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How do I Write a Flight Attendant Cover Letter?

Tara Barnett
Tara Barnett

Writing a flight attendant cover letter requires all the same aspects as any other job cover letter, but it can be helpful to understand specific qualifications valued by airlines before applying. Outlining your education, personal customer service experience, and any special qualifications is a good idea. Making certain that your cover letter is properly formatted and grammatical is absolutely essential. Usually it is not a good idea to address basic qualifications like citizenship, but rather to focus on what makes your application exemplary.

Typically, when you are beginning a career as a flight attendant, you must apply to attend training before any advanced position can be obtained. Applying for advanced positions is often internal, so it is rare to see these positions listed. Writing a flight attendant cover letter usually involves explaining why your skills are appropriate to this entry-level position.

Flight attendant cover letters rely on the same qualities as cover letters in any field.
Flight attendant cover letters rely on the same qualities as cover letters in any field.

The first step in writing a flight attendant cover letter is to address it to the appropriate party. If you have been referred to the position by an individual within the company, it is a good idea to mention that immediately. Otherwise, starting out with a few sentences that highlight your special interest in the position can make a letter more personal and therefore more appealing.

It is very important to think about how the experiences you have acquired previously relate to the position being sought. For example, if you have worked jobs that required customer service, talking about aspects of those jobs in ways that relate to being a flight attendant is a good idea. School experience, volunteering, and other unpaid experiences can also be valuable in a cover letter. Any special recognition is worth mentioning as well.

Knowledge of foreign languages is often mentioned in cover letters, but this knowledge is considered particularly important in a flight attendant cover letter because of the diverse clientele of many airlines. When applying for jobs that require knowledge of a specific foreign language, it may be a good idea to point out courses taken or qualifications earned that accurately represent your knowledge. It may also be valuable to mention travel experience or time spent abroad, as this can demonstrate knowledge not only of language but also etiquette, which is very important for international customer service.

Most of the training for becoming a flight attendant is offered through the airline. Therefore, it is usually more important to demonstrate that you have the potential to become a flight attendant and the skills required rather than that you have knowledge of airline procedures. Even so, any experience specifically relevant to airline work should also be mentioned.

Once the flight attendant cover letter is properly composed, it is important to make sure it is free from errors and is properly formatted. If possible, sign it by hand. When emailing a letter, making sure it is in the desired file type is also important. Making sure the letter is accessible is at least as important as the information held within because a letter than cannot be read can never be evaluated for the job.

Discussion Comments

Animandel

This is by no means a negative comment about the people who work as flight attendants. I think most of them do great jobs. However, the jobs aren't glamorous at all. They are mostly waiters and luggage handlers who do their jobs in the air.

The travel is the only aspect of the job that appeals to me and that would get old after a while.

Sporkasia

@Laotionne - Airlines had weight guidelines up until a few years ago. They were able to justify them because they said overweight flight attendants would have a difficult time doing the job since there is only so much room to move around on the planes. Actually, they still require that attendants are height weight proportionate, so they can still reject an applicant based on height and weight.

And if you want a flight attendant career you have to be at least 5'2" or 5'3". I'm not certain which. I think this is because you have to be able to reach up into the luggage compartments.

Laotionne

I have heard that there are weight restrictions for flight attendants. If you weigh too much can the airlines not hire you. That doesn't sound true, but I just wanted to be sure. So are overweight applicants automatically rejected for flight attendant jobs?

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    • Flight attendant cover letters rely on the same qualities as cover letters in any field.
      By: starush
      Flight attendant cover letters rely on the same qualities as cover letters in any field.