Cabin crew

Finnair is an airline of top-performing professionals with a big heart. Diversity is an asset to our work community and we foster a culture of working together. Customers are at the core of everything we do. We are bridging the world and creating opportunities for meaningful encounters. 

Being a cabin crew member means challenging yourself and your colleagues every day to create the very best experience for the customers. Strong safety culture, responsibility, and our values – commitment to care, simplicity, courage and working together – guide us in everything we do. At Finnair, we believe that committed employees ensure a safe journey and excellent customer experience.

We are currently not recruiting cabin crew members.

Join a tour of in-flight experience with Finnair cabin crew

Requirements for working as Cabin Crew Member

Flight attendant Flight attendant

When the recruitment is open, you must fulfil the following criteria to be considered for a cabin crew position: 

  • At least 18 years old 
  • Secondary education completed (upper secondary/vocational school) 
  • Fluent in English and fluency in Finnish is highly valued (additional languages are an advantage) 
  • Height min. 160cm 
  • At least 1 year of hospitality or customer service experience 
  • Good general health (min. requirement EASA Part Med Cabin Crew and Finnair Regulations). In general, this means that the applicant should have no long-term medical conditions, especially conditions requiring continuous or recurrent medication or regular follow-up. Also, psychoactive substances will be tested prior to hiring. 
  • Normal colour vision and normal hearing, distant visual acuity using both eyes 0.7 or better (with or without corrective lenses) 
  • Ability to swim 40m 
  • No visible tattoos, piercings, or teeth jewellery when wearing a Finnair cabin crew uniform 

In addition, you are a team player and have a friendly and warm approach towards customers and colleagues.  

Questions and answers

Here you can find more information about the cabin crew position and answers to the most common questions.

Working as cabin crew requires a strong customer service orientation, discretion, great social interaction skills, adaptability, team spirit, flexibility and the ability to take initiative. If you also have a twinkle in your eye and a genuinely positive attitude to life, you may very well be just the kind of person to suit the job. 

The work itself is irregular in many ways. Flights and work shifts take place on various weekdays and at various times, with destinations around the world. You may need to work on public holidays, such as Christmas and Midsummer. The work also involves standby shifts. 

Full-time employees work approximately 110 hours per month. Working hours vary depending on the month, the person and their qualifications, among other things.

After successfully passing the Finnair recruitment process, you’ll receive a training invitation to Finnair Flight Academy. The training period lasts six to nine weeks depending on your background in aviation. During the training you will learn Finnair’s operating policies and how to act in various safety, first aid and service scenarios. 

Defined by the aviation authorities, the safety and first aid skills are the foundation of the cabin crew members’ professional competence. Additionally, service communication and cultural awareness as well as Finnair’s vision and principles of good customer service are essential topics of the training. After the training, you will have the basic level of competence to work as a cabin crew member.

The cabin crew selection process has many phases, including for example: 

  • video assignment
  • online tests
  • medical checks 
  • interviews.

The purpose of the selection process is to evaluate the above-mentioned basic criteria and competencies relevant to cabin crew work. These competencies may vary slightly over time, but they typically include skills and abilities such as teamwork, resilience, customer experience orientation and the ability to follow instructions. During the selection process, you can also ask questions and learn more about the cabin crew members’ work.

Cabin crew training is arranged based on our need for resources. Generally, we offer employment fairly soon after you complete your training. However, going through the training does not automatically guarantee employment.

Most of our cabin crew is based in Helsinki, Finland. If you are interested in a cabin crew role in Singapore, Hong Kong, Delhi, Mumbai and Stockholm, please contact AAP Aviation

No, the training does not cost anything. Please note that there is no separate compensation for the training period.

The entire training is at Finnair Flight Academy in Vantaa (Helsinki Airport area).

The training normally takes six to nine weeks. We will arrange several training courses for the selected future cabin crew members. The specific schedule of the training will be clarified during the recruitment process.

During the training, you will learn Finnair’s operating policies and how to act in various safety, first-aid and service scenarios. Defined by the aviation authorities, safety and first-aid skills are the foundation of cabin crew members’ professional competence. Additionally, service communication and cultural awareness as well as Finnair’s vision and principles of good customer service are essential topics of the course. After the training, you will have the basic level of competence to work as a cabin crew member.

