What does a modern flight attendant really know and what should they be capable of? The veil of mystery often surrounding often this glamorous profession was opened on November 28 in Khanty-Mansiysk during a professional skills competition for UTair cabin crew personnel. As it turned out, the modest smiles of the smart young women who greet us on board UTair flights conceal innumerable talents and sparkling wit – essential qualities for a modern flight attendant.

The Professional Skills Competition for Flight Attendants is a traditional event for UTair. This year, 8 teams from Surgut, Khanty-Mansiysk, Ufa, Tyumen, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, and Syktyvkar participated in the competition. Not to be excluded, several young men were also involved in the contest with the young women. Dmitry Naumov and Vladimir Chuprakov defended the honor of the Surgut flight unit, and Fyodor Vasiliev represented the Syktyvkar team.

The jury did not give the usual marks but rather measured performances in thousands of feet. The judges – consisting of well know actors, artists and civil aviation professionals – thought the show to be a success.

"It has something for everyone,'' said Valentina Savina, Honored Artist of Russia and a member of the jury. ''I would never expect flight attendants to be lectors, singers, dancers and great actors at the same time, but these guys surpassed all expectations. I was really moved and impressed."

While spectators and fans enjoyed the events on stage, the contestants had a very difficult time – they were required to demonstrate the range of their skills and talents within the few hours of the contest. A modern flight attendant is not just a face with a Hollywood smile, but also a highly qualified service specialist, attentive psychologist and in critical moments, a professional first aid worker. Fortunately, UTair staff did not have to demonstrate their safety procedures knowledge on stage. They did have a chance to enthusiastically demonstrate their mastery of transformation from airline staff to Amazon beauties and other characters.

"The ability to perform on stage is a useful skill for our staff,'' explained UTair lead flight attendant and instructor Elena Melikhova. ''Today, it is essential to have an emotionally mature with a wider range of developed talents on board the aircraft. After all, a flight attendant is a person has to be able and willing to work with all kinds of passengers. UTair is a large company consisting of many diverse individuals. We need to emphasize and encourage these talents and that's the reason we have these competitions and that's why we label these skills as professional. It is the only way these employees can meet, share their experience and learn something new from each other."

Perhaps the most spectacular contest was the fashion show during which teams demonstrated their vision of the future image of flight crews. All regions were represented - Samara displayed classic black and white elegance, the uniforms form for the Khanty-Mansi crew had a unique design, and, of course, there were unexpected design solutions from the Syktyvkar, Tyumen and Surgut ''on-board fashion'' designers.

According to the conditions of the contest, the jury had to limit their selection to just three top teams. First place in the 2009 UTair Professional Skills Competition went to the "The Stars of the Sky,'' represented by the 9th flight detachment from Surgut, second place went to a team of flight attendants from the 4th flight detachment from Tyumen, and the third place went to representatives of the 16th flight detachment from Syktyvkar. The Audience Choice Award deservedly went to the 6th flight detachment from Ufa.

"Today's competition has shown that our flight attendants are well prepared,'' said UTair Deputy General Director of Safety and Quality, Viktor Zaitsev sharing his experiences. – ''A flight attendant is the face of the company, the person who opens the doors of the aircraft and the one today's pampered passengers first encounter. In general, events like this give the company management confirmation of training strategy and procedures. Today's competition has shown that we're on the right track and can be justifiably proud of our employees."