More than 85,000 people have applied for jobs as Delta Air Lines flight attendants since the Atlanta carrier announced two months ago that it planned to hire.
Delta in August said it would call flight attendants back to work from furlough and then hire new ones, targeting those with foreign language skills for international flights.
This week, Chief Executive Richard Anderson said in a message to employees that all flight attendants on voluntary furlough have had a chance to return to work, and about 425 will begin working next year.
“That still leaves a few hundred positions to fill,” Anderson said. All told, the company is filling about 1,000 flight attendant positions, Delta spokeswoman Gina Laughlin said.
The company began interviewing candidates this week and will continue at about a 90-a-day pace through the end of the year, Anderson said. Delta already has enough applicants for non-foreign language speaking positions, but it is still accepting applications for openings requiring specific language skills.
The jobs pay $1,746 a month during training. At top scale with 12 years of seniority, Delta flight attendants make about $41,000 a year if they work an average of 75 hours a month, according to Laughlin.
“With all these applicants we have the opportunity to pick the best of the best,” Anderson said.
Delta’s openings for other positions also have drawn tens of thousands of applicants. The airline said in July, for example, that it expected about 65,000 people to apply for 1,000 openings for reservations and service agents it had at the time.
Delta has also hired about 300 pilots and more than 100 mechanics this year. It was the only major network airline that increased employment levels from July 2009 to July 2010, according to U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
