"Crew Members Are In-Flight Safety Personnel"…Eastar Jet Introduces Physical Fitness Test in Recruitment

The Only Domestic Airline to Implement Physical Fitness Verification
Interview to Assess Ability to Respond to Various Situations

Eastar Jet announced on the 18th that it will add a physical fitness test and a situational response interview to the selection process starting from the first half of this year’s open recruitment to strengthen the role of cabin crew as in-flight safety personnel.

Eastar Jet flight attendants are conducting emergency evacuation training inside the cabin. Photo by Eastar Jet

This is to more thoroughly verify essential competencies of in-flight safety personnel such as basic physical fitness, abnormal situation response ability, responsibility, and teamwork spirit, and to select the optimal candidates who fit the role of cabin crew.

Accordingly, the recruitment stages will change from the existing document screening → practical interview → executive interview → medical examination to document screening → situational response interview → physical fitness test and executive interview → medical examination.

In the document screening stage, the pass rate will be approximately doubled compared to before to provide more candidates with interview opportunities. The situational response interview will move beyond self-introductions and simple Q&A to assess candidates’ attitudes in handling various situations through role-playing. Collaboration skills and flexible thinking will be evaluated through group missions and individual assessments.

The newly introduced physical fitness test will measure sit-ups, long-distance running, high jump, “arm reach” (the length reached by raising one hand above the head while standing on tiptoes), and voice volume. This is to verify the physical strength necessary to perform in-flight safety tasks such as restraining unruly passengers and directing emergency evacuations. The test will be conducted in a gymnasium in cooperation with a professional physical fitness verification institution. The results will be reflected in the final score along with the executive interview results.

An Eastar Jet official said, “To hire the most suitable talent for the core role of cabin crew, we have formed a task force (TF) since last year and prepared the restructuring through specialized recruitment consulting. We hope this will be the first step in improving the social perception that cabin crew are selected based mainly on image.”

Meanwhile, Eastar Jet has changed its regulations from this year to allow cabin crew to wear cardigans as part of their uniform instead of uniform jackets to enhance their activity convenience. The uniform design will also be gradually changed to more comfortable attire for working inside the cabin.