China’s Spring Airlines announced the launch of a special recruitment program for flight attendants at a recent press conference, opening positions to married women with children. The age limit has been extended to 40, according to media reports on Monday. The announcement has sparked wide discussion online.
Spring Airlines, which is China’s first low-cost carrier, has described this group of attendants as kongsao, or “air aunties.” The airline said in a press release sent to the Global Times on Tuesday that such flight attendants bring a natural warmth and approachability to the cabin. Their life experience, it added, helps them respond to emergencies with greater composure, anticipate passengers’ needs more effectively, and offer exceptional care to children on board.
The move aligns with the rapid recovery of the aviation industry and meets the demand for more diverse employment opportunities, with plans to recruit between 30 and 60 people, said the airline company.
Spring Airlines currently employs about 3,400 cabin crew members, with an average age of 28. Roughly 70 percent of them are under the age of 30, according to the press release.
In the past, airlines typically recruited flight attendants between the ages of 18 and 25, though some carriers had raised the upper limit to as high as 28 or 32, according to the Guangming Daily.
The topic “Spring Airlines opens recruitment for married flight attendants with children” has sparked wide discussion on China’s X-like platform Weibo, garnering more than 64 million views as of press time.
“Rather than clinging to the ‘youth filter,’ the company recognizes the warmth and composure that married women with children can bring to the job, giving working mothers a renewed chance at their careers — a sense of responsibility that more employers should embrace,” wrote a Sina Weibo user under the name of Beicai Ningdouya.
“Instead, the move is designed to meet the specific needs of newly opened routes of the airline of the company — such as those from Lanzhou to Chiang Mai and Hanoi — where most passengers are senior and family travelers. Flight attendants with parenting experience, are seen as better suited to serve these groups, whether it’s quickly calming a crying child or helping elderly passengers use in-flight equipment,” wrote Houentouzi Zhangyankun on Sina Weibo.
