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United Airlines Mock Interview

To help you prepare for an United Airlines job interview, here are 35 interview questions and answer examples.

United Airlines was updated by on September 5th, 2023. Learn more here.

Question 1 of 35

Which of our hubs would be your top three choices to be based out of?

"I'd love to work at Newark Liberty or any New York airport, At San Francisco airport, or any around the Bay Area, or at LAX, or John Wayne airport, or San Diego. But I would be grateful for the opportunity and gladly accept any destination as a home base."

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35 United Airlines Interview Questions & Answers

Below is a list of our United Airlines interview questions. Click on any interview question to view our answer advice and answer examples. You may view 5 answer examples before our paywall loads. Afterwards, you'll be asked to upgrade to view the rest of our answers.

United Airlines states, “Your image is the United brand.” But your image goes far beyond the uniform you wear and maintaining a professional physical appearance. Your image is also your attitude, character, who you are, and who you present yourself to be. United aims to ensure that every one of its employees leaves a lasting professional and positive impression on every customer. They state their mission is to connect people while uniting the world. They describe their employees as heroes who travel the world with them on their career journey while always doing the right thing, representing their brand with grace, pride, and distinction.

Whether you are working on the tarmac, in-flight, or at corporate headquarters, everyone is crew. This means every employee's priorities and conduct should involve being caring, communicative, confident, and efficient. This entails shared passions, shared values, and welcoming every passenger who chooses to fly on their airlines as distinguished guests who they look forward to connecting with. Also, recognizing that holding themselves and each other responsible for prioritizing safety is part of representing and embodying the airline’s brand.

United Airlines’ sense of community is based on a shared passion for traveling the world and flying the friendly skies. Therefore, whether you’re an employee or a passenger, everyone hopes each travel experience will be a comfortable experience. As a crew member, that passion extends towards a desire to do everything you can to ensure operations run as smoothly as possible, even before the journey begins. United crew members rise to the challenge when issues arise. It involves being a friendly, confident leader who guarantees the comfort and dignity of every person on board each passenger jet.

So, when considering who they view as their ideal employees, know that they are looking to recruit candidates with the experience and character that embody and present the image of the United brand. So consider several of the slogans they’ve had over the years: Fly the friendly skies. It’s time to fly. Let’s fly together. Good leads the way.

Are you friendly, love to travel, love adventure, and love to fly? Are you ready, confident, good at what you do, and prepared to step into hero mode? If so, let your interviewer know by learning everything you can about United Airlines, and showing them that you fit their mold and are practically already a member of their team.

