QANTAS flight attendant wanna b!!!

[Beta Man]

hi im a 25 female from sydney australia and im am going for my first walk in interview with QANTAS, is there anyone out there that can tell me what to expect at their interviews...what sort of questions ill b asked...help i wanna b a flight attendant!!

[Sonique]

beta!!

Good luck with the interview with Qf.....some advice though....and I mean this in all seriousness.......if you do get a position ( fixed term contract ) ...please dont become one of the " fixed term i want my wings whingers " who knows when they enter the job that they are on a contract and therefore will no longer be employed at the end of the contract.

Harsh words ? perhaps....but if you enter a 6 month contract please remember that it is just that....a 6 month contract....you will not receive cabin crew wings....so don't whinge about getting those either !

choose a casual position over the fixed term is my advice....good luck

[galleygirl]

first walk in interview is pretty simple, usually check you out, height requirement and that all your documents are in order. if you make it through that, then you will have a one on one interview for about 15 mins. they ask general questions like examples of difficult customer service situations, how you coped, what does QF brand mean to you, what can you contribute to QF, etc, etc. pretty straight forward. be confident, look great and you wil get through. but as the other post says, remember it is for contract with no promise of re employment at the end. i now alot of people who have been stuffed around by them. mind you, i only got through to group interviews, then got a job with impulse and now work for qantaslink!!! so i got in the back door. maybe you can try regionals as well if you are after something more permenant. best of luck!!!

[Biscuit Chucker]

No 1 in my G/S is WHINGING about not getting wings. You must admit that it is a thrill to get the wings and make a great memento to take away @ the end of the contract. @ QantasLink we got wings after grad from G/S but was unaware that it was STANDARD policy not to get wings for six months anyway.

BTW, I think a lot of the questions asked are covered in a fact file provided by that F/A prep company (can anyone remember the name?). The Q's rarely change. Good luck!

[This message has been edited by Biscuit Chucker (edited 16 June 2001).]

[compression ratio]

Wear a tight short skirt, a low cut blouse and red lipstick.......You'll be right then.

[cabinboy]

galleygirl.....can you tell me what happened to the BNE based cabin crew of Impulse ? now that the 717's don't fly to BNE anymore where did they crew go ? did they have to relocate to SYD ? or were there contracts terminated ? what has happened to your employer " aircrewscontrol " ? their website is no longer working....are you directly employed by QF now ? please explain !

regards and welcome to QF...even if you did come thru the backdoor !
cabinboy

[galleygirl]

thanks cabinboy!

as far as i know the BNE based crew are still flying but out of OOL. they are bused down for each shift and the trip is included in their duty hours, not that it makes much difference when there are no allowance hours!! aircrews control will be dissolved at the end of the month but not much has been said as to who we will be employed by, as far as i understand it will be QFlink. we are wearing the regional uniforms now so hopefully conditions will change too!!! but whos to know. we will find out in the next few weeks. i will let you know.

do you have any idea when QF international will be recruiting and on what terms, have the days of permanent positions disappeared??

[DoorL1]

Unfortunately permanent employment is now a thing of the past. Only casual and 6 month fixed term contracts being offered. Casual is the best option.

[How's it Hanging]

BM
Don't forget that if the walk up does not work, the fully owned Qantas regionals (ie Eastern for you as you live in Sydney) are always recruiting as there is progession to mainline when your turn comes up (about 3 years at the moment I think). Pay may be crap but you do get all the benifits of a full time position and seniority from when you start with the regional.

------------------
"to the left"

[Biscuit Chucker]

Looking @ at least 4-5 years progression wise @ Eastern now I think, with a ladder of about 60-65 F/A's. On about 30k with benefits. Still, it's full-time rather than dodgy six months.

[Ditch]

I agree... If you want permanent full time employment as a Flight Attendant, the regionals are the only way to go. "The last of the career Flight Attendants. As you will know, sadly, making a career as a Flight Attendant is not easy these days. All majors apart from Virgin Blue, and Impulse are contract or casual. Impulse pays less than the Qantas Regionals, and Virgin is Brisbane based, so for Sydney, go for Eastern. Regional flying is fun and you do progress to mainline, as a permanent, full time Flight Attendant, and you keep all your seniority when transferring. Good luck.

[Ditch]

I am hearing way too many complaints from fixed term Flight Attendants, and it is starting to get up my nose. This poor attitude of "I wont have a job in six months," or, "I don't get wings because im fixed term" is ridiculous. Remember one thing, You chose to go there, and you chose the contract. Those who think that it will lead to permanent employment, your wrong. Look at all the Long Haulers who are being released. My advise is to go casual or regional, not fixed term, as in six months time, you won't be a Flighty any more. Hope this advise helps.

[Biscuit Chucker]

Wow, talk about 'bad-vibes'.

[cabinboy]

Just an interview with any airline for any f/a position would be a dream come true......the last interview I had was one year ago (Ansett)...

Even working for the airline in another role is useless......people with 4-5 years on the ground can no longer become f/a's because we will have to lose our staff tvl benefits to become just a casual or fixed termer.

If the airlines want happy f/a's giving happy service....maybe they should rethink the conditions they are hiring these staff under.....it's just not fair.....it really isnt.

But....what can we do ? nothing. Career Change perhaps ?

[Biscuit Chucker]

I thought staff on internal transfers were given permanent positions? can anyone clear that up?

