Finnair cabin crew interview: the Finnish language question, the group task in Helsinki and what a Nordic assessment feels like
-
#1 Finnair, Helsinki, six years, Asia routes, and I get asked by non Finns whether they can join, so here is the recruitment process and the honest answer on language.
Language
The operation runs in Finnish and English. Announcements are in Finnish, Swedish and English. Finnair does hire non Finnish speakers for the Asia language routes (Japanese, Korean, Chinese speakers particularly) and those crew work in English on the aircraft. For the general recruitment, Finnish or Swedish at a working level is expected and most intakes are majority Finnish. If you are an English only speaker without an Asian language, be realistic: it is possible but rare.
The process
Online application, a video interview, then an assessment day at the Finnair training centre near the airport. The assessment is small, 20 to 30 people, and calm in a way that surprises people used to the Gulf events.
The group task
A scenario about a delayed flight in winter with passengers to look after, discussed in Finnish for the Finnish speakers and in English for the language route candidates. The assessors are looking for the Nordic version of a good crew member: calm, direct, cooperative, no drama. Someone who takes over the group is marked down harder here than at most airlines. Someone who says little but says it well does fine.
The interview
One on one, competency based, in the language of your application. The questions were practical: a time you dealt with a difficult customer, how you handle long periods away, how you feel about the winter darkness and the early sign ons. The last one is not small talk. Finnair runs a lot of early morning European flights and a long haul network with real jet lag, and they want to know you have thought about it.
What Finnair is like
A mid sized legacy carrier with a strong Asia network (Tokyo, Seoul, Bangkok, Singapore, Delhi, Hong Kong and more), the A350 as the long haul workhorse, and a European network out of Helsinki. The collective agreement (SLSY) sets pay and rules and it is respected. The crew culture is quiet and professional. Winter in Helsinki is dark and long and the airline knows it. Summer in Helsinki is the reward.
Pay
Legacy Nordic pay: a proper basic, allowances on the long haul, taxed heavily, with the Nordic safety net that implies. Nobody comes to Finnair for the Gulf money. People come for the Asia flying with a European home base and a contract that protects them.
Happy to answer the specific questions, including the ones about the Asia layovers.
-
#2 Also Finnair, regional side, and the assessment being calm is exactly right. My group task had a Danish candidate who kept trying to lead it and the assessor gently redirected her twice. Cooperation is the whole test.
-
#3 Japanese, and Finnair has recruited Japanese speakers in Tokyo for the Helsinki base for years. Two of my friends did it. They work in English on board and are happy, and the Helsinki winters were the only thing that surprised them.
-
#4 SAS Copenhagen, and the Nordic assessments are all like this. Small, calm, direct. The people who arrive with Gulf assessment energy find it confusing. Match the room.