After hiring 8,000 cabin crew last year to rebuild post-pandemic, Emirates plans on hiring another 5,000 people to place on its expanding fleet. The airline’s recruitment team will host open days in more than 460 cities around the world to preliminary assess candidates.
The recruitment drive is designed primarily for those who will soon or have recently stepped into the world of work. The airline is inviting fresh graduates with internships or part-time jobs on their résumés and those with a year or so of hospitality or customer service experience to apply, promising “an exciting career travelling the globe”.
The Emirates group achieved record profits in 2022-2023 and is continuing its worldwide expansion. The new cabin crew recruitment drive comes as Emirates begins to take delivery of its eagerly anticipated A350s from mid-year and the Boeing 777-Xs starting in 2025. The airline has 65 A350s and a mix of 205 777-9s and 777-8s in its order book.
1. Requirements
To be eligible for an Emirates cabin crew position, applicants must be fluent in written and spoken English (additional languages are an advantage), be at least 160 cm tall and able to reach 212 cm high, be able to meet the UAE’s employment visa requirements, not have any visible tattoos and be a “natural team player with a personality that shines”. As for experience, the airline is only asking for a high school diploma and one year of experience in hospitality or customer service.
To show that the candidates are prepared embody the image of Emirates on board, they have to come to the open days in as close as possible o the official uniform: business clothes, high heels for women and formal shoes for men and a full make up for women and clean shave for men.
Candidates can just walk-in on one of the open day sessions without applying beforehand, but must, besides complying the dress code, have at the ready digital copies of their CVs, IDs and education certificates.
2. Pay and benefits
Salaries are calculated by a adding the hours spent in the air to a basic monthly salary, averaging at around AED 10,170 / month (EUR 2,710 / month). However, employees of multiple airlines have pointed out that the add-on to the basic salary is only counted from the moment of take-off to the moment of landing. Any time in between, for boarding or deboarding or even waiting during long delays, is not taken into account.
Besides salaries, Emirates employees get an array of benefits, including paid accommodation in Dubai if the applicant is not local. Transportation to and from the airport, hotel and food expenses during layovers are covered, so are medical, life and dental insurance coverage and laundry services.
Besides discounts for themselves and a yearly free trip to their country of origin, Emirates employees also get “deeply discounted” flight tickets for their friends and family.
