(Last updated on: 12/10/2020)

The post provides details of becoming British Airways Cabin Crew. 

Application process

British Airways advertise all jobs on their website BA.com. In recent times they have had an almost constant ongoing recruitment campaign, which is good news for prospective Cabin Crew! They advertise for their London Heathrow, Gatwick and City bases and occasionally you can find positions at other bases too.

They have massively shortened their application processes in recent years. Previously you were required to complete a long form, detailing how you meet the criteria they are looking for and providing lots of examples of your experiences. Now, however, it is a simple process of uploading a CV. Don’t let this fool you though! They are still looking for those core competencies so make sure that you adapt your CV to demonstrate that you are what they are looking for. Not sure how to do this? Download my Cabin Crew CV template or check out my 1:1 Cabin Crew tuition and guidance.

If you are successful at this stage you will be invited to an assessment day. During this day you will have your height measured, they will check that you can physically fit into a jump seat, you will have a presentation about becoming British Airways Cabin Crew and then you will undertake a range of activities. Activities are likely to include a group task and a customer service task-read about Chelsey’s assessment day experience for more details. At this point they will usually send some candidates home and undertake 1:1 or panel interviews with the remaining people. 

Training

Ever watched the programme ‘A Very British Airline’? If not, you should! Training is challenging and many people do not make it. But if you work hard, study for your exams and make sure you don’t break any of the rules you should be fine!

Training takes six weeks and involves health and safety training, fire drills, ditching and swimming and aviation first aid. It also has a two week customer service programme which includes working in different cabins and premium training. You will also learn about all of the aircraft types that you will be operating on. There will be a range of practical assessments and exams throughout.

Nervous about the training? I have it all covered in my Becoming Cabin Crew e-book.

Working life

You will most likely be recruited onto a Mixed Fleet contract, meaning that you operate a range of short and long-haul flights. This post is explains what British Airways Mixed Fleet is, if you’re not sure.  Rosters vary considerably, you won’t generally work more than about six days in a row but aside from that your roster is anyone’s guess! One day you could be in Tokyo, the next in Manchester.

One of the benefits of working for British Airways is that you are provided with lots of opportunities to travel. You will have a combination of long and short stop overs in a range of countries. You can bid on the destinations that you wish to visit and you can swap flights with colleagues too.

British Airways Mixed Fleet are expanding all of the time so new routes are added regularly.

Salary

British Airways Cabin Crew are generally paid a base salary and flight pay. On the website British Airways state that Cabin Crew earn between £23,000-£28,000 per year, but this is widely contested, with many Cabin Crew claiming to earn considerably less.

Fight pay is paid from the moment you check in until the moment you check out again at base, so you are paid this money the entire time that you are away. This includes time down route. For this reason your monthly salary is likely to differ significantly depending on the number of flights done in any given month and if you are on leave (when you will be paid only base-pay).

Accommodation

Unlike some airlines, British Airways does not provide accommodation. Living in and around London is expensive so Cabin Crew tend either to share a house or flat, often with other Cabin Crew, or to commute from outside London and use a Crew House when it is too early/late to travel.

Do you have any experience working for British Airways? I would love to hear from you, please leave your comments in the box below!

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