Flight Attendant News

Just a few days ago we posted a story in this blog about the bankruptcy court's approval of the proposed labor contract between Northwest Airlines and its flight attendants.

Now we learn from a press release on the website of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), the union that represents Northwest's F/As, that this second tentative agreement was rejected by a vote by a margin of 3,266 to 2,637.

"Our members have spoken: these drastic cuts to our pay, benefits and work rules are simply unacceptable," said Mollie Reiley, AFA-CWA Interim Master Executive Council President. "While we will attempt to go back to the negotiating table with the company, we continue preparing for CHAOS."

CHAOS is an acronym for Create Havoc Around Our System, which entails "targeted work actions using random, unannounced strikes."

"Our members refuse to watch more than 40 percent of our wages and benefits get funneled into company profits and executive bonuses. It is simply not necessary and will not be tolerated," said Reiley.

It looks like this story will be with us for some time to come. We wish the flight attendants well in their effort to obtain a fair contract.

Source:
Northwest Flight Attendants Reject Second Tentative Agreement - Association of Flight Attendants - CWA

Technorati Tags:
airlines, cabin crew, flight attendants, labor issues

On July 18, 2006 we posted a story in this blog about a study on flight attendant fatigue that was carried out by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) at the request of the U.S. Congress.

Now we learn from a press release on the website of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) that the U.S. Senate Transportation Appropriations Committee has authorized $500,000 to be spent on further research on the effects of flight attendant fatigue. The two-year follow-up study will be carried out by the FAA's Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI), with a report due to be submitted to Congress on December 31, 2008.

"Flight attendant fatigue is a chronic problem in the aviation industry and it continues to jeopardize our ability to fulfill important safety and security roles," said Patricia Friend, Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) International President. "Fatigue has been overlooked for too long which is what makes this study even more vital."

The results of the initial report confirmed that flight attendants are frequently "experiencing issues consistent with fatigue and tiredness" and that "fatigue appears to be a salient issue warranting further evaluation."

The report cites that, "based on the incident reports, flight attendant comments, and the outcomes from the sampling of actual duty and rest time, it appears that the opportunities for adequate rest for flight attendants need to be further evaluated."

The study also mentions that regulations created by the FAA governing flight attendant duty and rest requirements are "minimal standards." To truly address fatigue, the regulations must be combined with "sound and realistic operational practices," as well as personal strategies.

Friend also added, "We are pleased that steps are being taken to move forward, end flight attendant fatigue and finally enact meaningful regulations that will address this problem."

Source:
AFA-CWA Gets Funds For Follow-Up Fatigue Study - Association of Flight Attendants - CWA

Technorati Tags:
aircrew health, cabin crew, fatigue, fatigue research, flight attendants

Yesterday a federal bankruptcy court judge approved the proposed labor contract between Northwest Airlines and its flight attendants. The flight attendants have until Monday to complete a ratification vote on the contract, which reportedly will save Northwest about $195 million per year.

Northwest flight attendants are represented by the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA).

Source: Judge OKs Northwest contract with flight attendants - Reuters

Technorati Tags:
airlines, cabin crew, flight attendants, labor issues

Diana Rushing is her name, and she embezzled over $10,000 from her union. She was the president of the Chicago unit of the United Airlines flight attendants union when she stole the money. She admits that she did it to support her gambling addiction.

Earlier this week Chief U.S. District Judge James Holderman sentenced Rushing to six months of home confinement and two years probation. The judge also fined Rushing $2,500 for her crime.

According to an article in the Chicago Sun-Times:

Rushing said she has since sought professional counseling and continues attending gamblers anonymous meetings.

Rushing said she spent years building up a solid reputation, only for it to be washed away by a gambling compulsion so strong she ramped up credit card debt and even borrowed from her retirement savings account.

"It wasn't this little hill. It was a giant mountain," she said of trying to overcome the addiction.

She was able to keep her addiction from her husband and best friends. When irregularities were first discovered in the union funds she didn't immediately come forward because she knew she had to also confront her gambling issues, she said.

"I think subconsciously I wanted somebody to stop me. I was sending up a lot of flares," Rushing said. "People weren't expecting it from me. This was a tremendous secret. No one knew what I was doing."

Needless to say, she lost her position as union president, as well as her flight attendant job with United when the embezzlement was uncovered.

