Etihad begins Brazil recruitment

Etihad Airways has employees from more than 125 countries. Pawan Singh / The National

Etihad Airways kicked off a major recruitment drive in Brazil yesterday offering hundreds of candidates in Sao Paulo the opportunity of landing jobs based in Abu Dhabi, the carrier said.

Positions on offer include on its cabin crew team, as in-flight chefs and as food and beverage managers.

"Etihad Airways is a world-class company and we are proud to have a world-class workforce and the addition of Sao Paulo means that we seek greater numbers of Brazilians to join the Etihad family," said James Hogan, the airline's president and chief executive.

It introduced at the beginning of the month its first-ever route to South America with the launch of a three-times-a-week direct service between Abu Dhabi and Sao Paulo. The flying time is approximately 15 hours.

The new service now means Etihad flies to six continents and has extended its network to all four Bric (Brazil, Russia, India and China) high-growth nations.

Brazil has the world's sixth largest economy - larger than the United Kingdom - and it is the largest country in South America with the biggest population, almost 200 million.

"New cabin crew members undergo a six-week training programme in Abu Dhabi, which includes all aspects of cabin safety and service delivery. The training is conducted at Etihad Airways' state-of-the-art Training Academy," Etihad said in a statement.

The airline currently employs more than 125 nationalities including 90 Brazilian nationals - 23 pilots and 28 cabin crew - based in the UAE.