[cabinboy]

Hey Biccy boy,

Two mates from work (Girl & Guy ) completed there 3rd interview and medicals for internal positions about 2 weeks ago. The positions were for casual and fixed term ( MEL BASE )....however....possible talk of permanent but that was not confirmed. If they get casual or fixed term they will forfeit their benefits and end up like the rest even though they have come from within QF...thats how it was explained to me (correct me Tarantella and co if you know any differently ? )

Anyway.....is there any casual hours left now that the Impulse/Airconnex crews are taking over the MEL/SYD-OOL/MCY/HTI flights ? has this made less hours available ?

Cabinboy

[Biscuit Chucker]

Wow! Bit harsh isn't it?! Still I guess if they want to transfer then QF can expect them to give up the benefits. I heard that some fixed termers in the past were offered full-time MEL base and those who knocked it back were eventually let go. Dunno how true this is however. I also heard from a casual that because of all the fixed termers and Impulse crew waltzing in, they are worried about a lack of work in the future?! ??

[galleygirl]

i agree that regionals seem to be the way to go for permenant employment. impulse announced today they would offer employment to all air crews control cabin crew with improved conditions and pay. agreement seems to be on par with what is offered at virgin, so we are happy that the wheels are in motion. talk of expansion in the near future, possible international routes with new B717-400 and increased domestic routes for QF. looks like it has all been worth the wait!

[Biscuit Chucker]

Galleygirl. did that info come from official sources, or more galley gossip?

[galleygirl]

the news on conditions etc is offical, agreement was lodged yesterday and we had a meeting with FAAA and impulse management. info about increasing network/international etc is flight deck and galley gossip but the way things have been changing there seems to be some truth in it, but i suppose we shouldnt make any assumptions until we see it in writing.

[cabinboy]

galleygirl did you get my email ? I sent it about 1 week ago ?

[galleygirl]

sorry cabinboy didnt check email until today, check yours now.

[GoGirl]

Hey BC...I think the name of that company you were referring to on an earlier post may have been 'Flight Dux'??

Hope that helps :)

Regards
GG

[Biscuit Chucker]

Yeah, thanks GG. that's the one, I was given the sheets of questions that are likely to be asked in interview and they were pretty much spot on. Nice to go in with a little extra prep! :)

[cabinboy]

Further to my previous post we have now heard that internal applicants will be able to keep their staff benefits and superannuation, at first they were told that they wouldn't but now they will apparently. However, for anyone who gets the " ok " from the latest round of interviews can will be on hold for a long time as QF is keeping a reserve of up to 400 f/a's on the short list for future recruitment when they need it - i.e - A330

Regards
Cabinboy

[Down and Welded]

This is interesting for someone outside the airline industry but very interested in commercial aviation matters.

Would anyone care to answer these Q's?
(1) I wasn't aware these changes had occurred. What happened to airline cabin service as a full-time career?
(2) What are the attractions (if any) of casual and contract positions.
(3) I've been reading about 6-month contract positions. A job for six months? Who's taking this on? What do you do each six months when your contract matures?
(4) Why would QF want to continue training new cabin crew every six months? What effects does this 'new' cabin service career reality have for the long-suffering SLF. (LITTLE OLD LADY: "Excuse me dear, do you think you could find me an aspirin?"
F/A: "Certainly Ma'am. I'll just ask the Cabin Service Manager where we keep them.")

Anybody?

[galleygirl]

down and welded?,

i too cannot understand the lure of 6 month contract positions, however people are taking them on. i suppose the chance to work for QF for 6 months is better than never at all. a friend of mine finishes a 10mth long haul contract in october with no promise of future work and will probably have to reapply and go through training again like all the others.

i have heard on the rumour network it is a tax concesson for QF to undertake such operations. to pump training courses through every six months and and get new faces seems to me to defeat the purpose of team work and enjoying your job as a full time, long term career. im sure it also effects team morale and hence the final product of customer service delivery to the public. the face of the australian airline industry is changing as is the nature of the work and im yet to decide whether this will be advantageous in the long tem.

[cabinboy]

Well said galleygirl,

Another reason for the casual and fixed term contract is for big cost cutting (how unusual QF)....no superanuation and staff travel benefits. Just recently it was made clear that providing air fare discounts to staff comes at a considerable cost to the company.
We have also seen many middle management positions made redundant within QF in the past few months, and many things have been streamlined to help with costs. Unfortunetly many other positions within QF are also on a contract basis - Info Tech, Ground Staff and Frequent Flyer Admin staff to name just a few.I believe that staff moral is low across QF completely presently....but....no other airline in Australia is currently in a better position than QF profit wise.

I was " put in my place " recently regarding my ambitions to achieve a flying career and like many others are thinking long and hard about my options. I think for the loyalty and commitment that many of us would show to QF that we deserve better than a kick in the gux after 6 months.

Cabinboy

[Down and Welded]

Yes, the 'Training' lurk can be profitable these days, and is sucking up much in the way of taxpayers money. The Leonie Green recruitment group has just been caught rorting the system and is facing fraud charges.

I utterly fail to see how Qantas can possibly imagine that crewing their cabins with people who (permanently) lack experience can do anything for either airline safety or their (QF's) shopfront image!

[Biscuit Chucker]

One topic the union is looking @ talking about with QF for EBA V is 5 year contracts.