A Chicago Tribune article about the case quotes Rushing:

"I have tremendous shame and regret," she said, crying at times at her sentencing hearing as she described not wanting to tell her husband what was happening.

We hear that she has begun to make voluntary restitution to the union. That is the least she should do!

Sources:
Ex-chief of flight attendants union avoids jail - Chicago Sun-Times
Former union official gets probation for embezzling - Chicago Tribune

Technorati Tags: crimes, flight attendants, unions

A few days ago we reported about Comair flight attendants asking a bankruptcy court judge to stop the airline from imposing new contract terms without further negotiations. Apparently that request fell on deaf ears.

According to an Associated Press article that appeared on the Airport Business website:

Delta Air Lines Inc. subsidiary Comair can toss out its contract with its flight attendants and impose concessions that the regional airline says it needs to emerge from bankruptcy, a judge ruled Friday.

Comair "has demonstrated beyond doubt that a material reduction in Comair's flight attendant costs is essential to the company's ability to be successful in the extraordinarily competitive regional airline market of today," wrote Judge Adlai Hardin of U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Nevertheless, a spokeswoman for the airline pointed out that the judge's ruling won't have an immediate effect, and that negotiations are expected to resume next week. The flight attendants union officials declined to say if they would appeal the judge's latest ruling.

"We are going back to, hopefully, reach a consensual agreement next week at the bargaining table," [union] spokeswoman Noa Oren said. "We're disappointed in the judge's ruling. But it does show that the company had to make a lot of changes in its proposal."

Source: Judge Says Comair Can Void Contract with Flight Attendants - Airport Business

Technorati Tags: airlines, aviation, flight attendants, labor issues

Corporate flight attendant Daniel Slapo has a new project. He will be producing the Corporate Flight Attendant News E-Letter.

The email newsletter will be published 6 times a year. The first edition will be sent out in August.

Daniel tells us that the newsletter will include articles about aviation and flight attendant history, aircraft, and training information as well as bits of humor. We've seen a draft copy of the first edition, and it looks great!

The newsletter is free.

You can subscribe by sending an email to: Flight-Attendant-News@hotmail.com.

We wish Daniel the best of luck with this new project!

Technorati Tags: cabin crew, corporate flight attendants, flight attendants

From the Personnel Today website in the UK we learn that British Airways cabin crew based at Gatwick Airport soon will be flying under new work rules that are expected to save the airline £13.2m a year.

Under the new arrangements, the 1,800 cabin crew based at Gatwick will fly long- and short-haul routes rather than one or the other.

About 1,000 crew are employed on long-haul services from Gatwick and 800 on short-haul. From October, a single cabin crew force will operate all Gatwick flights.

BA said the deal, agreed with its unions, will lead to "significant gains" in productivity and would cut in employee costs.

"This agreement will remove duplication and introduce more efficient working practices while maintaining standards of customer service," said chief executive Willie Walsh.

Source: British Airways aims to save £13.2m a year through better use of Gatwick cabin crew resources - PersonnelToday.com

Technorati Tags: airlines, cabin crew, flight attendants, labor issues

From the Associated Press via the Airport Business website:

A union representing Comair flight attendants on Monday asked a bankruptcy judge to stop the Delta Air Lines Inc. subsidiary from imposing new contract terms without more negotiations.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters said the regional air carrier seeks disproportionate concessions from its 970 attendants and that it wants more time to reach a deal.

"The flight attendants wish to bring their dispute with Comair to an end," the union wrote in a written argument filed Monday. "They have proposed significant cost savings while preserving essential job protections. Comair, however, continues to press its demand for unreasonable and disproportionate concessions."

Judge Adlai Hardin heard the case in a two-day hearing last week at bankruptcy court in White Plains, N.Y. The judge will decide whether the company can impose new terms as it restructures itself in an attempt to exit bankruptcy. Last week, Hardin said he wanted a quick resolution.

The deadline for the company to file its own closing statement is Tuesday.

The flight attendants have said they would strike if the company voids their labor contract. But the union president, Connie Slayback, said Monday, "I think it's a little early to begin looking in that direction."

Slayback said the company has indicated it is still interested in reaching a consensual agreement. "That said, all the strike preparations are complete," she said.

Comair and its flight attendants have been engaged in contract negotiations for more than six months.

Source: Flight Attendants Seek More Talks as Comair Seeks to Force Concessions - Airport Business

Technorati Tags:: airlines, aviation, flight attendants, labor issues

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has released the results of a study of flight attendant fatigue. The study was ordered by the U.S. Congress at the urging of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA).

