World joins Chinese carriers' cabin crews

Applicants in Rome, Italy, wait for the cabin crew job interview organized by China Eastern Airlines Corp Ltd in November.[Photo/Xinhua]

The carrier lays stress on punctuality and quality service, Shang said. "We need to find a balance to let them understand the company's regulations and at the same time, we don't interfere with their freedom."

Foreign flight attendants' compensation is higher than that of their Chinese colleagues as the former do not receive perks like local insurance and housing allowance, Shang said.

The carrier also has a special team to manage its foreign flight attendants.

The increasing recruitment of foreign flight attendants indicates Chinese airlines' fast expansion into international markets.

Statistics from the Civil Aviation Administration of China showed that Chinese airlines added 84 new international routes in the first half of this year, up 35 percent year-on-year. The domestic air market is saturated, so the carriers are investing more in overseas markets.

The fast-developing high-speed train network in China also drove airlines to introduce longer routes and even intercontinental routes, said Li Xiaojin, a professor at the Civil Aviation University of China in Tianjin. "More market potential is on international routes for Chinese carriers."

China's growing outbound tourism has also encouraged Chinese airlines to offer international services. In fact, Chinese airlines overtook their United States rivals for the first time in the number of flights across Pacific this summer.

Chinese residents' overseas visits will likely reach 120 million trips this year, up 16 percent year-on-year, according to the China Tourism Academy.

Since Chinese carriers alone cannot meet such demand, even foreign airlines are reaching out to Chinese travelers and exploring the second-tier market in China.

And, in a reversal of sorts, foreign airlines are hiring Chinese candidates as cabin crew to serve the increasing number of Chinese fliers among their patrons.

For instance, out of 2,500 Chinese applicants, British Airways Plc hired 65 of them in China as cabin crew on Dec 1. They will work on British Airways' cabin crew bases in Beijing and Shanghai, which were opened two months ago.

They will undergo eight-week training in London and subsequently work on the carrier's Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu routes with the London-based cabin crews from June 2016.

"We are looking for applicants who have a passion for delivering excellent service, who will understand and anticipate the needs of our Chinese customers," said Jacques Hijlkema, head of in-flight customer experience at British Airways.

He said the standard of the Chinese candidates was very high. All the BA flights from China will have at least two Chinese crew on board in future.

BA operates daily flights from Beijing and Shanghai, and five flights a week from Chengdu, to London.