If taking to the skies, meeting interesting people and helping passengers move safely from one destination to another sounds like your dream job, then it might be time to apply for a cabin crew position. But to do so, don’t forget the all-important cabin crew cover letter.
This job, also known as a flight attendant, comes with a multitude of perks, including the chance to travel, learn new skills and work with a team. Plus, the pay can increase significantly the longer you stay on.
But working as a cabin crew member isn’t just rainbows and roses. It’s a demanding position that requires physical stamina, patience and extreme attention to detail. After all, the job is half customer service, half safety manager.
What’s more, flight attendant positions can be quite competitive. Each candidate an airline chooses must undergo rigorous training, costing the airline time and energy. That means companies are looking to select the brightest, most dedicated employees who are passionate about the job in all its facets.
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Here's what this guide will go into:
- Explain why a cover letter is essential to a job-winning application for any member of a cabin crew
- Break down the cover letter structure with free examples, samples and templates
- Offer the secrets of landing a flight attendant position with no experience
- Help your application stand out through professional formatting and writing tips
Fundamentals and sample flight attendant cover letter
So what is a cover letter, anyway? This document is one of the most requested application materials, yet many candidates see it as much less important than a resume and another obstacle standing in the way of a finished application.
That couldn’t be further from the case!
A cover letter is a one-page document (roughly 200 to 400 words) that accompanies your resume to shed further light on your greatest accomplishments, your interest in the position and even your personality. It allows a recruiter to get to know you without ever having to pick up the phone and call you.
Great cover letter writing is one of the most important ways to convince an employer you’re serious about becoming a cabin crew member. But to truly create a professional image, you’ll also need great formatting. You should pay attention to colors, font styles and the balance of white space to text. For specific cover letter formatting tips, check out this overall guide on cover letters.
What if the cabin crew position doesn’t require a cover letter?
Sometimes online applications aren’t exactly straightforward and you’re left trying to guess what a company wants, with no way to ask. This can be one of the most frustrating experiences for an applicant, but there’s one simple rule that can help you in many of these situations.
Unless a job posting asks you NOT to submit a cover letter, it’s always a good idea to include one in order to strengthen your application.
A cover letter is one of the best tools you have to highlight what makes you unique, especially for cabin crew positions where airlines are often overwhelmed with applications. While it might seem like the easy option to leave out this piece, a good cover letter can often make or break your application. So give it your best shot!
Secondary purpose
Flight attendant jobs can be extremely competitive, so you’ll need every tool at your disposal to convince a hiring manager you’re worthy of one of these coveted positions.
However, that doesn’t have to be as hard as it sounds. A great cover letter that addresses several points recruiters are looking for is one of the best things you can do to maximize your chances of landing the job.
If you’ve never been a flight attendant before, your goal is to prove to a hiring manager that you have excellent customer service skills and can keep your cool in an emergency. Your cover letter is the best place to show a recruiter why they should invest in you.
The importance of tailoring your cover letter
Writing a cover letter is a great first step to increasing your chances of landing the job, but the process doesn’t stop there. You’ll also need to tailor that cover letter for every position and airline you apply to.
Tailoring your cover letter means adapting it with the skills, facts and experiences that are most relevant for each job description. A generic cover letter sends the message that you didn’t care enough to explain why you want to work with one airline over another, whereas a tailored letter presents you as a motivated, interested candidate.
It starts with knowing everything you can about the airline you're targeting. Does it fly mostly domestic trips, or is it focused on international travel? Are the customers primarily families and vacationers or business travelers? Also, pay attention to the branding. The logo, colors and tone of voice with which the company addresses its customers can help you find your own tone and make the best formatting choices.
Looking for more useful writing tips? See our related cover letters listed here below:
Cabin crew cover letter structure, writing examples
While a cover letter’s strength is its flexibility, you’ll also want to keep your document organized so that hiring managers can find all the pieces of information they are looking for. The tried-and-true cover letter structure below makes it easy to check all the boxes. Here are the key components:
- The cover letter header
- The cover letter greeting
- The introduction
- The letter body
- The conclusion
- The signature
This structure can be applied to many different positions and industries. For free example sentences and more tips on writing each of these sections, check out our overall guide on cover letters.