Finnair Flight Academy's highly professional instructors will guide and help you during all the phases of the training. We expect you to work hard, focus and give your best in all the exams, lessons and drills; we will evaluate your performance continuously. Your commitment will pay off when you become a certified cabin crew member of Finnair.

During your career, you will need to participate in annual trainings on safety and service topics. It is also important that you are up to date all the time with the safety and service procedures while working.

The workdays vary a lot depending on the flights you have during the shift. Some days you might operate to Oulu twice, other days you might operate a long-haul flight to Asia or North America.

All cabin crew members operate on both domestic and international flights.

Living in another city than Helsinki or Vantaa is possible. It is anyway important to consider that the flights will be operated from Helsinki Airport. The work also involves standby shifts, during which you must be prepared to report to work on one hour’s notice.

There are guidelines that you need to follow. You shouldn´t have visible tattoos or piercings. All tattoos shown under the uniform need to be covered while on duty. No tattoos allowed in any case: neck, head, hands.

Yes, you may wish for a maximum of 6 days off in a month.

Full-time employees work about 110 hours a month.

Part-time employees work 45–90 hours a month.

Salary varies a lot depending on what kind of flights you fly and when. The basic salary of full-time employment and the hourly salary of part-time employment depend on how much experience you have as a cabin crew member. In addition to the basic salary, there is extra salary from Sunday, night and overtime hours, which are approximately 40% of the basic salary. You will also receive tax-free daily allowances to cover the costs of the layovers, which depend on the destination of the flight and the current tax regulations.

Our crew needs travel documents such as visas to enter some countries. The visa regulations vary between countries; for example, Finnish citizens do not need a visa to enter Vietnam, but French citizens do. There can be limitations to granting a crew visa to some nationals.

Career stories

When your childhood dream becomes your way of life – 45 memorable years at Finnair

Katriina Veikkola retired at the end of April, after working for 45 years as a Cabin Crew at Finnair. Her incredible career includes training for variable job tasks and aircraft types, countless new destinations around the globe and an ever-lasting love for customer service throughout the years.

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Reuse and recycle: extending the lifecycle of cabin crew uniforms

The concept of recycling clothing is pretty straightforward: when you no longer wish to wear specific garments, you recycle them. However, when it comes to cabin crew uniforms, recycling involves more than just sorting through your wardrobe and taking the discarded clothes to the appropriate place. So, what does the recycling process entail when we talk about cabin crew uniforms?

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Meet the ultimate flying Finnair family

For the Kaipainen family, flying and Finnair are a true family affair. Markku Kaipainen has been a Finnair pilot since 1989. His wife Maria Kaipainen was a Finnair cabin crew member when they met over 17 years ago. His daughter and Maria’s stepdaughter, Maiju Kaipainen, works as a Finnair gate agent.

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"Finnair flight attendants had a key role in building Finland's country image" says long-time employee Arja Torkkomäki

Arja Torkkomäki worked at Finnair as a flight attendant, instructor, and purser between 1973 and 2004, and feels that the years left only good memories. Some of the highlights for her include the opening of the world with new routes, state visits, and many heart-warming brief moments with passengers.

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Liisa Lindgren started at Finnair in 1962 - and she still feels like a flight attendant at heart

Liisa Lindgren has worked both as cabin crew and in Finnair marketing. According to her the 1960's was a lovely, optimistic time to start work at the airline. Meeting customers and close relations with colleagues made workdays rewarding.

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From cabin crew and flight crew to developer – and back!

Annika and Antti work in the Internal Digital Development team at Finnair and develop software and applications for Finnair’s employees. When it comes to developing something for our cabin crew and flight crew, their previous experience as a cabin crew member and a pilot is a huge benefit.

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Our cabin crew’s favorite destinations

Our cabin crew members share their favorite destinations from around the world. Get inspired and find tips for your next trip!

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Contact us

If you have questions, please contact us via email. You can follow the open positions online and on social media.