional to height;
# clear complexion, good eyesight, and good set of teeth;
# college education;
# proficiency in Filipino and English, and
# willingness to be assigned outside Metro Manila.

Applicants are advised to bring along their updated resumé and recent 2x2 photo. The screening is on first-come first-serve basis.

Iyog added, “We have already successfully trained 120 flight attendants this year, and our 70th batch will soon graduate by the end of September. After rigorous training on safety and service, and competency checks, Batch 70 with 19 females and 9 males will be welcomed into the CEB family."

CEB currently has a fleet of 10 A319, 11 A320 jets and eight turbo-prop ATR 72 aircraft. It expects to take delivery of a total of 24 brand-new Airbus A320 until 2014.

Cebu Pacific hiring flight attendants, dancing skills not required - Nation - GMANews.TV - Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs - Latest Philippine News

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WHAT do Cebu inmates and Cebu Pacific flight attendants have in common? Their dance routines have become internationally known and videos of their performances have become popular.

It may be unintentional but they also both have “Cebu” to somehow describe them.

What really binds them together is the method of using dancing for the bigger purpose of rehabilitation in the case of the inmates and safety information in the case of the flight attendants.

On YouTube, the video sharing website, the original video of the inmates’ dancing hit the 44 million viewership mark while the more recent clip of the Cebu Pacific dancing flight attendants reached eight million views.

The dancing inmates have come up with regular shows and have been included in tributes to the late Michael Jackson whose numbers the prisoners have highlighted in their repertoire. The dancing by prisoners at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center has been known as a novel way of instilling discipline and physical well-being and of keeping inmates preoccupied while serving time.

The success of this innovative method of managing the prison has still to be measured but there were reports of inmates learning to do their part to contribute to the overall interest of a larger group. The hope is that they will learn to be a team player with individual responsibilities when they return to society.

There were reports of the disciplining going too far like when an inmate was assaulted when he refused to join the dance routine, but that one incident is still under investigation.

As to the dancing flight attendants, Cebu Pacific said this unusual manner of giving the safety instructions upon take-off was resorted to as a way of getting the passengers’ attention.

Airline safety instructions have become a boring routine for passengers, especially for those who fly frequently, that many do not bother to watch or listen anymore. They usually read the papers, start to doze off or fan their selves with the safety card once the instructions begin. Only when they see a hazard of some kind or when there was a recent plane crash that passengers become observant and they pay attention.

(By the way, how was the video that was posted on YouTube taken when all electronic devices should have been turned off when inside the plane? This is one safety precaution that attendants, whether dancing or not, should check.)

The dancing by the Cebu Pacific attendants indeed caught a lot of attention with some lauding the people behind this unorthodox idea and others criticizing it for pushing the stereotype of female flight attendants as sexy and flirty.

The airline management started having male attendants dance too to level the field and be gender-equal.

What will make the use of dance routines in giving out airplane safety instructions wrong is if it loses the purpose of the dancing, which is to keep passengers awake and attentive for the demonstration.

Cabaero: Dancing our way to safety | Sun.Star Network Online

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There is a reason why Cebu Pacific’s gyrating female flight attendants are an online sensation. Was it unprofessional? Yes. Was it right? No. But six million people still patronized it.

Lim: Discrimination? | Sun.Star Network Online