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Home  >  Delta Air Lines  >  Admission to Harvard is Easier than Becoming a Delta FA
Delta Air Lines

Admission to Harvard is Easier than Becoming a Delta FA

Matthew Klint Posted onNovember 28, 2017November 28, 2017 29 Comments

Want to be a Delta flight attendant? The Atlanta-based carrier is hiring, but be warned…admission is more difficult than getting into Harvard or Yale.

Delta will hire 1,000+ FAs in 2018. Last year, the airline hired 1,250 FAs. For those positions it received over  150,000 applications. That’s a 1% acceptance rate. By comparison, Harvard admits 5% of applicants.

Chosen from among thousands of applicants, Delta Air Lines flight attendants are recognized as the best in the business. And with more than 1,000 open positions for 2018, Delta is seeking dedicated, service-oriented professionals who love to be on-the-go, help others and enjoy variety in their work.

Last year 150,000 applicants applied for roughly 1,200 coveted flight attendant jobs at Delta. After reviewing 35,000 video interviews and conducting 6,000 in-person interviews, fewer than 1 percent of applicants were selected – based on those odds, it’s easier to get into an Ivy League school than to become a Delta flight attendant.

It’s not just Delta. We see similar interest when other airlines hire as well.

My Concern

But one thing concerns me. I don’t fly Delta much (though I just had a great flight with them from Honolulu to Los Angeles), but I do fly United often. United has also hired many FAs recently. And without trying to be overly judgmental, I’ve been disappointed. I’ve encountered less professional service from new hires than the “old bags” that some people like to instinctively complain about but I find far better, on average, than the new hires.

It’s not that the new hires are bad. It’s that they tend to hide in the galleys after the initial service or be too engrossed in their mobile phones to proactively provide service throughout the flight. Monitoring the cabin frequently for passenger needs is such a fundamental thing, in my opinion, that is needed but often lacking.

I guess my point is this: with Delta able to be so selective, I hope they do not put legacy and other personal connections over genuinely caring, friendly, smiling service.

What Does it Take to be a Delta FA?

I strongly resist the “we are primarily here for your safety” mantra, but underscore that being a FA is about much more than smiling. Delta outlines the following qualifications that an ideal candidate would possess.

  • More than one year of work experience in a personalized customer service, patient care or similar role
  • Experience in a role ensuring the safety and/or care of others (teacher, military, EMT, firefighter, coach, law enforcement, lifeguard, nurse, etc.)
  • Education beyond high school
  • Fluency in a language other than English: These applicants are considered for “Language of Destination” flight attendant roles, which offer additional pay as well as special responsibilities

The last line is key, it seems. I notice the new United hires all seem to speak 2+ languages. It seems to me your best bet of becoming a FA is to speak more than English.

CONCLUSION

Delta released a series of videos highlighting what it takes to be a FA. The 10-part minu-series called ‘Earning our Wings’ is available on YouTube. Here are the first three episodes:



To all those applying to be a Delta FA…I wish you the best and hope your primary motive is to provide caring and excellent service to every passenger.

image courtesy of Delta

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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29 Comments

  1. Jimmy Reply
    November 28, 2017 at 1:30 pm

    Acceptance rate doesn’t really say much about the difficulty of getting in.
    If you add 100,000 non-qualified people to the application pool of Harvard/Yale the acceptance rate would go down but it would change the quality of the people admitted.

    Universities often charge an application fee which results in a lower number of applicants (i.e., it filters non-serious submissions)

    • Matthew Reply
      November 28, 2017 at 1:40 pm

      There are always nuances, but you get my point — Harvard accepts 5% of applicants while Delta accepts 1%.

      • Sean Reply
        November 28, 2017 at 1:49 pm

        And he is saying your point is on an invalid foundation. While it’s easy to compare two numbers 1 and 5 on the surface, they should not be pinned against each other since the applicants have no barrier to raise the denominator for delta pool.

        • Matthew Reply
          November 28, 2017 at 1:58 pm

          You’re over-analyzing this.

          • RealLiveandLetsFly
            November 28, 2017 at 2:14 pm

            Delta’s acceptance rate would be higher than Harvard’s if you exclude the millions of illegal applicants!

          • Matthew
            November 28, 2017 at 2:27 pm

            As in aliens?

          • Sean
            November 28, 2017 at 3:38 pm

            Do you always dismiss your readers’ opinions? Why do you even have a comments section? Your headline is “ADMISSION TO HARVARD IS EASIER THAN BECOMING A DELTA FA” which obviously is to promote a surprising piece of information that you found. Unfortunately, Jimmy called you out for an important crack in your comparison and I concurred. I’m discouraged to see a one liner “over-analyzing” while seeing you completely miss your readers point, labeling it overanalysis. What journalism you run.

          • Matthew
            November 28, 2017 at 3:42 pm

            I don’t always disagree with reader opinions and appreciate your point, but I think it is making a mountain out of a molehill. You’re free to disagree.

