United Airlines Crew

cheezeflan · Post by **cheezeflan** » Sat, 18 Mar 2006 2:18 pm

Has anyone here attended United Airlines Flight Attendant interview before? was wondering how's the process like?

donno · Post by **donno** » Sat, 18 Mar 2006 3:49 pm

I think this is the first time they having interview for Singaporeans.

But this position is for regional only and I think the pay will be better.

janhui · Post by **janhui** » Sat, 18 Mar 2006 4:26 pm

May i ask is United Airlines recruiting now? Did u see the advertisement anywhere?

donno · Post by **donno** » Sat, 18 Mar 2006 5:36 pm

Yes. United recruitment is now on.
Check the website. Or today's newspaper.

singaporegrrl · Post by **singaporegrrl** » Sun, 19 Mar 2006 1:41 am

I don't think UA has any bonds. The training lasts for 10 weeks. As in most flight attendant programs, this will probably be the toughest 10 weeks of your life. During this time, you will have only 4-6 days off. You will be trained in all of the airplanes UA flies.

You will be trained at the UA training centre at Elk Grove, IL, USA. Be prepared to work 11-12 hours a day, every day. You will wear business attire for the first four weeks and after that you will wear your uniform. You will not be paid and you will have to purchase your uniform and luggage. The cost is about US$700. You are recommended to bring with you at least US$2,000 to make it through. Don't forget that you will be almost four months without a paycheck.

Training emphasis is on safety and service. Approximately 30% of testing is in writing and 70% in hands on. The passing grade is 90% while SEP, 100%. Only one retake is allowed for a failed exam and only two retakes are allowed throughout the training.

After graduation you will be given 2-7 days rest, then you report to your base. As a rule, you will be on stand-by for several years before you can actually receive specific schedules.

UA guarantees a minimum of 75 flight hours per month at the rate of $19.05 per flight hour. Maximum is 85 flight hours per month. Your annual income could be between US$21,000 - US$23,000, including the additional $1.85/hr per diem.

Each year, your salary will increase by US$1,000 and at 5 years, your income will be up to US33,000 annually. This includes extra hours, holidays and overtime. You can work 6 days in a row as maximum. You are guaranteed 12 days off each month. You get almost a double pay for working holidays and your birthday counts as a holiday.

Your travel benefits begin after 6 months on the job. Before that, you and your dependants can travel on a 90% discount. You will receive 6 "buddy" passes a year (these are discounted air travel passes for your family and friends on flights where seats are available). There is a generous dental and medical plan. UA flight attendants are unionized and the monthly fee is US$35. Union membership is mandatory.

Vacations and scheduling are governed by senority. So keep in mind that you have some 23,000 peaople ahead of you.

This information was purely collected from my research and my apologies for any misleading, if any.

bent · Post by **bent** » Sun, 19 Mar 2006 7:52 pm

wow. thanks for the info.

i guess that applies only to Americans?

donno · Post by **donno** » Sun, 19 Mar 2006 8:05 pm

No,bent..

It is open to Singaporeans. Both males and females may apply.
Minimum A level or a polytechnic diploma.
Guys must complete NS or in the process of completing.

Hope it helps..

singaporegrrl · Post by **singaporegrrl** » Sun, 19 Mar 2006 8:11 pm

The entry I posted earlier might be gathered from Americans but what I know is that new flight attendants, regardless of nationality flies only regional routes. So the figures I've mentioned could be true. Oh yah, Singapore-based crews, like other crews in UA will be trained at the UA training facility at IL, USA.

cheezeflan · Post by **cheezeflan** » Sun, 19 Mar 2006 9:13 pm

Thanks for the info everyone. Have any of you applied for the job yet? two months training without pay is quite scarry

janhui · Post by **janhui** » Sun, 19 Mar 2006 10:54 pm

ya... w/o salary is bad enough on top of having to bring abt US$2,000 for own expenses. And have to pay for own uniform & luggage.

Plavt · Post by **Plavt** » Sun, 19 Mar 2006 11:07 pm

janhui wrote:ya... w/o salary is bad enough on top of having to bring abt US$2,000 for own expenses. And have to pay for own uniform & luggage.

