Emirates boss reveals whether myth about airline only hiring attractive people to work as cabin crew is true
The big boss of Emirates has addressed the myth about the airline only hiring attractive people to work as its cabin crew.
Sir Tim Clark has been the President of the Dubai-based airline since 2003, having been a founding member back in 1985.
It’s fair to say Emirates has quite a reputation for its clean, chic and somewhat glamorous appearance while travelling. The staff always seem to have crisp, perfectly fitting uniforms with perfect hair, perfect makeup and just general perfection vibes on board the planes.
And so, the myth has long stood that the airline hires its flight attendants based on appearance.
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Piers Morgan therefore used his opportunity while chatting with Clark to find out if there is any truth to this, asking if ‘old and ugly men and women are banned from being employed.'
During the recent interview for Piers Morgan Uncensored, the broadcaster joked that you can’t be ‘aesthetically challenged’ and ‘only the beautiful and young’ can work on Emirates planes.
Clark took these jokes well, laughing them off as he said: “Let me be clear here. We have 25,000 cabin crew.
“And they come from all parts of the world.”
He explained that the company is ‘hugely aspirational’ for a lot of ‘these people.'
“We do not discriminate in any shape or form,” the Emirates President added.
Morgan then interrupted him to continue: “There are very, very few ugly people I’ve noticed serving on your planes.”
I mean, it’s worth pointing out here that ‘ugly’ is a pretty subjective term, especially coming from Morgan with his often controversial take and having previously been under heat for alleged ‘misogynistic’ and ‘sexist’ comments.
Clark said: “We can select any individual from Argentina, from China, from Canada, from the United Kingdom.
“And we’re always trying to get the people who have all the qualities that we need to sustain our brand and advance our brand. That is empathy, that is the ability to work with people, work under pressures.
“If it happens by coincidence they happen to be good looking, well done.”
Morgan couldn’t help but laugh at this as he said he ‘wouldn’t have a problem’ if that was the policy.
“I don’t particularly want to be served by ugly people,” the twice-married 60-year-old man from Surrey said. “No offence to ugly people, but why would you?”
And Clark then importantly pointed out: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, let’s be careful here.”
Well, even if it seems like Morgan wishes that it was true, the boss has denied Emirates purposely only hiring ‘young and beautiful’ cabin crew.
On the site, it says that to be considered for Emirates cabin crew, you’ll need various experience and no visible tattoos while in uniform as well as being:
- Fluent in written and spoken English (additional languages are an advantage)
- A natural team player with a personality that shines
- At least 160cm tall and able to reach 212cm high
- Able to meet the UAE’s employment visa requirements
- At least 21 years old
Topics: Flight attendants, Piers Morgan, Plane Etiquette, Travel, Business
Jess Battison