For the second time in less than six months, American Airlines has reopened flight attendant recruitment, but you’ll have to hurry because the Dallas-Fort Worth-based carrier plans to close the window as soon as it has enough candidates to continue through with the recruiting process.
The airline had wanted to hire 800 flight attendants by August 2021, but was compelled to reopen the hiring window because it expects an increase in demand once the latest Omicron surge has gone.
The fact that American Airlines is resuming flight attendant hiring so rapidly could be a reflection of the nationwide hiring need.
Normally, airlines receive a flood of applications from prospective flight attendants, but some U.S.-based companies have experienced a decrease in applications in recent months.
Perhaps it’s also because the flight attendant profession isn’t as glamorous as it once was, given that there isn’t a day that goes by without a news story about rowdy airline passengers causing havoc.
Throughout the epidemic, flight attendant unions have expressed dissatisfaction with working conditions, and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), which represents AA crewmembers, will shortly begin contract negotiations for better working circumstances.
Candidates must be completely vaccinated against COVID-19 to have any chance of securing a job as a flight attendant with American Airlines, according to an ad on the carrier’s recruitment website.
Last Monday, American Airlines informed current employees that 96 percent of the company’s U.S.-based personnel had supplied proof of full immunization or applied for a religious or medical exemption. Job applicants may be eligible for the same exemption.
