Etihad hosting recruitment days in Sydney and Melbourne

The airline will host two recruitment days in Australia, on February 10 in Sydney and February 12 in Melbourne.

The Etihad captains Francois Lacombe, left, and  Oliver Iffert perform preflight checks before a flight from France to Abu Dhabi. Sammy Dallal / The National
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Recruitment days are scheduled for February 10 in Sydney and February 12 in Melbourne.

Will Horton, a senior analyst at Capa Centre for Aviation, said the plan made sense for the airline and for jobseekers.

“Gulf carriers need more staff than their local bases offer. Local conditions are favourable, while the job offers the prospect of global travel, allowing Gulf carriers to attract many candidates,” he said. “Australian airlines have limited international routes, while travel is engraved in the Australian psyche – making Australia a potentially good source to fuel employee growth.”

Etihad already has 350 Australian employees, including 52 pilots and 83 cabin crew.

The airline did not say how many people it would hire, but directed potential applicants for cabin crew and in-flight hospitality positions to apply online before the recruitment days.

Successful applicants will receive seven weeks of training in Abu Dhabi, where they would afterwards be based.

“Etihad operates to Australia, and it’s logical to recruit local crew, which will reduce costs as [there will be] less need to have crew in hotels. They can start or end some journeys from home,” said John Strickland, director at JLS Consulting, a UK-based aviation consultancy.

Etihad flies twice a day to Sydney, along with its partner, Virgin Australia, in which Etihad owns a 19.9 per cent stake. Etihad also owns stakes in Air Seychelles, Air Berlin, Air Serbia, Ireland’s Aer Lingus and India’s Jet Airways.

Etihad also flies daily to Brisbane and Melbourne. It plans to launch direct flights to Perth on July 15.

Etihad’s overall expansion plan includes adding more than 30 routes by 2020. The airline expects 20 aircraft deliveries this year, which will include Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and Airbus A380s.

At November’s Dubai Airshow, Etihad announced 199 new orders with the plane makers.

selgazzar@thenational.ae