Qantas welcomes more cabin crew just in time for its busiest travel period

Qantas is preparing for its busiest Christmas holiday period in years, with the airline having just announced its latest move to help cope with the surge.

Qantas is preparing for its busiest Christmas holiday period in years with the airline having boosted its international cabin crew to help cope with the massive surge.

Qantas is preparing for its busiest Christmas holiday period in years, with the airline having boosted its international cabin crew to help cope with the massive surge.

More than 8.5 million people are due to fly on the national carrier and Jetstar services — which is part of the Qantas Group — in December and January across almost 70,000 flights.

It’s just over half a million more people than the same time last year and is the most passengers since the 2019-20 festive season.

In preparation for the busy festive period, it announced maintenance has been brought forward on Qantas and Jetstar aircraft and up to 13 aircraft will be on standby as “operational spares”.

On Tuesday, it also revealed 16 new faces will join its International Cabin Crew team as the pre-Christmas graduating cohort mark the end of their eight-week intensive training program.

Qantas has welcomed 16 new cabin crew recruits just in time for its biggest travel period.

The new recruits are among more than 1,350 International and Domestic cabin crew who joined Qantas throughout 2023.

Children’s behavioural therapist, Tash Lipshus, said she was looking for a career change and had always wanted to work for Qantas.

“So when the opportunity came up, I seized it,” she said.

“The last few weeks of training has been fantastic, it has been incredibly rewarding and I can’t wait to put everything I learnt into practice.

“I’m really excited for my first flight to Hong Kong which is on Christmas Day. We have some nice Christmas treats in store for our customers on-board, so it is certainly a festive way to start my journey with Qantas.”

Children’s behavioural therapist, Tash Lipshus (L), said she was looking for a career change and had always wanted to work for Qantas.

The new recruits will embark on their first flights from this week, entering service just in time for the Christmas and New Year peak travel period, with some operating flights to key international destinations including Japan (Narita), Hong Kong and Singapore.

Phil Capps, Qantas executive manager for product and service, said it is “incredibly exciting” to see new faces join Qantas and the hospitality industry.

“From our airport ground staff to cabin crew, across all of Qantas we are continuing to invest in staff training to ensure we make Christmas, the summer travel period and 2024 great for our customers,” Mr Capps said.

The new recruits join the airline just in time for the busy Christmas and New Year period with more than 8.5 million people expected to fly on Qantas and Jetstar services throughout December and January. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

2023 was one of the biggest years for cabin crew recruitment and training at Qantas, with 991 new international cabin crew and 394 new domestic cabin crew.

Meanwhile, Qantas also said there was a “significant boost” to reserve staff who can be called on if there is unexpected sick leave, adding that almost 3,300 extra operational employees were recruited over the past 12 months including cabin crew, pilots, engineers and airport customer service staff.

Qantas and Jetstar urge travellers to check-in online for domestic flights, arrive at least one to two hours before the departure of a domestic flight and two to three hours for an international flight. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Seb Haggett

Warning

Ahead of its busy travel period, the national carrier and its budget airline are urging travellers to check-in online for domestic flights, arrive at least one to two hours before the departure of a domestic flight and two to three hours for an international flight, and stay within baggage limits for carry-on and check-in bags.

It warned bringing excess carry-on baggage on board can lead to flight delays and has pleaded with passengers to be respectful and patient.

“With so many people travelling over summer some parts of air travel can take a little longer than normal, like security screening, so please be patient and be respectful to airport staff, crew and other customers,” it said in a statement.

It further warned bad weather and air traffic control issues could contribute to delays and cancellations.

For those who have not yet booked their holiday flights, Qantas recommends looking at midweek fares to find the best value.