Emirates flight attendant Shauntel Whiteman behind on an A380 before the pandemic. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Emirates flight attendant Shauntel Whiteman behind on an A380 before the pandemic. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Emirates is recruiting thousands of cabin crew and airport staff as it climbs out of the pandemic that at one stage forced it to ground its entire fleet and shrunk its workforce by nearly a third.
Kiwis are among those sought for 3000 flight attendant and 500 airport services jobsbased in Dubai, where earnings are tax-free.
The airline plunged to its first loss in 33 years and staff numbers fell from 47,518 to 33,304 in the 2020-21 financial year as furloughs were implemented. But Emirates says the easing of travel restrictions around the world had allowed it to restore 90 per cent of its pre-pandemic network and it is now flying to 120 cities.
It plans to bring back 70 per cent of its capacity by the end of the year, including re-introducing some of its 118 double-decker Airbus A380 aircraft.
It has been recalling pilots, cabin crew and other operational employees who were stood down when the pandemic forced a drastic reduction in flights last year.
The airline has staff from 160 countries and told the Herald for all roles across the airline and its global operations, once CVs and qualifications of applicants are reviewed, shortlisted candidates are invited to Dubai for in-person interviews.
Cabin crew are all based in its Dubai hub where they are offered free, shared accommodation.
Flight attendants start on average of just under NZ$4000 a month, according to airline figures. This includes flying pay of an average of 80 to 100 hours a month but excludes layover expenses.
''It has come to our attention that various people and organisations unrelated to the Emirates Group are sending emails or otherwise contacting individuals offering fraudulent employment opportunities in the Emirates Group.''
These people and organisations may request personal information or money from you to progress the application.
''We would therefore advise that you never provide your bank account or credit card details as part of a job application.''
Aside from a time last April when Emirates grounded its entire fleet, it has maintained services to New Zealand. The number of flights is around a third of the pre-pandemic 21 a week between Auckland, Christchurch and Dubai.
The airline no longer uses A380s to this country.
This week it announced it would restore United States services to nearly 80 per cent of pre-Covid levels by next month and to more than 90 per cent by December.
More connectivity from October is to Boston, Dallas, New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington DC.
It says it has been building up connectivity in response to growing passenger demand on the back of rising travel confidence and the easing of international travel protocols.
Emirates crew Koby Tay (left) and Ana Tomas in the first class section of an A380. Photo / Grant Bradley
The airline says interest is growing from US travellers to visit Dubai, which will be hosting a number of major events including the World Expo, starting next month.
In May the Middle East's largest airline announced a net loss of US$5.5 billion (NZ$7.7b) over the past year as revenue fell by more than 66 per cent.
The Dubai-based airline said revenue had declined by US$8.4b, even as operating costs decreased by 46 per cent.
What has for years been the world's biggest long-haul carrier carried just 6.6 million passengers last year, nearly 90 per cent down on the previous year.
The United States announced this week it would open its borders travellers from 33 countries for vaccinated travellers.
The United States will admit fully vaccinated air travellers from the 26 so-called Schengen countries in Europe including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Greece, as well as Britain, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran and Brazil.
The International Air Transport Association says 1.8 billion passengers flew last year, a decrease of 60.2 per cent compared to the 4.5 billion who flew in 2019.
Industry-wide air travel demand (measured in revenue passenger-kilometers, or RPKs) dropped by 65.9 per cent year-on-year.
