EasyJet has launched two new campaigns aimed at overcoming fears about flying and encouraging people from all walks of life to consider a “career-changing” airline job.
Winter courses to help “aerophobics” are now on sale with experience flights at seven UK airports, and the company – one of the key low-cost airlines operating at Corvera Airport Murcia – is also aiming to recruit more than 1,000 new cabin crew this year.
Nurturing “Fearless Flyers”
The “Fearless Flyer” course returns this winter, “to help nervous flyers take control and overcome their fears”. Scheduled for October, November and February, the courses are being held at Bristol (1 October), London Luton (14 October), Manchester (15 October), Glasgow (4 November), London Gatwick (12 November) and Belfast (11 February) airports, as well as returning to London Stansted (18 November) for the first time since 2020.
According to EasyJet, “Since 2012 more than 11,000 phobics have taken to the skies after successfully completing the Fearless Flyer course, with the program achieving over 95 per cent success rate, and in March this year EasyJet celebrated its 150th course milestone.”
The course, which costs from £89 per person, is divided into three main parts:
- A virtual ground course, lasting approximately two and a half hours, where top phobia expert Lawrence Leyton and a senior EasyJet captain will “explain the unfamiliar sounds and sensations customers feel onboard an aircraft and teach them a unique set of mind techniques to manage their nerves”.
- A pre-flight one-hour “Meet the Team” online Zoom session, where participants will be walked through the airport experience and what to expect, and which will also include a participant Q&A session for any last-minute questions.
- A special one-hour experience flight from the course airport, where customers “put their new skills to the test while listening to a live commentary of the flight from the Fearless Flyer team.
A separate VIP course is also on offer at London Luton and Manchester, with extra exclusive benefits including a dedicated captain who will guide participants through the experience flight day, a pre-flight private video call with a pilot and the Fearless Flyer team, VIP check-in process, security and boarding for the experience flight, guaranteed up-front seats, and lifetime access to additional course materials.
“The course is suitable for anyone who is a nervous flyer,” explained captain Chris Foster, the Fearless Flyer lead pilot at EasyJet, “whether they experience slight anxiety or whether they have never flown before, and with a success rate of more than 95 per cent we would encourage anyone wishing to overcome their fear to take part.”
According to course director Mark Wein, “Around one in six people have a fear of flying, stopping many from travelling abroad on holiday, visiting friends and family or even flying for work, so why wait to join so many who have already overcome their fears through our renowned Fearless Flyer course? We’re excited to help many more people get flying fearlessly on our courses over the coming months – the results are truly life-changing.”
Ruth Shortt, who took the course in Belfast this year, said, “Before taking the Fearless Flyer course. I hadn’t been on a plane in 11 years. I tried hypnotherapy, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and medication. None of these worked. The Fearless Flyer course was both amazing and life changing. Thank you so much to all the Fearless Flyer team. You are truly wonderful people and I will be forever grateful to you all. I would highly recommend the Fearless Flyer course to anyone battling with a fear of flying. It really works.”
A limited number of spaces on the courses are now available at fearlessflyer.easyjet.com.
Tackling Professional Stereotypes
Meanwhile, an opera singer, a former chef and an ex-radio presenter are the stars of EasyJet’s new cabin crew recruitment campaign, while a former dental nurse, an optician and a Paris police officer also feature.
With the aim of “tackling stereotypes about the profession,” the airline wants to recruit over 1,000 new cabin crew this year, with career changers among those being encouraged to apply. According to EasyJet, “The campaign highlights that life experience and transferable skills, such as customer service, communication, teamwork and people management, make many ideal candidates for the role. The new campaign, featuring multi-talented EasyJetters who started off in different careers, aims to showcase the potential for anyone to turn their skills and passions towards becoming cabin crew.”
The initiative follows EasyJet’s work last year encouraging people over 45 to consider a career as cabin crew, and since then the number of over-45s flying with the airline as crew has increased by 28 per cent.
Latest research from the airline found that:
- Seventy-five per cent of Brits believe there is still a misconception that cabin crew is typically a role for women.
- As a result, four in 10 (43 per cent) British men say they would not consider doing the job because of the traditional gender stereotypes around the role.
- However, close to half of men surveyed (45 per cent) say that they would have considered being cabin crew if there was more visibility of male representation in the job and a third (33 per cent) would be tempted to consider giving up their current careers to become cabin crew so that they could see the world.
- The vast majority (97 per cent) were unaware that changing their career to become cabin crew would only take four weeks from beginning of training to first flight. In fact, three quarters (73 per cent) thought that it would take in excess of six months to train for the role.
“At EasyJet our people are at the heart of everything we do,” said director of cabin services Michael Brown, “and our cabin crew play such an important part of that, taking care of a quarter of a million customers flying with us every single day – and there’s a good reason they are famous for their warm welcome and excellent service.
“All our brilliant crew who are part of this new campaign are the perfect example of how the skills you can learn in all walks of life make being cabin crew a fantastic new opportunity for everyone, so we want to encourage even more people like them to join us. If you’ve got a passion for people and want a job that’s different every day, then we can’t wait to welcome you on board as part of the team.”
Two of the real-life cabin crew who feature in the new recruitment campaign are Thiago and Ian.
“Being an opera singer and performing in a choir for eight years,” said London Gatwick-based cabin manager Thiago, “was a great experience of being a team player and a people person, which is an important skill for cabin crew. I love meeting people and as cabin crew at Gatwick we get to work with new colleagues every day and meet customers from every nationality.”
Edinburgh-based cabin manager Ian said, “I had reached the stage in my career when I was looking to do something different, but where I could still use some of my skills and experience. I enjoy travelling and meeting people, so being cabin crew seemed the ideal opportunity. I joined EasyJet at 49 years old, showing that anyone at any age with the right skills can become crew. In my first week of working at EasyJet someone handed me a birthday dedication to read over the PA as they boarded and I remember thinking how my previous experience on the radio was going to come in very useful in my new job.”
Visit careers.easyjet.com/cabin-crew/ for more information about a career as cabin crew with EasyJet.
