The dust has hardly settled after Thomas Cook fell into administration on Sunday night but Virgin Atlantic is already willing to offer a lifeline to some of the 1,800 cabin crew who were made redundant when the airline suddenly ceased trading. But while the offer of a comparable job will no doubt be incredibly appreciated, it’s not all good news.
Because although ex-Thomas Cook cabin crew were laid off without any notice at all – in some cases, staff found out via social media or even during a flight they were working – the opportunities offered by Virgin Atlantic won’t be available until the beginning of next year at the earliest.
“We have set up a specific recruitment path to support any Thomas Cook Cabin Crew after the sad announcement that the company has ceased operations,” Virgin Atlantic said on its recruitment website.
The opportunity is only available to Thomas Cook cabin crew who have been made redundant and is an ‘expression of interest’ for positions that open in early 2020 and throughout the rest of next year. Anyone who applied for a position with Virgin during their last recruitment drive won’t be eligible for this opportunity.
Applications must be submitted by 30th September. More information can be found on the Virgin Atlantic recruitment website here.
Also of interest, could be an ongoing recruitment drive by British Airways to hire cabin crew based at Gatwick airport. These cabin crew mainly work on short-haul European flights, as well as long-haul services to the Caribbean and USA.
The British Airways opportunity is open to everyone and is currently open ended. The airline is not currently recruiting for its Mixed Fleet group of cabin crew based out of Heathrow Airport.
The full job advert can be accessed here.
Unfortunately, this isn’t an ideal time for cabin crew recruitment. Gone are the days of massive recruitment drives where hundreds of candidates would get the Golden Call.
The likes of Norwegian have suspended cabin crew recruitment indefinitely, while even TUI Fly (airlines) is currently only recruiting for summer seasonal contracts starting in May and June 2020.
There are, however, opportunities available at a number of regional airports across the U.K. and watch this space as TUI may well stand to benefit from Thomas Cook’s sad demise.
Even the likes of easyJet are only looking for limited numbers of fixed term cabin crew, although the airline is planning a series of drop-in events for ex-Thomas Cook staff. So far, the airline has events arranged in the following locations:
- Peterborough on the 27th September. Join members of the Head Office and easyJet Holidays Recruitment Team to learn more about what it’s like working with us.
- Manchester on the 30th September & 1st October between 0930-1630. Join members of the Pilot, Cabin Crew, Engineering and Head Office Recruitment Team to learn more about what it’s like working with us and our selection processes.
- Birmingham/East Midlands area on the 8th October between 0930-1630 to discuss opportunities in the Bristol, Luton, Southend and Stansted bases.
One final option is the charter carrier, Jet2 who are currently looking for new cabin crew to join its team in Belfast and Newcastle. Further details can be found on the Jet2 recruitment website.
Do you know of any cabin crew recruitment drives happening in the U.K. at the moment? Let us know!
