Airbus Assessment Tests

Airbus Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a turnaround coordinator. The catering van for a flight leaving in twenty-five minutes has not arrived, and catering is bought in from an outside company whose contract is held by a manager who is off site today. Without the delivery the flight can still depart, but with no food or drink for a four-hour sector. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ring the catering company now for a realistic arrival time, and if it will not make the departure, call the duty manager with that answer and what the choices are.
   2. Call the duty manager straight away to report that catering has not turned up, and wait to be told what should happen about the flight this morning.
   3. Tell the crew the catering is on its way so the turnaround keeps moving, even though you have no idea where the van is or whether it is coming at all.
   4. Keep the turnaround moving and chase the missing delivery when there are ten minutes to go, by which time it will be obvious whether it is coming or not.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Ring the catering company now for a realistic arrival time, and if it will not make the departure, call the duty manager with that answer and what the choices are.

   Least effective: C. Tell the crew the catering is on its way so the turnaround keeps moving, even though you have no idea where the van is or whether it is coming at all.

   B: Escalates prematurely: the first question anyone will ask is when the van is coming, and that is one phone call you can make in less time than it takes to explain the problem.

   C: Assures the crew of something you do not know: they stop planning around an empty galley because they have been told it is handled, and find out at the doors that it never was.

   D: Delays the decision: waiting until ten minutes to go buys certainty at the cost of every option that needed time, such as pulling stock from another flight.

   The most effective response is to ring the catering company now for a realistic arrival time, and if it will not make the departure, call the duty manager with that answer and the choices: the supplier is the only one who knows where the van is, that answer takes a minute to get, and it turns a call to the duty manager from a problem into a decision. It beats calling the duty manager straight away to report that catering has not turned up, because escalating first makes him ask the question you could have answered before dialling. It beats chasing the missing delivery when there are ten minutes to go, because that is past the point where anything could be arranged, so the wait costs the very choices it was meant to inform. The least effective response is telling the crew the catering is on its way when you have no idea where the van is: it settles them with an assurance you have no basis for, so they stop thinking about it and find an empty galley at the doors with four hours ahead of them. That is worse than the other two, which are both still working the problem, however late or however early. The principle: find out the fact that decides it, then take the decision to the person who owns it.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a ticket desk agent. Your supervisor and a passenger are arguing across the next desk about whether her fare allows a change to a later flight. He has told her twice that it does not; she is insisting that it does and is not backing down. You looked at the same fare condition last week and you believe she is right. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell the passenger, while your supervisor is still standing at the desk, that she is right about her fare and that the refusal she has been given is simply wrong.
   2. Stay out of it and raise the fare condition with your supervisor once the passenger has gone, so that the next person in her position is given the right answer.
   3. Ask your supervisor to check one thing with you away from the desk, show him the fare condition on the screen, and let him go back to her with the answer.
   4. Tell the passenger that the decision has been made, and explain how she can put a complaint in writing to the airline about the way her fare was read at the desk.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Ask your supervisor to check one thing with you away from the desk, show him the fare condition on the screen, and let him go back to her with the answer.

   Least effective: A. Tell the passenger, while your supervisor is still standing at the desk, that she is right about her fare and that the refusal she has been given is simply wrong.

   A: Overturns your supervisor in front of the customer: he must either climb down publicly or dig in harder, and the argument he is having gets worse rather than shorter.

   B: Leaves the argument running: it protects him and costs her a change she is probably entitled to, and putting it right next week does not bring her back to the desk.

   D: Hands the disagreement to the customer: she is sent away to argue the airline's own fare rules with the airline, when the answer is on a screen two feet from where she is standing.

