As a crippling cabin crew strike finally comes to an end, the Taiwanese carrier EVA Air has reopened flight attendant recruitment – and for the very first time in the airline’s history, male candidates will be allowed to apply. According to news reports out of Taiwan, up to 70% of past candidates were men but these applications were previously rejected because EVA Air refused to recruit male flight attendants.
The decision to start hiring male flight attendants was directly linked to negotiations with the cabin crew union in a dispute over pay and working conditions. It also follows controversy over the treatment of all-female crew by certain passengers – including a predatory customer who coerced a flight attendant to clean his backside.
EVA Air says it plans to draw its initial male flight attendants from existing employees who work on the ground – around 300 male staffers have already applied to transfer to in-flight service and training is expected to start in September.
For new candidates, the application process is now open on EVA Air’s Taiwanese recruitment website until 31st August 2019.
As well as holding an identity card for the Republic of China, candidates must also speak and read English fluently and have a visual acuity of 0.8 or better (with or without correction).
Interested candidates should only submit their application via the official EVA Air website.