Emirates airline is hiring - this is what it takes to be cabin crew

The average starting salary is Dh9,770 a month - with at least 50 applicants for every available position

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  Emirates airline has launched a major recruitment drive. All photos: Emirates

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  The Dubai-based airline is looking to recruit 6,000 new cabin crew members.

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  The average starting salary is Dh9,770 per month.

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  Those looking to apply need to have more than a year’s experience in hospitality and customer service, and be a high school graduate.

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  Candidates also need to be fluent in both written and spoken English and those who are multilingual will rank highly in the application process.

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  Cabin crew will be trained and rostered on both the Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft that Emirates currently operates.

Ever thought about a career in the skies?

If yes, then now is your chance to pursue it because Emirates airline has launched another major recruitment drive to boost the number of cabin crew in its workforce.

The Dubai-based airline is hoping to recruit 6,000 new cabin crew members from this month and has called for applicants to have “a personality that shines, the ability to adapt to any situation and make people feel at ease".

The average starting salary is Dh9,770 per month and the airline is presently training about 120 new recruits each week at Emirates Aviation College, an Emirates spokesperson said.

Emirates revealed that it has received more than 300,000 applications for cabin crew jobs since launching its first post-pandemic recruitment drive in August when it announced plans to hire 3,000 cabin crew and 500 airport services employees.

We are accelerating our recruitment drive with the objective to hire roughly 6,000 cabin crew positions during this financial year, from April 2022 to March 2023

Emirates spokesperson

In October, the airline said it would recruit more than 6,000 staff – including pilots, cabin crew, engineering specialists and ground staff – over the coming six months to boost its workforce as travel demand rebounded.

“As we focus on recovery and further ramp up our operations, we are accelerating our recruitment drive with the objective to hire roughly 6,000 cabin crew positions during this financial year, from April 2022 to March 2023,” the Emirates representative said.

“Since we launched our cabin crew recruitment drive in August 2021, we have received more than 300,000 applications from all over the world, demonstrating the tremendous level of interest in this role and in Dubai’s growing reputation as one of the best cities to live and work.”

Am I eligible to apply?

Per the job description, those interested in the full-time, entry level positions have to be at least 160 centimetres tall and must be able to reach 212cm while standing on tiptoes to enable them to access emergency equipment on all aircraft types.

As Emirates cabin crew, new candidates will be based in Dubai and will need to meet the UAE's employment visa requirements.

Those looking to apply need to have more than a year’s experience in hospitality and customer service, and be a high-school graduate.

Candidates also need to be fluent in written and spoken English and those who are multilingual will rank highly in the application process.

Fully digital recruitment process

Here's what you can expect as you progress through the selection stages when applying for a cabin crew job at Emirates:

• Complete a short application form
• If successful, you’ll complete an online English test and video interview
• If shortlisted, you’ll complete the full application and sign the relevant declarations
• If picked for the last stage of the selection process, you’ll be invited to a short face-to-face interview

Once cabin crew are hired, they will undergo eight weeks of training at the Emirates Aviation College.

There is also a dedicated induction team that takes care of the recruits when they arrive and settle into Dubai, introduces them to the city and guides them on the culture and traditions of the region.

Working for an airline also has its perks and successful recruits will benefit from free shared accommodation in Dubai, free transport to and from work, as well as concessional travel benefits for themselves, family and friends.

The training facility supports learning in the areas of safety, medical training, and image and uniform. Silvia Razgova / The National

“Once they successfully complete their training and are certified, they can begin flying immediately.”

The training facility has supports learning in the areas of safety and emergency procedures, medical training, cabin service training, and image and uniform.

Throughout the intense training programme, new recruits have to undertake a variety of tasks that they could face when flying on a real aircraft, including leaving the plane’s emergency exit via an inflatable slide, ditching into water with a lifejacket and navigating through a smoky cabin.

Will new recruits be working on long-haul, domestic flights or both?

All new cabin crew will be required to operate on flights travelling to all corners of the world.

They will be trained and rostered on the Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft that Emirates currently operates.

They will also be assigned to medium, long-haul and shorter turnaround flights across the airline’s 130-destination network to ensure they experience different types of operations.

