One can hardly ignore the glamor of the aviation world-expensive aircraft, elegant pilot uniforms, daily adventure high-up amidst the sky, handsome salary, office at a staggering height of 36,000ft, elaborate multi-course menus abroad, etc. Amongst all these, flight attendants- the face and representative of airlines, are the cherry on the cake as they win customers’ hearts with their striking beauty, elegant glamor, fine service attitude, and hospitality. No doubt all airlines hire or tend to hire attractive and skilled cabin crew but have you seen Delta flight attendants? In addition to being attractive, they deliver unparalleled customer service and hospitality, which set them apart from the rest. Do you want to pursue your career as a Delta flight attendant? Let’s investigate further.
Background of Delta Air Lines and its flight attendants
Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier, has a pool of flight attendants representing Delta’s strong family culture rooted in a shared commitment to living values-honesty, integrity, respect, perseverance, and service leadership. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Delta Air Lines has been in the airline business for nearly a century since 1925 and continues to expand with no sign of hiatus. With a fleet of over 900 aircraft, Delta, along with its subsidiaries and regional affiliates, fly over 5400 flights per day. It is evident that each flight requires a number of flight attendants to ensure a welcoming and safe environment for passengers. There are over 25000 Delta flight attendants flying on the carrier’s global network spanning over 300 destinations in 60 countries on six continents.
Reports say that around 26000 candidates apply for Delta flight attendants for a few thousand positions. You must meet Delta Air Lines requirements and develop necessary and extraordinary skills to stand out from the crowd and secure the Delta flight attendant position. Meanwhile, Delta anticipates hiring additional flight attendants and having over 4500 on the frontline by 2022.
If you are considering a career as a Delta flight attendant, please ensure that you fulfill the following list of requirements for Delta Air Lines:
- At least 21 years of age
- Must have a high school degree or General Education Diploma (GED)
- Fluency in English speaking, reading, writing, and understanding
- Able to work legally in the US
- Able to acquire a valid passport with at least 28 months validity remaining before the first day of training (Non-US citizens must possess their travel documents showcasing their ability for non-restrictive entry and exit in the US)
- Willing to fly both domestic and international routes
- Demonstrate flexibility to relocate or commute to/from assigned base location and deal with scheduling changes on short-notice
- Vision correctable to 20/40
- Have clean records while doing background checks and complete a pre-employment DOT drug test
- Meet physical requirements of the job, such as opening and closing overhead bins as high as 74″ from the floor, reaching safety equipment, standing for long periods, walking, bending, stooping, pushing, pulling, lifting, opening emergency exits, and closing aircraft doors weighing up to 60 pounds.
- Full vaccination against COVID-19 by the date of hire
Apart from the English language, Delta Air Lines prioritizes the languages of destination applicants who are fluent in Danish, Dutch, Greek, and Hebrew languages.
The chances of landing the job are even higher if you possess at least one year of work experience in personalized customer service, patient care, and/or a role ensuring the safety and care of others or have completed a degree beyond high school. The top-tier candidates who demonstrate excellent performance during training and drive exceptional customer experience and safety performance on board will join the Delta team in the sky.
Why pursue a career as a Delta flight attendant?
Delta flight attendants are the face of the carrier’s resilient spirit representing its bright future as they embrace the spirit of service to continue making Delta better than it’s ever been. It’s a dream come true for many people to work as a Delta flight attendant owing to its values-led culture, financial resiliency, upward and global mobility, worldwide pass travel privileges, discounted Delta Vacations perks, and equitable opportunities to succeed. A career as a Delta flight attendant is an adventure to the outermost corners of the world and an opportunity to learn distinctive cultures from all over the world. The greater the working environment, the greater the opportunities for growth. Pursuing the flight attendant profession in Delta allows you to thrive in strong family culture and drive you to be different than your competition to maintain lead in the marketplace. It is exciting to get such a profession that connects you to the world with the privilege of touching the lives of 180 million annual customers every day and other benefits that are the envy of the marketplace. This is possible as a Delta flight attendant.
