Help for a young wanna be cabin crew :)

[paulii]

Hey all, my name Paul, hope your all well :)

Cutting a massive story short, the first time i stepped onto my first Emirates flight i knew this is what i wanted to do. Be a apart of the cabin crew.

What limits me at the moment is my age, ive read everything on the internet known to be man about being cabin crew for Emirates. On their careers with Emirates page, its state that you must be 21 years of age at the time of registration.

What im wating to find out, ive also searched this forum extensively, is there any possible way to be cabin crew for Emirates at the age of 18? I realise that at 21 years of age you are legal to serve alcohol to passangers, however, at the moment, im doing a food and beverage course for certificate 2 and 3 which ive completed. Would this help?

Im going to send in an email to Emirates to see if they could review my case and see if circumstances could change. Should i even bother or will i get a message saying something like

"Thank you for enquiring for being cabin crew with Emirates. Unfortunately......."

Im an extremely mature individual at the age of 17 and pride myself on customer service to the best of my abilities.

Is serving alcohol the main factor as to why you must be 21 years of age at the time of registration?

If anybody could help me out, or any Emirates cabin crew, your responses would mean the world to me..

Thanks guys

Paul :)

[AirborneSoon]

Serving of alcohol, life experience, ability to hold a position of authority in the face of some choice customers, decent customer service experience, experience in a fulltime job. Ability to move to a foreign country and not pine away for your parents/friends/relatives. Ability to live in a house with someone not of your choice without complaining about it. Proven ability to turn up to work on time and be reliable.

Put it this way, airlines have the pick of people to be crew because there are so many who want to do it. It is not worth their time and resources to go outside even the smallest of guidelines when they can fulfill their requirements within them.

If you are extremely mature then you'll be fine the wait out the next three years and apply when you meet those guidelines. :ok: Airlines create such guidelines not because they're fun, but because they work.

[paulii]

haha thanks airborn soon for the fast reply.

Ive already thought about all that living in Dubai at such a young age living away from family and friends.

"Airlines create such guidelines not because they're fun, but because they work. "

Completely understand where ya comming from.

If im not successfull with the email, more likely ill apply for Qantas of Jetstar lol.

[I Just Want To Fly]

What is your long term goal. To live in DXB for the rest of your life, or here in Australia. Once you identify your goal, then take the necessary steps to achieve it. And have fun along the way!

I thought I was very mature at 18, and I was. Back when I was 21, I tried 5 times for EK, twice with Qantas. No luck, so I kind of put the dream on hold for a while.

I'm actually glad that I have had the chance to have some life experiences outside of aviation!

Why not go to uni; learn a language; work in a pub; meet some nice boys or girls (depending on your preference); start smokin; quit smoking; swim in the Red Sea; trek the Himalayas; teach english in Japan; live in a foreign country or two or three; get married; get divorced; save some money; buy a nice car; move out of home; pay off your HECS; buy a house; get a credit card; pay off your credit card; get a well paying job!

That's what I did before I was 25, but not exactly in that order.

When I turned 25, I started applying again.

I've gotten almost every airline job I ever went for since, and had the luxury to turn a couple down!

I now fly Ultra Long Haul, and am loving every minute of it! Well at least take off and landing!

[simone511]

I'd have to agree with what everyone elsehas to say; I think the Emirates site says they have something like 30,000 CC applications a month from around the world, so they really do have a lot of choice!

If it's a career goal, why not apply for Australian airlines (where the age is 18) and get some experience. Will help you a) get an idea of what the career is like before you pack up and move to Dubai, and b) help you get some experience, helping your chances of being accepted by EK :)

[samm27]

whats wrong with waiting three years? you will only come out with more experience if you're smart about it.
i know of people who have made it to the second day of interviewing with emirates only to be booted out once their papers have been processed and their ages revealed.
theres nothing wrong with working for an aus carrier. i do, its heaps of fun :)

[paulii]

guys i wanna say a massive thank for replying to my question..

I Just Want To Fly - loved your post. made me LOL :)

Simone yeah, ive decided not to send the email to Emirates, the 30,000 applications per month hit home for me lol.

Sam - is that how dumb people are ? LMAo

I will apply for Qantas next year after finishing year 12, which the time will fly after schoolies haha..

Do you want to hear the irony of today, my aunty, her neighboor has been a flight attendant for Qantas for 5 years, just heard it today. So ill have a chat with her soon :)

Once again, thanks so much guys.
Much appreciated.
Take care

Paulii.

[Libra89]

Hey mate how are you?

I completely understand where you are coming from and sympathise with your burning desire to become cabin crew...believe me I was there for a while!

Since I was a tot I've loved the industry and believed with passion that I would become cabin crew, at some point in my life. The day I turned 18, I applied with QCCA (Qantas International) and only a couple of months later I was invited to a Recruitment Day. I then made it through all the steps of the process, got past the medical assessment, only to be rejected after 2 months from the medical, $600 later.

I applied for every single Australian airline I could and months later, after a gruelling recruitment process, I got accepted as Virgin Blue Cabin Crew. I was told I was the youngest to have been employed by them in 5 years or so and out online, no on can ever pick how young I am. Mind you, I have been working in a real estate office in admin and reception since 14, but my point is, just keep believing in yourself and take the chance.

Others have a lot more experience in life, the work force, and even with airlines and airline interviews, but after the three airline interviews I've been too and progressed well into the recruitment process, I've learnt to just go with it - put your worries and fears aside and just go along to it, enjoy yourself and relax so you can show your true personality (that's what they want to see). I'm sure others would agree when I say that the interview is a game in itself and you've just got to be a really smart player of it.

I remember being so impatient to turn 18 and apply but it'll come so quick and hopefully, you'll be flying and over it in no time! haha

Never underestimate yourself because of your age - I know a lot of people older than me that aren't as aware and well-informed as I am; age, to an extent, is really just a number. So please don't let hold yourself back for any reason, because in my role I sometimes worry that my age could really be my downfall in advancing in the company, but I just believe in myself and do my job well.

Let me know how things go, I've been told by someone at Qantas that recruitment should start early next year, say around March'09 or so.

All the best!

[NewZealand2]

A fabulous post by Libra89.
I too, for many years before turning 18 wanted to become a flight attendant. However it came around quicker than i expected and finally, i'm 18 as of a month ago and have been invited to a recruitment day with Pacific Blue in a couple of weeks time.

I have to say Libra89, i am quite nervous about it, escpecially after hearing that they do role plays???!! but your post above was such a nice thing to read, and the timing couldn't be better.


Cheers,
NZ2.