Expert: D. Norkus - 10/4/2007

Question
Is there a policy within the FAA that states that those with DUI convictions are not able to be hired as flight attendants?  I have a friend who was sent away from the Frontier Flight Attendant open house because of her DUI conviction 3 years ago.  They stated that 10 years after the DUI is when she can apply again.  Is this industry-wide or different within each company?  Thank you.

Answer
Maria
No, there is no FAA regulation of any sort prohibiting getting hired with a DUI. In fact, there have been pilots who were hired who had a DUI! However, it seems Frontier has their own standards regarding such incidents. Apparently they have so many applicants, the pool of qualified candidates without a DUI is plenty enough to pick from, so they chose to eliminate candidates that have DUIs.

All is not lost for her aspiring F/A career though. She should just apply elsewhere! If she really wants Denver, United and Skywest are hiring and have bases there too. The one thing she needs to remember about this experience when she interviews is to turn it from a negative into a positive!

She should be open and frank with interviewers and tell them how much she has learned as a result and how she is now a better person from the experience. Situational interview questions are best answered as a "ST.A.R.": the situation or task, the action you took, the resoloution or outcome. If she addresses the DUI in that manner and puts the outcome in a positive light she will interview better.

Send her here for more advice on F/A interviews (both have great message forums where she can get a lot of help)-

http://www.aviationiterviews.com
http://www.flightattendants.org

Dottie