With the expanding aviation pie, a plethora of opportunities is opening up for cabin crew, including airhostesses, in India and with the international airlines.
Airlines in India have a combined fleet of 178 planes, with an average of six cabin crew. In the West, airlines like Ryan and CanAir have fleets of over 1,000 planes each. "We are aiming to achieve similar levels. The potential is tremendous," says Ajay Jasra of Spice Jet.
"An estimated 10,000 vacancies are expected to be created this year for cabin crew," says Kohli, chairman of Frankfinn, an airhostess training academy.
Discussing why international airlines are eyeing airhostesses from India Jasra says, "They are preferred for their ability to speak English fluently and for their good looks and tanned skin. Given the right benefits they don't job-hop too much."
He adds that Indian women are adaptable and quick learners.
"They don't have reservations unlike their western counterparts about covering their head with scarves as required by some of the airlines in the Middle East."
"Every Indian girl has hospitality in her blood. It's integral to our culture. Go to the poorest Indian home and the man with a single piece of bread will insist to have half of it," says Naval Rai, vice president, in-flight services and hospitality, Paramount Airlines.
Sensing the opportunity many small-town girls have jumped onto the bandwagon. Gone are the days when the likes of Maureen Wadia, Parmeshwar Godrej and Sunita Menon walked the aisle of a plane.
The increase in demand for airhostesses, a constant search for fresh faces coupled with increasing awareness among parents of small-town girls as also the fact that one needs only a 10+2 degree (except in Indian airlines, where one needs to be a graduate), perks like flying the globe and fancy salaries -- the jobs are fast attracting the girls in the hinterland, says Kohli.
Not only has the demographic profile
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