easyJet encourages older workers to apply in new campaign
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In the USA it’s quite common to see people in their 40s and older work as cabin crew, the average age for the job is in fact 48. However, in other areas of the world, including Europe, flight attendants have usually been on average younger.
European LCC easyJet is trying to change that with a campaign encouraging “empty nesters” to apply for cabin crew jobs, an empty nester meaning someone whose children have grown up and left home.
As a result, the airline’s new “Empty Nesters Take Flight” campaign is targeting workers aged 45+.
easyJet launched the campaign claiming that it had seen a 27% increase in cabin crew over the age of 45 since 2018, including a 30% increase in those over 60 in the last year.
At the same time easyJet commissioned a study of UK adults over 45. Over three quarters (78%) said that they would like to take on a new challenge once their children have flown the nest.
Over half (57%) of respondents also said that now their children are not dependent on them anymore, they hope to find a new career in something they are truly passionate about.
To bring the campaign to life, easyJet is running ads featuring real life cabin crew who joined easyJet in the past year including Mike Tear (57), Gary Fellowes (63) and Carlos Santa Monica (48).
easyJet says it now wants even more to apply, “with their wealth of life experience and transferable skills, such as customer service and people management, making many ideal candidates for the job.”
The campaign launch also coincided with National Older Workers Week in the UK, from 21 to 25 November 2022.
The easyJet campaign makes sense on a number of different levels. Some airlines have been struggling to fill vacancies after the pandemic, and older workers do, as easyJet says, often bring useful and transferable skills to the job.
It also links into the economic climate and cost of living crisis. Aviation is an industry which is actively recruiting and unlike in the USA, many older UK / European workers might not have considered it as an option.