Ryanair is planning a big cabin crew recruitment drive in the United Kingdom with 200 new positions available at its cabin crew bases around the country and more opportunities open throughout Europe. The airline will be holding a number of recruitment events in London, Manchester and the East Midlands over the next month.
As the largest low-cost airline in Europe, Ryanair is promising a number of benefits for new hires, including a £700 new joiners allowance, the potential to earn up to £18,000 (made up of a “competitive” basic salary, productivity bonuses and sales commission) in the first year, as well as free training and uniform.
There’s also the promise of a stable ‘five on, three off’ roster, a guaranteed two-year contract and a generous staff travel scheme. Interestingly, Ryanair says it can offer the “security of working for a financially stable airline,” despite threats to pull out of the UK as a result of ‘Brexit’.
Most cabin crew at the Irish low-cost airline aren’t actually employed directly by Ryanair but instead work as ‘contractors’ through an employment agency. Crewlink – which is a Dublin-based employment agency – will be hiring the new cabin crew for the UK opportunities.
There are currently around 9,000 cabin crew working for Ryanair who help to operate 2,000 daily flights to more than 200 destinations. If you want to join the team, these are the minimum criteria that Ryanair is looking for:
- At least 18-years old
- A “good level of English”
- Minimum height of 5’2″ (157 cm), Maximum height of 6’2″ (188 cm)
- Able to swim at least 25 metres unaided
- The unrestricted right to live and work in the EU
You’ll also need to prove that you possess “excellent customer service skills”, have a “can do” attitude and “bags of enthusiasm”. Of course, Ryanair flights take-off and land at all times of day and night and the airline operates 365 days of the year, so they’ll want to know you can handle the unsocial working hours!
Candidates will first need to submit their details on the official Ryanair careers website in order to attend one of the following recruitment events:
| Date | City |
|---|---|
| 17th April | Manchester |
| 25th April | London |
| 26th April | East Midlands |
| 27th April | Manchester |
| 11th May | London |
| 14th May | East Midlands |
| 16th May | Manchester |
| 30th May | London |
As well as positions available in the UK, there are also opportunities in a number of other countries including Italy, Hungary and Portugal. More details can be found on the airline’s careers website.
Ryanair has come in for a fair amount of criticism over the way it employs and treats its cabin crew. Until only recently, the airline used to charge new joiners thousands of pounds for their training and new uniform.
In a bid to improve relations with staff, Ryanair has said it will recognise unions and is making changes to improve the working life of cabin crew. However, Portuguese cabin crew recently walked-out on strike in protest at the way the airline was treating them.
There is also concern that crew are employed under Irish employment contracts – these offer fewer protections than what you might ordinarily expect in the country you’re working in.