Shows what they are worth as an employer don't you think?

Plavt.

sq_boy · Post by **sq_boy** » Mon, 20 Mar 2006 10:17 pm

Hey, I read the advertisement on the newspapers and it states that the incumbent will serve within Asia. Does it mean that the selected candidate will only be serving destinations within Asia, unlike SIA where flight attendants get to travel to continents outside Asia.

. Anyone have any idea and care to enlighten me?

magrit · Post by **magrit** » Mon, 20 Mar 2006 10:25 pm

hey singapore grrl, are u sure tat ppl will not be paid for e seven weeks of training? i tink tats highly impossible..... where did u get all the information from? are u a current sq girl? anyway just curious.....

so anybody here applied? since its their first recruitment drive, i suppose there wouldnt be anyone here who knows abt their recruitment process ya?

so so will it be the same like silkair where e FAs do turnaround flts?

Plavt · Post by **Plavt** » Mon, 20 Mar 2006 11:11 pm

Magrit,
It is quite possible that you will not get paid anything by United when traininng as they are in a lot of financial trouble. One of their flight attendants tells me they are bankrupt which was in the news and are only in existence due to government grants so I believe.

Plavt.

singaporegrrl · Post by **singaporegrrl** » Tue, 21 Mar 2006 12:01 am

magrit wrote:hey singapore grrl, are u sure tat ppl will not be paid for e seven weeks of training? i tink tats highly impossible..... where did u get all the information from? are u a current sq girl? anyway just curious.....

so anybody here applied? since its their first recruitment drive, i suppose there wouldnt be anyone here who knows abt their recruitment process ya?

so so will it be the same like silkair where e FAs do turnaround flts?

Firstly, nope I'm not a Singapore Girl nor a flight attendant of any airlines but aspiring to be one. I have contacts from few American airlines who told me information on some airlines there.

Most American airlines do not consider you as an employee when you are in training. From what I know, many dreamt of flying but after going through the rigorous trainings, many dropped out of class. Maybe this explains the no paycheck during training. But there is still some allowance given to you to assist you in your expenses, especially with meal expenses. But I heard UA has stopped paying allowances during training. However, you will get free housing and three free meals a day. That's why you are recommended to bring extra cash with you in case you require more personal expenses.

Unlike SIA or SilkAir, etc, most American airlines require you to buy your uniforms. You cannot refuse buying any piece. You cannot say you will do fine with 3 shirts if the company dictates you purchase 5. However you can save some money by buying your shoes and luggage elsewhere as long as they meet the uniform requirements.

For the interview process with United Airlines, I was informed that there will be a brief presentation, Q&A session and a break. Then you come back a few minutes later for the personal presentation (similar to SIA's 1st round where you introduce yourself).

When everyone is finished with their presentation, test booklets are distributed. It is somewhat like a comprehension test. There are 2 sets of tests, A and B. There are no trick questions. You are given questions pertaining to the airplanes, or the job of a flight attendant. You need not have any previous knowledge because the rules or the information you need to know to answer the question are given before the question is asked.

Day 2 interview session begins with a "video test". It is somewhat a "flight attendant IQ test", testing your judgement when it comes to customer service. The 2nd part is your personality test. If I'm not mistaken, this is done during a group discussion.

Then comes the crucial part, the one-on-one interview. This is where you answer questions like why you want to be a flight attendant and why with United. You will be asked about your current or previous job, the jobs you liked and disliked. There may be role playing as well. You may be given more than one situation, depending on what the recruiter is looking for. Your language skills may also be tested at this time. Usually the test is waived if the language is your native language.

The nerve-wrecking period will come as you wait for your welcome package, which includes a UA voucher for you to fly to IL, USA for your training. Don't worry, as a norm, it'll be in business class. As for graduated new flight attendants, I've mentioned that they will only fly regional routes, regardless of nationality (even new American-based flight attendants fly regional). But I can't be certain if they do turn-arounds or provide layovers for Singapore-based crews.

One thing's for sure, those who make it through and graduate will be the first ever batch of Singapore-based United Airlines flight attendants.

Information above is solely gathered from my personal research in hopes of sharing them with aspiring UA crews. There may be changes or additional information that I may have missed out.

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