Two years.
That’s how long the vast majority of the 76 graduating flight attendants from Delta’s 2022 A Class waited for the iconic wings that someone special would pin to their uniforms. For more than two years after receiving their conditional job offers, they obsessively checked their email for news from Delta – news that they could finally begin the job training they so eagerly awaited.
And Delta never gave up on them, keeping the company’s promise to bring them aboard for six weeks of rigorous training. It was a program made all the more difficult by the pandemic, their bonds tested by the challenges of social distancing and life behind a mask.
“We got this opportunity, then had it taken away, then got it again,” said Kenya Hernandez Diaz, who finally received her wings after first receiving her conditional job offer in January 2020. “It’s so hard to process everything we went through.”
Flight attendant Kenya Hernandez Diaz.
For her group, that six weeks of seemingly non-stop training was defined by frequent COVID tests and other precautions. Even simply sharing a meal together meant careful social distancing, so the group instead relied on a group chat and daily check-ins for moral support. “I feel like that’s what really kept me sane,” Hernandez Diaz said.
Since hiring and training ramped back up last year, Delta expects to have a total of 4,500 new flight attendants on the front line by the end of 2022. Another round of hiring will begin in the spring, and 40 more graduating classes are scheduled for this year — part of the company’s commitment to unparalleled customer service and emerging stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These graduates are the face of Delta’s resilient spirit and the embodiment of perseverance through adversity,” said Jennie Ho, V.P. – Field Operations, In-Flight Service. “They represent the bright future of our airline and all the hard work being done to continue making Delta…