Cover letter header
Your cover letter header accomplishes two important tasks. The first is to identify your document as it floats around a hiring manager’s desk. It’s important to keep your name, phone number and personal data at the forefront of your cover letter. Just make sure to stick to the necessary information so your header doesn’t take up too much valuable writing space.
The second goal is to create attractive formatting that catches a recruiter’s eye and leaves a professional impression. Your layout says a lot about you as a candidate, so it’s worth making sure you create a look that’s inline with your goals and the company’s image. Professional cover letter templates can help take the guesswork out of great formatting.
The goal of this section: Label your document with the most pertinent information so a hiring manager can easily get in touch, and create attractive formatting that stands out and creates a strong visual impression.
Align document styles
Always try to align the document styles of your cover letter and resume so that they have a similar design. You can either do this on your own or with the help of matching cover letter templates and resume templates. This simple action helps you create a “personal brand” – a visual stamp that makes your application look polished and keeps it memorable.
Cover letter greeting
Your cover letter greeting may only contain a few words, but it’s an essential part of establishing a respectful tone for your document. You should aim to create a personal connection with the recipient by addressing that person by name, if at all possible. If you can’t find the name, read on to find out how to personalize a letter, even for a large company.
The goal of this section: Establish a polite and respectful tone, and create a connection by addressing the letter recipient by name if at all possible.
Dear Mrs. Levenson,
The importance of names and addressed greetings
Science has shown that using other people’s names can have a positive effect on our relationships with them. That’s the theory behind using a recipient's name in your cover letter – it shows you’re invested in the position and took time to research the company’s hiring process.
For most airlines, finding a name may be impossible. Hiring may be done by a team of recruiters whose names aren’t public. In this case, you’ll want to use a collective noun to create a friendly greeting while still keeping it personal. Use the airline name plus a collective noun, as in "Dear [Airline] Hiring Team.
Cover letter introduction
A strong cover letter introduction can do wonders for your application as a whole. You only have a few seconds to catch a hiring manager’s interest. A relevant statistic, interesting fact or exciting anecdote can make for a great opening. Make sure to keep your introduction concise and relevant to the position you’re applying for.
The goal of this section: Encourage hiring managers to read through your cover letter by using a relevant fact, statistic or anecdote to catch their attention.
With 3,000 hours of in-flight customer service experience, primarily to long-haul destinations, I understand the connection between organization and customer satisfaction. When you anticipate passenger needs, you are able to delight them with your rapid response, and when you handle multiple requests, speed matters.
Cover letter body
Your cover letter body is where you’ll finally get into the most important skills, experiences and abilities to convince a hiring manager you’re worthy of a cabin crew position. To simplify the writing process, you can break this section down into two parts.
In the first subsection, use the STAR method to create short anecdotes that demonstrate your skills. Outline a Situation, the Task required of you, your Action and the positive Result that followed. Include only the most relevant examples, backed up by specific facts or data that prove your accomplishments.
In the second subsection, you can discuss your motivations for becoming a cabin crew member and your potential contributions to the position.
The goal of this section: Create concise, effective anecdotes that highlight your most relevant skills, show off your personality and suggest your potential contributions to the airline.
In seven years at Blue Airlines, I have demonstrated excellence across all aspects of the passenger experience – assisting with boarding, demonstrating safety procedures, reassuring anxious passengers, entertaining children and seeking to ensure that they feel welcomed and appreciated. Dealing with passengers from different cultural backgrounds is important, and I am always sensitive to differing customs.
I regularly update my qualifications to the latest standards, including the FAA Certificate of Demonstrated Proficiency, and for the past two years I have led the first aid and disaster response crew training sessions. I received 95% “very satisfied” feedback from my colleagues about my role in the courses.
I earned a promotion to Senor Cabin Crew after three years at Blue and for the past year I have been managing all in-flight food operations. I have learned much about coordinating and optimizing how we serve food to our passengers, knowing that good food served in a timely manner is high on the list of what passengers look for in an airline. Over my year in the role, I raised the customer satisfaction rating from 4.2/5 to 4.7/5.
In preparation for my job search, I have collated all of my previous passenger feedback into a document that I would be happy to share with you. Passengers most commonly describe me as dedicated, compassionate and responsive.
