Airline Commander and Crew Mentor, Qrewmentor helps and guides crew members to access jobs with honesty and professionalism.
It is one of the most common questions among our cabin crew community and pilots.
Do I meet the requirements to access the entrance tests for this or another airline?
We are going to discuss this topic a bit, because it is one of the most recurring questions that aviation has today.
We are going to divide the requirements into non-negotiable, slightly negotiable and highly negotiable.
I explain.
An airline will never get into temporary processes outside of its control while paying a worker.
I give examples:
Passport: They ask for passports from certain countries because the authorities (I don’t know anyone who loves bureaucracy in aviation) require certain conditions and limitations for their workers. Have a passport, permanent residence, a work visa, etc…
An airline will never get involved in processes of authorization and/or sponsorship of passports and visas, unless:
The government is in favor of helping and speeding up said bureaucracy, as is the case with Emirates, Qatar, Etihad, or even Copa Airlines or Korean Air or Japanese or Chinese operators (these last two are slower in said processes).
That is why they ask for passport and permit conditions that if we do not comply, it will be very difficult to continue.
Age: The same goes for age. Certain countries consider the minimum age to access crew or pilot positions at 21 years and the company cannot do anything about it if the age is lower. There are also cases of age above (too old to be hired).
Studies: Completing high school may be a legal requirement, which is not negotiable by the airlines. They do not help or sponsor or wait for us to finish the studies, so it is better to comply with said requirement.
English: A minimum is requested, B1 rather advanced, a B2 is the comfort zone for many crew members and C1 the professional zone.
If we do not give these levels, they will not help us. Let’s say they will think “learn English and then try again”.
In fact, at QrewMentor we always give our mentees an English test at the beginning. This is how we make sure that they give the level that the company requires.
Within the slightly negotiable we find 2 factors to take into account:
Height: They are generally access requirements to emergency material (arm reach) or company marketing. If they find themselves short of adequate personnel, they can change them, although they are generally quite reluctant to do so.
Tattoos: The internal policies of the companies are changing little by little, and some allow them, others allow them to be covered and others do not allow anything.
This rule will also change depending on the market and society.
Finally the most easily negotiable are:
Previous experience: They generally want experience either in flying or working with customer service and/or being part of human teams. It’s not essential, but it makes your training easier to adapt.
Other languages or skills: Languages are a very important part when hiring flight personnel, because it makes communication between crew members or with passengers more effective.
With these variables, we already know where yes, where not and what we need to access the companies.
Until then, find peaceful skies.
Enrique. QrewMentor Team
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