An introduction to flight attendant careers

How do you begin your career as a professional flight attendant? The first step is to know the industry and how you can contribute to it. The airline industry is one of the most competitive fields in business, and only applicants who have thoroughly prepared for the job will progress beyond the initial interviews.

The Bureau of Labor reported that cabin crew such as flight attendants are expected to see typical or average growth in job openings in comparison to other jobs in the next several years. There should be increases in the number of passengers travelling by air as the population of the United States continues to grow and the economy begins to improve. As a result, airlines will increase their handling capacities for increased numbers of passengers by adding to the numbers and sizes of planes they have in the air. This in turn will result in a need for more flight attendants. However, in the next several years, the need for cabin crew such as flight attendants will increase and decrease depending how many people want to travel by air, which itself depends greatly on the ups and down-swings of the economy. During periods of economic decline, as fewer people elect to fly by air, fewer flight attendants might be hired, which might also lead to some more experienced attendants being laid off until the demand for air travel increases.

Future projections for flight attendant occupations

Flight attendant vacancies in the next decade are expected to occur from the need to bring new people into the field to replace existing flight attendants who choose to leave the flight industry or transfer into other fields. Such transfers are likely to occur by flight attendants seeking a more stable lifestyle or the potential for greater earnings. It is important to note that there will still be a considerable amount of competition for flight attendant jobs because in most cases, more people are interested in working as cabin crew than there are available positions. As a result, only the most qualified applicants are typically hired.

However, as more people these days have come to view working as a flight attendant as a stable profession, fewer people are interested in leaving the job prematurely, and the rate of job turnover has decreased in recent years compared to in the past. The current average length during which people are employed as flight attendants is slightly more than 7 years and continues to increase, suggesting more people are seeing the position as a viable career for extended periods of time.

The job application process for flight attendants

There are numerous ways a person can apply for a job as a flight attendant. In the past, applicants had to go to their local ticket counters to pick up applications, then return home to complete them, mail them in, and wait patiently for interviews. These days, the application process is simpler, but there is more competition to contend with. Typically these days, applicants can mail their resumes directly to airlines they are interested in working for. As technology continues to increase, the process of applying for jobs has become more streamlined to address the needs of both the human resource departments in airports and the applicants themselves. Today, it is possible for screening to take place directly through the internet. It has become increasingly common for people to apply for positions as flight attendants through the websites of airlines. Telephone interviews have also become more common, as well as questions presented over telephone for applicants to demonstrate their knowledge of customer service scenarios.

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Kulula Airlines are a low budget, no-frills airline based in South Africa.  This new livery was designed in-house for their fleet of Boeing 737-800s and the design is entitled" Flying 101."

Click each image to enlarge.  I particularly like the arrow pointing at the loo!

Here's the press release they broadcasted earlier this year.

kulula’s 'Flying 101' plane design achieves global fame

Jo'burg, 08 February 2010 kulula's latest plane design has been a worldwide hit after being seen by plane-spotters en-route to South Africa. Photos of the new livery dubbed 'Flying 101' have since been viewed by millions having appeared on some of the world’s leading blogs, spurring a frenzy of online comments. All this before it even touched down in South Africa.

The design covers the planes exterior in a tongue-in-cheek guide to the various parts of the planes interior, such as the 'Mile-high initiation chamber'. The plane is just one of a fleet expansion of eight state-of-the-art Boeing 737-800s (each with a unique livery). As these planes will be replacing the 737-400's currently used in kulula's fleet, South Africans can look forward to spotting the new 800's during this year.

"The 'Flying 101' was conceptualised and designed by kulula's in-house design department. This branding idea is a result of our 2010 strategy to demystify air travel for our fans," comments Nadine Damen, kulula Marketing Manager.

"Initially spotted by plane-spotters across the globe, our 'Flying 101' plane has become famous on the world wide web before touching South African soil," continues Damen. "We'’ve been amazed by the number of blogs that have posted 'Flying 101' images as well as the large number of people talking about the new branding on Twitter."