   The most effective response is to ask your supervisor to check one thing with you away from the desk, show him the fare condition on the screen, and let him go back to her: the question is a matter of record rather than opinion, checking takes a moment, and doing it away from the desk lets him change his mind without an audience. It beats staying out of it and raising the fare condition once she has gone, because she leaves without something she is probably entitled to, and a correction next week does not reach her. It beats telling her the decision is made and explaining how to complain in writing, because that makes her fight for a rule that could be read out to her now. The least effective response is telling her at the desk, in front of him, that the refusal is simply wrong: he must then climb down publicly or refuse harder, and the argument gets worse either way. That is worse than the other two, which both keep the disagreement inside the airline. The principle: when you think somebody senior has it wrong, check the record and put it to them privately, quickly enough that the customer still benefits.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a baggage services agent. Five delayed bags have to be booked onto courier deliveries before the courier’s five o’clock cut-off, or their owners wait another day. At half past three your manager asks you to pull together some figures she wants for a meeting tomorrow morning, adding “whenever you get a chance”. The bookings take about an hour. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell your manager she will have the figures within the hour, then work on them, and book what bags you can once they are finished and sent across to her.
   2. Start on the figures now, since a request from your manager takes priority over routine work, and turn to the courier bookings once she has what she asked for.
   3. Book the five deliveries before the five o'clock cut-off, then start on the figures, and tell your manager she will have them first thing tomorrow morning.
   4. Ask your manager whether she would rather have the figures this afternoon or the bags booked onto today's courier round, and act on whichever she says.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Book the five deliveries before the five o'clock cut-off, then start on the figures, and tell your manager she will have them first thing tomorrow morning.

   Least effective: A. Tell your manager she will have the figures within the hour, then work on them, and book what bags you can once they are finished and sent across to her.

   A: Promises a manager a deadline she never asked for: five passengers go another day without their luggage so that a set of figures for tomorrow arrives this afternoon.

   B: Reads seniority as urgency: the words used were "whenever you get a chance", and the meeting is tomorrow while the courier stops taking bookings at five.

   D: Hands back a question already answered: "whenever you get a chance" tells you where it sits, and asking spends her time on a decision you are in a better position to make.

   The most effective response is to book the five deliveries before the five o’clock cut-off, then start on the figures and tell your manager she will have them first thing tomorrow: the cut-off is fixed and passes at five, the meeting is tomorrow morning, and a line telling her when the figures arrive costs nothing. It beats starting on the figures now because a request from your manager takes priority, since the request was explicitly not urgent, and treating seniority as urgency costs five people their luggage. It beats asking her which she would rather have, because she has already answered that with whenever you get a chance. The least effective response is promising her the figures within the hour and booking the bags afterwards: it invents a deadline nobody set, and five passengers lose another day to it. That is worse than doing the figures first, which at least promises nothing, and worse than asking her, which loses minutes rather than the cut-off. The principle: listen to how urgent a request actually is, protect the deadline that expires, and say when the rest will land.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a gate agent. In the crew room a colleague says, in front of others, that you walked off and left her to handle a difficult boarding on her own yesterday. You did leave: you were called to cover another gate. But you went without telling her why, and she spent twenty minutes dealing with it alone. You work the same gate together tomorrow. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Point out that she had the situation well in hand and that if she had dealt with the passenger differently at the start she would not have needed anybody to stay with her.
   2. Explain to the room that you were called away to another gate and had no choice about going, so that everybody hears that the decision was not yours to make.
   3. Say that she is right that you went without a word, explain that you were sent to another gate, and agree with her how each of you will flag it if it happens again.
   4. Apologise to her fully in front of everyone for leaving her on her own, without mentioning that you had been called away, so that the matter is closed quickly.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Say that she is right that you went without a word, explain that you were sent to another gate, and agree with her how each of you will flag it if it happens again.

   Least effective: A. Point out that she had the situation well in hand and that if she had dealt with the passenger differently at the start she would not have needed anybody to stay with her.

   A: Answers a complaint with a criticism: it moves the fault onto her handling in front of the same audience, and guarantees that tomorrow starts worse than today.

   B: Defends the half you were right about: being sent elsewhere explains the leaving but not the silence, and correcting the record in public leaves her complaint sounding unfair when part of it was not.

   D: Concedes more than is true to end it: she and the room are left believing you simply walked off, which makes tomorrow's working relationship rest on a version neither of you thinks is accurate.

