China Southern Airlines Stages Pageant to Hire Stewardesses
By Zhan Lisheng, China Daily HK Edition | Apr. 28, 2008
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Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines hosted a pageant-type fair to recruit stewardesses in Guangzhou over the past weekend.
Thousands of young women, many of whom are college students, attended the two-day initial selection process.
"Those who passed the initial selection round must go through several other stringent screening processes; and the final selection will be aired on TV," said Li Hongfeng, a media spokeswoman with China Southern.
She said similar recruiting is being done in eight other cities nationwide as the airline aims to recruit 500 stewardesses this year. Of those hired, 100 will undergo extensive training and serve on Olympic flights in August.
Candidates must be healthy females over 165cm tall and between the ages of 18 and 25.
Male flight attendants will also be hired this year, but still in the traditional way.
"China's airline industry has been growing very rapidly, which intensifies the demand for flight attendants," Li said. "The grand recruitment event series will be conducive to China Southern's business development in several respects."
The extensive recruitment events, she said, will enable the maximum number of young women - including those from rural areas - to apply for a position. It also broadens China Southern's search to recruit the best attendants.
With a fleet of 330 planes, China Southern handled 57 million passengers last year, topping all other domestic airline companies for 29 consecutive years.
"Believe it or not, the quality of the stewardesses is an important factor for passengers in China, as well as in many other Asian regions, to assess the quality of an airline service," Li noted.
On the other hand, she added, the publicity and promotional activities will help broaden China Southern's recognition.
Liu Yingshi, a lecturer of human resources with South China Normal University, said China Southern's recruiting plans set an example for state-owned enterprises to reform their personnel systems. It's worth trying for firms that require a good-looking staff, she said.
Photograph: China Southern Airlines' flight attendant hiring fair in Zhengzhou on April 21.