BEIJING - Chinese airlines are conducting their largest hiring campaigns in more than three years as the travel industry improves, but they are being swamped with applications for cabin crew positions as recent university graduates choose the relatively high-paying profession in a depressing job market.

In China, becoming a flight attendant typically requires a bachelor's degree and, preferably, passing a difficult government-administered English test. This contrasts with Western nations, where cabin crew roles are generally low-paid and do not require a university degree.

According to data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), attrition rather than the widespread layoffs seen in the West caused the total number of flight attendants in China to decline by about 11,000 during the pandemic, or an 11% drop from the pre-pandemic level of 108,955 in 2019.

As domestic travel is on the upswing, carriers like Xiamen Airlines, China Southern Airlines, and Spring Airlines are currently on a hiring binge as they prepare to resume flights to well-liked international locations.

At a time when a record 11.58 million college graduates are about to enter one of the worst job markets in recent memory, they can choose from a sea of applicants. Export demand has been weakened by the gloomy outlook for the world economy, and businesses in industries like technology, education, and real estate are making staff reductions.

More than 20,000 applications have already been received by Hainan Airlines, which plans to hire more than 1,000 flight attendants this year, the airline told the media.

With 900 applicants attending its job fair in Jinan in February, the company only hired 60 of them, yielding a selection rate of about 6%.

China Southern, which plans to hire 3,000 cabin crew this year, reported that by the end of December, it had received more than seven times as many applications.

Prior to the pandemic, 10% to 15% of cabin crew applications were typically accepted, according to industry insiders.

According to Li Hanming, an independent aviation industry expert in China, "There have always been a large number of young girls and boys who want to do this job, as the income is not bad, usually between 10,000 ($1,454) and 20,000 yuan a month, and it is fun, allowing you to fly around the world,"

The Global Times reported in February, citing education consulting and research institute MyCOS, that only 6.1% of recent college graduates in 2021 made more than 10,000 yuan per month.

The majority of his classmates, according to Wang Shenbo, who applied for a flight attendant position with Hainan Airlines, are still pursuing a master's degree in order to secure even better-paying employment.

Unlike me, some of them are not interested in being flight attendants, and many of my classmates have jobs but are not happy with the pay, he said.

Despite the surge in applicants, airlines may find it challenging to deploy new hires right away due to year-long ground training programs, Li said. This could slow their efforts to quickly increase capacity and keep airfares high.

He continued, "Carriers have pretty bright forecast for 2024 so they need to hire crew members now, otherwise they will be short of hands next year,"

Data from flight tracking app Flight Master shows that domestic capacity in China has surpassed 2019 levels as of mid-March, but that only 30% of pre-pandemic levels have been reached for international flights.

Chinese airlines are increasing their international capacity as the summer's peak season draws near. For instance, the national airline Air China announced that it would resume operating on pre-pandemic routes such as Beijing-Rome, Beijing-Ho Chi Minh City, and Chengdu-London.

But for now, higher fares are a result of the capacity limitations.

A businessman named Jin Huo said, "I paid 18,000 yuan for a one-way economy ticket to fly from Frankfurt to Beijing. I used to pay a third (of that) for a round trip."