Thousands apply to become flight attendants for American

It may not be as glamorous a job as it used to be, but that's not stopping thousands of people from vying for the 1,500 new flight attendant slots American Airlines is seeking to fill.

So far, more than 20,000 people have applied for the jobs since the process began earlier this month, according to the Dallas Morning News.

American has so many people to choose from that it is now turning away most new applicants unless they speak a useful foreign language such as Korean, Mandarin, Japanese, German, Finnish, and Italian.

The new hires are needed because more than 2,200 flight attendants accepted buyouts and will begin leaving the airline next month.

The interest comes even as a new contract requires that the flight attendants work more hours, pay more for medical insurance, and make other concessions.

American has had to negotiate new contracts with all of its employees as part of its bankruptcy restructuring.

The airline,which declared bankruptcy a year ago, has been seeking ways to shave its annual labor costs by about $1.1 billion.

In September,the carrier notified 11,800 workers that they are eligible for layoffs. Originally, the airline had estimated it would cut 14,000 positions.

Once chosen, the new flight attendants will begin training in January and working on flights in April.

In other American news, CEO Tom Horton told creditors this week that they would have to receive the majority of stock if American were to merge with US Airways, according to The Wall Street Journal.

"His remarks indicate the two companies are moving closer to a possible agreement on a merger, even as AMR pursues its own plan from emerging from bankruptcy proceedings as an independent airline," the paper said.

According to the Journal's sources, Horton said American's creditors would have to get more than 70% of the shares of a combined airline.