American Airlines this week opened applications for its 2027 flight attendant trainee class.
The carrier said its evaluation and hiring process will be more transparent than in years past, with candidates given a more realistic picture of the job and its demands. This includes working on nights, weekends, and holidays, and spending one’s first two years “on reserve,” which means being available for assignments on short notice.
The process will also emphasize the benefits flight attendants receive, including travel privileges.
“As American continues its focus on enhancing the premium experience for customers, improving the candidate experience is one of the many ways we’re ensuring our people are equally committed and prepared to care for people on life’s journey,” American Chief People Officer Cole Brown said in a news release. “We want the process to mirror the hospitality and service our customers should expect when they travel with us.”
Candidates selected to proceed after submitting their application online will be asked to record and submit a short introduction video. Remote and in-person interviews and assessments will follow. The next stage is seven weeks of training at American’s Robert L. Crandall Campus in Dallas/Fort Worth in 2027. After graduation, new hires go through a six-month probationary period.
While fluency in multiple languages is not a requirement, American said it is looking for speakers with knowledge of Mandarin, Dutch, German, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Italian, Korean, Spanish, Czech, French, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Japanese, or Portuguese.
American’s flight attendants are assigned to one of 10 crew bases at airports in the continental U.S. They are Boston, Chicago O’Hare, Los Angeles (also covers Ontario, Burbank, and Orange County), New York-LaGuardia (also covers JFK and Newark), Phoenix, Charlotte, North Carolina, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami (also covers Fort Lauderdale and other Miami-area airports), Philadelphia, and Reagan National (also covers Washington Dulles and Baltimore/Washington). While personal preferences are considered, assignments are based on seniority, availability, and operational needs, the airline said.