The first Boeing, branded with the 'Flying 101,' landed in Johannesburg on Monday, 8th February 2010 and will start operating from 13th February 2010. The second Boeing is currently undergoing its transformation and will appear to kulula fans much like an oversized container box, with the words 'this way up' printed on its side, is scheduled to start operating on the 8th February 2010.

The show, called Fly Girls, will follow the lives of five “beautiful Virgin America flight attendants jet from one glamorous location to the next … while pursuing good times, great parties, adventures and love” in eight 30 minute episodes.

Kristen Vadas, who oversees reality programming at CW, the television station that is broadcasting the show, says the programme reflects the real lives of the flight attendants.

Handsome Strangers

“This show is about real, down-to-earth young women who happen to have landed in an exceptionally glamorous, high-flying career filled with exotic locations and handsome strangers,” she said.

She said their personal lives are filled with “romance, family, friendships and more than a few roommate conflicts”.

The programme features flight attendants:

* Louise Nguyen
* Farrah Williams, who has flown with Virgin America as a flight attendant since its inaugural flight.
* Tasha Dunnigan
* Mandalay Roberts, who has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show promoting WiFi services available to customers of Virgin America.
* Nikole Rubyn

The program will also deal with their work lives including demanding and fascinating passengers, long hours in the air and layovers.

Exotic Locations

“We’re thrilled to be working with Virgin America for this unique peek into a whirlwind lifestyle that shows how tough it is to be grounded when you work 35,000 feet in the air,” Porter Gale, Vice President of Marketing at Virgin America, said.

The show will be filmed at various US locations including Las Vegas, South Beach, Las Angeles and New York City.

Fly Girls is due to premiere early next year.

During in September Ryanair took to the air with 1.4 million passengers, while British Airways flew with 1.6 million.

Ryanair carried 36.4 million passengers in the six months to September 30 – a 15% increase on the previous six months. The airline is already the biggest carrier in Europe.

Michael O’Leary said: “It is hard to know when we will overtake BA because it is hard to keep up with how fast BA’s passenger numbers are declining.”

“We will overtake them at some point — and I am not talking about months when they have a strike.”

Ryanair tries to land 200 more aircraft

The airlines future growth seems to depend on a deal with aircraft maker Boeing.

Ryanair is trying to strike an agreement with Boeing for up to 200 new aircraft, with 100 on order for delivery by 2012.

If Ryanair cannot take the extra 100 aircraft, the company’s strategy will adapt to grow profits and return cash to shareholders.

“There is a relatively small gap between us in terms of pricing,” Mr O’Leary said. “The problem is that we cannot get a decision out of Boeing. If we cannot get the deal, we will reach 2012 and change strategy to maximise profits and cash and distribute it to shareholders.”

Many industry experts see this announcement as an attempt by O’Leary to leverage a £3.6 billion deal for the additional aircraft from Boeing as the company has chased growth in passenger numbers rather than profits to return to shareholders in dividends over the past 15 years.

"O’Leary should go easy", says Sir Stelios

The UK’s other big budget airline – easyJet commented that Ryanair’s expectation of continued large-scale growth is unsustainable, especially with the recent airport tax increase across the country and the continuing recession.

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, easyJet’s founder, has already taken the profit rather than chasing growth strategy, agreeing with the airline’s management to contain growth to no more than 7.5% a year.

“I have been telling everyone that would listen for the past year that this do-or-die mission O’Leary is on to buy more and more aircraft will end up in tears for his shareholders,” he said.

It's an all too familiar story. The company has made a loss and now it has to cut costs. This is where the knock-on effect of the recession really takes hold, even when people are talking about recoveries and growth.

There's always a lag while the impact of a bad period of trading gathers momentum and just when you thought things were looking up, news like this is announced.