   The most effective response is to say she is right that you went without a word, explain that you were sent to another gate, and agree how each of you will flag it next time: part of what she said is true and saying so is what lets the rest be heard, and agreeing what happens next is the only thing that changes tomorrow. It beats explaining to the room that you were called away and had no choice, because that answers the weaker half of her complaint and leaves her looking unreasonable. It beats apologising fully in front of everyone without mentioning that you were called away, because taking the whole blame buys quiet at the price of a version that is not true, which neither of you will forget. The least effective response is pointing out that she would not have needed anybody if she had handled the passenger differently: it turns her complaint into a criticism of her, in front of the same people, so the disagreement hardens the day before you work together. That is worse than the other two, which at least accept part of the account. The principle: concede the part that is true first, correct the part that is not, and settle what will happen next time.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a gate agent. Twenty minutes ago you announced the wrong gate over the terminal address system and around forty passengers walked to the far end of the building. They are arriving back now, visibly annoyed, boarding is running late, and your team leader is on his way over. Around sixty other passengers are still waiting to board. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Make a full announcement explaining how the wrong gate came to be given out and apologising to everybody affected, before restarting the boarding process.
   2. Get on with boarding without mentioning the announcement, since not everyone will have connected the wrong gate with you and raising it would only invite complaints at the desk.
   3. Hand the desk to a colleague and step away for a few minutes, since you have just made a significant mistake and should not be the person boarding this flight.
   4. Carry on boarding, apologise briefly to the returning passengers as they reach the desk, and give your team leader the full account once the flight has gone.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Carry on boarding, apologise briefly to the returning passengers as they reach the desk, and give your team leader the full account once the flight has gone.

   Least effective: B. Get on with boarding without mentioning the announcement, since not everyone will have connected the wrong gate with you and raising it would only invite complaints at the desk.

   A: Spends the boarding window on an explanation: a hundred people are waiting to get on an aircraft that is already late, and the detail of how it happened helps none of them now.

   B: Hopes it will not be traced back: forty people walked the length of a terminal for nothing, and the member of staff who sent them there decides that saying so would be inconvenient.

   C: Withdraws at the busiest moment: the gate loses an agent while a hundred passengers wait, and the error was one of announcement rather than anything that stops you doing the job.

   The most effective response is to carry on boarding, apologise briefly to the returning passengers as they reach the desk, and give your team leader the full account once the flight has gone: a hundred people need to get on an aircraft, a short apology costs nothing at the desk, and the full account is worth more when it is not competing with a boarding. It beats making a full announcement explaining how the wrong gate came to be given out, because a long explanation over the address system spends the window on the wrong thing. It beats handing the desk to a colleague and stepping away for a few minutes, because that removes an agent when the gate is busiest, for a mistake that does not stop you working. The least effective response is getting on with boarding without mentioning the announcement at all: forty people were sent to the wrong end of the terminal and the person who sent them says nothing in the hope of not being connected to it. That is worse than the other two, which both own the error, however badly timed. The principle: keep the work moving, own the mistake to the people it cost in a sentence, and give the full account when it can be heard.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a cabin crew member. Your flight has landed forty minutes late and is taxiing to the stand. A passenger in row 6 tells you he has fifty minutes to reach his onward flight and asks to be let off first. You know from the crew briefing that several other passengers are also connecting, and you do not know how tight their connections are. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell him to speak to the ground staff waiting in the airbridge, as they have the connection details and can decide who needs to be moved through the terminal quickly.
   2. Ask over the cabin address whether anyone with a connection under an hour will make themselves known, and arrange for those passengers to leave the aircraft ahead of everyone else.
   3. Walk him up to the front of the cabin before the doors open and hold the other passengers back in the aisle until he has stepped off the aircraft.
   4. Tell him that everybody on board is in the same position after a delay of this length and that there is nothing the crew are able to do about the order people leave in.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Ask over the cabin address whether anyone with a connection under an hour will make themselves known, and arrange for those passengers to leave the aircraft ahead of everyone else.

   Least effective: D. Tell him that everybody on board is in the same position after a delay of this length and that there is nothing the crew are able to do about the order people leave in.

   A: Passes responsibility to others: the minutes that matter are the ones spent getting off the aircraft, and by the airbridge the chance to help him leave first has already gone.

   C: Rewards the passenger who asked: someone in row 24 with thirty minutes is left behind a full aisle, and the only thing separating them is who spoke to crew first.

   D: Dismisses a request without checking: it is not true that nothing can be done, and the passenger is discouraged from asking anyone else while there is still time to act.

