British Airways to double size of cabin crew in nation on soaring air travel demand

British Airways will double the size of its cabin crew in China with the largest international recruitment since the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK flag carrier said, as it bets on growing travel demand between China and Europe.

The carrier plans to bolster the number of Mandarin-speaking cabin crew members from two to four on each flight that connects cities on the Chinese mainland with London.

The company has finalized the list of candidates; the new employees are expected to complete six weeks of training in London and start work early this summer.

The airline has expanded the number of flight attendants at its bases in Beijing and Shanghai, each from 25 to 50. China is now the second-largest international base for British Airways after India.

"We are committed to China and would like to serve this really important market. China is growing, and we definitely want to be part of that," said Calum Laming, British Airways' chief customer officer, who visited Beijing recently to interview candidates for the final round.

"We have already seen a strong leisure travel demand in summer 2023 between China and the UK.We are seeing great signs of recovery in business travel, too. We are looking at strong travel demand in the upcoming Chinese New Year period," Laming said.

Laming had worked as a flight attendant at the operations center in the early stages of his career, and said he genuinely believes in the value of his employees.

The newly recruited employees in China come from various sectors, such as aviation, hotels and retail, and comprise a mix of experienced as well as inexperienced staff.

British Airways said its global capacity has recovered to 90 percent of pre-pandemic levels, and the corresponding figure for China has rebounded to 65 percent.

The carrier is taking deliveries of new aircraft and retiring older models as it embraces increased travel demand.

The airline operates daily flights connecting London and Shanghai, while the flights that connect London and Beijing operate four times a week. Both routes offer first-class seats, while many other international routes have canceled first-class and only provide business class.

Meanwhile, major Hong Kong carriers Cathay Pacific Airways and Hong Kong Airlines said they will expand flight networks connecting Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland.

Both airlines recruited flight attendants from the Chinese mainland in 2023 for the first time, as passenger demand is growing and they look to provide more personalized services for Chinese-speaking customers.

China's air travel market has recovered steadily since the country optimized its COVID-19 response measures.

In 2023, some 62 million air passenger trips were handled, up 146 percent year-on-year, rebounding to 93.9 percent of the pre-pandemic level seen in 2019, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

The International Air Transport Association, which released data on air travel performance in November, indicated that air travel demand topped 99 percent of the 2019 levels.

The Asia-Pacific region continued to report the strongest year-on-year growth of 63.8 percent, with all regions showing improvement compared to the prior year.

Growth was particularly strong in China, as it recovered from the COVID-19 travel restrictions, according to IATA, which represents some 300 airlines comprising 83 percent of global air traffic.

"We are moving ever closer to surpassing the 2019 peak year for air travel. Economic headwinds are not deterring people from taking to the skies. International travel remains 5.5 percent below pre-pandemic levels, but that gap is rapidly closing, and domestic markets have been above their pre-pandemic levels continuously," said Willie Walsh, director-general of IATA.