Saudi Arabia’s new low-cost airline, flyadeal has taken delivery of the first of its eight Airbus A320 aircraft that it has on order with French aircraft manufacturer, Airbus. The brand new airline will officially launch on 23rd September 2017 – the national day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The creation of flyadeal was originally announced in 2016 and will be based in the city of Jeddah. It will initially serve domestic markets before expanding overseas to serve a regional market across the Middle East.
flyadeal is owned by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and is part of the country’s ‘Vision 2030’ strategy – a plan to turn air travel and tourism into major contributors to Saudi Arabia’s economy. It comes as the Kingdom plans for a future away from oil.
As the chairman of flyadeal, Saleh Al Jasser commented: “The launch of flyadeal is core to the strategy to mobilize further the country and the region.”
The aircraft have been bought with the help of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise and will accommodate 186 passengers in an all economy class configuration. Each seat will be fitted with USB power outlets and personal device holders. The airline will aim to target the regions “young and digitally savvy population.”
The airline’s chief executive, Con Korfiatis explained that there was “an increasing thirst for low fare travel domestically and across the region.” He continued: “flyadeal plans to serve and grow this significant segment of air travel.”
Before the official launch, flyadeal is still actively recruiting new cabin crew. As with other airline’s in the region, the majority of cabin crew will be recruited from overseas. Applications can be submitted via the official flyadeal careers website.
Candidates have to be aged between 21-37 years old with a minimum education of High School standard or equivalent. You’ll also need to meet the following requirements:
- At least 160cm tall (without shoes)
- Able to speak and write English fluently
- No visible tattoos in uniform
- Able to swim 50 metres without assistance.
Previous experience as cabin crew will be an advantage but isn’t essential. So too are additional language skills, including Arabic. The airline is looking for candidates with an “excellent personality and the ability to work with a multicultural team.” Previous customer service and sales experience will also be an advantage.
Interestingly, unlike Saudia, there is no gender specification although it remains to be seen how many male candidates will pass the selection process.
Leading up to the launch of the airline, flyadeal has run a major competition to design the cabin crew uniform. The competition drew over 700 designs from 140 young-Saudi designers. You can check out the design process in the airline’s Instagram video below:
As with other online application processes, it’s incredibly important that you submit a fantastic resume. Check out this guide: The Step by Step Guide to Creating Your Perfect Cabin Crew Resume
