People are just discovering that the Emirates Airbus A380 superjumbo has what flight attendants have affectionately termed a ‘Harry Potter cupboard’ underneath a set of stairs at the front of the double-deck aircraft.
Thankfully, no one is living in this cupboard, but it is the office of the purser where the in-flight entertainment system can be controlled, and any paperwork for the flight can be completed.
Crew compartment on EK A380
byu/Wewbi-e inemirates
A dedicated office space for the chief flight attendant is an increasingly rare sight on large widebody aircraft, but in the past, these were common on Boeing 747s and Boeing 777s, as well as the Airbus A340.
These spaces rose to prominence with the introduction of seatback in-flight entertainment systems that required a lot of hardware, making the crew terminal that controlled its functions a bulky unit.
It therefore made sense to build this console into an office environment for the cabin crew leader.
Nowadays, in-flight entertainment systems can be controlled from a discreet wall-mounted terminal, and the need for a dedicated office space is far less important than trying to maximize the number of passenger seats onboard.
Aside from controlling the entertainment system and filing paperwork, what exactly the purser does in their office (when they still exist) is open the debate. If you ask some flight attendants, these spaces are often utilized by lazy pursers trying to shirk their responsibilities.
What’s in a name – what do you call the chief flight attendant?
Outside of the United States, it’s very common for airlines to have a head cabin crew member who is very much a manager who oversees the other flight attendants. What this head flight attendant is called, however, depends on the airline.
Traditionally, the chief flight attendant was referred to as the purser – a name borrowed from the maritime world. The word purser derives from the Middle English word purse – yes, a purse for carrying money.
The purser was the person responsible for managing the ship’s money, buying provisions, and paying the ship’s sailors.
Emirates still uses the title of purser for its chief flight attendant, and some US airlines, including Delta, have a purser role for long-haul international flights.
Other carriers have, however, moved away from this traditional title and use names like in-flight manager or cabin manager.