The AFA's press release about the study has this to say:

"Flight attendant fatigue is a chronic problem in the aviation industry and it continues to jeopardize our ability to fulfill important safety and security roles," said Patricia Friend, AFA-CWA International President. "Fatigue has been overlooked for too long which is what makes this study even more vital."

The results confirm that flight attendants are frequently "experiencing issues consistent with fatigue and tiredness" and that "fatigue appears to be a salient issue warranting further evaluation."

According to recommendations cited in the report, "based on the incident reports, flight attendant comments, and the outcomes from the sampling of actual duty and rest time, it appears that the opportunities for adequate rest for flight attendants need to be further evaluated."

The study also mentions that regulations created by the FAA governing flight attendant duty and rest requirements are minimal standards. To truly address fatigue, the regulations must be combined with "sound and realistic operational practices," as well as personal strategies.

Friend also added, "FAA approving the report is one hurdle we have overcome. They have proven that current rest periods are inadequate and need to be re-evaluated. Now it is time to move forward and take the steps necessary to end flight attendant fatigue and enact meaningful regulations that would help solve this problem."

"PDF" files of the entire report are available for download at the AFA website. (See link below).

We are in the process of reviewing the report and will comment about it here on this blog in the coming days. Stay tuned...

Download report here: Flight Attendant Fatigue Study - Association of Flight Attendants - CWA

Source: FAA Releases Flight Attendant Fatigue Study After Heavy Pressure From AFA-CWA - AFA News

Technorati Tags: aircrew health, fatigue, fatigue research, flight attendants

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) held its 11th Annual Flight Attendants Conference last month in Denver.

Those who attended the 2006 NBAA Flight Attendants Conference noted that the information from the speakers was informative and relevant for today'’s corporate flight attendant and flight technician crews. Many Attendees benefited from numerous networking opportunities and were able to meet with leaders of aviation departments. Executive chefs of catering companies provided handouts as well as a CD complete with language translations for use in placing international catering orders.

A report about the conference proceedings has been posted on the NBAA website (see link below).

NBAA's 12th Annual Flight Attendants Conference will take place in San Diego on June 29 and 30, 2007.

Source: 2006 NBAA Flight Attendants Conference Breaks Attendance Record - NBAA News

Technorati Tags: business aviation, corporate aviation, flight attendants

From the Rocky Mountain News we learn that the flight attendants at Frontier Airlines are again talking about unionizing. This time they are in talks with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

"The flight attendants approached the Teamsters union for representation," said Matthew Fazakas, president of Teamsters Local 961 in Denver. "They want the protection of a union for job security, working conditions and other reasons."

Fazakas said the Teamsters have started a campaign to gather signatures from Frontier flight attendants. The union must collect authorization cards from at least 35 percent of Frontier's 950 attendants to hold an election. More than 50 percent of the workers would then have to vote for representation.

This is not the first attempt to unionize Frontier's flight attendants.

The carrier's flight attendants have rejected four other recent attempts at unionizing. Last year, the Association of Flight Attendants came up 45 votes short in an election.

Aside from the Teamsters, another group of Frontier flight attendants is looking to start its own, independent union.

The group says attendants need to lock in wages, job security and benefits.

But it doesn't want representation from an outside union such as the Teamsters, fearing attendants won't get much attention from such a large organization.

"We don't want to have to send all of our money to someone that we know we won't get full support from," said Justie Ellis, president of the group.

Ellis said they already have enough signatures and in August plan to ask a federal organization that oversees such matters for an election. The Teamsters wouldn't disclose when it plans to do the same.

Frontier is against any effort to unionize its workers and says it already has a strong relationship with attendants.

In order for the present action to proceed, 35% of Frontier's flight attendants must agree to hold a vote on whether or not to join the union. For the final step, 50% must then vote in favor of joining Teamsters.

Source: Frontier Flight Attendants Talk with Teamsters - Rocky Mountain News

Technorati Tags: airlines, aviation, flight attendants, labor issues

Northwest Airlines has reached a tentative agreement with its flight attendants today. The agreement comes on the day that was the deadline for negotiations. Had an agreement not been reached, a bankruptcy court judge said the carrier could have imposed a new contract that flight attendants voted against last month.

Part of the agreement entails pay cuts that Northwest says will allow it to emerge from bankruptcy.

