Aer Lingus is hiring 200 cabin crew – here are the salaries, perks and height restrictions

If so, you may be able to apply for a major cabin crew recruitment drive launched this month by Aer Lingus.

“You will be the face of our airline,” the push for over 200 new cabin crew trumpets.

The recruitment drive follows similar hiring efforts by Ryanair and Emirates, and comes as airlines staff up to meet the demand for post-pandemic travel.

And the pay?

Aer Lingus is advertising fixed-term contracts starting with a basic salary of €24,617.39 (gross) plus variable pay of “on average, €6,500 p.a (gross)”.

That compares to Ryanair’s entry-level salaries of “up to €27,000” (which allows for factors such as flying hours), and over €31,000 at Emirates – which is tax-free.

Aer Lingus cabin crew applicants must:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Be eligible to live and work in the Republic of Ireland
• Be able to swim 25m unaided, tread water and “board a raft from the water unaided”
• Be able to apply for and obtain US immigration/entry visas
• Hold a valid passport allowing unrestricted worldwide travel
• Have 12 months combined experience in a face-to-face customer service/sales role
• Be fluent in spoken and written English
• Have excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Be flexible in working shifts, unsociable hours, weekends, holidays and overnights
• Complete “a height and reach assessment” based on aircraft types
• Adhere to uniform policy and guidelines (tattoos/piercings “must not be visible”)
• Pass an airport security vetting procedure, including a five-year background check

Its 158cm height requirement is “to ensure cabin crew can open and close doors as well as being able to reach safety equipment stored in overhead bins,” Aer Lingus says.

Cabin crew must be able “to reach into a compartment which is 180cm high and access an item of equipment which is 40cm inside the compartment,” it adds.

The recruitment drive, conducted in partnership with Nobox, comes as Aer Lingus is expanding its European and North American routes. Next year, the airline will debut two new transatlantic services, to Denver and the twin cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul.

The deadline for applications is September 29 and applicants will have to complete preliminary assessments, including interviews, height and reach assessments and a “one-on-one Uniform Adherence check”, the airline says (it did not clarify what this check involves).

If successful, candidates will then embark on “an intensive six-week paid training programme” at Aer Lingus’ Training Academy in Dublin.

Training courses are scheduled to run from January-May next year, and will include training for short-haul routes on Airbus A320 aircraft and long-haul flights on Airbus A321 neos – single-aisle aircraft that differ substantially from the wide-body A330s serving many transatlantic routes.

As well as the basic salary, Aer Lingus cabin crew get “applicable allowances” when overnighting on duties away from base, and a “designer uniform” (the latest editions are designed by Louise Kennedy), the recruitment ad says.

The airline offers staff travel discounts, which cabin crew can also avail of “with partner airlines, hotels and car hire group companies” it adds. It has not responded to queries about the exact amount of discounts.

Cabin crew also get a staff discount at Dublin Airport’s Loop duty-free shopping, Aer Lingus says.

Ryanair’s most recent opens days have passed, but Emirates has two remaining open days in Ireland this month – on September 22 in Limerick and September 24 in Cork (emiratesgroupcareers.com/cabin-crew).

To apply visit aerlingus.com/careers.