Emirates airline through the years - in pictures

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  Guests board the first flight. It took off from Dubai to Karachi on October 25, 1985. Photo: Emirates

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  Later in the year, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid gave Emirates two Boeing 727-200s. Courtesy Emirates

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  The first passengers board the inaugural Emirates flight in 1985. Courtesy Emirates

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  A ticket stub from the airline's first flight. Courtesy Emirates

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  The red carpet was rolled out for the inaugural flight in 1985. Courtesy Emirates

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  The first flight departs the mainland and heads for India. Courtesy Emirates

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  Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum, second from the left, became chairman of Emirates when the airline was launched. He was also appointed President of the Dubai Department of Civil Aviation in the same year. He is currently chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline and Group. To the right is Maurice Flanagan. He moved to Dubai in 1978 to run dnata and later became managing director of Emirates airline and then of the Emirates Group. he stepped down as executive vice-chairman in 2013 and passed away earlier this year. Courtesy Emirates

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  The first flight arrives in Karachi. Courtesy Emirates

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  The crew on board an Emirates flight are all smiles. Emirates took delivery of its first bought aircraft, an Airbus 310 in 1987. The Airbus A310-300 was designed to Emirates specifications. Courtesy Emirates

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  Emirates cabin crew in the 1980s. The 1990 Emirates ordered three more Airbus A310-300s at the Asean Aerospace exhibition in Singapore. Then, in 1991, it began services to the busiest international hub in the world – London Heathrow before ordering seven Boeing 777s, with an option for seven more. Courtesy Emirates

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  Sheikh Ahmed holds a phone onboard an Emirates flight in 1993. In 1992, Emirates became the first airline to install video systems in all seats in all classes throughout its Airbus fleet. In the same year it started flights to Charles de Gaulle in Paris and opened an exclusive Emirates terminal at Dubai International Airport. It also became the first airline to order a $20 million Airbus full-flight simulator. In 1993 it became the first airline to introduce telecommunications on all of its Airbus aircraft – in all three classes. The following year it was the first airline to equip an Airbus fleet with an on-flight fax facility. Courtesy Emirates

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  Emirates' first video system pictured in 1992. Courtesy Emirates

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  Passengers enjoy the new video system. Courtesy Emirates

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  First class passengers were able te recline and enjoy the visual entertainment from 1992. Courtesy Emirates

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  The video system included the soon-to-become classic film Home Alone. Courtesy Emirates

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  A passenger adjusts the video system. In 1996, Emirates took delivery of its first Boeing 777-200 and became the first airline to show live footage of take-off and landing on its in-flight entertainment system. Courtesy Emirates

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  In 2000, Emirates was the first airline to sign up for the Airbus A380, pictured, when it ordered seven, with an option on five more, at the Farnborough Air Show. It also bought another six Boeing 777-300s. In 2001, it signed a £24 million deal to sponsor English Premiership football club Chelsea for four years, and announced a $15 billion order for 15 A380s, eight A340-600s, three A330s and 25 Boeing 777s. In 2003, it broke records at the Paris Air Show with an order for 71 aircraft at a cost of $19 billion. In the same year it launched ice, making it the first airline to offer more than 500 channels of in-flight entertainment on demand in all classes, the widest choice in the skies. In 2007, Captain Abbas Shaban, a UAE national, was the first pilot qualified to fly the A380, which the airline took delivery of in 2008. AFP

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  Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid descends the stairs of an A380 cargo plane on arrival at Dubai World Central, Al Maktoum International Airport which opened on June 27, 2010 with the aim of becoming the world's busiest. Emirates SkyCargo moved its freighter operations to DWC in 2014. AP Photo

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  An Emirates A380 soars during the Dubai Air Show in 2013. That year Concourse A, the world’s first purpose built A380 concourse, opened its doors at Dubai International Airport. The giant building with 20 A380 gates was over 800 metres long. Emirates rewrote aviation history with an order for 200 aircraft – 150 Boeing 777Xs and 50 A380s, costing $99 billion. AFP

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  Dubai International Airport is now the busiest in the world for international passenger traffic. It projects annual passenger traffic of 79 million for 2015. Pawan Singh / The National

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  Tim Clark became Emirates president in 2003, having joined in 1985 as head of airline planning. He has seen Emirates’ brand value grow for four consecutive years to $6.6 billion with the airline named the most valuable airline brand in the world. It now has a cabin crew of more than 20,000. Pawan Singh / The National

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  Emirates, now with a route network of 140 cities, and 267 aircraft on order worth $128 billion, rolled out its new television advert featuring Friends star Jennifer Aniston earlier this month. Courtesy Emirates