From an AFP report on the Breitbart.com new website:

The flight attendants had overwhelmingly voted down a previous agreement and then formed a new union to negotiate with management 10 days ago.

"We have addressed the areas that caused the greatest concern in order to make this agreement one that we can live with today and build upon in future better times at Northwest Airlines," said Reiley, Northwest Interim Master Executive Council President for the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA.

The agreement will result in 195 million dollars in annual reduced costs, the airline said in a statement.

"Since beginning its restructuring process in September of last year, Northwest has made steady progress on its plan to realize 2.5 billion dollars in annual business improvements in order to return the company to profitability on a sustained basis," the airline said.

The flight attendants now must vote to ratify the agreement.

Source: Northwest reaches tentative agreement with flight attendants - Breitbart.com

Technorati Tags: airlines, aviation, flight attendants
, labor issues

Several days ago a Russian airliner crashed on landing at the Siberian city of Irkutsk. The aircraft burst into flames, and more than one hundred souls perished in the wreckage.

Only one flight attendant survived the accident. Not only did she survive, she is credited with saving the lives of 10 passengers.

Now we learn from MOSNEWS.com, a Russian news website, that she will be honored for her actions.

The 19-year-old Airbus A-310, owned by Russian airline S7, was flying from Moscow 2,600 miles east to Irkutsk the night of Saturday July 8.

As it landed, the jet, carrying 193 passengers and eight crew, failed to slow, veered off the runway and smashed through a concrete barrier. It then crashed into a line of garages and burst into flames. Only the tailfin stayed intact, news agencies reported.

Stewardess Viktoria Zilberstein forced a hatch in the rear of the aircraft allowing ten passengers to escape. The pilot was freed from the cockpit.

At least 130 people died in the crash. Others survived but suffered heavy injuries, mostly burns. Some of them were later flown to Moscow for treatment.

Ms. Zilberstein will receive a cash award from the Russian Jewish Federation for her courage.

A rabbi who visited Ms. Zilberstein at the hospital where she is being treated for her injuries said, "This courageous girl does not at all feel that she's a hero. Her modesty is appealing. The hospital people are treating her very warmly. I am sure her action, her readiness to sacrifice herself for the salvation of others can be an example for many."

We hope she recovers quickly from her injuries.

Source: Flight Attendant Honored for Saving Lives - MOSNEWS.com

Technorati Tags: aircraft accidents, airlines, flight attendant

From the Associated Press via the Airport Business website:

Northwest Airlines Corp. and the new union that represents its flight attendants planned to negotiate on Tuesday, in a final effort to reach a deal before a deadline set by a bankruptcy judge.

Bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper has ruled that Northwest can unilaterally change the flight attendant contract on July 17 if the two sides don't agree to new terms by then. An imposed contract could prompt a strike.

Talks with the flight attendants have been under way for months, but Tuesday's meeting will involve a new set of negotiators for the Association of Flight Attendants. The carrier's cabin workers voted out their old union and switched to the AFA on Friday. In a hot line message to members, the AFA said its lead negotiator would be David A. Borer, its chief lawyer.

The AFA has said it wants to make a deal with Northwest, but would consider calling for a strike if the airline changes the flight attendant contract without getting flight attendants to agree. Northwest has said a strike would be illegal and that it would seek a court order to halt one.

Source: NWA, Flight Attendants to Resume Negotiations - Airport Business

Technorati Tags: Airlines, flight attendants, labor issues, unions

You just have to see this!

Back in late March, I made a post in this blog about the first A380 evacuation drill. Now a video that shows a part of that drill has been made public, and the folks at FlightGlobal.com have posted it on their website.

The video includes a portion filmed with infra-red cameras, showing the actual egress of the "passengers" from the aircraft. The entire video is about 2 minutes long, and the infra-red footage showing the pax coming down those enormous slides is near the end, so be patient.

Here's the link: Video: Airbus A380 evacuation trial infra-red sequence released into public domain - FlightGlobal.com

Technorati Tags: A380, Airbus, aircraft, Aviation

It's official.

Flight attendants at Northwest Airlines have voted to change their union representation from the Professional Flight Attendants Association (PFAA) to the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA).

From a press release on the AFA website, dated July 6, 2006:

Northwest flight attendants made a monumental decision today and elected the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) as their new bargaining representative. AFA-CWA received 4,349 votes. The total vote exceeded the Railway Labor Act requirement that 50 percent plus one of eligible flight attendants vote in the election in order to change representation.

