A couple of weeks ago Etihad Airways suddenly reopened recruitment for new cabin crew. It came as quite a surprise after a near six-month hiring freeze that looked set to continue for some time. After all, Etihad has been battered with some terrible financial problems over the last year.
It was fantastic news and the Etihad recruitment team were no doubt inundated with applications from eager candidates who had been preparing themselves for this moment. For others, this was the time to put the last minute touches to their resumes and get new photos taken for their application.
But then, at the end of last week, the application link stopped working. It came without warning, leaving many candidates without the chance to submit their application. Luckily, the link was back up and running the next day but some people are now wondering whether Etihad has already reached the maximum number of applications for the positions available.
We decided to reach out to Etihad Airways to find out what was happening and get a few more details. The good news is that a spokesperson for the airline confirmed that Etihad is still hiring new cabin crew. Here’s what the spokesperson had to say: “All applicants are able to apply online and if shortlisted will be invited to attend an assessment day.”
Has Etihad already reached the maximum number of applications?
But why did the website stop working a few days ago? Well, Etihad wasn’t able to explain what went wrong but they did say that the application link is checked on a daily basis to make sure it’s working – and as of today, that’s exactly what it’s doing.
Just to dispel any rumours, Etihad went on to tell us “there is no maximum number” of applications they’ll accept – in fact, they welcome all applications (so long as you haven’t already applied in the last six months).
Update (17th July 2017): The ‘Apply Now’ links for individual Assessment Day’s in August have now been removed. This may suggest those AD’s have been filled. However, a general application link for future Assessment Day’s is still available.
Are any more Assessment Day’s going to be announced?
Now, the good news is that Assessment Day’s have been announced in Casablanca, London, Johannesburg and Abu Dhabi during August, which is really good news for people who live near those locations. It might suggest that Etihad is looking to prioritise people from Morocco, the UK and South Africa, as well as the many expats in the UAE for the next batch of recruits to join the airline.
Unfortunately, the spokesperson declined to say how long the current recruitment process would go on for. Instead, the airline simply confirmed that they “are holding assessment days in August.” That’s obviously a huge worry as the recruitment drive might be suspended at any time, leaving many candidates in other locations without a chance of achieving their dream.
Is there a limit on how many cabin crew will be recruited?
To add some more perspective, there’s no actual limit on how many cabin crew will be recruited at the moment. Etihad told us that the number of cabin crew they recruit and employ “are currently under review and are subject to our operational flying schedule.” There is some positive news here though…
Is Etihad expanding at the moment?
Although Etihad hasn’t had any brand new route launches recently, the airline did take delivery of their tenth Airbus A380 aircraft at the end of May. It flies the jet to London as well as New York and Sydney (both cities went double daily in the last few months). In the last few weeks, Paris was also upgraded to an A380 service.
Etihad is also increasing its existing services to a number of destinations later this year. Cairo, Egypt will go from 28 to 35 weekly services in October and flights to Lagos, Nigeria will increase at the beginning of December. In March, a third daily flight was also added to Bengaluru in India.
Etihad has even been pushing its home city of Abu Dhabi as a holiday destination in its own right. In fact, an independent travel consolidator reported a whopping 294% increase in summer holiday bookings from the UK to Abu Dhabi this year.
What is Etihad looking for in its cabin crew recruits?
So what are the Etihad recruitment team looking for in their cabin crew? Well, we didn’t manage to get much information out of the airline on this topic but the absolute minimum you need to prove is “Advanced Communication and Customer Orientation skills.” You’ll also need an excellent command of the English language.
Will previous cabin crew experience be a good or bad thing?
One last thing, sometimes people think that previous cabin crew experience can go against you when applying for a Middle East airline. The theory being, that Gulf carriers like to teach their cabin crew from fresh. Not so, say Etihad who in fact stated: “previous Cabin Crew experience is desirable but not mandatory.”
If you haven’t already submitted your application or are awaiting a reply, the very best of luck!