   The most effective response is to ask over the cabin address whether anyone with a connection under an hour will make themselves known, and let those passengers leave ahead of everyone else: the crew can influence the order people leave in, the thing you do not know is who else is tight, and one announcement gets that information and helps everyone it applies to. It beats walking him to the front and holding the other passengers back in the aisle, because that helps the person who asked rather than the person with least time, and others may be tighter still. It beats sending him to the ground staff waiting in the airbridge, because the useful minutes are on board, and by then the aircraft has already emptied in its usual order. The least effective response is telling him everybody is in the same position and nothing can be done about the order people leave in: that is untrue, and it stops him asking anyone else while there is still time. That is worse than pointing him at ground staff, which at least names somebody, and worse than walking him forward, which at least acts. The principle: when the fair answer depends on facts you do not have, go and get them rather than choosing between guessing and refusing.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are an operations coordinator. Some of tomorrow’s duties will change because of an aircraft swap, but you will not know which crew are affected for about an hour. Nobody reports for duty before the morning, so nothing is decided by crew tonight. A vague warning to everyone would reach around eighty people, most of whom are unaffected. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Send a note to all crew now saying that duties may change tomorrow, so that nobody can say later that they were not warned before the changes were published.
   2. Wait the hour until you know which crew are affected, then send one message naming them and what has changed, since nobody reports before the morning.
   3. Tell the cabin crew managers now so they are aware, and leave it to them to pass word to whichever of their crew they think will be affected.
   4. Send nothing at all, since the roster system will show the new duties once they are published and crew are expected to check it before they report.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Wait the hour until you know which crew are affected, then send one message naming them and what has changed, since nobody reports before the morning.

   Least effective: D. Send nothing at all, since the roster system will show the new duties once they are published and crew are expected to check it before they report.

   A: Warns everybody about nothing in particular: eighty people spend the evening wondering, seventy of them for no reason, and none of them can do anything with the message.

   C: Passes an unfinished message down a chain: each manager guesses at a different list, so some crew hear a rumour, some hear nothing and nobody has the actual answer.

   D: Leaves people to discover a change in their own duty: an amended report time found by chance in the morning is exactly the message this hour existed to prevent.

   The most effective response is to wait the hour until you know which crew are affected, then send one message naming them and what has changed: nobody reports before the morning, an hour turns a rumour into a list of names, and one accurate message is worth more than an early vague one. It beats sending a note to all crew now saying duties may change tomorrow, because a warning that says only that gives eighty people nothing to do and seventy of them a wasted evening. It beats telling the cabin crew managers now and leaving them to pass word on, because a chain of managers each guessing at who is affected produces several different versions. The least effective response is sending nothing at all and relying on the roster system: crew find changed duties by chance in the morning, which is the one outcome the hour was there to avoid. That is worse than the other two, which both get a message out, however poorly aimed. The principle: when nobody can act yet, spend the short wait on precision, and then tell the people actually affected.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a turnaround coordinator. Your station is choosing between two ground-handling companies for next season, and you have been asked to score them on how they have performed this year. Your sister has worked for one of them for six years, and the scores are known to carry weight. Nobody at work knows about the connection. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell your manager about the connection before you score anything, and let her decide whether you should still do the scoring or whether it should go to somebody else.
   2. Score both companies from the performance figures alone and keep the connection to yourself, since the numbers are what they are and cannot be swayed by anything you feel about them.
   3. Score them as you would have done anyway, and mention the connection afterwards if the company your sister works for turns out to have won the contract.
   4. Ask to be taken off the scoring without giving a reason, so that the connection never has to be discussed with anybody at the station.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Tell your manager about the connection before you score anything, and let her decide whether you should still do the scoring or whether it should go to somebody else.

   Least effective: C. Score them as you would have done anyway, and mention the connection afterwards if the company your sister works for turns out to have won the contract.

   B: Relies on your own impartiality: the figures may well be untouched, and the connection is exactly the thing that has to be visible before anybody else can believe that.

   C: Discloses only if it becomes convenient: an interest is declared before a decision or not at all, and waiting for the result first is a decision to see which way it goes.

   D: Withdraws without the reason: the scoring passes to somebody else, and your manager still cannot tell whether there is something about this bid she ought to know.