    • JohnC Reply
      November 28, 2017 at 4:21 pm

      Why would you say that the quality of the students admitted would change? This is not a lottery where just by entering you get a chance to get in. There still are some basic qualifications required to get into Harvard and Yale and no matter how many people enter, they still must meet those basic requirements or get eliminated right away for consideration.

  2. Kate Reply
    November 28, 2017 at 1:32 pm

    Just a thought… would you maybe consider a new photo for your blog? The woman just looks so subservient… maybe my reaction is unusual. I’ll keep reading regardless. Happy travels!

    • Matthew Reply
      November 28, 2017 at 1:39 pm

      You mean the picture of the FA in this article or the British Airways FA serving me the martini?

  3. Geoff Reply
    November 28, 2017 at 1:55 pm

    Agree with Kate. Your pic is brutal. Smile and lose the FA.

    • Matthew Reply
      November 28, 2017 at 1:57 pm

      Picture is not changing. Sorry.

  4. Kate Reply
    November 28, 2017 at 1:58 pm

    I’m referring to the standard photo that goes with your blog of the flight attendant serving you the drink.

  5. Kate Reply
    November 28, 2017 at 2:00 pm

    Oh well…thanks for your careful consideration.

    • Matthew Reply
      November 28, 2017 at 2:05 pm

      Believe me, you’re not the first one who had told me to change the picture (and you’re much nicer about it). But I like that picture very much. I appreciate you reading my blog.

      • Matt Reply
        November 28, 2017 at 8:24 pm

        Lol it’s hilarious that people take issue with your pic. Probably the same people who have double-chin selfies, poor lighting, and not looking at the camera on their Facebooks.
        I don’t see the purpose of changing it until you look substantially different. A family pic every once in awhile would be cool/endearing!

  6. J Reply
    November 28, 2017 at 2:02 pm

    I agree that the older FAs tend to provide better service. The younger FAs like you said usually just use their cellphones in between each meal service, while the older FAs usually walkaround the cabin getting refills.

  7. Hal Reply
    November 28, 2017 at 2:10 pm

    A better title would be the “acceptance rate of flights attendants is lower than the Harvard acceptance rate.” Not knocking the FA applicants, but the criteria is much less stringent.

    • Sean Reply
      November 28, 2017 at 3:39 pm

      “You’re over-analyzing.” See above reply from Matthew.

      • Matthew Reply
        November 28, 2017 at 3:43 pm

        Hal’s point is better-taken.

    • Matt Reply
      November 28, 2017 at 8:18 pm

      Came here to say this same thing…

      Matthew, it appears your blog attracts a pretty elitist group WRT the backlash on the title. Your point is well taken, the average person’s odds are “better” at Harvard, but like they said it’s definitely more difficult given the four “suggestions” for the FAs opposed to Harvard’s near-infinite requirements.

      I just like a good discussion. Law school will do that to you, amirite.

      Ps.. the “all these kids on their ‘mobile phones'” (seriously, you’re not that old, all phones are mobile now) narrative is tired.

  8. Santastico Reply
    November 28, 2017 at 2:53 pm

    It would be interesting to see how many of these applicants would be accepted in a Ivy League school.

    • Matt Reply
      November 28, 2017 at 8:19 pm

      Hmm. I’d say 0 with a +- of exactly 0.

  9. Goytá Reply
    November 28, 2017 at 5:56 pm

    “It’s not that the new hires are bad. It’s that they tend to hide in the galleys after the initial service or be too engrossed in their mobile phones to proactively provide service throughout the flight.”

    That IS being bad to me. Very unprofessional. They’re there to work, to serve passengers, care for their safety and their needs, and that’s in the job description. If they don’t feel like doing it, apply for some other job. As for mobile phones, FAs should leave them in their luggage.

  10. Ben Reply
    November 29, 2017 at 7:02 am

    If you want to become an international flight attendant the first thing you should be doing is learning a second language. If you are looking at Delta then Dutch, Cantonese or Japanese would be very beneficial given the location of their foreign hubs/JVs

  11. dotti Reply
    November 29, 2017 at 9:14 pm

    Thanks Matthew-interesting!! I agree with the comments on FA’s looking at their pphones/chatting with each other and reading their kindles or books vs any kind of service!!!

  12. David Reply
    November 30, 2017 at 9:52 am

    Hiding in the galleries, using cell phones.

    Could that be a “millennial” thing?

    On the other hand they are flight attendants, not waitresses or waiters. Haven flown from the 70’s on up, there has been a change over the years.

  13. Your Two Cents Reply
    December 28, 2017 at 9:03 pm

    No. This article conflates admission and yield rates. Of Delta’s 150,000 applicants, 1,000+ end up working for Delta. But we have no idea what the middle number is: how many applicants are *admitted* to Delta (i.e., given offers). Their yield could be 50%, it could be 5%. But we don’t know what it is so we can’t say what the admission rate is,.

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