Who’s who on board?
How do you know who does what on an aircraft? You can tell by the uniforms that crew members wear.
Let's introduce the crew. We'll start with the crew in the cockpit. The cockpit crew usually consists of two pilots, though, on very long flights, there are three. You can recognize them by their dark blue uniforms and broad gold stripes on their sleeves. The one with four gold stripes is the Captain, the most experienced pilot. The Captain is in charge of the crew and, with the help of the copilot, controls the aircraft. The copilot, who is officially called the First Officer at KLM, has three gold stripes on the sleeve of his or her uniform. On long flights, there is also a Second Officer on board with two gold stripes.
The cabin is the working area of the cabin attendants. They are the cabin crew and you can recognize them by the narrow silver stripes on their sleeves. Senior Pursers, who wear four stripes on their sleeves, are in charge of the cabin on larger aircraft. The Senior Purser is assisted by either a Purser or Assistant Purser. Pursers also wear four stripes while Assistant Pursers have three. Cabin attendants wear one or two stripes, depending on how many years of experience they have.
The cabin attendants work within the cabin of the aircraft. They can be recognized by their narrow silver bands. The Purser, who is in charge of the cabin attendants, has four. In larger aircraft, the Purser is supported by an Assistant Purser who has three bands. Cabin attendants have one or two bands, depending on their experience.