"Despite the many obstacles along the path, Northwest flight attendants today took control of their careers and joined forces with the strongest flight attendant union in the world," said Patricia Friend, AFA-CWA International President. "For the first time in a long while, our sisters and brothers at Northwest have hope. They are hopeful that with AFA-CWA's wealth of experience in negotiating with airlines in bankruptcy, their careers will be protected."

AFA-CWA plans to begin negotiations immediately with the company. On June 30, a federal bankruptcy judge gave Northwest permission to impose terms detailed in a tentative agreement that the flight attendants struck down earlier this year if an agreement could not be reached within two weeks.

AFA-CWA launched the organizing campaign in September 2005 after a coalition of Northwest flight attendants approached the union seeking new representation. From the beginning, the Northwest AFA-CWA campaign has been a model of grassroots organizing. While AFA-CWA supported their efforts at every opportunity, this was a campaign initiated, led, and conducted by Northwest flight attendants.

Source: Northwest Flight Attendants Take Control - Chose AFA-CWA for New Representation - AFA Press Release

Update: New website for Northwest Flight Attendants/AFA: http://www.nwaafa.org/

People outside the business aviation world may not know this, but unlike airline cabin crew, flight attendants on corporate aircraft and private jets usually are tasked with responsibility for the catering.

They must plan every detail of the meals, order food and related provisions from caterers in every port that they visit, see that it is boarded in time, properly stored, and then plated, garnished and served.

In many cases they prepare food themselves -- sometimes because they find themselves in a port where there is no appropriate caterer, and other times because that is what their employers prefer.

Needless to say, this can be quite a daunting task, all the more so given the demanding high-end clientele they are likely to be serving!

Help has arrived in the form of a new booklet of catering guidelines produced recently by the NBAA Flight Attendant Committee Catering Working Group in collaboration with the Corporate Flight Attendant Community website.

Here is how a press release describes the new catering guide:

Available in a *pdf format and easily saved to the hard drive or printed out for later use, this information packed 26 page guide is expected to streamline in-flight catering procedures for corporate flight attendants everywhere. Helpful topics covered within the guide include:

The 4 Hour Life Time of Your Catering Order

Auditing and Qualifying Your Caterer

Receiving Your Catering

The Flight Attendant as a Food Handler

Cleaning Up the Galley

Potentially Dangerous Foods

Serving and Plating

...Much More

In addition, the guide contains a very useful Catering Request form to make the placement of in-flight catering orders a simpler task.

Sound interesting?

If you would like to download a free copy, visit the Corporate Flight Attendant Community website at http://www.corporateflyer.net/. Click on the Articles tab near the top of the page. Scroll down to the section on Food, and you'll see the link for the Catering Guidelines Book.

While you are on that website, have a look around. If you are a corporate flight attendant, a "wannabe" -- or just curious about what working on a private jet is all about -- there's no better source of information than the Corporate Flight Attendant Community.

Source: Corporate Flight Attendant Catering Guide Released - Press release

The Guardian Unlimited in the U.K. reports that six British Airways cabin crew are facing disciplinary action after a a bizarre incident in New York in February of this year.

The crew were on a layover in New York City. Here is what is said to have happened:

The stewards and stewardesses said they were too tired to fly after being unable to sleep, which caused the cancellation of a flight from New York to the UK.

The crew were put up in a hotel in New York in February but insisted it was being used by prostitutes and pimps, leaving them feeling unsafe and unable to sleep.

Some said their doors would not lock and that pimps were trying to get into their rooms, forcing them to erect makeshift barricades.

The crew said that BA was initially sympathetic but later reopened inquiries into the incident.

The British Airways Stewards and Stewardesses Association, which represents the cabin crew, said the six were now facing disciplinary action for alleged misconduct.

A BA spokeswoman said: "We held an initial safety inquiry and found that fatigue did not appear to be an issue.

"Nine other crew stayed at the same hotel and all reported fit and well for work the next day. An investigation is continuing to find out all the facts."

Source: BA probe over crew too tired to fly - Guardian Unlimited, UK

A man by the name of Joe Gaetan has written a short piece in the Hamilton Spectator about Transport Canada's proposal to reduce the required number of flight attendants aboard Canadian airliners.

