200 New Jobs To Be Created By Planned Low Cost Carrier

Air Canada is hanging out the "Help Wanted" sign. The carrier said Thursday that it will hire more than 900 employees over the next 12 months to meet its planned workforce requirements. In addition, 200 new jobs will be created for flight attendants and pilots at the airline's low cost carrier that will be launched in 2013.

"Air Canada is undertaking a selective hiring process over the next 12 months in order to seize new commercial opportunities, enhance customer service and renew our workforce. This recruitment program is consistent with our focus on controlling costs to become more competitive in our various markets," said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive Officer. "At a time when youth unemployment is nearly 15 per cent in Canada, we are pleased to offer exciting career opportunities that will especially appeal to young people. These include not only a chance to work at Air Canada's new low cost carrier, where 200 new jobs will be created in anticipation of its 2013 launch, but also for the mainline business where we will be actively renewing our airports, in-flight and call center workforce."

So what kinds of people is Air Canada looking for? In addition to 160 new customer service call center agents hired to date in 2012, Air Canada is hiring an additional 60 agents in the coming months for its call centers in Montreal and Toronto. The airline plans to hire approximately 400 flight attendants to compensate for attrition and meet planned schedule requirements for its main network airline operation with the first training classes scheduled in October. It will also be seeking candidates for approximately 500 permanent, part-time and full-time airport customer service agent and baggage handler positions at its major airport bases located across Canada mainly to compensate for attrition as the airline prepares to meet planned operational requirements for its winter schedule.

Air Canada's planned low cost carrier will be hiring approximately 150 flight attendants and 50 pilots for its launch in 2013. Speaking at a recent CIBC investor conference in Montreal, Air Canada's CFO Michael Rousseau said the airline would be revealing more about its plans to establish a discount airline in the coming weeks. Reuters reports that Rosseau said that it would take some time before the low-cost airline would have a significant impact, and would not reach 50 aircraft for several years.

There is some speculation that the Air Canada discount carrier would take over some of the airline's routes to the U.S. and Caribbean. It is still not clear if the airline will stand up an entirely new division, or work with an existing foreign airline as a partner.

Information on Air Canada job postings is available online, and interested candidates with the necessary qualifications can apply on the site. Preference will be given to candidates fluent in both English and French, and the company will be reaching out to the appropriate language organizations, educational institutions and publications to help identify potential candidates.

FMI: www.aircanada.com/en/about/career/index.html