How to apply?
The best place to apply for a Delta flight attendant job is the carrier’s website- delta.com/careers by searching the job title ‘flight attendant.’ Beginning June 15, Delta has opened the application for interested candidates, including those who applied in August 2021 or January 2022. But those who previously applied and were not selected to advance to the flight attendant position will have to wait till fall. Due to high demand, Delta Air Lines recommends submitting the application sooner to improve the applicant experience and move aspiring flight attendants through their hiring process faster.
Also Read: Delta JFK terminal, JFK Terminal-2 and Terminal 4 of JFK Airport
Delta’s step-by-step flight attendant hiring process
In order to select safety-and customer-centric flight attendant professionals, Delta follows the following steps in hiring progress:
1. Flight attendant application
As mentioned earlier, you need to complete the application on Delta’s career site and wait for email communications from Delta’s Talent team regarding further steps in the hiring process. You need to apply using only one email address, and once the application is submitted, there’s no option for changing it.
2. Talent assessment
Talent assessment allows applicants to explore and understand their core strengths in the workplace and successful completion of this assessment helps you pass through the interview round.
3. Virtual Job Tryout
Virtual Job Tryout assessment deals with the problem-solving and customer service skills of the candidates in simulated actual situations and allows them to experience key aspects of the Flight attendant role. This is the time to illustrate their job-related skills.
4. Virtual interview
Candidates passing the aforementioned steps will be invited to a live online interview with Delta through HireVue Live, where candidates must answer questions clearly, honestly, and accurately while portraying professionalism at the same time.
5. In-person event day
This is an interactive interview day hosted by flight attendants and the talented team at Delta’s World Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Once you successfully complete the Live Online Interview, you will be invited to Event Day for your introduction to Delta Air Lines.
6. Job offer
If you have a successful event day interview, Felicitations!!!! You will receive a job offer for the Delta flight attendant position.
7. In-person training
Once you complete a pre-employment Department of Transportation (DOT) drug test and comprehensive background check prior to the first day at Delta, you will begin your 6-week onsite training in Atlanta, GA.
Roles and responsibilities
Some of the key responsibilities of Delta Flight Attendants include
- Adhere to Delta’s commitment to unparalleled customer service and ensure the safety and comfort of customers
- Demonstrate safety and emergency measures, including the use of oxygen masks, seat belts, and exit doors, and ensure safety requirements are met
- Provide information and answer customer queries
- Assist customers in lifting and stowing baggage into overhead compartments
- Make, serve, and sell meals and beverages
- Guide customers and ensure they are safe and comfortable in the event of aircraft delay or turbulence
- Administer and coordinate emergency procedures, lead customers in a case of emergency and perform CPR and basic first aid if necessary
- Adhere to Delta’s uniform and appearance guidelines and make decisions to solve issues in line with the company’s policy and core values
Delta flight attendants’ salary
The multi-award-winning Delta Air Lines offers generous pay to its outstanding flight attendants anywhere between $33000 to over $118000. The hourly pay, seniority, and incentives determine how much a Delta flight attendant makes. The longer your accrue seniority, the more flexible will be your pay rate per hour and flight schedule, respectively. The starting hourly rate for a Delta flight attendant is around $31, and once you hit six years mark, ex, it will be around $50 per hour. Other benefit programs of Delta include health and insurance coverage, worldwide travel privileges, per-diem, and discounted Delta vacation perks.
Besides standard hourly pay, there’s an annual bonus, profit sharing, and annual commission payout to encourage the best performance from flight attendants. Recently, Delta Air Lines has upped its game by adding a new boarding pay component for its flight attendants. It has become the first major US airline to pay its cabin crew during boarding at half their usual hourly rate, stepping ahead of other carriers which pay their flight attendants from when the aircraft door closes.
All the best wishes for your aviation career as a Delta flight attendant.