Cover letter conclusion and signature
Now it’s time to finish your letter in a polite, respectful way. For that, you’ll want to create a call to action. This sentence describes your enthusiasm for the position and encourages a hiring manager to contact you.
Finish your letter with a formal sign-off, such as “Sincerely,” “Best regards” or “Thank you for your consideration.”
The goal of this section: Create an effective call to action that invites a hiring manager to get in touch, and close your letter with a professional sign-off.
I believe that my approach would be a great fit for your culture, and I would welcome the chance to explore the possibility further in an interview.
Sincerely,
Flora Leith
Cover letter tools for application letter for flight attendant
As a future flight attendant, or even a current one, there are a few key qualities you’ll want to express in your cover letter:
- Customer service skills: Taking good care of passengers means better customer satisfaction and better business for the airline. Your ability to make passengers feel comfortable while keeping everyone safe is of the utmost importance.
- Interpersonal skills: From customers to pilots and other cabin crew, flight attendants need to know how to work with all sorts of different people. Your cover letter tone and writing style can be a first-hand example of how great your communication skills are.
- Organizational skills: Safety procedures, first aid, CPR and customer service – flight attendants juggle many roles. Make sure to demonstrate an ability to stay organized and focus no matter the situation.
- Teachability: Even cabin crew with years of experience still needs to be able to learn new skills and adapt to the situation at hand. Use your cover letter to show that you’re a quick and motivated learner prepared to give your best effort to get the job done right.
Application letter for flight attendant with no experience
A flight attendant position can lead to a rewarding new career with plenty of perks. And luckily, you don’t need years of experience to land the job. In fact, most candidates apply and are trained for the role after they’re accepted. That’s great news for flight attendant candidates who are fresh graduates or those looking to make a career change. But it also means you’ll have to work harder to prove you have the right skills if you have no experience doing the job.
Here are some of the top experiences to focus on as a flight attendant when you’re new to the role:
- Tourism and hospitality: Tourism and hospitality roles rely on many of the same skills needed by flight attendants.
- Jobs requiring physical or mental stamina: Becoming a flight attendant is a lot of work. Any position that shows your ability to stay on your feet, especially if it has an interpersonal element, can demonstrate transferable skills needed by flight attendants.
- Foreign language: This is one of the most important skills that’s definitely worth mentioning in your cover letter.
The power of a story
Stories have the ability to spark emotion, make us dream, open our eyes or even persuade. A great story can go a long way in convincing a recruiter that you’re a candidate worthy of a chance – just look at the power of storytelling used in advertising.
Just avoid one pitfall. Refrain from generic, flowery statements about your love of meeting new people and love of travel. Most candidates who come to the flight attendant role share these passions. And this job requires much more than just a love for travel. Instead, focus on customer service experiences and concrete skills.
Cabin crew cover letter format and common mistakes
Here are some of the most common traps to avoid when writing a flight attendant cover letter.
- Generic letters: Each airline is looking for something slightly different in its next flight attendant hire. A generic letter gives the impression that you’re just interested in any flight attendant position, not one with that company. Solve this problem by using the job description to tailor each cover letter you write.
- Focusing on the wrong things: Airlines are looking for candidates with experience in customer service, tourism and hospitality. Even if you’ve never worked as a flight attendant, make sure to focus on these areas as reasons why you’d be great for the position.
- Poor formatting: Visual presentation says a lot about how much effort you put into your application. Make sure your formatting makes a great impression by paying careful attention to design elements, ideally by using a pre-designed cover letter template.
- Spelling and grammar errors: Small typos and grammar mistakes can really put a damper on a great application. Make sure to proofread your cover letter or ask a friend to help.
Key takeaways
- A cover letter is one of the most important tools you have to convince an airline to take a shot on hiring and training you. Make sure to put effort into great writing and formatting.
- Tailor your cover letter to the needs and style of each individual airline, taking into account the type of flights, clientele and airline branding.
- Use the cover letter structure to keep your document organized and concise. A great cover letter for a flight attendant should never be longer than one page.
- Discuss previous customer service or hospitality experiences and how they prepared you for this role.
- Great visual presentation is key to making a good first impression. Use a professional cover letter template if you need to get your application done quickly and correctly.
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