  • Adaptability

    1. Which of our hubs would be your top three choices to be based out of?

  • Adaptability

    2. Are you comfortable working a wide range of shifts and overtime?

  • Adaptability

    3. Is there anything restricting you from adhering to our uniform standards?

  • Adaptability

    4. How do you feel about working on your feet for extended periods of time?

  • Behavioral

    5. What do you feel makes you uniquely qualified for this position?

  • Behavioral

    6. How do you manage your work life balance?

  • Career Goals

    7. Where do you see yourself five years from now?

  • Career Goals

    8. Why United?

  • Career Goals

    9. If you could start your career over again, what direction would you take?

  • Career Goals

    10. How does this position fit into your career goals?

  • Career Goals

    11. What do you hope to gain most from your time with United Airlines?

  • Communication

    12. Tell me about a time you successfully collaborated with someone with a different perspective than your own.

  • Communication

    13. Tell me about a time you identified a communication breakdown.

  • Communication

    14. Tell me about your communication skills.

  • Compatibility

    15. What makes you stand out from the others in the talent community?

  • Critical Thinking

    16. What would you do if you felt there was a safety threat?

  • Customer Service

    17. Tell me what customer service means to you.

  • Customer Service

    18. Aside from the airline industry, do you have other customer service experience?

  • Diligence

    19. Tell me about your attendance record.

  • Direct

    20. Are you comfortable allowing us to perform a criminal background check?

  • Discovery

    21. If you could fly anywhere in the world, what destination would you choose?

  • Diversity

    22. What experience do you have working in a diverse, equal, and inclusive environment?

  • EQ

    23. How do you get along when working with others in close proximity for long stretches at a time?

  • EQ

    24. How do setbacks emotionally affect you and your work?

  • Experience

    25. Tell me about your in-flight emergency training?

  • Experience

    26. Do you have any formal First Aid or CPR training?

  • Experience

    27. Tell me about any airline-related training you've received.

  • Job Satisfaction

    28. What excites and motivates you about your work?

  • Leadership

    29. What is your approach to leadership?

  • Organizational

    30. How do you prioritize when you have multiple tasks at hand?

  • Problem Solving

    31. When have you had to shift your priorities in response to sudden change?

  • Problem Solving

    32. Tell me about the last time things didn't go according to plan at work.

  • Salary

    33. What are your salary expectations?

  • Teamwork

    34. How would you define Teamwork?

  • Teamwork

    35. How do you earn the trust of your coworkers?

  • About the Author

    For most of my management career, I worked for a chain of neighborhood grocery stores. Their brand was partly defined by the generic goods they carried, packaged under their company name, many of which, through their distribution contracts, were available nowhere else. Their number one core value was to deliver a wow customer experience. They considered the experience at the register as the grand finale, which would serve as the most memorable experience for each customer and a make-it-or-break-it moment.

    One of the most desirable traits I looked for when I recruited new members to our team was whether they were a foodie. Were they passionate about our brand, the casual dress code, and the fun hipster vibe of our stores? Would they have fun on the job, never get bored, and be adaptable and willing to help anywhere? Everyone’s duties rotated hour by hour because no one had one job. Each day’s schedule was written based on the needs of the store, and everyone did everything. We were a team. Most of us had leadership potential, and every one of us embodied the brand. No one got bored, and most days everyone was having fun. We all became friends and spent time together on and off the job. Happy employees make for a wow customer experience.

    As a manager, I worked on a register for a few hours every day. Honestly, it was fun. I got to ring up groceries, show off my bagging skills, and ask people what they were cooking for dinner. Often, we exchanged recipes, and for five minutes, we were friends. I provided sincere and genuine interactions, connecting with my customers whenever I could.

    If a customer came in a little hangry or unhappy about something that had nothing to do with me, I’d try to turn their experience around, but I would never internalize their emotions and confuse them with my own. All I had control over was my attitude, and it typically centered around my gratitude to be working somewhere I enjoyed being. I am a foodie and a crazy good cook, and my time working there was rewarding, which led to great things in my life, the benefits of which I am still reaping today. In many ways, working for United is likely a very similar experience.

    Most lifestyle industries can be categorized as a service industry. Whether it is health, fitness, food, travel, or entertainment, most of them, in one way or another, embody some kind of experience. Travel is a lifestyle industry, and those working in that industry should have a passion for travel and adventure. United expects its employees to embody their brand. Their ideal recruits are those who’ll be happy to be there, grateful for the opportunity, and can take the good with the bad while focusing on the good. Being in a rewarding industry that aligns with one’s priorities offers the opportunity for tremendous growth, personally and professionally. The benefits are obvious, and you have an opportunity to share that passion with the people who will share that journey with you, whether to a single destination or well into the future.

    So, it is important, going into your interview, to align your goals with the interviewer’s. They aren’t looking for any semi-skilled professional to fit a position just because it needs to be filled. They’re looking for someone who is happy to be there and fits their mold. You are looking for a job that feels like the right fit for you because being happy at work is a quality-of-life issue. So, the surest way to position yourself as their ideal candidate and to get you to stand apart from the rest of their “talent community” is to inform them that you already embody their brand, just as their brand represents you.

    Learn more about Kevin Downey