   The most effective response is to tell your manager about the connection before you score anything and let her decide who does the scoring: the connection is real whether or not it moves your scores, declaring it first is what lets anybody rely on them afterwards, and that call is hers rather than yours. It beats scoring both companies from the performance figures alone and keeping the connection to yourself, because your own confidence in your impartiality is not something anybody else can check, which is the whole reason interests are declared. It beats asking to be taken off the scoring without giving a reason, because stepping back that way leaves her without the fact she needed. The least effective response is scoring them as you would anyway and mentioning the connection afterwards only if that company wins the contract: it holds the disclosure back until the result is known, which turns a declaration into a contingency. That is worse than the other two, which both keep your own hands clean even though neither tells her. The principle: declare the interest before the decision, to the person who can decide what to do about it.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a crewing assistant. A colleague has just started building tomorrow’s standby list from the beginning. You finished that list an hour ago and saved it under your own name, which she has not seen. Rebuilding it will take her most of the afternoon, and she has other work waiting behind it. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Let her build her own version and compare the two at the end of the afternoon, since two lists put together separately will show up anything either of you has missed.
   2. Tell her straight away that the list is already built, show her where it is saved, and go through it with her so that she can pick it up and use it.
   3. Raise it with the team leader so that a proper place for saving finished lists gets agreed, and this stops happening to anybody else on the desk.
   4. Say nothing and let her carry on with it, since she will come across the finished list herself soon enough and a second version of it does no real harm.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell her straight away that the list is already built, show her where it is saved, and go through it with her so that she can pick it up and use it.

   Least effective: D. Say nothing and let her carry on with it, since she will come across the finished list herself soon enough and a second version of it does no real harm.

   A: Buys a check at the price of an afternoon: the duplicate might catch something, and it costs a colleague half a day that her other work is waiting on.

   C: Fixes the filing and not the afternoon: where lists live is worth settling, and she is still rebuilding something that already exists while it is being discussed.

   D: Watches a colleague waste an afternoon: you know the work is done, she does not, and the only reason she is still doing it is that nobody has told her.

   The most effective response is to tell her straight away that the list is already built, show her where it is saved, and go through it with her: the work exists, she is about to spend an afternoon reproducing it, and one sentence plus the file gives her the time back. It beats letting her build her own version and comparing the two at the end of the afternoon, because a duplicate built as a cross-check costs half a day her other work is waiting on, which is a high price for a check nobody asked for. It beats raising it with the team leader so a proper place for saving finished lists gets agreed, because that is worth doing and does nothing about the afternoon she is losing right now. The least effective response is saying nothing and letting her carry on: it lets her rebuild something you know is finished, on the assumption she will stumble across it. That is worse than the cross-check, which at least uses the duplicate for something, and worse than the filing conversation, which at least stops it recurring. The principle: when you know something a colleague is about to waste time on, tell them at once, and deal with the filing afterwards.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are the only agent at the gate. Boarding must start now or the flight will miss its departure time and a hundred and eighty passengers will be delayed by an hour. At the same moment a passenger reaches the desk with a booking error that has to be corrected in the next two minutes or he cannot travel at all. The next gate is staffed. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Correct the booking first, since two minutes is all it needs and the passenger loses his journey entirely if it is not done, then open boarding as soon as it is sorted.
    2. Open boarding and call the next gate for a spare pair of hands, then work on the booking error between scans while the queue keeps moving down the airbridge.
    3. Open boarding and send the passenger to the transfer desk in the terminal, since the flight has to go and his booking cannot be fixed while you are scanning boarding passes.
    4. Open boarding and deal with the passenger once the queue has gone through, without telling him that the correction has to be made in the next two minutes to be any use.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: B. Open boarding and call the next gate for a spare pair of hands, then work on the booking error between scans while the queue keeps moving down the airbridge.

    Least effective: D. Open boarding and deal with the passenger once the queue has gone through, without telling him that the correction has to be made in the next two minutes to be any use.

    A: Spends the departure on one passenger: two minutes at the desk is the window boarding needed, so a hundred and eighty people lose an hour to save one man his flight.

    C: Sends him away from the only person who can help in time: the transfer desk is minutes away and he has two, so the flight leaves without him when it need not have.

    D: Lets him wait without the one fact he needs: he stands at the desk believing he is being helped, when the window in which anything could be done has already closed.

    The most effective response is to open boarding and call the next gate for a spare pair of hands, then work on the booking error between scans: boarding cannot wait, the booking cannot wait either, and the only way to have both is another person, which the next gate can supply in far less than two minutes. It beats correcting the booking first and opening boarding once it is sorted, because holding boarding for one correction costs a hundred and eighty people an hour. It beats sending the passenger to the transfer desk in the terminal, because that desk is further away than the time he has, so sending him is the same as refusing him. The least effective response is dealing with him once the queue has gone through, without telling him the correction has to be made in two minutes: he stands there believing he is being helped while the window quietly closes. That is worse than the other two, which both give him an honest answer about where he stands. The principle: when two things must happen at once, find the extra hands, and never let somebody wait on a chance that has already gone.