An increasing number of foreign airlines operating from Shanghai are now looking for local air hostesses to better serve their growing band of Chinese customers.
The UK-based Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. is again recruiting six Shanghainese girls to serve on its flights, in addition to the more than 20 local air hostesses who have joined the crew in the past three years.
"This is the third time we are recruiting here since we first did it in 1999," said Chen Yi, human resources manager of Virgin Atlantic's Shanghai office. "We have seen a significant increase in the number of Chinese passengers in recent years, especially those going for further studies in the United Kingdom as well as their parents.
"For most of them, it's their first trip abroad. Chinese-speaking air hostesses make them feel at home," said Chen.
Chinese nationals account for half of the total passengers on Virgin's Shanghai-London flights, reaching 60-70 percent during the peak season.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, the Holland-based carrier, also has recruitment plans for next year.
"We will need local air hostesses since we're adding two more services to the current three weekly flights between Shanghai and Amsterdam next April," said Lin Xinjia, KLM sales manager.
Earlier this year, Japan Airlines hired 30 air hostesses in Shanghai after the launch of daily services between Shanghai and Nagoya, and the doubling of daily flights between Shanghai and Tokyo in April.
"On each of our China flights, we have at least one local stewardess, at most four, serving Chinese passengers because the majority of them know neither Japanese nor English," said a Japan Airlines staff, who preferred anonymity.
Japan Airlines now has about 110 Chinese staff serving the China sector since it first recruited local hostesses in 1994.
And airlines have their own criteria in choosing from the large number of applicants. But all of them agree on one crucial point: The applicants should know English.
"Our air hostesses should be able to speak English because they not only serve Chinese passengers but also others," said Chen of Virgin.
For the aspiring air hostesses themselves, the major attraction in the jobs with foreign airlines, apart from the obvious glamour of the job, maybe lies in the relative high salary and the opportunity to travel abroad frequently.
"If I get to work with a foreign airline, I'll be able to fly abroad easily, something I have always dreamed about," said a 20 something hopeful who did not give her name.
(eastday.com November 16, 2002)