Here is part of what he said:

...the Minister of Transport is considering a plan to allow Canada's airlines to fly with up to 25 per cent fewer flight attendants. The government has increased spending for airport security because we do not want a repeat of the terrorist skyjackings that occurred in the U.S.A. The flight attendants would have been among the first people to come in contact with the terrorists and with fewer eyes on board we may be opening ourselves to a possible weak link in our security chain of defence.

Moreover the flight attendants' main responsibility is passenger safety, not the dispensing of coffee and tea. The Air France crash at Pearson involved 297 passengers and 12 crew. The 10 flight attendants cleared the plane with 27 minor injuries. Imagine that same scenario with even one less attendant, rather than the 25 per cent reduction the new law is proposing.

Transport Canada's own studies prove this plan will increase the risk to the travelling public. What little is saved by the airlines won't likely be passed on to air travellers. All we'll get is fewer safety professionals and more risk. It's a "lose-lose" deal for passengers.

According to recent news reports, Transport Canada is hiding an internal report that raised safety concerns and led to the rejection of a similar proposal to cut flight attendant crews in 2001.

Why is it safe to cut flight attendant crews now, when it wasn't safe in 2001?

Perhaps some of you Canadian flight attendants should send Mr. Gaetan a thank you note!

Source: Proposed cut in flight attendants would increase risk - Hamilton Spectator

A Reuters article on AirWise.com says:

The union representing flight attendants at bankrupt Northwest Airlines said it is in "continual contact" with the airline, hoping to reach a deal before a court order allows the airline to impose terms unilaterally.

The Professional Flight Attendants Association (PFAA) said in a memo to its members on Sunday that it has two meetings scheduled this week with negotiators for Northwest.

Also coming up this week, Northwest F/As will vote on whether to replace the PFAA, their current union, with the Association of Flight Attendants.

Source: Northwest, Flight Attendants In Last-Minute Talks - AirWise.com

A U.S. bankruptcy court judge has granted Northwest Airlines the right to void its flight attendants' contract and impose terms that would save the carrier $195 million annually.

A Reuters article published on Airwise.com and elsewhere says:

Judge Allan Gropper in New York's federal bankruptcy court said in his order that "the process of negotiation cannot drag on indefinitely," but he delayed the order for two weeks to give the airline and the flight attendants union more time to negotiate.

If Northwest and the Professional Flight Attendants Association fail to reach a deal in that time, Gropper said Northwest may impose the terms of a contract the workers rejected earlier this month.

"...there is no reason, in principle, why a new agreement with PFAA cannot be reached," Gropper said in his order.

Read the whole article here: Northwest Gets Power To Void Flight Attendant Deal - AirWise.com

More news from the U.K. about budget carrier EasyJet, this time from the Guardian Unlimited website. They report on what they rightly call an "unprecedented" recruiting tool: in-flight announcements that attempt to recruit new cabin crew from amongst the passengers!

With the airline's crucial summer season now under way, easyJet has added a "come and work for us" plea to the address that greets passengers boarding its planes. But the company has denied suggestions that the move is a response to chronic staff shortages, and that these have resulted in the cancellation of a number of flights over the past few days.

As well as highlighting the emergency exits and demonstrating the lifebelts, flight attendants have been ordered to tell passengers that "due to rapid expansion in our network, we are currently recruiting for Luton/Gatwick/Bristol based crew. If you are up for the challenge or know someone who is, then please visit easyJet.com to complete an online application. The crew on board today would also be happy to answer any questions."

A spokesperson for the carrier was quoted as saying, "It is just a new way of recruiting staff. We are a low-cost airline - it saves money on advertising."

Indeed.

The no-frills airline employs 2,200 cabin crew across Europe. Its website states that it wants "real people with real personalities to make a real difference". It adds: "That's not to say that getting a job as easyJet cabin crew is easy. It isn't - we have very high standards and you'll need to prove to us that you are capable of taking responsibility for the safety and welfare of an aircraft and up to 156 passengers on up to six flights a day."

Applicants must be 18 or over, physically fit, have some face-to-face customer service experience and be able to swim at least 25 metres. The website does not disclose pay levels.

A union official said that young cabin crew at EasyJet use their experience there "to develop their career and then move on to Virgin Atlantic or British Airways, where it's more comfortable, more to their way of thinking in terms of quality of life."

Turnover among cabin crew at EasyJet is reported to be 18% to 20% annually.

Source: Budget airline launches bid to employ some of its passengers - Guardian Unlimited